There aren’t too many locations around Los Angeles that look pretty much the way they did when they were built — especially if they were built in the 1939s, as the Los Angeles Union Station on the edge of downtown was. This photo was taken in 1939, the year it opened, and with some minor adjustments, its waiting hall still looks pretty much like this. The walls on either side of the grand arch aren’t tiled using regular material. They’re covered in sound dampening acoustic tiles made from ground corncobs, which makes what could be a deafeningly echo chamber quiet as a library. I know some restaurants that could do with some!
There aren’t too many locations around Los Angeles that look pretty much the way they did when they were built — especially if they were built in the 1939s, as the Los Angeles Union Station on the edge of downtown was. This photo was taken in 1939, the year it opened, and with some minor adjustments, its waiting hall still looks pretty much like this. The walls on either side of the grand arch aren’t tiled using regular material. They’re covered in sound dampening acoustic tiles made from ground corncobs, which makes what could be a deafeningly echo chamber quiet as a library. I know some restaurants that could do with some!
Love these early black and white pics of Union Station. So glad it’s still there and looks pretty untouched.
Here’s another beautiful shot from 1939 showing the tiled floors and high ceilings:
http://waterandpower.org/Historical_DWP_Photo_Collection_LA_Public_Library/Union_Station_Main_Course_1939.jpg
Thanks, Martin.
Jean