The old train depot in Live Oak was built in 1876 by California & Oregon Railroad Incorporated, as part of their original line from Marysville, California to Portland, and like so many of the historic structures of yesteryear, it fell into disuse, then disrepair, and was quickly becoming an eyesore and an attractive nuisance.
In 1995, the city of Live Oak approved an ordinance to improve the old commercial downtown area, but lacked funding. In 1996, Union Pacific Railroad purchased land along the tracks in Live Oak, including the 1,256-square foot depot building, but the structure remained vacant and deteriorating. UP made arrangements with the city that if the city were to assist with finding a buyer for the land that did not include a desire for the building, UP granted permission to have the depot moved or demolished. The old commercial district was listed in the National Registry of Historic Places on Jan. 23, 1998, with the depot listed as contributing building #11 on the official nomination form. The photos of the depot that were submitted with the nomination form show the building in very severe decay. (Follow this link, and click on "nomination form" on the lower right: landmarkhunter.com/194569-live-oak-historic-commercial-district/
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I located a newsblog from March 2003 that indicates efforts to restore the depot were again reborn, with local citizens offering labor and materials to attempt to save the depot; (see the link here: www.railfan.net/lislists/rshsdepot-digest/200303/msg00032.html
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The city of Live Oak continued its slow struggle to restore the old commercial district, and in December 2009, a letter was sent to Milford Wayne Donaldson, State Historic Preservation Officer for permission to move the old depot 50 feet, off the Union Pacific property and onto land owned by the city. (a copy of this letter and photos of the depot in remarkably poor condition can be found attached to the bottom of the Historic Nomination Form, use the link above). Permission was granted, and by June 2010 the depot had been successfully moved, restored, and the project architect was requesting input from Railroad experts for the best color scheme to use for the upcoming painting project. (this link is to the blog regarding paint colors: discussion.cprr.net/2010/06/live-oak-cprr-depot.html
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I also found a cached (archived) article by Ashley Webb, from November 5, 2009 in the Appeal-Democrate: (quoted) "Council members unanimously approved a historical evaluation contract with MPM Engineering of Chico on Wednesday, which is another step in the process of restoring the depot at Elm Street and Broadway.
The City Council has been working with the North Central Counties Consortium to restore the depot and turn it into a restaurant job training site. The job program, similar to Checkers restaurant in Oroville, would train at-risk youth ages 17-22 in food service."
Address of the depot:
9800 Live Oak Boulevard, Live Oak, CA
My search of the web to locate information about the old train depot led me to a Flickr photo taken by Mike Garofalo on April 18, 2010: (
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