Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Vintage Photos Of Union Station's First Years, Celebrating Its 75th Anniversary
When Union Station first opened its doors on May 3, 1939, it was a grand affair. As part of a three-day grand opening celebration for what has been dubbed as "the last of the great train stations," half a million Angelenos came out to celebrate this landmark in downtown. Now, 75 years later, Union Station is still serving patrons on its railroads and acts as a time capsule linking to the past.
It was a different time back when Union Station first served as a hub for connecting three railroad companies and their terminals—Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, and Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe. It was a bustling centerpiece for the city, and once was a place where porters would be waiting at the depot, pushing along carts to help passengers with their luggage. Inside the station, there was the Harvey House restaurant, known for its fine dining and female servers made popular by the 1946 film, The Harvey Girls, starring Judy Garland. Even a barber shop sat inside Union Station for any quick grooming needs.
"[Union Station] represented a big step forward for the city," Bill Bradley, author of Los Angeles Union Station, Tracks to the Future said in an interview with Metro. "[Los Angeles] now could be seen as a major city with a major train station, on par with something like Grand Central in New York or Union Station in Washington. I think it gave people a boost of confidence, especially with the Depression—it had been a difficult decade."
The station's signature mission revival, Spanish colonial and Art Deco flair was designed by a father-and-son duo, architects John and Donald Parkinson. They built the station where old Chinatown was once located because it was the most central spot in L.A., pushing out the residents who lived there to where Chinatown is now. After they completed building Union Station at 800 N. Alameda Street for $11 million, the grand opening celebration followed with parades floats, marching bands and steam engines.
Support for LAist comes from
“You have to remember that Los Angeles in 1939 was not New York City," Seymour Rosen who attended the opening when he was a teenager, told Metro in an interview. This was a major thing. There were so many people. And to see such a grand structure. It was an exciting moment in my life."
Disney animator Ward Kimball, who had created characters like Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio, shot a six-minute color home video of the opening. Metro and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently restored this video, which is the only known footage of this large event. It can be see here:
Another interesting piece of history inside Union Station was its Harvey House restaurant that was designed by Southwestern architect Mary Colter. The prestige of the Harvey girls who waited tables was on par with something like PanAm stewardesses later on. It was more than a waitress job to them. Owner Fred Harvey would bring women from the ages of 18 to 35 from the East and Midwest out to the West Coast to work at his restaurants, according to director Katrina Parks of The Harvey Girls: Opportunity Bound documentary.
The trailer for the documentary can be seen here:
"It was really just an unprecedented opportunity for women, especially out West," Parks said. "You know, there were very few options for these women in these railroad towns. This was one of the few ways you could remain independent. They sent money back, often to their families."
The Harvey House closed in 1967 though and has since only been used for special events and film shoots, according to Metro.
And really, Union Station has had its share of popularity in Hollywood film shoots. Blade Runner was filmed there as well as music videos for Fiona Apple and Pharrell Williams (for his 24-hour music video for "Happy").
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
-
Hexavalent chromium is the same carcinogen Erin Brockovich warned about in the 1990s, but researchers say more study is needed on the potential health effects of nanoparticles detected earlier this year. Experts will answer questions at a webinar this evening.
Best of LAist