Glendale Southern Pacific Depot, 400 West Cerritos Avenue, Glendale, Los Angeles County, CA

2015 Leicester B. Holland Prize, Entry
Significance: On March 27, 1924, the Southern Pacific Railroad opened its eagerly anticipated Glendale passenger depot to an evening of great fanfare and community praise. The railroad contracted the San Francisco Architectural firm of MacDonald and Couchot. Architects Kenneth MacDonald Jr. and Maurice C. Couchot also designed depots for the Southern Pacific in Los Gatos and Santa Clara, but those stations no longer stand.

The Spanish Colonial inspired depot features heavy "California" plaster mimicking adobe hiding its all cast concrete construction. Beautiful wrought iron grills, railings, lanterns and magnificent Churrigueresque cast stone entry portals guarded by fanciful mermen figures hold up the railroad's herald above each waiting room door. A concrete scored floor resembles old tile and the bumpy plaster finish continues inside. The crunch of decomposed gravel heard underfoot, was long ago replaced by modern concrete platforms. Native California plants and climbing roses were original landscaping.

Because of the depot's proximity to the film industry in Los Angeles and Hollywood, many movies have been shot there. In the 1930s Buster Keaton filmed "College" at depot, "Horse Shoes" was another. The most well know film with the depot as a background was by director Billy Wilder, "Double Indemnity" in 1944 starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck.

The depot has undergone minor remodels in 1943, 1954 and restored in 1999 and 2012. Today, the unstaffed depot serves 10 Pacific Surfliners, 54 Metrolinks trains weekdays, and 12 Antelope Valley Line trains Weekends and is the 37th busiest Amtrak station in the state with 100 passengers daily.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N2158
Survey number: HABS CA-2909
Building/structure dates: 1924 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1934 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1954 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1999 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 2012 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 97000376