Union Station on the edge of downtown Los Angeles is one of my favorite buildings in LA, so I’m always happy to come across a hitherto unseen (by me, at least) photo of what remains to this day a prime example of pre-WWII railway architecture. The person who sent it to me said that those cars are early 1940s, so this shot would have been taken not too long after the station opened with great fanfare on May 3, 1939.
This is how Union Station looked in September 2021.
And thanks to an image of Esther Williams & hubby, we now know exactly what the china pattern was over in the Fred Harvey restaurant. Encanto by Syracuse, without the customized orange stripe used elsewhere by F.H.. Every image is adding to the lost details of this place.
For some reason, every time I think of Union Station, I get a mental image of that Bonnie Raitt album cover. It must really have impressed me…but I do love Union Station.
Is there still a real restaurant there? I think it was called Traxx or something like that. We ate there once, and the food was very good.
The last time I was there, Traxx was no longer there, but a different restaurant was in its place.
Too bad. I liked Traxx. Although maybe the new one is better?
Traxx is open. Six of us met there a few weeks ago for a wonderful lunch. As it was not raining we enjoyed a patio table. There was no table turnover pressure so we took our time talking and everyone was happy with the food. Take the Metro into the station. Or, drive. I parked in the lot in front of the station and Traxx validated all but $3 of the otherwise very high parking fee. Recommend making a reservation in combo with a visit to this absolutely fabulous Los Angeles landmark.
Where was the station before this was built? Torn down or what? It just doesn’t feel right without all of those great cars outside but yet it is a grand building.
This new station brought the three major railway lines coming to LA under one roof. Before that, each line had its own station. The new station united all three lines, hence the name “Union Station.”
Traxx is still there. Been under new ownership for a couple of years. The restaurant is open from 11-3 for lunch and the bar is open till 10 pm and also serves food. I will have to take the train down and try it, looks good.
Sounds good to me, too!