Why you should experience Union Station in Los Angeles.
Union Station isn’t just the crown jewel of Los Angeles transit, it’s a cinematic blend of Spanish Colonial, Mission Revival, and Art Deco design that captures the soul of Southern California.
Opened in 1939 and designed by father-son duo John and Donald Parkinson (the same architects behind City Hall and Bullocks Wilshire), Union Station was built as the “last of the great railway terminals.” Its creation symbolized the city’s emergence as a major American metropolis, a portal between the romanticism of the West and the modern rush of the 20th century. The station’s façade, with its terra-cotta tile roof, arched windows, and palm-framed courtyards, glows with a warm, sunlit confidence that feels distinctly Californian. Step inside, and you’re met with grandeur softened by craftsmanship: soaring ceilings of painted wood, bronze chandeliers suspended from massive beams, and hand-laid tile mosaics that ripple with geometric precision. The waiting room, a cathedral of travel, stretches over 260 feet long, its Spanish tile floors gleaming beneath rows of leather armchairs that have hosted everyone from early cross-country travelers to modern commuters and Hollywood stars. Even the light feels intentional here, streaming through leaded-glass windows that filter the Pacific sun into a golden haze. Union Station isn’t just a gateway to movement, it’s an atmosphere, a feeling, a timeless vignette where Los Angeles still hums with the rhythm of arrival and departure.
What you didn’t know about Union Station.
Behind its nostalgic beauty lies a layered history of ambition, controversy, and reinvention that mirrors the story of Los Angeles itself.
Union Station was built on the site of Los Angeles’s original Chinatown, displacing an entire neighborhood in the name of civic progress, a decision that remains one of the city’s most sobering reminders of modernization’s cost. Yet the station that rose in its place became an icon of the region’s optimism and aesthetic fusion. The Parkinsons worked alongside landscape architect Jean Philippe Arthur Dubois and interior designer Mary Colter, creating a building that blended Californian warmth with Hollywood flair. The result is an architectural hybrid, Mission arches, Spanish tiles, Moorish grillwork, and sleek Art Deco ornamentation all existing in harmony. During World War II, Union Station was a hub of farewell and return, soldiers streaming through its halls under banners of red, white, and blue. By the 1950s, it had become a backdrop for the Golden Age of film, appearing in classics like Union Station (1950), Blade Runner (1982), and Catch Me If You Can (2002). Yet by the late 20th century, it fell into quiet decline as car culture overtook the city’s rails. Its renaissance began in the 1990s, when preservationists fought to restore its original craftsmanship and revive its role as a transit center. Today, Union Station is once again thriving, serving as the hub for Amtrak, Metro, and California’s expanding high-speed rail network. Few visitors realize that beneath the main concourse lies a warren of original tunnels and hidden passageways, still lined with 1930s tile and brass fixtures. The station’s patios and courtyards, a defining feature of its design, were intended not just for travelers, but for reflection: a nod to the Californian ideal of blending architecture with landscape. Each restoration has honored that vision, ensuring the station remains a living monument to the city’s capacity to evolve without losing its soul.
How to fold Union Station into your trip.
To truly experience Union Station, don’t just pass through on your way to Hollywood or the beach, arrive early, linger, and let the place tell its story.
Begin at the Alameda Street entrance, where palm trees sway above the white stucco façade, and the original clock tower rises like a beacon of vintage Los Angeles. As you walk through the arched doors, pause beneath the coffered ceiling of the ticket concourse, the wood beams carved with hand-painted flourishes that recall an era when travel was art. Wander through the waiting room, where the scent of polished wood and leather evokes the romance of train travel long past. Step into the adjoining garden patios, quiet sanctuaries framed by mission-style arcades and fountains that catch the California sun. The courtyards were designed to slow you down, a reminder that movement and stillness can coexist. From there, explore Traxx, the Art Deco bar tucked into the station’s west wing, where cocktails flow beneath original brass light fixtures and mirrored walls. Outside, the Front Plaza offers views of downtown’s evolving skyline, blending the old station’s Mediterranean grace with the city’s vertical modernism. In the evening, return to see the building aglow, its arched windows radiating amber light, the palm-lined pathways humming with gentle echoes of jazz and conversation. If time allows, pair your visit with a short walk to Olvera Street, the birthplace of Los Angeles, just across the plaza, the perfect companion experience that bridges the city’s historic roots with its modern energy. Union Station in Los Angeles isn’t merely a stop on a journey, it’s a story told in sunlight and stone, in craftsmanship and quiet elegance. Beneath its arches, time folds in on itself: the glamour of old Hollywood meeting the rhythm of today’s commuters. To stand here as a train departs into the dusk is to feel Los Angeles breathe, bold, cinematic, and beautifully alive.
Hear it from the Foresyte community.
Don’t need a ticket to hang here. Grab a coffee, sit in the waiting hall, and suddenly you’re in your own main character moment. Trains optional.
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