75 Years Of Union Station

Today was the 75th birthday of Los Angeles Union Station, and Metro, the station's current owner, threw a massive celebration there in the form of an early National Train Day event.

Like previous NTD events, there were entertainment stages, the classic Fred Harvey Restaurant space was opened up, a model train layout was on display, and people got to climb inside real ones.  This time around, we were given a glimpse of the station's future, in the form of wayfinding signs, interactive touchscreen displays, a photographic exhibit, and overall cleaning up and renovation of the station's original fixtures.

Known as "The Last Of The Great Train Stations" built in the United States, Union Station was not only the culmination of points west, but the great national rail travel era, which would soon give way to the airplane in the decades to come. The station was originally built in 1939 as a shared facility for the three major western railroads that served it: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad, as before then, each railroad had their own station in the vicinity (all surrounding the Los Angeles River, incidentally).

Today, the station is no longer shared by three private railroads, but by three public transportation agencies: Metro, Metrolink and Amtrak, and after the "dark ages" of the 1970s and 1980s, the station experienced a revival in the early '90s when Metrolink and the Metro Red Line began serving the station.

Here's some pics from Saturday's 75th anniversary celebration:

Chuggington, the cheap substitute for Thomas. But iz cool.

This swing band played in the Harvey House restaurant space and brought it, 1939 style!

People dressed up in '30s-'40s cosplay. And they looked sharp. 
Can we please bring this look back?
If hipsters wore this instead, they would be hated less.

A big oversized iPad installed in the terminal now gives information about Union Station. 

People waited in long lines to walk through the classic old-school passenger cars!

And here's an old-school MTA bus! Wonder if it accepts TAP cards...

THE MILITANT WANTS TO RIDE THIS TRAIN RIGHT NOW.

A Look Back At The 50th Anniversary

But this wasn't the first anniversary party for the classic Mission Revival/Streamline Moderne railroad terminal. Twenty-five years ago, the station, then owned by a company called Catellus, threw a golden anniversary bash on the weekend of May 6-7, 1989 to celebrate 50 years of service.

And The Militant was there!

Well, technically, it was the Mili-Teen, the younger version of The Militant, who hadn't quite earned his camo yet, but his interest, curiosity and pride for his hometown were nonetheless burgeoning even back then.

It was a similar event as today, but unlike today, the tracks weren't as active as are now. Back in the '80s, you'd have a handful of Amtrak trains roll in and out, and that was it for the day. On the positive side, and maybe because of the lack of activity on the platform tracks, it enabled the three railroads associated with Union Station's history to put some classic and modern trains on display.

The Santa Fe, the Southern Pacific and the Union Pacific all brought in some old-school steam streamliner diesel engines for public display, and some of them were set up where people can even walk inside! The steam locomotives were especially impressive, their whistles blew as loud as ships, probably echoing all over Downtown Los Angeles at the time.

One train display, though, changed The Mili-Teen's life. He had already known about the Metro Rail subway already being dug below the station, which has been under construction since 1986. But he knew its opening would be, like, eons away, sometime in the next decade.

But at the front of Union Station, he saw a 15-foot-long mockup of what looked like a rail vehicle. It was white with black trim, and blue stripes. It said "Los Angeles" on the front, but it looked nothing like the Metro Rail subway cars he'd seen in renderings.

He approached the information table and was pleasantly surprised to discover this was another rail line being built in town, that it would go to Long Beach, and best of all, it would open within next year!

It blew The Mili-Teen's mind.

The pamphlet called it "The Los Angeles-Long Beach Rail Transit Project." He saw the future. The world hadn't yet experienced the power of the phenomenon known as "Hammer Time," (though the MC wasn't totally unknown at the time). He knew people would be riding this thing before the subway opened. He then set himself on a quest to learn more about it...and the rest is history.

For The Mili-Teen, the 50th anniversary celebration of Union Station was a life-changing moment. He was able to experience both the past and the future on that day.

The Militant is proud to share some pictures from The Militant Archives:

This may or may not be a picture of the Mili-Teen!

There were some old school streamliner locomotives on display!

Even better - there were some old-school steam locomotives on display too!
Don't call it a "choo-choo," the whistles sounded like steamships!

A glimpse of the future: The Mili-Teen had his first encounter with the Metro Blue Line at this event!

Here's film footage of Union Station's 50th anniversary in 1989 filmed by K. Rutherford:

Happy 10th Birthday, Metro Gold Line!

Remember "Discover Gold?"

A decade ago today, The Metro Gold Line, Los Angeles' first light rail line in the 21st Century opened on one hot Saturday. Originally planned as an extension of the Metro Blue Line to Pasadena, it's the only direct transportation link between the Los Angeles and Pasadena downtowns (The 110 Freeway ends short of it).

The Militant, who has yet to miss an opening day for a Metro Rail line, was there, and remembered waiting in a long-ass line that snaked around the Gateway Plaza parking garage (the one some of you park in to ride the Dodger Stadium Express bus to games). It took nearly forever, but The Militant got on his train, rode all the way to the Sierra Madre Villa station, where the celebration had already ended in the parking structure there, and headed back.

Old-school Gold Line vehicles, now since replaced with the silver/gray Italian-built Ansaldobreda trains.

A few things have changed since Opening Day; the original 13.5-mile line is now nearly 20 miles long, having been extended from Union Station to East Los Angeles back in 2009. Originally an under-performing line due to its apparent slowness (something the Expo Line knows all too well), it now carries over 42,500 riders per day. Also, the orange-striped white Siemens light rail vehicles no longer run on the line, having been moved to their new tours of duty on the Green, Expo and Blue lines. And a few of the stations have changed their names: Lincoln/Cypress (originally Lincoln Heights/Cypress Park), Heritage Square (originally French Ave), Highland Park (originally Avenue 57) and South Pasadena (originally Mission).

Long-ass lines that day in the parking structure!

The future's bright for the Gold Line: In just two years it will be extended even farther into the SGV, terminating in Azusa with a station near Azusa Pacific University and Citrus College (The Militant won't miss that one fo' sho!). And by the next decade, the line will function as it was originally planned, when the two-mile Regional Connector tunnel is completed under Downtown Los Angeles. But alas, most of what the "Gold Line" is known for will no probably longer be named as such. Potential plans for the line may likely integrate the Union Station-to-Azusa section into the Blue Line, leaving the Eastside segment remaining Gold (and turning the Expo line into "Gold") in the process.

If you're feeling nostalgic for re-living the line circa 2003, take The Militant's Ultimate Gold Line Tour, which came out in 2009, and shows you places of significant interest along the old school Union Station to Sierra Madre Villa route.

Happy Birthday, Metro Gold Line! Here's to many more years, in whatever form you may or may not become!

For The Win(ners)

Look, even though the Dodgers are in last place, and even though there's a planned protest on Saturday to voice fan displeasure with the McCourt regime (The Militant is 100% for the Deportation of Frank McCourt, but he's also 100% against that rich Dallas dude owning our beloved Boys in Blue, so The Militant's support for the protest is mixed), there's nothing like taking in a Dodger game in the Summertime.

Yes, The Militant is actively boycotting The Dodgers, but he will still attend a game if he can get away with free tickets, using the Dodger Stadium Express bus and eating off-site, resulting in a net of $0.00 for The McCourt regime.

A few months ago, The Militant attended an unspecified organization's fundraiser event, and successfully bid on four Dodgers Loge level tickets in its silent auction. Since the Dodgers donated the tickets to this organization, and the Militant's money went to the organization instead of the McCourt regime, these were, in effect, "free tickets."

The Militant was wondering which of his operatives to take to the game, but had another idea.

After four years of Militancy, he's often wondered what kind of people read his blog and follow his tweets. A number of people are pretty dedicated and hard core MA blog readers, so he wanted to find a way to reward them somehow.

So, he e-mailed a random sampling of MA readers (if you didn't get an e-mail from The Militant, worry not, you may or may not get a chance later on) and randomly selected three qualifying respondents to win a prize: A chance to attend Friday's Dodgers vs. Padres game with The Militant Angeleno.

Wait, what?!?!

The Militant's identity was revealed at last?

Well, it may or may not have. Seriously. His true identity was never revealed to the three unspecified winners, but he did appear unmasked, sort of.

After meeting at an unspecified Downtown landmark eatery, we took the bus to The Stadium, and like clockwork, arrived right at The Militant's proper game deadline: The singing of The National Anthem.

The Militant won't reveal much details but he will say that he and the three winners, each of whom hail from different backgrounds and live in different parts of town, all had an awesome time, each partaking in  some awesome conversation. The Militant got to know more about these folks, whom he never had the chance to meet in his other life, and they got to know more about The Militant (well, all he is allowed to reveal...). A bunch of cool, down-to-Earth, real people.

So all y'all who say Angelenos are superficial, self-centered, rude, stupid and any other pejorative pinned on the people from this great city, you need to sit down with a knife and fork and dine on a piping-hot, fresh-from-the-oven shit pie. You need to go on Twitter, follow @TheShitTruck and eat today's special. you need to search on Yelp for the word "shit" and...okay, you get the picture.

As for the game, it was almost secondary, but the 8th and 9th innings were all that mattered: Furcal's RBI single, Javy Guerra's cliffhanger save and the Dodgers' second shutout win in a row, beating the San Diego team 1-0. The evening couldn't have been better.

But it was: After Randy Newman's victory song, the four of us went down to the outfield, and situated ourselves right smack dab in the middle of Andre Ethier's workplace, on the very same sacred grass field where so many Dodger memories were made, where we saw a 15-minute low-altitude (as to not disturb the neighbors as much) fireworks display (as if we all didn't get our fill on Monday).

The awesome conversations continued on the bus back to Union Station, where, upon arrival, The Militant led them to a spot on Vignes Street and pointed to a location not far from there, where he gave them an exclusive Militant tour of a significant historical location (He'll tell the rest of you readers all about it later on). After that, they all went their separate ways, and The Militant went back underground, both literally and figuratively.

The Militant has long lurked in the shadows, but it was very exciting to step out, albeit for just a little bit. This was an experiment in expanding Angeleno militancy on a more social level. After all, other sites shouldn't have a monopoly on social events, and The Militant has been doing his thing longer than they have.
Of course, such gatherings would have to be controlled. No doubt his enemies will inevitably try to infiltrate such events for the sole sake of exposing his identity. So The Militant will remain ever-cautious about these things.

But ultimately, his little experiment validated what's really the best thing about Los Angeles: Its people. And The Militant will continue to explore more of that asset...masked or unmasked.

So keep reading, replying, Tweeting, Facebook commenting and e-mailing...You may or may not have a chance to meet The Militant someday!

Stepping down into the sacred Dodger Stadium outfield!

The lights go out...

 Make 'em go Ah! Ah! Ah!

Okay kids, enough of this planking business.

More Commuter Amenities Coming To Union Station!

For all you commuters riding into and out of Union Station every morning, here's some exciting news: According to operative reports obtained on Friday, additional food amenities will be coming to the transportation terminal in late June.

Peet's Coffee and Tea, Wetzel's Pretzels and Subway
(the latter further confirms the Militant's observation that one can order a footlong within a 2-block radius of a (M) Red Line station) will be joining Union Bagel, Traxx Restaurant and Bar and Relay Newsstand to serve commuters at the 71-year old train depot.

Come August, the Japanese-owned Famima!! (can't forget the double exclamation marks) convenience store will arrive, to be located next to the Amtrak ticketing office. To make room for it, the Amtrak ticket machines have been relocated next to the Metrolink ticket kiosks, and the Hertz and Budget car rental desks have been moved to a different location near the Amtrak ticket booth.

These new additions won't quite make Los Angeles Union Station into its counterpart in the Nation's Capital, but it brings new life into a station that was once a bustling transportation hub in the 1940s-50s, which was revived some 20 years ago (after a near-vacant period in the 1970s-80s) with the arrival of the (M) Red Line and Metrolink commuter rail.

Even though these are chain establishments, the Militant nonetheless welcomes these additions to Union Station, which despite its rail renaissance is still a sorely underused facility. It would certainly prep the terminal for its inevitable role in the long-anticipated California High Speed Rail network. The Militant would love to see, at least in the near future, a weekly farmer's market in the station property's open space and the re-opening of the former Harvey House restaurant space on the southern end of the station - maybe a new location for the local Du-par's coffee shop chain?

The Missing Link

Saturday was National Train Day again, which the Militant covered last year during its Union Station festivities.

This year, the Union Station goings-on was nearly identical, so the Militant decided to take it a step further and visit the National Train Day events in San Bernardino. And not only that, but to take in the full meaning of the day and travel strictly by train the entire day - steel wheels for real - making a 120-mile round trip journey entirely rail.

He started, of course with a quick dash on the (M) Red Line to Union Station, sampling the festivities there and hopping on the (very crowded) 11:50 a.m. train to San Berdoo via Metrolink. It was then when the Militant realized this was his first Metrolink journey in a loooong-ass time; the last he remembered riding it was sometime in 2003.

The ride to San Berdoo was mush as he remembered it, yet it had been so long that it almost seemed entirely new to him: zipping past cars on the 10 east; flying through El Monte, wondering why the El Monte Busway station and the El Monte Metrolink station are not one in the same; rolling past single-story suburban backyards, rugged industrial areas and being dwarfed by the peaks of the San Gabriels; and passing by exotically unfamiliar sights like the ginormous Auto Club (California) Speedway in Fontana.

After an hour and a half, the Militant finally arrived in San Bernardino's depot, itself a historic train station even outdating Union Station by 21 years (built 1918). There he saw a historic Santa Fe steam locomotive (which the Militant got to climb into), with several restored passenger cars coupled behind it. The San Bernardino Station even has its own transportation museum, and for the day there was also a rail/transportation-related outdoor bazaar, selling model trains, railroad souvenirs, model trucks and t-shirts. And unlike Los Angeles Union Station, there was an active freight transfer facility on the other side of the tracks, with freight trains making an occasional show for the NTD crowd.

Also, one of the newly-unveiled Metrolink crash-resistant railcars was on display here, along with a modern BNSF locomotive.

The Militant returned back to Union Station on the 4:10 p.m. train, looked around for a bit, and then hopped back on the Red Line to return to his compound.

For the thousands of Metrolink riders who take the train to or from work, it's just another way of commuting to take for granted. But not having the opportunity to ride the 'Link as often put things into a different perspective for him: The Militant took to the rails on Saturday, not just because he wanted to, but because he could.

The Militant Takes On Metro's Turn To A New Style

Well, well, well. Look what we have here...

The Militant has been riding (M) Rail ever since the very first day of the Blue Line -- it was a Bastille Day, in 1990. He even rode the Red Line on its 1993 inaugural (heck, he's so militant, he even got to ride it five months before it opened in a private preview tour, in a borrowed Miami heavy rail car, but we won't talk about that in any more detail).

So to see one of these...these...turnstile thingies. Very odd.

He happened upon them on Monday at Union Station, en route to the Dodger game (sorry, no Dodger Trolley, just an operative pick-up). Sure this may or may not have already been blogged about before, but the Militant doesn't care. He wants his say, damnit.

First off, despite his grumblings, the Militant can get used to this new trasnit-boarding paradigm in Los Angeles. But why the dull aluminum finish? Some of its stations are already OD'ed in aluminum already, all the more when an aluminum-clad rail car shoots in, with people riding up aluminum escalators and eventually leaving via aluminum fare turnstiles. Mph.

Second, wassup with the triple-spoked turnstile gate? Are we headed into an old-fashioned amusement park? A day at the stadium (well, okay, the Militant was)? They look too east-coast for this Militant. Come on! We're the more modern subway! Why not something quasi-futuristic like the (nearly 40-year-old) wedge-gates of Frisco's BART system? The triple-spoked design is even less fare-evasion resistant, as fare-jumpers who can do under-the-spoke limbo or over-the spoke gymnastic moves can sneak in for a free ride. Um, wasn't that the whole purpose of these things in the first place? To minimize fare evasion?

Third, don't expect to actually use these things for a loooong time. As if the wait for this thing, or even this thing isn't long enough, the new turnstiles, after being installed in all 14 Red/Purple Line stations, still require the universal acceptance of Metro's TAP Card in order to operate. The paper tickets (which obviously lack the RFID chip used to activate TAP) don't seem to be going the way of the mastodon quite just yet. And as for the tens of thousands of Metrolink riders who transfer to and from trains at Union Station (and whose passes are honored on (M) Rail trains as transfers)? No TAP-like card is in the works for the commuter rail system in the forseeable future, nor has the incorporation of TAP as Metrolink fare media even been considered.

The turnstiles currently bear an instructional banner hanging overhead informing paper-ticketed and Metrolink pass-bearing passengers to simply walk through them (as they are currently non-locked) and TAP-bearing riders to TAP anyways, just because that little beeping sound is kinda neat. The Militant predicts we won't see fully-functional turnstiles until we get to ride the subway into the Westside.

So if you're not a big fan of the turnstiles, not to fret, just think of them as aluminum jungle gym equipment in our subway stations for the next decade or so.

WTF Week: The Militant Walks From Union Station To Elysian Park (2.1 mi)

Now that the Militant has (self-) declared this week WTF (Walk This Far) week, it's time to, well, walk the walk! The result was a 2.1 mile route from Union Station to Elysian Park (link opens map route), which yielded some nice urban surprises.

After doing some unspecified business in the vicinity of Union Station, instead of just hopping on the train back to the compound, he decided to take a nice long walk over the hills. So the Militant crossed Alameda, then crossed Cesar E. Chavez to land in Chinatown proper, where he walked parts of Spring and New High streets to end up on North Broadway, where he partook in the simple, pedestrian-oriented urbanism of fruits being sold on the sidewalk outside the storefronts, and people making their way back and forth Chinatown's main thoroughfare on a Spring afternoon.

The Militant made a left onto College Street, where he contacted an operative who loved nearby on his Militant Phone. There was no response, but the Militant decided to forge on anyway. This time it was west on College St, up the hill and over the 110 Freeway, where he spotted an FDR-era plaque (pictured left) marking its construction, before the 110, before the 11, and even before the Arroyo Parkway, when the road below was simply "Figueroa Street." Never before, having driven over this bridge so many times in his life, did it dawn on him that it was the product of The New Deal.

Continuing up, marching against the forces of gravity, causing a couple beads of sweat to form, the Militant arrived at Stadium Way, where, if he chose to walk due north, he could reach the Chinatown gate of Dodger stadium and catch a game. Good thing they're on the road right now (Actually, uh, not a good thing...). Continuing even farther up College, he leaves Chinatown and is now in the neighborhood of Victor Heights (a.k.a. "The Forgotten Edge"). This time the Militant spots Chinese Lion statues outside an apartment building, and a hummingbird (pictured right) rapidly flapping about, pollinating the flowers of a tree.

Well that was nice. There were a flock of small birds flying nearby, and their chirps soothed the Militant's soul so relatively far above the din of the city. Where College ends at Beaudry, he turned around to see a Killer Downtown View (pictured left). Looks even more awesome at night!

The Militant headed south on Beaudry and around Holy Hill Community Church (a.k.a. the former site of the Metropolitan Water District headquarters, before they moved to Union Station - interesting connection to the Militant's foot journey) and on to Sunset. The Militant, figuring the most interesting thing he saw was the damn hummingbird, was ready to board the (M) Local bus back to the compound.

But while crossing Everett Street, out of the corner of his eye, he sees -- a patch of green. Hmmm. Interrressstingk. Could it be - a park? Maybe a vestigal portion of Elysian Park? Nay, this was a totally different park. The Militant braved the steep 20% grade up the hill, this time dripping in hot, sexy Militant sweat. And there it was, heralded in the familiar wooden City Rec & Parks sign: Everett Park (pictured right).

In all of his lifetime existence, there was a place right here smack dab in Central Los Angeles, in the shadows of the Downtown skyline that he's never seen before! The Militant had driven by millions of times, rode by on a bus thousands of times, and biked by hundreds of times, yet it took one simple walk for him to discover this little urban gem.

The park is a simple teardrop-shaped plot of grass, surrounded by a collection of apartments and craftsman-style homes that also gets a Killer Downtown View. The park, also at the steep grade, isn't great for any sort of sports that involve a ball (unless you like to play against the forces of gravity). There was a local couple playing with their dogs in the park, but even the dogs weren't too cool with catching thrown tennis balls.

Still, little Everett Park, though dwarfed by its much bigger brother Elysian nearby, was a nice little urban oasis for the Militant to chillax in and let the cooler evening breezes soothe him (one complaint, there were absolutely no benches, the only place to sit was the low stone wall in front of the wooden sign...). Where the growl of cars and buses on Sunset Blvd below were muffled by the sound of wind, chirping birds and rustling leaves. This may not be the actual Top of The World, but it almost damn feels like it.

For anyone sold on possibly living here, the Militant counted not one, not two, but four "for rent" signs in this here neighborhood. Come'n get it, kids. And let them know the Militant sent ya (And for you True Blue Dodger fans, you can actually walk to the stadium from here).

Another example of the wonder, beauty and sheer awexomeness of the Los Angeles that you can only see if you just ride a bike take a walk.

Train-ing Day

Saturday, as you may or may not know, was National Train Day, which was a day celebrated nationally, but not a national holiday per se. You follow?

The day, according to the event's organizer, Amtrak, was meant to commemorate the May 10, 1869 driving of the Golden Spike in Promontory, Utah, that completed the Transcontinental Railroad. But since that was such a long-ass time ago, most people see it as a fun day to get the family out and see trains.

Amtrak, though has also used the day to market their rail passenger services, especially in this day and age of eco-consciousness and fluctuating gas prices. And especially this year, with not only the second-most powerful person in the US as one of their faithful customers (as well as the Militant himself), the rail service wanted to make people aware of how railroads drive the economy.

Locally, the festivities centered around Union Station, which actually turns 70 this month (but that fact was not mentioned). The events included free Metrolink, Santa Fe, Amtrak, Disney and private rail car exhibits, where one can walk through current and historic passenger cars, a concert in the old ticket lobby, train- transit- related groups offering info, an N-scale model railroad layout (pictured left), and a kids area, which was located in the old Harvey House restaurant next to the station.



Militant reader laluna_negra Twittered the Militant that she wanted to see pics, so, at your request, here goes!

Parents and kids gather at the AmtraKids Depot at the old Fred Harvey Restaurant site.
The parents weren't even alive when this was last used as an eatery.

Just so you won't get the Swine Flu...

Not part of the NTD festivities, but the Militant got to go right up to the Metro Gold Line
Eastside extension viaduct...Open Open Open!

21st century people lounge inside a 1930s-era passenger car. Now that was travelin'!

Another advantage of traveling by rail: You definitely don't get airline food!

Inside the Coast Starlight lounge-cafe car: Amtrak recycles! Yay!