LOS ANGELES — LA Metro will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the opening of Los Angeles Union Station with events this Friday and Saturday, May 3 and 4.
On Friday, an “opening ceremony” in the station breezeway will kick off events at 12:30 p.m. Two bands — one playing jazz, the other hits from the 1920s to 1950s — will then perform, with the public invited to dance or enjoy the music. Members of the public will also have a chance to play the piano in the station’s passenger concourse. Restaurants located in the station will also serve special menus on Friday and Saturday.
Saturday events begin at 11 a.m., with live performances, arts and crafts, and a kid’s zone from Griffith Park’s Travel Town featuring toy trains and tracks. There will also be food trucks, local artisans, and a display of model train equipment by Del Oro Pacific Model trains.
Live entertainment in the ticket concourse will begin at 3:30 p.m., continuing until 10 p.m., and docents will lead tours highlighting the station’s architectural features.
The station, the largest rail terminal in the western U.S., cost $11 million and opened on May 3, 1939. It was designed by the father-and-son architectural team of John and Donald Parkinson with a blend of Spanish Colonial, Mission Revival, and Art Deco features now known as Mission Modern.
For more complete information on the anniversary events, visit the Union Station website.