History
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 took over service from La Grande Station and Central Station and 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 was designated as Los Angeles Historic–Cultural Monument No. 101 on August 2, 1972.
The Ventura County Line, the Antelope Valley Line and the San Bernardino Line opened in 1992 in part, completely to San Bernardino by 1993, with the Orange County Line opening in 1994. 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.
Read more about this topic: Union Station (Los Angeles)
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—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
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