Santa Fe Depot
The new Santa Fe Depot, completed in 1918 — San Bernardino, California
The Southern Pacific Railroad reached nearby Colton in 1875, making the San Bernardino Valley an important point on its developing Southern California network. The Santa Fe entered the region through its subsidiary, the California Southern Railroad, and in 1886 erected a permanent two-and-a-half-story wooden depot in San Bernardino.
Shortly after midnight on November 17, 1916, fire largely destroyed the wooden station. The precise time—often reported as about 11:00 p.m. on November 16 or shortly after midnight on November 17—comes from contemporary accounts of the fire.
The Santa Fe replaced the burned depot with something considerably grander. Designed by architect W. A. Mohr, the new station opened on July 15, 1918. Its reported cost was $800,000—an impressive sum at the time, even without pausing to twist the ends of one’s handlebar mustache.
The enormous Mission Revival building incorporated Moorish and Spanish Colonial Revival details, including domed towers, stucco walls, red tile roofs, decorative columns, and an elaborate central waiting room. At the time of its opening, it was described as the largest railroad station west of the Mississippi River. The depot also became the headquarters of Santa Fe’s West Coast operations and earned a reputation as the "Gateway to Southern California."
Passenger traffic was especially heavy from the 1920s through the 1950s. Later, expanding automobile, bus, and air travel reduced railroad patronage, and much of the building gradually fell into disuse.
San Bernardino Associated Governments acquired the depot in 1992. A $15.1 million rehabilitation restored the deteriorated building during the early 2000s. Today, the depot remains an active transportation landmark serving both Metrolink and Amtrak passengers.
References
National Park Service. "Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Passenger and Freight Depot." National Register of Historic Places, Reference No. 01000025.
Heritage Architecture & Planning. "San Bernardino Santa Fe Depot." Historical background and rehabilitation details.
Metrolink. "San Bernardino–Depot Station." Current station and passenger-service information.
Amtrak. "San Bernardino, California—Santa Fe Depot." Great American Stations.
Serpico, Philip C. Santa Fe Route to the Pacific. Palmdale, California: Omni Publications, 1988.
Duke, Donald. Santa Fe: The Railroad Gateway to the American West. 2 vols. San Marino, California: Golden West Books, 1995.
San Bernardino Daily Sun, November 17, 1916. Contemporary reporting on the fire that destroyed the wooden depot.
San Bernardino Daily Sun, July 1918. Contemporary coverage of the opening of the new Santa Fe depot.
Santa Fe
San Bernardino depot 1886-1916