{"nrhp_refnum":"96000425","name":"Palo Alto Southern Pacific Railroad Depot","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"95 University Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Palo Alto","county":"Santa Clara County","state":"CA","lat":37.44347163400005,"lon":-122.16566597899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-04-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story Southern Pacific Railroad passenger depot at 95 University Avenue in Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, California, built in 1940 of reinforced concrete in the Streamline Moderne style, with a pedestrian tunnel, entry structure, waiting shelter and landscape features.","why_significant":"The depot is argued to be an excellent, superbly proportioned example of Streamline Moderne architecture, with glass block, curved corners, horizontal striping and portholes. It is the only extant full expression of the style in Palo Alto, where Birge Clark's Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival buildings dominated. It is also an unusual use of the machine-age image for a railroad station on this stretch of the California coast.","narrative":"Built in 1940 for the Southern Pacific Company, this railroad depot at 95 University Avenue in Palo Alto is a one-story reinforced concrete building in the Streamline Moderne style. Its plaster walls, red brick base stripe, curved corner, porthole and panels of clear glass and glass block suggest speed and machine-age design. A pedestrian tunnel runs under the tracks to a covered entry structure and a small matching waiting shelter on the far side. Inside, the waiting room has chevron-patterned ceiling borders, ceramic tile floors and a 1944 mural by John A. MacQuarrie showing figures from California history. A terra cotta drinking fountain, a lamp post and six original trees remain on the grounds. The depot was recognized for its architecture. It is the only full example of Streamline Moderne in a city whose major buildings of the period mostly followed Mission Revival or Spanish Colonial Revival styles, and it departs from the usual railroad station designs of the region. It remains an active train station.","period_of_significance":"1940","architect_builder":"Christie, J.H., Chief, S.P. design office","architectural_style":"Modern Movement/Moderne (Streamline Moderne)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a train station; appearance is essentially unchanged, with minor interior and site alterations and a glass block panel in the entry structure replaced by concrete in the 1950s.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:28.217442-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/96000425.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000425/e4683fe343-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000425/e4683fe343-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Pi.1415926535","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Southbound_train_leaving_Palo_Alto_station,_July_2018.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pi.1415926535</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Southbound_train_leaving_Palo_Alto_station,_July_2018.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861756","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_Alto_station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7128495"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-clara-county/palo-alto-southern-pacific-railroad-depot-96000425/"}