1. Travel

Los Angeles Union Station

Downtown L A Tour

The last great train station.

Los Angeles Union Station

© 2007 Betsy Malloy Photography - Request Los Angeles Union Station Reprints
Los Angeles Union Station
800 N. Alameda

Some say Los Angeles' Union Station is America's last great railway station, and they could be right. Built in 1939 to consolidate passenger terminals of three different railways, Los Angeles Union Station still serves as a transit hub. You can catch an Amtrak train or connect to the MTA Red and Gold lines at Los Angeles Union Station.

Visiting Los Angeles Union Station

Pretty on the outside with a harmonious mix of Spanish Mission, Moorish and Streamline Modern architectural styles, Los Angeles Union Station is best enjoyed from inside. It's clean and carefully renovated, with original light fixtures, inlaid stone floors and tiled walls. Photographers with cameras in hand and little children peering up at the painted ceiling designs are common sights inside Los Angeles Union Station, and the original waiting area seating is so elegant that it's hard to resist plopping down for a moment to enjoy it all. You'll also find TRAXX restaurant in the middle of Los Angeles Union Station, a good excuse to linger and look around some more.

Los Angeles Union Station is such a beautiful classic train station that it's often featured in films, including Blade Runner, Silver Streak and The Italian Job.

The The LA Conservancy offers guided tours of Los Angeles Union Station once a month. Reservations are required. The Studio of Southern California History also offers tours on a periodic basis, but be quick - you need reservations and they often sell out.

Exit Union Station and cross Alameda into the oldest part of the city.

©2013 About.com. All rights reserved.