Southern Pacific Railroad Depot

In less than two weeks, the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot will make a three mile journey to it's new home at the Willow Springs Park in Long Beach. This hallmark of Long Beach transit history as originally contstructed in 1907 to replace a previous railroad station along Broadway Boulevard, between Cedar and Pacific Avenue.

The late 1800s expansion of the rail system in the Western United States included connections from Los Angeles to San Pedro and Long Beach, and was a popular mode of transportation along the California coast. After rail transportation declined, the structure was briefly used as an office building for city employees.

Following the earthquake in 1933, the building was moved to it's location on Santa Fe Avenue and served as a material testing laboratory for the city. After a private buyer aquired the property the depot sits upon, the Long Beach Office of Sustainability took charge of making arrangements for the structure to be adaptively reused and moved to a new locatin. The unique Mediterranean/Spanish Mission Revival style of the building adds to the charm of it's history. The depot will be moved to a park in an underserved area of Long Beach, and the potential uses are being explored. As the moving date approaches, our excitement builds and I am really looking forward to seeing how the new space is ulitized!

You can follow coverage of the project at www.wearethenext.org.