Visit L.A.'s Historic Union Station
Union Station is a beautiful Art Deco meets Mission Revival railway structure in downtown Los Angeles. It was built in 1939, and is registered as a National Historic Place. This station operates four of Amtrak’s long distance trains that both start and end here. It also is a hub for the Surfliner Train moving up and down the California coastline and frequenting San Diego to the south and Santa Barbara to the north.
This station is the largest railway passenger terminal in the Western United States. It’s worth a visit even if you aren’t going to hop on a train.
Top Downtown L.A. Architecture Tours
For a deeper understanding of Union Station, taking a guided tour is a fantastic way to gain historical insights while exploring these architectural gems. Here are a few that are highly rated on Get Your Guide that include a stop at Union Station.
You can also consider purchasing the book Secret Walks (Amazon), which offers several downtown strolls for exploring the architecture of Downtown L.A.
To Get There
There is a parking lot, but it’s a pay by hour. If you’re going to take a train, you should take a share ride or the metro to the station.
This station is very clean and safe to walk around in day time, be more careful at night.
The History
The purpose of building Union Station was to consolidate rail services from the Union Pacific, Santa Fe, and Southern Pacific Railroads into one terminal station. It’s still a working station but has also been deemed a Los Angeles Historic–Cultural Monument.
The structure was partly designed by John and Donald Parkinson, a father and son architectural duo that designed many historical L.A. buildings.
Union Station Today
This Station is a work of art in and of itself, but it also houses some beautiful works of art. Below is the mural “City of Dreams, River of History (1995),” by May Sun and Richard Wyatt. This mural represents original settlers and contemporary residents of the area. To see all the art housed here you can read more on the Union Station official website.
Most of the structure was designed by John Parkinson and Donald B. Parkinson. These two along with supporting architects also designed Los Angeles City Hall and other landmark Los Angeles buildings that are mostly located in downtown Los Angeles.
If you live in or are visiting L.A., stop into Union Station to explore the many facets of its beauty. You’ll be surprised how many interesting details there are at this historic site in the city of angels.
Los Angeles Sight-Seeing
Looking for some fun sight-seeing tours in L.A. Here are some fun times I’ve selected from Get Your Guide.
