Downtown Los Angeles Union Station
.... Union Station’s interior first was built in 1939. Union Station’s exterior combines Moorish and Spanish architecture; the inside, although somewhat gloomy, is quite spectacular. Marble floors, arched windows, are capped by a ceiling that is over fifty feet from the floor. Union Station’s site was proposed in 1933. Old Chinatown was demolished to make room for the terminal, leading the construction of New Chinatown. The Gateway Intermodal Transit Center, which will open soon behind Union Station, is projected to revitalize the area, serving as a major transportation hub. Amtrak and Metrolink trains, city buses, the developing subway system, and the planned Downtown-to-Pasadena trolley, scheduled to open in 2002 will combine to make the Transit Center and Union Station very busy places. The Union Station is surrounded of many other historical places. Built in 1938, the Terminal Annex Post Office served as the main mail distribution center for Los Angeles until 1994. Although no longer used as a post office, it, along with many other underused buildings in Downtown Los Angeles, has been the site of filming activities. Inside, one may find 1930’s WPA murals by Boris Deutsch depicting the history of communication. Pico Hotel, the Ilatianate hotel was the first three-story masonry building in Los Angeles (1869-70), build the Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of California. This was the finest hotel in the Southwest and was a veritable magnet for the fabulously rich. Parts of this building were renovated in 1981 and 1992. The architect, Ezra Keysor, also designed St. Vibiana’s Cathedral. Olvera Street, considered “El Paseo de la Plaza” and the main street was originally known as Vine or Wine Street because of its location near vineyards and a winery, the street was renamed in honor of the first county judge of Los Angeles County, Agustin Olvera. Olvera Street was officially opened in April, 1930, and serves as a major tourist attraction and entertainment center. Olvera Street has been the setting for holiday celebrations and Mexican style dancing music. The street preserves essential features of Los Angeles history. A triple row of bricks running diagonally across the street near the fountain denotes the course of the Zanja Madre (Mother Ditch), an early system of providing water from the Los Angeles River to the growing pueblo. On Olvera Street in L.A.’s olders surviving residential building, Avila Adobe, which dates from 1818. El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument was established at the sit in 1953. The high-rise is the new home to the Metropolitan Transit District. It has been linked to Union Station to form a collective hub for commuter rail traffic and the terminus of the Red Line Subway. The $300 million, 26 story MTA building features Italian granite, English brick, and a $300,000 aquarium. The featured mural is found at the entrance to Union Station. One of the popular missions near the Union Station is the Queen of Angel’s Church. This modest village church, also known as the Plaza Church, dates from 1822 and is the oldest religious structure in Los Angeles. It was established by a priest from Mission San Gabriel, eight miles to the east. In 1985, Father Luis Olivares declared the Church a “sanctuary” for Central American refugees and the undocumented immigrants form Mexico. At the Northeastern side of the Union Station, we see the Los Angeles County Jail. This jail is quite a LULU (Locally-Unwanted Land Use). In spite of opposition, the facility opened in 1996 to help relieve the overcrowded LA County Jail system. Chinatown, the earlier Chinese communities were located farther south, closer to the center of downtown. It was displaced to its current location in ...