Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, Whittier - Whittier, CA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

"The .Southern Pacific Railroad Station: just off Hadley Street was one of two Southern Pacific depots built in 1888 to capitalize on passenger and freight business in the, young community of Whittier. Established jbhetprevious year during the heighth of the "Boom of the Eighties11 in Southern California, Whittier had rapidly increased in population in its first year and the Southern Pacific responded to this growth by establishing a six-mile spur track from the Norwalk area station at a purported cost of $40,000 to the city of Whittier. A box car served as the first depot at the Hadley Street location until the present station was finished in July of 1888.

Ironically, the boom which brought the railroad to Whittier was rapidly collapsing at the time the spur track and depot were being built* Fortunately, the Southern Pacific was able to help save Whittier from virtual extinction by providing transportation for its citrus crops, the community's main economic base and chief employer. In 1895 a southern extension was added to the original Hadley Street depot to provide fruit packing space for the Whittier Fruit Exchange. Additional passenger traffic and the development of new industries kept the station bustling through the early decades of the twentieth century. However, as other modes of transportation became more sophisticated, the importance of the railroad increasingly diminished. By,1970 the station was no longer needed by the railroad and it was leased to private commercial interests.

The depot itself, a simple wooden structure with some ornamentation, is typical of the many Southern Pacific stations erected in the late 1880fs. In this particular case, the first agent, J.R. Downs and his sister, and most subsequent agents and their families, resided upstairs while the lower floor was used as a passenger waiting station. The southern extension provided ample storage and packing facilities for the area's fruit industry.

Although it is no longer used in its original capacity, the Southern Pacific Railroad Station in Whittier is one of the city's most important links to its establishment and early economic development. It is also one of the very few Southern Pacific depots built before the turn of the century to survive the changing modes of transportation in Southern California, an area which owes so much of its development to the railroad." (visit link)

Street address: 7333 Greenleaf Ave Whittier, CA USA County / Borough / Parish: Los Angeles Year listed: 2005 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event Periods of significance: 1925-1949, 1900-1924, 1875-1899 Historic function: Transportation Current function: Government, Recreation And Culture, Transportation Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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