CA: Metro Begins Restoration of the Historic Southern Pacific Lankershim/North Hollywood Train Depot

Metro announced Sept. 20 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.

“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 Inc. based in West Covina, Calif., 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.”

The 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.