Los Angeles Union Station
By: edited by Marlyn Musicant ; with contributions by William Deverell and Matthew W. Roth
Publisher: Getty Research Institute
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 109
ISBN-13: 9781606063248
Subjects: Buildings, structures; Union Passenger Terminal (Los Angeles, Calif.); Architecture; City planning; History; Railroad stations; Design and construction
Description: Union Station today is a celebrated architectural icon and vibrant centerpiece of Los Angeles's regional transportation network. Designed by John and Donald B. Parkinson, its mission revival architecture speaks to a mythic vision of Spanish heritage, but with streamline moderne and art deco details. At first glance this masterpiece, conceived as a magnificent gateway to the growing metropolis, offers no hint of the civic, financial, and legal battles surrounding its development, siting, style, and construction--battles that were waged across decades in the early twentieth century and that went as high as the U.S. Supreme Court. Los Angeles Union Station explores this compelling example of how transit and corporations disrupted regional balances of power and political economies. Aided by new research and beautiful drawings from the Getty Research Institute's archive, the authors demonstrate how contentious politics informed architectural design--and the many ways in which Union Station was at the heart of the rise of Los Angeles. The book accompanies the exhibition No Further West, on view at the Los Angeles Public Library from May 2 through August 10, 2014.
Notes: "This volume accompanies the exhibition No Further West: The Story of Los Angeles Union Station, held at the Los Angeles Public Library, 2 May-10 August 2014"--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Railroad L.A. / William Deverell; title: The battle for a Union Station, 1909-1917 / Marlyn Musicant; title: In search of a site for Union Station, 1918-1933 / Marlyn Musicant; title: Designing Union Station in the California style / Marlyn Musicant; title: Union Station, Aliso Viaduct, and the networks of transportation in Los Angeles / Matthew W. Roth.