Santa Fe Depot (San Diego)

Santa Fe Depot
San Diego, CA
The station building as seen from the platforms in August 2007
General information
Other namesUnion Station
Location1050 Kettner Boulevard
San Diego, California
United States
Coordinates32°43′00″N 117°10′10″W / 32.71667°N 117.16944°W / 32.71667; -117.16944
Owned by
Operated byAmtrak California
Line(s)NCTD San Diego Subdivision[2]
Platforms2 island platforms
2 side platforms
Tracks6
Connections
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
ParkingPaid parking nearby
Bicycle facilities12 rack spaces, 3 lockers[5]
AccessibleYes
Other information
StatusStaffed, station building with waiting room
Station code
Fare zone3 (Coaster)
History
OpenedMarch 7, 1915 (1915-03-07)[7]
Rebuilt2012[8]
Original companyAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Passengers
FY 2023274,987[9] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
San Diego–Old Town Pacific Surfliner Terminus
Preceding station North County Transit District Following station
Old Town San Diego
towards Oceanside
COASTER Terminus
Preceding station San Diego Trolley Following station
County Center/Little Italy
towards UTC
Blue Line America Plaza
towards San Ysidro
County Center/Little Italy
towards El Cajon
Green Line Seaport Village
County Center/Little Italy Special Event Line
Former services
Preceding station San Diego Trolley Following station
Terminus Orange Line
2012-2017
America Plaza
towards El Cajon
County Center/Little Italy Special Event Line
pre-2012
Seaport Village
Preceding station Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Following station
Del Mar Surf Line Terminus
Linda Vista
To 1950s[10]
National City
To 1930[11][12]
Terminus
Preceding station Southern Pacific Railroad Following station
Terminus San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway Main Line San Ysidro
toward El Centro
Santa Fe Depot
Area4.6 acres (1.9 ha)
Built1915
ArchitectBakewell and Brown
Architectural styleMission/Spanish Revival
NRHP reference No.72000248[14]
SDHL No.56
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 26, 1972
Designated SDHLFebruary 4, 1972[15]
Location
Map

Santa Fe Depot is a union station in San Diego, California, built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to replace the small Victorian-style structure erected in 1887 for the California Southern Railroad Company. The Spanish Colonial Revival style station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a San Diego Historic Landmark. Its architecture, particularly the signature twin domes, is often echoed in the design of modern buildings in downtown San Diego.

The historic depot is located in the Core district of downtown San Diego and is still an active transportation center, providing services to Amtrak California intercity trains, Coaster commuter rail trains, the San Diego Trolley, and the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System bus system.

Santa Fe Depot (as it was originally designated) officially opened on March 8, 1915, to accommodate visitors to the Panama–California Exposition. The depot was completed during a particularly optimistic period in the city's development and represents the battle waged by the City of San Diego to become the West Coast terminus of the Santa Fe's transcontinental railroad, a fight that was ultimately lost to the City of Los Angeles.

In its heyday, the facility not only handled Santa Fe traffic but also that of the San Diego and Arizona Railway (SD&A) and San Diego Electric Railway (SDERy). The designation was officially changed to "San Diego Union Station" in response to the SD&A's completion of its own transcontinental line in December 1919. Santa Fe resumed solo operation of the station in January 1951 when the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway (successor to the SD&A) discontinued passenger service, the SDERy having ceased operation some two years prior.

Of the 77 California stations served by Amtrak in fiscal year 2017, the Santa Fe Depot was the third busiest in the state (behind only Los Angeles Union Station and Sacramento Valley Station) and the 10th busiest in the Amtrak system, boarding or detraining an average of approximately 2,130 passengers daily.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference gas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 26.
  3. ^ "San Diego Regional Transit Map" (PDF). San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. October 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  4. ^ "Thruway Bus Routes". San Joaquins. San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority. May 15, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  5. ^ "Interactive San Diego Regional Bike Map". San Diego Association of Governments. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  6. ^ "Schedules & Real Time". San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  7. ^ Showley, Roger (March 3, 2015). "Santa Fe Depot at 100: Tiles, tourists and skyscrapers". U-T San Diego. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference advisory2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of California" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  10. ^ "Santa Fe System Timetables, January 1 to April 26, 1953" (PDF). Streamliner Memories. Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. p. 22. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  11. ^ "Santa Fe Railway Timetable" (PDF). August 1926.
  12. ^ "Santa Fe Railway Timetable" (PDF). August 1928. p. 43.
  13. ^ "Southern Pacific Railroad Timetable" (PDF). February 1949. p. 9.
  14. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  15. ^ "Historical Landmarks Designated by the San Diego Historical Resources Board" (PDF). City of San Diego. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 18, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2012.

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