Palo Alto (Caltrain station)

Infobox Station
name=Palo Alto Station


image_size=250
image_caption=A view of the station from the second level of a Baby Bullet train.
address=95 University Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
line=Caltrain
type= Commuter rail
other=
platform=
parking=Available
bicycle=Racks available
passengers=3,672 [ [http://caltrain.com/pdf/annual_ridership_counts/2008_Caltrain_Ridership_Counts.pdf - Ridership] ]
pass_year=2008
pass_percent=11.0
opened=October 1940
rebuilt=
ADA=Yes
code=
owned=Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board
zone=Fare Zone 3Infobox_nrhp | name =Palo Alto Southern Pacific Railroad Depot
nrhp_type =


caption =
location= Palo Alto, California
lat_degrees = 37 | lat_minutes = 26 | lat_seconds = 34.8| lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 122 | long_minutes = 9 | long_seconds = 57.9 | long_direction = W
area =
built =1931
architect= J.H. Christie
architecture= Streamline Moderne
added = April 18 1996
governing_body = Private
refnum=96000425cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2006-03-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Palo Alto Station is the main train station in Palo Alto, California. It is a regional transit center serving Santa Clara County and San Mateo County Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) transit bus passengers as well as Caltrain commuters. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance.

Architecture

The station is an excellent example of the Streamline Moderne style which has important connections with American social history, and which is not typically found in Palo Alto. During the 1920s and 1930s most of the significant buildings in town were designed by a single local architect, Birge Clark, who worked almost exclusively in the Mission Revival or Spanish Colonial Revival styles. Consequently, the other major buildings of that era, such as large commercial blocks and apartment buildings, the main Post Office, the Community Center and other civic buildings were built in the Mission Revival or Spanish Colonial Revival styles.cite web | url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/santaclara/pal.htm | title=Palo Alto Southern Pacific Railroad Depot | work=California's Historic Silicon Valley | publisher=National Park Service | accessdate=2008-01-18]

On October 22, 1940, the cornerstone was laid for the new railroad station which was designed by J.H. Christie, a full-time architect employed by the Southern Pacific Railroad. The new station replaced the one built in 1897. The building is 215 feet (65 m) long by 25 feet (7.6 m) wide with an arcade in front and a marquee at the rear including two buildings connected by an arcade. The station interior consists of the ticket office, waiting room, rest rooms, baggage room and a passageway between the waiting room and baggage room.

The interior of the building features a mural by John McQuarrie. Its central theme is Leland Stanford's dream of a University influenced by a pageant of transportation. The mural depicts facts and events of significance and influence historically expressed in the development of California. This one-story streamlined Southern Pacific station personifies the tendency of the 1930s to style buildings in the imagery of transportation machinery, in this case the Streamline train. The building has all the classic trademarks of the mode: porthole windows, horizontal parallel lines to indicate speed and glass blocks.

The station was refurbished in the 1980s.

Bike station

Due to the high amount of bicyclists in Palo Alto, a bike station has been built inside the old SP baggage room. Services include: supervised bike parking and repairs. There is no charge to leave your bike there, however, for repairs, the price may vary.

References

External links

* [http://www.caltrain.com/caltrain_station_list.html Caltrain station list]
* [http://www.caltrain.com/ Caltrain]

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