Ceres Magazine Issue 2 - Winter 2016 | Page 38

Normally, the term “historical” isn’t the first adjective that comes to mind when thinking of Los Angeles. However, when it comes to public transportation, the Wild West’s Grand Union Station is a monument to Historical Los Angeles. Built in 1939 as the great unifier of a number of railroads (Union Pacific, Santa Fe, and Southern Pacific), it still stands as a staple of the Downtown Los Angeles community. Transportation was critical in that time period to facilitate the burgeoning towns, and the movement of goods and people. Its architecture is described as “combination of Spanish Colonial, Mission Revival and Art Deco designs”, designed by the famous Parkinson father and son duo, and stands high as the beacon of the diversity and historical upbringing of which this city boasts.

The Past

Josephine Baker dancing the Charleston at the Folies-Bergère, Paris, 1926

Union Station under construction 1938 Historical Los Angeles - SkyscraperCity.

38 - Ceres Magazine - Winter 2016