Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, Whittier
Also known as: Whittier Depot, City of Whittier Transportation Center
Why it's listed
Whittier's Southern Pacific depot is a wood-frame building of one and two stories, finished in July 1888 after a box car had served as the first station. The railroad built a six-mile spur from the Norwalk area to reach the young town, founded the year before during Southern California's land boom. When the boom collapsed, the line carried the citrus crops that supported the local economy. A southern extension added in 1895 gave the Whittier Fruit Exchange space for packing fruit. Upstairs rooms housed station agents and their families, while the ground floor served as a passenger waiting room. The building is classed as Late Victorian, Stick style, with shiplap and shingle walls, wood brackets, bargeboards and cresting. It is regarded as an early link to Whittier's settlement and one of few pre-1900 Southern Pacific depots to survive in the region. It now sits at 7333 Greenleaf Avenue, where it houses transit offices, bus and shuttle stops and a museum of surface transportation.
Significance in brief: The depot is tied to Whittier's founding and early economic development, when the Southern Pacific spur carried the city's citrus crops. It is one of very few Southern Pacific depots from before 1900 to survive in Southern California. The 2004 registration form certifies it as locally significant.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 04001105, listed March 29, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 7333 Greenleaf Ave., Whittier |
|---|---|
| County | Los Angeles County |
| Listed | March 29, 2005 |
| Reference number | 04001105 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian/Stick |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Currently serves as the City of Whittier Transportation Center, with transit offices, bus and shuttle stops, and a surface transportation museum. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 33.97452, -118.03836 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 04001105.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7570280
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.