Railroad Depots are Downtown Fullerton Treasures

Downtown Fullerton is anchored by two beautiful historic railroad depots. They have both been renovated and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Union Pacific Depot, pictured below, was built in 1922 and represents the Mission Revival architectural style. This facility established Fullerton as the rail center of North Orange County. It currently serves as a restaurant, the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Union Pacific Railroad Depot -- 110 E. Santa Fe Ave., Fullerton Ca. 92832

The Santa Fe Railroad Depot, pictured below, still serves as an actual train station. It was built in 1930 and represents the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style. This depot was acquired by the City of Fullerton in 1991 and fully rehabilitated.



Santa Fe Railroad Depot -- 120 E. Santa Fe Ave., Fullerton, Ca.

From a historical perspective, the railroad depots really reflect the growth of Fullerton during that time period. In 1930 the Fullerton Daily New Tribune wrote, "Modern in keeping with the aspect of the city which it serves, the new depot marks another milestone in the progress of the fastest growing city in Orange County. Its construction marks the recognition of Santa Fe officials of the size to which Fullerton has attained."

Santa Fe Express Café -- 136 E. Santa Fe, Fullerton, Ca.

The Santa Fe Express Café faces the railroad tracks and is great place to grab a quick bite while watching the trains roll-in. According to their web page, this café has over 20 types of beer on tap and several specialty sodas.

The main lobby is beautiful and seems to maintain the original motif from the 1930s.

Santa Fe Depot Lobby & Ticket Counter

Comic Hero University is located at the Santa Fe Depot. Notice the Zoltar Fortune Teller machine at the entrance. A similar machine was featured in the movie Big starring Tom Hanks. The owner Enrique was very welcoming and offered me an opportunity to shoot some pics in his shop.

Comic Hero University -- 140 E. Santa Fe, Fullerton, Ca.

Here is the interior of Comic Hero University. There is a small arcade located in the back with old school games. This store brought back good memories from when I used to ride my bike from my home in Downtown Anaheim all the way to Fullerton to get my comics. If you are at the depot I encourage you to swing by this shop and pick something up for a youngster in your life. I guarantee they will love it!

Here is one of the regular train arrivals at the Santa Fe Depot. There happened to be an Amtrak Police K-9 working at the depot this particular day providing a safe environment.

There was a good number of people riding the train on a Saturday. This particular train was the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner; However, the Metrolink commuter trains also use this station.

Fullerton has endorsed the concept of Transit Oriented Developments (TODs). The Soco Walk Development was built directly next door to the Santa Fe Depot. This allows the residents to live a lifestyle less inclined to the automobile.

This particular development was designed to allow the residents to operate their businesses on the first floor. This is becoming more common as people are starting to return to downtowns across America.

The restaurant Knowlwood is located directly next to the depots. They offer a pretty good burger and place to park if you want to check out the area on the fly.

Parking in the area is a tightly controlled commodity. Fortunately, the city has built several parking structures. This particular one is located on the south west corner of Harbor & Santa Fe, within very short distance to the depots and the remainder of downtown.

Overall, the historic depots are certainly worth a visit. I hope you enjoyed this article, your comments are welcomed.