{"nrhp_refnum":"78000668","name":"Orange Cove Santa Fe Railway Depot","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"633 E. Railroad Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Orange Cove","county":"Fresno County","state":"CA","lat":36.62314573000003,"lon":-119.31267722399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-08-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Agriculture","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A wood frame, partially two-story railroad depot at 633 E. Railroad Avenue in Orange Cove, Fresno County, California, built in 1913 for the Santa Fe Railway. The ground floor held the business office and warehouse, and the upper floor held a station master's residence.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the depot is significant for its role in the commercial and agricultural development of the San Joaquin Valley and the founding of Orange Cove. A 1914 newspaper account called it the finest depot on the new line, and it stayed in operation until October 1976, longer than most. It is described as one of fewer than a half dozen depots of its type surviving in restorable condition at their original locations.","narrative":"Built in 1913 by the Santa Fe Railway at 633 E. Railroad Avenue, this wood frame depot served the new town of Orange Cove in Fresno County. The building is partly two stories under low hipped roofs with flat tile and half-round ridge caps. It has redwood drop siding, wooden double-hung windows, a business office and warehouse on the ground floor, and living quarters for the station master upstairs. Its simple forms relate to the prairie style. Photographs from 1914 show it identical to its later appearance, and the old telegraph lines still end at the office. A 1914 newspaper writer called it the finest depot on the new line, and freight shipments from Orange Cove exceeded those of any other point on that line. Lots in the town were subdivided within two years of its completion. Rail service ended in October 1976. The depot is valued as one of the few surviving early depots of its class and as a symbol of the railroad's role in valley agriculture and commerce.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Strongly related to the \"prairie style\" developed around 1900 in the midwest; typical early 1900s Santa Fe and Southern Pacific branch line depot","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as unoccupied and described as unaltered and in sound structural shape; the depot closed in 1976 and was considered endangered because nearby packing houses wanted the site for parking.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.818058-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000668.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000668/dde9ca3311-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000668/dde9ca3311-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Bobak Ha'Eri","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0725-CA-OrangeCoveSFDepot.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bobak Ha'Eri</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0725-CA-OrangeCoveSFDepot.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"16000468","name":"Big Creek Hydroelectric System Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/california/big-creek-hydroelectric-system-historic-district-16000468/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858677","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Cove_station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q104881880"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/fresno-county/orange-cove-santa-fe-railway-depot-78000668/"}