Metro held a media event this morning in North Hollywood to announce the impending restoration of the station that is next to the Orange Line terminus. The first two photos in the above gallery were taken this morning — the station was recently painted. The rest of the photos were taken in 2005 when work on the Orange Line was wrapping up.
To answer the obvious question I know you’ll have: the station is being rehabilitated so that it can be leased to a future tenant. We don’t know yet who may be interested; please feel free to post a comment with your suggestions.
Below is the news release and a short video of the news event taken on my iPhone (sorry about the vertical orientation!):
Metro announced today that major restoration work on the Historic Southern Pacific Lankershim/North Hollywood train depot is set to begin as construction crews work to rehab the facility over the coming year.
From left: Aspet Davidian, Metro’s construction manager on station rehab program; K.N. Murthy, Metro’s Executive Director Transit Project Delivery; Metro Board of Directors Chairwoman Diane DuBois; Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky; L.A. Councilman Tom LaBonge, and; Metro CEO Art Leahy. Photo by Jose Ubaldo/Metro.
“Metro is redefining mobility and enhancing the quality of life by implementing the Measure R projects throughout the county. The preservation and integration of historic structures into new mobility is important so we are preserving our past and advancing into the future with this project,” said Metro Board Chair Diane DuBois.
Metro is taking the lead in performing restoration work on the train depot located adjacent to the Metro Orange and Red Lines in North Hollywood by funding a major portion of the $3.6 million project. The second phase of restoration work is expected to take 10 months to complete. Funding is made possible through Metro by using $2.5 million in Prop. C half cent sales tax monies and $1.1 million from the City of Los Angeles. Phase II restoration work is being done by DRP National Incorporated based in West Covina under contract to Metro.
“Today, we kick off the restoration construction work on this historic train depot, and this major undertaking has been a long time coming,” said LA County Supervisor and Metro Board Member Zev Yaroslavsky. “But once we complete the work, the public will have an opportunity to step back in time to the 19th century and revisit a vanished era in our transportation history.”
ARVE Error: need id and providerThe first phase of the work has already been completed that included the removal of contaminated soils, roofing and lead-based paint throughout the structure along with the stabilization of the historic exterior woodwork with the vibrant Pacific Electric original yellow paint colors.
The current Phase II reconstruction work will include the seismic strengthening of the structure, new electric and plumbing systems, restoration of the platforms and signage as well as rehabilitation of the damaged siding, eaves, windows and doors. The project will complete the basic building leaving the structure ready for leasing to future tenants.
Additional work will be performed to include the restoration of the corner historic park and railroad tracks adjacent to the station building along with general landscaping to restore the historic context of the site.
The history of the train depot dates back to the late 1800’s. The Lankershim/North Hollywood Depot is a one -story prefabricated wood frame structure at the corner of Lankershim and Chandler in North Hollywood that was brought to the site on rail cars and assembled by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1896. It is one of the oldest unmodified railroad structures in Southern California and is located in the heart of the North Hollywood Arts District. The depot started out as a high platform station for loading trains from a local packing plant and cannery industries and farms. Later it was used as the North Hollywood Red Car pedestrian station until the demise of the Pacific Electric in 1952.
Instagram collage by Anna Chen/Metro. Follow Metro on Instagram!
Categories: Projects
Thanks for the nice story and comments. I like this kind of news!
I’m wondering if a bicycle rental shop plus a Metro customer center would work on the property.
The Federal Bar is a great watering hole one short block from the Metro. I like the magazine stand option. A ‘To Go’ Lunch or Breakfast stop would be wonderful. Commuters could pick up a reasonably priced prepared, nutritious meal on their way to work. Fresh fruit and juice. On the go!
P.S. If you visit The Federal Bar, have your TAP card handy to get 10% off on meals!
http://www.metro.net/service/discounts/dining/federal-bar/
Anna Chen
The Source, Writer
Why not use it as a metro customer center? After all Metro does not have a customer center in the valley.
A public restroom please. When you gotta go, you gotta go.
Years ago there was some talk of having a Metro Customer Center in it. Very happy to finally see this going forward. There was a lot of inter-jurisdicional squabbling that delayed it for far too long.
I was about to suggest like Rick too, but yeah you’re right Metro doesn’t allow eating and drinking.
With the expectations people have of starting to use public transit for commuting though, I think Metro should look at relaxing some of the no eating/drinking policy a little.
Drinks with plastic bottles with twist on type caps or coffee tumblers should at least be allowed. They don’t spill easily like styrofoam cups, aluminum cans or glass bottles. Eating should be allowed at least in the station compounds but not on the train.
Allow these two and Metro can have new opportunities to capitalize on to earn extra revenue. For example, allowing plastic bottle drinks can lead to installing plastic bottle recycle bins, which can lead to Metro collecting all the CRV of those plastic bottled drinks. Allow mini-restaurants to operate in the station, Metro can collect rent.
Hi Charles and Rick;
I don’t think the food/drink prohibition on buses and trains would prohibit an eatery or coffee place. People may want to take a timeout from their commute for a few minutes before moving along. Considering that NoHo is very busy for both Orange Line and Red Line, I would expect a coffee shop could work.
It could also make a nice play for a brewpup, too. The Stone Brewery tasting room that is about 20 feet from the Gold Line at Del Mar station seems to be doing very well.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
so thats what is behind the green tarp in north hollywood! I thought that it might be the site of the pedestrian tunnel to get from the red line to the orange line.
Hey Sebastian —
Sorry, it’s not the tunnel! Not sure what it is.
Steve Hymon
Editor, The Source
I was going to say a coffee stand; but, since there is no food or drink allowed on buses and trains perhaps maybe a stand where they sell newspapers, magazines, scenic post cards and maybe souvenirs.