Nathan Masters collects astonishing images and histories of L.A.'s vanished train depots, some of which rival the city's greatest architectural treasures. As L.A. rebuilds its lost transit infrastructure, these images are especially heartbreaking.
"Before the Jet Age brought safe and comfortable air travel to the masses, most newcomers in Los Angeles arrived by rail," writes Masters. "Train depots thus provided tourists' and emigrants' first introduction to Los Angeles, helping shape their ideas about the city. The city's grandest passenger terminal, Union Station, survives today. But its historic predecessors, which welcomed millions to the city, have all vanished from the cityscape."
Masters includes images of these lost treasures, including the European train shed-inspired Arcade Station (1888), the lushly landscaped red-brick La Grande Station (1893), and the elegant white stuccoed Central Station (1914).
Read the full story: Lost Train Depots of Los Angeles
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