The herald., 1896-03-07
No Change in Terminal FaciIi
ties Ever Contemplated
WHAT MANAGER WADE SAYS
The Purchase OF the Sepulyeda Tract
Has Not Been Considered
The Present Depot on First Street Answers
All the Reqair rements-An Old Story
In q New Dress

An afternoon paper on Thursday revived
the story that the Santa Fe company had
purchased, or at least had an option on the
Sepulveda property, at the junction of
Mission and Alameda streets, and that the
depot would probably be changed to that
point. 1t was stated that the change was
to be made in the interest of suburban
traffic, and to meet the competition of the
Southern Pacific on these lines. The tract
of land consists of about twenty-five acres,
and is held at $25, 900, and an entrance
could be had at the corner of Alameda and
Macy streets, where the old orphan asylum
now stands. To get to this point it would
bs necessary to acquire right of way for a
considerable distance, at what cost it was
not stated, but it would be very consider
able amount.
Mr.. x. H. Wade, general manager of the
Southern California road, was seen at his
Office in the Bradbury block yesterday aft
ernoon and when shown the article in
question and asked as to its correctness,
said that it had absolutely no founda-
ton in fact. Mr.. Wade said
that the matter had been agitated
three or four times since he has
been the general manager of the Southern
| California, which is the western terminal
of the Santa Fe, and that in every case all
propositions looking to that end had been
declined. Mr.. Wade said that the present
| terminal facilities of the Santa Ee in Los
| Angeles were in every way satisfactory,
| and that there was no disposition on the
| part of the company to abandon its pres
ent station, La Grande depot, which was in
every way satisfactory. The company, on
his recommendation, had invested greet
deal of money at their present location on
First street, and he had never heard word
| about the abandonment of that depot.
| There are now three lines of street cars to
La Grande station, by which easy access
| was had to every part OF the city, and a
removal to the junction of Alameda and
| Mission streets, ins cad of being benefit.
| would prove positive detriment to travel,
not only suburban, but transcontinental.
| AS it was now. passengers by the Santa Fe
| we're landed in easy distance of the leading
hotels, as we'll as the business center of. the
city, and there was no disposition to
change the existing order of things.
tation in saying that the present terminal
| facilities of the Santa Fe system were Sec
ond to none in the country. The company
had invested a large amount in ieveeing
the river, and hundreds of acres had been
reclaimed which was the property of the
pose to jeopardize the rights that it had
bought and paid for, especially when the
! site In question was too small even now to
handle the business, to say nothing of the
future growth of the city.
As a matter of fact this same proposition
has been before the public three or fouI
times already, in one shape or another
Toward the end of the boom movement
was started to secure this same tract for
union depot. to stop the southwestern
movement of business, but the matter fe.
through. From that time up to the pres
ent, from time to time, the story has beer
revived that either the Southern Pacific OF
the Santa Fe were trying to buy this site
for terminal facilities, and at least one
five-story building has been erected in that
section of the city to accommodate the
railroad offices when the new depot was
built, but this depot has never been built
The Santa Fe has ample facilities at the
| head OF First street to handle all its bust.
ness, with plenty of room for future expan
| sion for years to come. The Southern Pa
citic has good depot facilities at the Ar.
cade, and while greater space could be
utilized, there is plenty for years to come
This being the case, there is but little pros.
pect of the Sepulveda property being util.
ized for railroad purposes, and, so far as
the Santa Fe is concerned, General Man
ager Wade says positively that change
has never even been contemplated.