Union Station

Homestalgia Archive

Community memory · 1939–today · Aug 7, 2026

Verified

Union Station opened in 1939, commonly described as the last of America's great railway stations, blending Spanish Colonial, Mission Revival and Streamline Moderne with chandeliers and a waiting room floored in marble and terra cotta. It was built on the site of Los Angeles's original Chinatown, whose residents were displaced. Passenger rail declined after the war. Blade Runner, Catch Me If You Can and The Dark Knight Rises all filmed here. The Metro Red Line began serving Union Station in 1993.

Source: Los Angeles Conservancy, Union Station landmark history; Los Angeles Union Station, official history and filming information; Chinese American Museum, history of Los Angeles Chinatown; National Park Service, history of American railroads; Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), history of the Red Line's 1993 opening