Union Station (Los Angeles)

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Opened in May 1939 Union Station is the main train station of Los Angeles and is there on the northern edge of downtown Los Angeles. Union Station is one of the last great railway stations, which were built in the United States. Compared to the other Union Station U.S. - this term refers to stations that have been shared by several railway companies - but is it even with its large and intricately decorated waiting room and the adjacent ticketing quite manageable. She wore previously known as Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal ( Laupt ), but the current owner, Catellus Development renamed it Los Angeles Union Station ( LAUS ) around. The Union Station is located opposite the historic Olvera Street.

Architecture

The Union Station was designed by John Parkinson and his son Donald B. Parkinson, who also designed the Town Hall of Los Angeles and their company since the end of the 19th century, many important buildings in the city that left its mark. The architecture combines Spanish Colonial, Mission Revival and late Art Deco architecture with Moorish details like the stars with eight points. On both sides of the waiting room there are patio, courtyard gardens. Travelers who left the trains were originally through the southern garden. The lower part of the inner walls is covered with travertine marble and the upper part with an early form of acoustical tile. The floor in the waiting room is covered with terracotta tiles and in the middle with marble (including travertine, a little unusual because it is soft in the floors ). Other parts of the flooring of the station are colored tiles with Aztec influences.

South of the main building there is a small masterpiece, the remarkable station restaurant closes, which was designed by the companies operating in the southwestern United States architect Mary Colter. The restaurant was the last " Harvey House " restaurant, which was built on train stations.

History

The station originally served the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, the Southern and Union Pacific Railroad and the Pacific Electric Railway and Los Angeles Railway. He replaced the located at various points of the Stations of these companies and was voted in a referendum as an alternative to a high rail network.

During World War II the station was very well utilized, but then experienced as a result of automobile and aircraft boom declining ridership, and about half of the platform tracks has been removed over the years. Some inputs are closed, a service sectors inoperative or inaccessible, eg Ticket hall, Luggage Storage.

Today Union Station is again well utilized, especially since the opening of a subway station in 1993 (see also Metro Los Angeles ), the introduction of the Metrolink commuter rail service and because of ever increasing demand for the Pacific Surfliner. The number of daily departures of Pacific Surf liner has increased by more than threefold since 1980.

Currently, ten tracks and an average of 80 runs are made on weekdays.

Current long-distance trains are:

• The Pacific Surfliner (San Diego - Los Angeles - Santa Barbara - San Luis Obispo )
• The Coast Starlight to Seattle via Emeryville (San Francisco) and Portland
• The Texas Eagle ( to San Antonio together with the Sunset Limited, then to Chicago over Dallas )
• The Southwest Chief to Chicago via Albuquerque and Kansas City (Missouri ) and
• The Sunset Limited route to New Orleans.