Photo essay: Union Station, LA

My commute twice a week takes me through this car-dependent Los Angeles landmark, Union Station. It’s a cheerful, benign place compared to the fierce charm of Grand Central Station in New York, which I used to commute through twice a day 25 years ago.

Built in the 1930s, it had a checkered past even before construction began. Voters narrowly passed a measure to level the existing Chinatown to make way for it. Today there’s a pleasant tranquility about the place, even when it’s busy. Maybe except for the man near me in the waiting room whose sandwich was stolen the day I took these photos.

Waiting room

Colored marble main aisle in the Waiting Room

Among several food vendors, See's Candies

Roomy, leather cushioned seating in the Waiting Room

Patio and garden area with fountain, just outside

Outdoor cafe with colorful tile bench seating

Waiting Room with entrance to trains, decorated for Christmas

Gardens with birds of paradise on the other side of the station

Travelers shop with hanging monkey dolls

Coming up: Kent Meyers, The Work of Wolves