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Free Traveling Guides » States » California » San Diego
Santa Fe Depot
Santa Fe Depot was built by Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and it opened on March 7, 1915 for the 1915 Panama-California International Exposition. The Santa Fe Depot replaced the California Southern Railway’s 1887 Victorian depot. The Santa Fe Depot was designed by famous architects from San Francisco, John R. Bakewell and Arthur Brown, Jr.
The Depot is 650-feet long and 106-feet wide and it includes the Baggage Express building which is connected to its north end by arches, and it has a track side arcade. The Santa Fe Depot is built from wood, bricks, cement and tile and it has wide arches, Tuscan columns and baroque cornices. The roof of the Depot is made from steel support wood with red tiles. The twin towers of the Depot have zigzag pattern glazed tiles with Santa Fe’s emblem. The bricks around the Depot have been laid in herringbone pattern and they were laid without mortar for long wear.
The Santa Fe Depot is a classic example of Spanish Mission Colonial Revival style architecture and it also has Moorish influences. It is the terminus of the country’s second busiest Amtrak rail corridor. The Depot is also a terminus for San Diego Northern’s Coaster commuter trains and Mexicoach bus routes. The Santa Fe Depot is also home to the office and research library of the San Diego Railroad Museum and the Santa Fe Historical Society library.
The waiting room in the Santa Fe Depot is massive. It is 170 feet long and 55 feet wide with nine bay windows on each side and five at each end. The waiting room has 16 bronze and glass chandelier and each chandelier has six Santa Fe crosses on top along with specially cast light globes. The floor of the waiting room is made up of hard-clay tiles and the benches are made from soft oak and you can hear the hiss of the steam-heat radiators in winter.
Santa Fe Depot is worth the visit. This architectural marvel is a reminder of the bygone days when steam trains and streetcars were the norm.
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