Los Altos station

Los Altos
General information
Location	288 1st Street Los Altos, California
Coordinates	37.377202°N 122.117764°W / 37.377202; -122.117764
History
Opened	1907
Closed	January 1964
Rebuilt	1913
Services
Preceding station Southern Pacific Railroad Following station California Avenue toward San Francisco Peninsula Commute Mayfield Cutoff Monta Vista toward Vasona Peninsular Railway Alta Mesa toward Palo Alto Palo Alto – Jose Springer Road toward Market Street Depot Palo Alto – Los Gatos Springer Road toward Los Gatos

Los Altos station is a former railway station in Los Altos, California. The station's establishment marked the beginning of the town as the Mayfield Cutoff was built through the area in 1907.[1] Initially, Southern Pacific steam trains stopped at the two boxcars which made up the station. Additionally, the station was a stop along the interurban Peninsular Railway starting in 1909. A more permanent station building opened in 1913.[1][2] Peninsular interurban cars ceased running in 1935 and commuter service ended entirely in January 1964.[3]

After abandonment, the building was leased out as a restaurant. It was restored by the San Diego Federal Savings and Loan Association in 1973, with a boxcar and a parlor car placed in static installation to flank the building.[1] The Los Altos Historical Commission declared the station as a historical building in 1984.[4] The parlor car had become dilapidated by then and was sold and removed the following year.[4] Despite its historical designation, the building again fell into disrepair and was restored and remodeled in 2014.[5]

References

1. Burns, John (October 3, 1975). "More Nostalgia". Sacramento, California. The Sacramento Bee. p. A19. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
2. "New Southern Pacific Depot Completed at Los Altos". Daily Palo Alto Times. Palo Alto, California. May 21, 1913. p. 4. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Vasona Line service now dead issue". Los Gatos Times-Saratoga Observer. Los Gatos, California. May 4, 1964. p. 1. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Fortney, Mary T. (August 15, 1985). "Slow-moving train". The Peninsula Times Tribune. Palo Alto, California. p. A-3. Retrieved September 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Cywinski Jackson, Bohlin (February 16, 2017). "Voyageur du Temps". Architect Magazine. Retrieved September 5, 2024.