Los Angeles Union Station
800 North Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Los Angeles Union Station (formerly Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal) opened in 1939 to serve five different railways. The station was partially designed by John and Donald Parkinson, and incorporates a combination of Streamline Moderne and Mission Revival styles. The structure was built on the site of what was then the city's Chinatown.
On the opposite side of the track from Union Station is the Patsaouras Transit Plaza, named for Nick Patsaouras, a former board member of the Southern California Rapid Transit District. The clear postmodern architectural intent was to echo the older station to the west, although the contemporary materials do not reflect the same air of durability and solidity. In addition, when confronted with the circular drive, it is not immediately obvious that there are numbered locations on the drive where specific buses stop. And, as could be expected, the layout diagrams that are probably completely logical to designers are totally indecipherable to newcomers.
Ramp down from platform
Tunnel under tracks
Tunnel under the tracks
Los Angeles Union Station
End of corridor
Art deco detailing
Waiting room
Sunburst arch on west entry to waiting room
Streamline chairs
Unused ticketing hall on north side of building
Information desk
South wing - Former Harvey House restaurant
North wing - Unused ticketing area
Front from across Alameda St
Union Station
Front of Station
Walkway
Front of Station
Front of Station
Hybrid cabs
Courtyard
Side of main hall
Sundial
Historical marker
Historical marker
Union Station
Southern patio garden
Entrance
Entrance
Windows to unused ticketing hall
La Plaza, across Alameda Street
View from across Alameda Street
View from across Alameda Street
Sign
Front entrance
Clock tower
Southern walkway
Southern patio garden
Southern patio garden
Southern patio garden
Southern patio garden
Southern patio garden
Clock tower
Walkway to the front entrance
Walkway to the front entrance
View from across Alameda Street
Amtrak window
Rental cars at a train station - what a great idea!
Tunnel under tracks
Patsaouras Transit Plaza
Patsaouras Transit Plaza
Patsaouras Transit Plaza
Patsaouras Transit Plaza
The 733 that I should have taken