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Union Station (Los Angeles)
Encyclopedia
Los Angeles Union Station (or LAUS, formerly the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal or LAUPT) is the main railway station
in Los Angeles
, California
. The station has rail services by Amtrak
and Amtrak California
and Metrolink
; light rail
/subway
s are the Metro Rail
Red Line, Purple Line, Gold Line. Bus rapid transport runs on the Silver Line. Bus services
operate from the Patsaouras Transit Plaza
on the east side of the station and others on the north side of the station.
The station opened in May 1939, one of a number of union station
s in the United States
. It was built on a grand scale and became known as "Last of the Great Railway Stations" built in the USA. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1980. Since February 2011 it is in the ownership of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
.
Union Station is located in the northeastern corner of Downtown Los Angeles, on the property bounded by Alameda Street, Cesar Chavez Avenue, Vignes Street, and the Hollywood Freeway
. It is across Alameda Street from L.A.'s historic Olvera Street
and El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Park
. The historic Terminal Annex building is on the opposite side of the Chavez Avenue underpass. Chinatown
and Civic Center are a short distance away.
The Patsaouras Transit Plaza
on the east side of Union Station hosts several connecting bus lines, including Metro Rapid and Metro Local lines, as well as downtown DASH shuttles, many municipal bus lines, FlyAway express bus service to Los Angeles International Airport
, and University of Southern California
campus shuttles. The Transit Plaza is named after Nick Patsaouras
, former RTD board member and advocate for public transportation.
The Gateway Transit Center includes the station itself, Patsaouras Transit Plaza, and the western terminus of the El Monte Busway, as well as Metro's headquarters building.
Amtrak, Amtrak California and Metrolink share 10 of Union Station's 12 outdoor tracks, with 90 weekday trains departing (91 on Wednesday, 92 on Friday) as of July 2011. In 2010 Los Angeles was the busiest of Amtrak's 73 California stations, boarding or detraining an average of about 4200 passengers daily.
Los Angeles is a stop on the Pacific Surfliner
regional line running from San Diego
in the south to San Luis Obispo
in the north, the only multiple-times-daily Amtrak service to Los Angeles.
services and six of Metrolink's seven lines call at the station.
services have their eastern terminus at Union Station and share an underground level with two tracks below Union Station. There are two entrances: one is located at Union Station's main entrance on the west side of the complex, facing Alameda Street, and the other is located at the Patsaouras Transit Plaza on the east side of the complex.
The Metro Gold Line is a light-rail line that passes through Union Station between Pasadena and East Los Angeles using Tracks 1 and 2 of Union Station's 14 outdoor tracks. Platforms are accessible from the main passenger tunnel via staircase and elevator. The art installation, entitled Images of Commonality/Nature and Movement, was created by Beth Thielen.
by Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach
operate from the station which use bus stops at the north side of the station. Connections to Amtrak California's San Joaquins
line are provided through bus services to and from Bakersfield
. Connections to ferry services to Catalina Island and the cruise ship terminals are provided by bus services to Long Beach & San Pedro. Routes:
Metro is hoping by April 2013 to relocate the current Metro Silver Line stop to a new bus station near the Patsaouras Transit Plaza
.
Metro Silver Line service hours are approximately from 4:15 AM until 1:45 AM Monday- Friday & 5:00 A.M.- 1:45 A.M. Saturdays/ Sundays & Holidays .
Most bus/coach services using the El Monte Busway
. These stop west of Alameda St. near the El Monte Busway entrance (except line 699, which stops at Patsaouras Transit Plaza).
Bus services using the Patsaouras Transit Plaza
:
Bus services using bus stops on Cesar Chavez Avenue & Vignes Street close to Patsaouras Transit Plaza:
Union Station was partially designed by John Parkinson and Donald B. Parkinson (the Parkinsons)
who had also designed Los Angeles City Hall
and other landmark Los Angeles buildings. They were assisted by a group of supporting architects, including Jan van der Linden. The structure combines Dutch Colonial Revival architecture (the suggestion of the Dutch born Jan von der Linden), Mission Revival
, and Streamline Moderne
style, with architectural details such as eight-pointed stars.
Enclosed garden patios are on either side of the waiting room, and passengers exiting the trains were originally directed through the southern garden. The lower part of the interior walls is covered in travertine
marble, and the upper part is covered with an early form of acoustical tile. The floor in the large rooms is terra cotta
tile with a central strip of inlaid marble (including travertine, somewhat unusual in floors since it is soft).
Attached to the main building to the south is the station restaurant designed by southwestern architect Mary Colter
(the last of the "Harvey House
" restaurants to be constructed as a part of a passenger terminal). Although now usually padlocked and stripped of many interior furnishings, the topology of its rounded central counter, streamlined booths, and inlaid floor patterns remain. The influential sci-fi film Blade Runner
used shots of the waiting area as the 2019 police department.
Even with its grand scale it is considered small in comparison to other union station
s.
In 1926, a measure was placed on the ballot giving Los Angeles voters the choice between the construction of a vast network of elevated railways or the construction of a much smaller Union Station to consolidate different railroad terminals. The election would take on racial connotations and become a defining moment in the development of Los Angeles.
The proposed Union Station was located in the heart of what was Los Angeles' original Chinatown
. Reflecting the prejudice of the era, the conservative Los Angeles Times
, a lead opponent of elevated railways, argued in editorials that Union Station would not be built in the “midst of Chinatown” but rather would “forever do away with Chinatown and its environs.” Voters approved demolishing much of Chinatown to build Union Station by a narrow 51 to 48 percent.
The station originally served the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
, Southern Pacific Railroad
, and Union Pacific Railroad
, as well as the Pacific Electric Railway
and Los Angeles Railway
(LARy). It saw heavy use during World War II
, but later saw declining patronage due to the growing popularity of air travel and automobiles.
The station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1980 and is Los Angeles Historic–Cultural Monument #101.
The Orange County Line opened in 1992 followed by the Ventura County Line, The Antelope Valley Line and the San Bernardino Line in 1992 in part, completely to San Bernardino by 1993. The RedLine (including what is now the Purple Line) and the Riverside Line began operation from the station the following year. The Blue Line which opened in 1990 was originally intended to terminate at Union Station but currently terminates at 7th Street/Metro. The Gold Line began operating in 2003..
In February 2011, the Metro
Board approved the purchase of Union Station from Catellus/Prologis for $75 million. The deal was closed on April 14, 2011.
The station was formerly designated the 'Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal' (LAUPT), but its former owner, Catellus Development, officially changed the name to Los Angeles Union Station.
in the median
of the El Monte Busway
as part of the Metro ExpressLanes project
. It will allow buses travelling in both directions on the busway to serve the Union station with a minimum of delay for passengers for other destinations. To avoid impacting the ExpressLane demonstration the station will be delayed undergoing construction and is not due to be open until mid 2015 at the earliest.
During construction, tracks 3-6 will be out of service due to their extension. Because of this, in preparation for the construction of run-through tracks, track #13 is being revitalized for use as well as the re-construction of tracks 14-16 (they were removed long ago, though the reason and date is unclear) in order to make up for the loss of tracks 3-6 in the process. Once the construction is finished, the run-through tracks and tracks 13-16 will be in regular use, resulting in a 40% increase in track capacity. The construction and revitalization of tracks 13-16 has already started, however, it is a slowgoing project.
Caltrans
and the Federal Railroad Administration
have already drafted a plan to create four run-through tracks that would connect the south end of Union Station with the existing BNSF
trackage south of US Route 101, directly south of Union Station. The Run Through Tracks would exit Union Station on a bridge crossing over the freeway, and continue on an elevated structure for approximately one mile until they reached the BNSF trackage on the west bank of the Los Angeles River.
The final environmental impact report was published by the FRA
in November 2005.
System. To accommodate the future service, three platforms with six tracks will be built on an aerial structure above the existing platforms. Upon completion, passengers will be able to get from Union Station to the planned Transbay Terminal in San Francisco in 2 hours and 38 minutes.
, which starred William Holden
and Nancy Olson
. Many television shows and motion pictures have incorporated the station as a backdrop, including Silver Streak
, Blade Runner
, You're Never Too Young
, Speed, "Alias
" Can't Hardly Wait
, Star Trek: First Contact
, Pearl Harbor
, The Italian Job
, Raise Your Voice
, Collateral
, The Island
, Drag Me to Hell
, Quantum Leap, 24
, Chuck
, and NCIS: Los Angeles.
The station is also featured in the music video to Lifehouse
's You and Me and the music video for HIM's Wings of a Butterfly
. It has also been featured in several video games, including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
as Unity Station, Midnight Club: Los Angeles
and L.A. Noire
as it appeared in 1947.
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The station has rail services by Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
and Amtrak California
Amtrak California
Amtrak California is a brand name used by the Caltrans Division of Rail for all state-supported Amtrak rail routes within the U.S. State of California...
and Metrolink
Metrolink (Southern California)
Metrolink is a commuter rail system serving Los Angeles and the surrounding area of Southern California; it currently consists of six lines and 55 stations using of track....
; light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
/subway
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
s are the Metro Rail
Los Angeles County Metro Rail
Metro Rail is the rapid transit rail system consisting of five separate lines serving 70 stations in the Los Angeles County, California area. The new Expo line is due to enter service in early 2012. It connects with the Metro liner bus rapid transit system and also with the Metrolink commuter...
Red Line, Purple Line, Gold Line. Bus rapid transport runs on the Silver Line. Bus services
Public transport bus service
Bus services play a major role in the provision of public transport. These services can take many forms, varying in distance covered and types of vehicle used, and can operate with fixed or flexible routes and schedules...
operate from the Patsaouras Transit Plaza
Patsaouras Transit Plaza
The Patsaouras Transit Plaza is a bus station located on the east side of Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles beside the El Monte Busway. It hosts several connecting bus lines, including Metro Rapid and Metro Local lines, as well as downtown DASH shuttles, many municipal bus lines, FlyAway...
on the east side of the station and others on the north side of the station.
The station opened in May 1939, one of a number of union station
Union station
A union station is the term used for a train station where tracks and facilities are shared by two or more railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently between them...
s in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was built on a grand scale and became known as "Last of the Great Railway Stations" built in the USA. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1980. Since February 2011 it is in the ownership of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the California state-chartered regional transportation planning agency and public transportation operating agency for the County of Los Angeles formed in 1993 out of a merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the...
.
Location
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101, is an important north–south U.S. highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States...
. It is across Alameda Street from L.A.'s historic Olvera Street
Olvera Street
Olvera Street is in the oldest part of Downtown Los Angeles, California, and is part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. Many Latinos refer to it as "La Placita Olvera." Circa 1911 it was described as Sonora Town....
and El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Park
Los Angeles Plaza Historic District
The Los Angeles Plaza Historic District, also known as El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Park, is a historic district located at the oldest section of Los Angeles, known for many years as "El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles"...
. The historic Terminal Annex building is on the opposite side of the Chavez Avenue underpass. Chinatown
Chinatown, Los Angeles
Chinatown in Los Angeles, California is located in the city's downtown area. Built in 1938, it is the second Chinatown to be constructed in Los Angeles. The original historic Chinatown was founded in the late 19th century, but was demolished to make room for Union Station, the city's major rail...
and Civic Center are a short distance away.
The Patsaouras Transit Plaza
Patsaouras Transit Plaza
The Patsaouras Transit Plaza is a bus station located on the east side of Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles beside the El Monte Busway. It hosts several connecting bus lines, including Metro Rapid and Metro Local lines, as well as downtown DASH shuttles, many municipal bus lines, FlyAway...
on the east side of Union Station hosts several connecting bus lines, including Metro Rapid and Metro Local lines, as well as downtown DASH shuttles, many municipal bus lines, FlyAway express bus service to Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
, and University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
campus shuttles. The Transit Plaza is named after Nick Patsaouras
Nick Patsaouras
Nikolas "Nick" Patsaouras is a Greek-born American who is best known as an engineer, urban planner, and public official in Los Angeles, California. He served on the board of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where he was a proponent of access by bus. Patsaouras...
, former RTD board member and advocate for public transportation.
The Gateway Transit Center includes the station itself, Patsaouras Transit Plaza, and the western terminus of the El Monte Busway, as well as Metro's headquarters building.
Amtrak, Amtrak California and Metrolink share 10 of Union Station's 12 outdoor tracks, with 90 weekday trains departing (91 on Wednesday, 92 on Friday) as of July 2011. In 2010 Los Angeles was the busiest of Amtrak's 73 California stations, boarding or detraining an average of about 4200 passengers daily.
Amtrak
Amtrak offers four long distance trains out of Los Angeles:- Texas EagleTexas EagleThe Texas Eagle is a 1306-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the central and western United States. Trains run daily between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, and continue to Los Angeles, California, 2728 miles total, three days a week...
, to Chicago via San Antonio - Coast StarlightCoast StarlightThe Coast Starlight is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States. It runs from King Street Station in Seattle, Washington, to Union Station in Los Angeles, California. The train's name was formed as a merging of two of Southern Pacific's train names, the Coast...
, to Seattle - Sunset LimitedSunset LimitedThe Sunset Limited is a passenger train that for most of its history has run between New Orleans, Louisiana and Los Angeles, California, and that from early 1993 through late August 2005 also ran east of New Orleans to Jacksonville, Florida, making it during that time the only true transcontinental...
, to New OrleansNew Orleans Union Passenger TerminalNew Orleans Union Passenger Terminal is the main train station in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is served by Amtrak passenger trains, and played a role in the recovery efforts from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.- History :... - Southwest ChiefSouthwest ChiefThe Southwest Chief is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 2256-mile BNSF route through the Midwestern and Southwestern United States. It runs from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California, passing through Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California...
, to Chicago.
Los Angeles is a stop on the Pacific Surfliner
Pacific Surfliner
The Pacific Surfliner is a Amtrak regional passenger train route serving communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo....
regional line running from San Diego
Union Station (San Diego)
Union Station in San Diego, California, also known as the Santa Fe Depot, is a train station built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to replace the small Victorian-style structure erected in 1887 for the California Southern Railroad Company. The Spanish Colonial Revival style station is...
in the south to San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (Amtrak station)
The San Luis Obispo Amtrak Station is an Amtrak rail station in the city of San Luis Obispo, California. It is the northern terminus of Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner from San Luis Obispo to San Diego and it also serves the Coast Starlight from Seattle, Washington to Los Angeles, California...
in the north, the only multiple-times-daily Amtrak service to Los Angeles.
Metrolink
The station is the hub for MetrolinkMetrolink (Southern California)
Metrolink is a commuter rail system serving Los Angeles and the surrounding area of Southern California; it currently consists of six lines and 55 stations using of track....
services and six of Metrolink's seven lines call at the station.
Metro Rail
Three Metro Rail services serve the station with about 300 Metro Rail trains departing every weekday. The Metro Red Line and Metro Purple Line subwaySubway
Subway may refer to:* Subway , an underground rapid transit system also known as a metro, underground, T-bane, MRT , tube, or U-Bahn** For a list of individual subway systems, see the list of metro systems...
services have their eastern terminus at Union Station and share an underground level with two tracks below Union Station. There are two entrances: one is located at Union Station's main entrance on the west side of the complex, facing Alameda Street, and the other is located at the Patsaouras Transit Plaza on the east side of the complex.
The Metro Gold Line is a light-rail line that passes through Union Station between Pasadena and East Los Angeles using Tracks 1 and 2 of Union Station's 14 outdoor tracks. Platforms are accessible from the main passenger tunnel via staircase and elevator. The art installation, entitled Images of Commonality/Nature and Movement, was created by Beth Thielen.
Regional bus/coach services
A number of longer distance bus/coach servicesCoach (scheduled transport)
Coach scheduled transport is a mode of public transport by motor coach which is used in many countries around the world for longer distance journeys...
by Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach
Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach
Thruway Motorcoach is Amtrak's system of Amtrak-owned intercity coaches, locally contracted transit buses, through-ticketed local bus routes and taxi services to connect Amtrak train stations to areas not served by its railroads...
operate from the station which use bus stops at the north side of the station. Connections to Amtrak California's San Joaquins
San Joaquins
The San Joaquin is a passenger train operated by Amtrak as part of the Amtrak California network in California's Central Valley. Twelve trains a day run between its southern terminus at Bakersfield and Stockton, where the route splits to Oakland or Sacramento...
line are provided through bus services to and from Bakersfield
Bakersfield (Amtrak station)
The Bakersfield Amtrak Station is a train station in Bakersfield, California. It is the southern terminus of Amtrak's San Joaquin route operated by Amtrak California, with Thruway Motorcoach service continuing to Amtrak stations and bus stops throughout Southern California and Nevada...
. Connections to ferry services to Catalina Island and the cruise ship terminals are provided by bus services to Long Beach & San Pedro. Routes:
- Los Angeles/Bakersfield
- Los Angeles/Bakersfield (via Santa Clarita-Newhall Metrolink)
- Los Angeles/Long Beach & San Pedro
- Los Angeles/Santa Barbara
- Los Angeles to Van Nuys
- Los Angeles/Las Vegas.
- San Diego/Bakersfield (via Los Angeles)
- Santa Ana/Bakersfield (via Los Angeles)
Metro Liner
Board Metro Silver Line at Alameda St. and the El Monte Busway entrance.Metro is hoping by April 2013 to relocate the current Metro Silver Line stop to a new bus station near the Patsaouras Transit Plaza
Patsaouras Transit Plaza
The Patsaouras Transit Plaza is a bus station located on the east side of Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles beside the El Monte Busway. It hosts several connecting bus lines, including Metro Rapid and Metro Local lines, as well as downtown DASH shuttles, many municipal bus lines, FlyAway...
.
Metro Silver Line service hours are approximately from 4:15 AM until 1:45 AM Monday- Friday & 5:00 A.M.- 1:45 A.M. Saturdays/ Sundays & Holidays .
Most bus/coach services using the El Monte Busway
El Monte Busway
The El Monte Busway is a 11 mile shared-use bus corridor and high occupancy vehicle lane running west along the Interstate 10 from the Interstate 605 and El Monte Bus Station via transitway stations at California State University Metro Station, USC Medical Center Metro Station into Downtown Los...
. These stop west of Alameda St. near the El Monte Busway entrance (except line 699, which stops at Patsaouras Transit Plaza).
- Foothill TransitFoothill TransitFoothill Transit is a joint powers authority of 21 member cities in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys. It operates a fixed-route bus public transit service in the San Gabriel Valley of Greater Los Angeles, California.-Overview:...
: 481, 493, 497, 498, 499, 699 (weekday rush hours only) - Silver StreakSilver Streak (bus)The Silver Streak is a bus rapid transit system operated by Foothill Transit between Los Angeles and Montclair. Service began on March 18, 2007 and also resulted in a restructuring of service. The idea of the Silver Streak came when Line 480, Foothill's most popular line, became a very busy bus...
- Metro Express: 485, 487, 489
- LADOT DASH: B (weekdays only), DD (weekends only)
- California Shuttle BusCalifornia Shuttle BusCalifornia Shuttle Bus is a transportation company providing passenger service in California.-History:The company launched its services in 2003....
provides service from Los Angeles and Santa Monica to Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose.
Bus services using the Patsaouras Transit Plaza
Patsaouras Transit Plaza
The Patsaouras Transit Plaza is a bus station located on the east side of Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles beside the El Monte Busway. It hosts several connecting bus lines, including Metro Rapid and Metro Local lines, as well as downtown DASH shuttles, many municipal bus lines, FlyAway...
:
- Metro LocalMetro LocalMetro Local is a bus system in Los Angeles County operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority . This retronym designation was placed to differentiate it from the Metro Rapid service...
: 33 (Late nights), 40, 42 - Metro ExpressMetro ExpressMetro Express is a form of express bus service in Los Angeles County, California, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Buses are usually express for a portion of the route, then run either local or limited stop in other areas...
: 439, 442, 485 - Metro RapidMetro RapidMetro Rapid is a bus rapid transit service in Los Angeles County, California that operates in mixed traffic environments and has fewer stops than the Metro Local service. The system is mainly operated by LACMTA. Two routes are operated by Santa Monica Transit and one by Culver City Transit...
: 704, 728, 733, 740, 745 - Antelope Valley Transit AuthorityAntelope Valley Transit AuthorityAntelope Valley Transit Authority is the transit agency serving the cities of Palmdale, Lancaster and Northern Los Angeles County. Antelope Valley Transit Authority is operated under contract by Veolia Transportation, and is affiliated and offers connecting services with Metro and...
: 785* - City of Santa Clarita Transit: 794*
- LADOT DASH: D (weekdays only), Bunker Hill Shuttle
- LADOT Commuter Express: 430*, 534*
- Orange County Transportation AuthorityOrange County Transportation AuthorityThe Orange County Transportation Authority is the public sector transportation planning body and mass transit service provider for Orange County, California. Its ancestor agencies include not only the prior Orange County Transit District but also such diverse entities as the Pacific Electric...
: 701* - Santa Monica Transit: 10
- Torrance TransitTorrance TransitTorrance Transit is a transit agency serving mainly the South Bay region of Los Angeles County.-Routes:Torrance Transit is a transit agency serving mainly the South Bay region of Los Angeles County.-Routes:...
: 1, 2 - Foothill TransitFoothill TransitFoothill Transit is a joint powers authority of 21 member cities in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys. It operates a fixed-route bus public transit service in the San Gabriel Valley of Greater Los Angeles, California.-Overview:...
: 699 - FlyAway BusFlyAway BusThe FlyAway Bus is a shuttle bus service created and funded by Los Angeles World Airports, which transports passengers non-stop to and from Los Angeles International Airport . Coach America provides the drivers and daily operations for the service...
: Non-Stop to LAX Int'l Airport**
* Indicates commuter service that operates only during weekday rush hours.** Direct FlyAway BusFlyAway BusThe FlyAway Bus is a shuttle bus service created and funded by Los Angeles World Airports, which transports passengers non-stop to and from Los Angeles International Airport . Coach America provides the drivers and daily operations for the service...
service is offered between Union Station and Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
. The blue buses run every 30 minutes between 5 am and 1 am and on the hour between 1 am and 5 am from Berth 9 of the Patsaouras Transit Plaza. The service is mainly intended for those who use public transportation to Union Station and then transfer to the bus, but there is a parking garage.
Bus services using bus stops on Cesar Chavez Avenue & Vignes Street close to Patsaouras Transit Plaza:
- Metro LocalMetro LocalMetro Local is a bus system in Los Angeles County operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority . This retronym designation was placed to differentiate it from the Metro Rapid service...
: 68, 70, 71, 78, 79, 378 - Metro RapidMetro RapidMetro Rapid is a bus rapid transit service in Los Angeles County, California that operates in mixed traffic environments and has fewer stops than the Metro Local service. The system is mainly operated by LACMTA. Two routes are operated by Santa Monica Transit and one by Culver City Transit...
: 770 - LADOT DASH: Lincoln Heights/Chinatown
Architecture
The Parkinsons
John B. and Donald D. Parkinson were a father-and-son architectural team operating in Los Angeles in the early 20th century.-Early years:...
who had also designed Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall, completed 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council...
and other landmark Los Angeles buildings. They were assisted by a group of supporting architects, including Jan van der Linden. The structure combines Dutch Colonial Revival architecture (the suggestion of the Dutch born Jan von der Linden), Mission Revival
Mission Revival Style architecture
The Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century for a colonial style's revivalism and reinterpretation, which drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California....
, and Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone or as Art Moderne, was a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s...
style, with architectural details such as eight-pointed stars.
Travertine
Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, and cream-colored varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot...
marble, and the upper part is covered with an early form of acoustical tile. The floor in the large rooms is terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
tile with a central strip of inlaid marble (including travertine, somewhat unusual in floors since it is soft).
Attached to the main building to the south is the station restaurant designed by southwestern architect Mary Colter
Mary Colter
Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter was an American architect and designer. As a child, Mary Colter traveled with her family through frontier Minnesota, Colorado and Texas in the years after the American Civil War. After her father died in 1886, Colter attended the California School of Design in San...
(the last of the "Harvey House
Fred Harvey Company
The origin of the Fred Harvey Company can be traced to the 1875 opening of two railroad eating houses located at Wallace, Kansas and Hugo, Colorado on the Kansas Pacific Railway. These cafés were opened by Fred Harvey, then a freight agent for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad...
" restaurants to be constructed as a part of a passenger terminal). Although now usually padlocked and stripped of many interior furnishings, the topology of its rounded central counter, streamlined booths, and inlaid floor patterns remain. The influential sci-fi film Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
used shots of the waiting area as the 2019 police department.
Even with its grand scale it is considered small in comparison to other union station
Union station
A union station is the term used for a train station where tracks and facilities are shared by two or more railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently between them...
s.
History
The proposed Union Station was located in the heart of what was Los Angeles' original Chinatown
Chinatown, Los Angeles
Chinatown in Los Angeles, California is located in the city's downtown area. Built in 1938, it is the second Chinatown to be constructed in Los Angeles. The original historic Chinatown was founded in the late 19th century, but was demolished to make room for Union Station, the city's major rail...
. Reflecting the prejudice of the era, the conservative Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, a lead opponent of elevated railways, argued in editorials that Union Station would not be built in the “midst of Chinatown” but rather would “forever do away with Chinatown and its environs.” Voters approved demolishing much of Chinatown to build Union Station by a narrow 51 to 48 percent.
The station originally served the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
, Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
, and Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
, as well as the Pacific Electric Railway
Pacific Electric Railway
The Pacific Electric Railway , also known as the Red Car system, was a mass transit system in Southern California using streetcars, light rail, and buses...
and Los Angeles Railway
Los Angeles Railway
The Los Angeles Railway was a system of streetcars that operated in central Los Angeles, California and the immediate surrounding neighborhoods between from 1901 and 1963. Except for two short funicular railways it operated on tracks...
(LARy). It saw heavy use during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but later saw declining patronage due to the growing popularity of air travel and automobiles.
The station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1980 and is Los Angeles Historic–Cultural Monument #101.
The Orange County Line opened in 1992 followed by the Ventura County Line, The Antelope Valley Line and the San Bernardino Line in 1992 in part, completely to San Bernardino by 1993. The RedLine (including what is now the Purple Line) and the Riverside Line began operation from the station the following year. The Blue Line which opened in 1990 was originally intended to terminate at Union Station but currently terminates at 7th Street/Metro. The Gold Line began operating in 2003..
In February 2011, the Metro
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the California state-chartered regional transportation planning agency and public transportation operating agency for the County of Los Angeles formed in 1993 out of a merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the...
Board approved the purchase of Union Station from Catellus/Prologis for $75 million. The deal was closed on April 14, 2011.
The station was formerly designated the 'Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal' (LAUPT), but its former owner, Catellus Development, officially changed the name to Los Angeles Union Station.
New transit station on El Monte Busway
A new transitway station for the Silver Line is being created to the south of the Patsaouras Transit PlazaPatsaouras Transit Plaza
The Patsaouras Transit Plaza is a bus station located on the east side of Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles beside the El Monte Busway. It hosts several connecting bus lines, including Metro Rapid and Metro Local lines, as well as downtown DASH shuttles, many municipal bus lines, FlyAway...
in the median
Central reservation
On divided roads, such as divided highways or freeways/motorways, the central reservation , median, parkway , median strip or central nature strip is the area which separates opposing lanes of traffic...
of the El Monte Busway
El Monte Busway
The El Monte Busway is a 11 mile shared-use bus corridor and high occupancy vehicle lane running west along the Interstate 10 from the Interstate 605 and El Monte Bus Station via transitway stations at California State University Metro Station, USC Medical Center Metro Station into Downtown Los...
as part of the Metro ExpressLanes project
Metro ExpressLanes project
The Metro ExpressLanes project is a transport project taking place in Los Angeles between 2011 and 2012 to 'improve traffic flow and provide enhanced travel options on I-10 and I-110 in Los Angeles County'. It includes a range of infrastructure developments on the Harbor Transitway and the El Monte...
. It will allow buses travelling in both directions on the busway to serve the Union station with a minimum of delay for passengers for other destinations. To avoid impacting the ExpressLane demonstration the station will be delayed undergoing construction and is not due to be open until mid 2015 at the earliest.
Run-through tracks project
With the number of trains using Union Station expanding, the stub-end layout of trackage at the station is becoming a liability. Trains are required to back out of the station (in push-pull configuration with the use of cab cars) resulting in delays as multiple trains must use the same tracks to get out of the station. Therefore, tracks 3-6 are being extended as run-through tracks, which will exit Union Station and cross over the 101 freeway to the existing BNSF tracks at an "S-curve." The run-through tracks are envisioned for use by the following trains when departing or arriving at Union Station: Amtrak Pacific Surfliners, the Southwest Chief, and the 91 and Orange County lines of Metrolink, as they currently must make a near-180 degree turn just outside the station in order to proceed in either direction. Northbound trains headed for Union Station would also use the run-through tracks allowing them to bypass the same curved track they must currently use. Most of the delays caused by the current configuration are suffered by arriving trains, as departures are usually given priority, often to free-up needed platforms and to keep departing trains from experiencing delays along their route should they depart late.During construction, tracks 3-6 will be out of service due to their extension. Because of this, in preparation for the construction of run-through tracks, track #13 is being revitalized for use as well as the re-construction of tracks 14-16 (they were removed long ago, though the reason and date is unclear) in order to make up for the loss of tracks 3-6 in the process. Once the construction is finished, the run-through tracks and tracks 13-16 will be in regular use, resulting in a 40% increase in track capacity. The construction and revitalization of tracks 13-16 has already started, however, it is a slowgoing project.
Caltrans
California Department of Transportation
The California Department of Transportation is a government department in the U.S. state of California. Its mission is to improve mobility across the state. It manages the state highway system and is actively involved with public transportation systems throughout the state...
and the Federal Railroad Administration
Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation. The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966...
have already drafted a plan to create four run-through tracks that would connect the south end of Union Station with the existing BNSF
BNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
trackage south of US Route 101, directly south of Union Station. The Run Through Tracks would exit Union Station on a bridge crossing over the freeway, and continue on an elevated structure for approximately one mile until they reached the BNSF trackage on the west bank of the Los Angeles River.
The final environmental impact report was published by the FRA
Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation. The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966...
in November 2005.
California High-Speed Rail
Union Station is planned to be a major hub for the future California High-Speed RailCalifornia high-speed rail
The California High-Speed Rail project is a planned future high-speed rail system in the state of California and headed by the California High-Speed Rail Authority . Initial funding for the project was approved by California voters on November 4, 2008, with the passage of Proposition 1A...
System. To accommodate the future service, three platforms with six tracks will be built on an aerial structure above the existing platforms. Upon completion, passengers will be able to get from Union Station to the planned Transbay Terminal in San Francisco in 2 hours and 38 minutes.
Film, television, video game, and music appearances
The facility served as a backdrop for the 1950 film Union StationUnion Station (film)
Union Station is a film noir, directed by Rudolph Maté. The drama features William Holden, Barry Fitzgerald, and Nancy Olson, among others.-Plot:...
, which starred William Holden
William Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
and Nancy Olson
Nancy Olson
Nancy Ann Olson is an American actress.In Sunset Boulevard she played Betty Schaefer, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress...
. Many television shows and motion pictures have incorporated the station as a backdrop, including Silver Streak
Silver Streak
Silver Streak may refer to:* Silver Streak , a bus rapid transit system* Silver Streak , a comic book character* Silver Streak , a 1976 comedy, action and mystery film* Silver Streak , a roller coaster...
, Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
, You're Never Too Young
You're Never Too Young
You're Never Too Young is a comedy film starring the team of Martin and Lewis, released on August 25, 1955 by Paramount Pictures, and co-starring Diana Lynn, Nina Foch, and Raymond Burr.-Plot:...
, Speed, "Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
" Can't Hardly Wait
Can't Hardly Wait
Can't Hardly Wait is a 1998 American teen comedy film written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. It stars Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, and Jennifer Love Hewitt, and is notable for a number of "before-they-were-famous" appearances by various...
, Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact is the eighth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise, released in November 1996, by Paramount Pictures. First Contact is the first film in the franchise to feature no cast members from the original Star Trek television series of the 1960s...
, Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor (film)
Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
, The Italian Job
The Italian Job (2003 film)
The Italian Job is a 2003 heist film directed by F. Gary Gray. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Seth Green, Jason Statham, Mos Def, and Donald Sutherland. It is an American remake of a 1969 British film of the same name, and is about a team of thieves who plan to steal...
, Raise Your Voice
Raise Your Voice
Raise Your Voice is a 2004 American teen musical drama film directed by Sean McNamara-Plot:Terri Fletcher , a teenager with a passion for singing, has been accepted into a music program in Los Angeles to compete for a $10,000 scholarship shortly after her brother Paul 's tragic death in a car crash...
, Collateral
Collateral (film)
Collateral is a 2004 crime thriller film starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. It was directed by Michael Mann and written by Stuart Beattie. It was Mann's first feature film to be shot mostly with high-definition cameras. Mann had previously used the format for portions of Ali and for his CBS drama...
, The Island
The Island (2005 film)
The Island is a 2005 American science fiction/thriller film directed by Michael Bay and starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. It was released on July 22, 2005 in the United States, and was nominated for three awards including the Teen Choice Award....
, Drag Me to Hell
Drag Me to Hell
Drag Me to Hell is a 2009 American horror film, directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Sam and Ivan Raimi. The plot focuses on loan officer Christine Brown , who tries to impress her boss by refusing to extend a loan to a gypsy woman by the name of Mrs. Ganush...
, Quantum Leap, 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
, Chuck
Chuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
, and NCIS: Los Angeles.
The station is also featured in the music video to Lifehouse
Lifehouse (band)
Lifehouse is an American rock band from Los Angeles. The band came to mainstream prominence in 2001 with the hit single "Hanging by a Moment" from their debut studio album, No Name Face. The single won a Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year, beating out Janet Jackson and Alicia...
's You and Me and the music video for HIM's Wings of a Butterfly
Wings of a Butterfly
"Wings of a Butterfly", also released as "Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly", is a song by the Finnish metal band HIM. It is the second track on the 2005 album Dark Light and was released as the album's first single that year. The song reached #1 on the Finnish charts, #10 in Germany and the UK, and...
. It has also been featured in several video games, including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
as Unity Station, Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Midnight Club: Los Angeles is the fourth video game in the Midnight Club series of racing video games, not including Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix. It was officially announced for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on January 11, 2008 by Rockstar Games. The game was developed by Rockstar San Diego...
and L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire is a 2011 crime video game developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games. It was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows. It was released as a 3-disc game for the Xbox 360 console, which prompts the player to switch to another disc at certain points in the...
as it appeared in 1947.
External links
- MTA Union Station connections overview
- MTA Union Station home page
- Metrolink Union Station overview
- Los Angeles, California; Great American Stations (Amtrak)
- Los Angeles Amtrak station information (Texas Eagle)
- The Parkinson Architectural Archives: Union Station
- Public Art Works at the Union Station and in El Pueblo
- Historical sketch of Union Station - L.A. as Subject/KCET