As many prepare to travel for Thanksgiving, let's start the week off with a vintage shot of the San Diego Santa Fe Train Station, circa 1958. Of course I especially dig the details, like those vintage autos in the parking lot!
Anybody care to see the Incinerators at the Spring Fair?
Here is a contemporary shot of the Station just so that you can see this historic landmark is still alive and kicking!
See more San Diego Santa Fe Train Station photos at my main website.
Gosh what a beautiful train station. I'm astonished that it hasn't been torn down and replaced with something ugly!
ReplyDeleteWith my apologies to the Main Street and Frontierland/NOS stations on the SF&DL/DLRR, this is probably my favorite train station on the planet (although I find the Helium Southwestern's Zodanga station on Barsoom surpasses it in beauty and grandeur, it's not fair to compare the two).
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I ever put together in Photoshop (way back in 1994) was a layout of slides I'd taken of this station. The last time I saw it more than 20 years ago, there was a huge net for what I think was a driving range blocking the view from Pacific Highway. Just checked it on Google Street View and I'm happy to see the view has been restored.
I agree with Major Pepperidge's sentiments - so many of our historic stations have been torn down, repurposed, or abandoned and replaced by nondescript, Amtrak-standard "McStations" that have no character whatsoever. It's great to see a grand old lady like this not only still standing but also being used for the purpose for which it was built - a grand entryway for a great city.
I agree,the station looks better than ever these days. I also like that third shot where it appears a driver of one of the cars is doing a little maintenance work under the hood. That's back in the day when all you needed sometimes was just a screwdriver and wrench!! KS
ReplyDeleteAnd the interior is pretty amazing, too! Although I admit I do prefer LA's Union Station. That place is truly spectacular.
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