16th Street station (Oakland)

16th Street station (Oakland Central) is an abandoned Southern Pacific Railroad station in the Prescott neighborhood of Oakland, California, United States. The Beaux-Arts building was designed by architect Jarvis Hunt, a preeminent railroad station architect, and opened in 1912. The station has not been served by trains since 1994.

Oakland
Oakland 16th Street Station, main entrance, December 2007
Location	1601 Wood Street, Oakland, California[1] United States
Coordinates	37°48′56.1″N 122°17′48.3″W
Owned by	BUILD
Other information
Station code	OAK
History
Opened	1912
Closed	August 5, 1994
Former Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Terminus California Zephyr Emeryville toward Chicago Fremont toward San Jose Capitols Emeryville toward Roseville San Jose toward Los Angeles Coast Starlight Emeryville toward Seattle Terminus San Joaquins Emeryville toward Bakersfield San Jose toward Los Angeles Spirit of California (1981–1983) Richmond toward Sacramento Preceding station Southern Pacific Railroad Following station Oakland Pier Terminus Shasta Route Berkeley toward Portland Overland Route Berkeley toward Ogden San Joaquin Daylight Berkeley toward Los Angeles City of San Francisco Ogden toward Chicago
Oakland Designated Landmark
Designated	1984
Reference no.	81
Location

History

The original station in 1910

Amtrak trains at 16th Street station in 1980

The original 16th Street depot was a smaller wood structure, built when the tracks were on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. Later the shoreline was filled and now lies nearly a mile west. It was replaced in 1912 by a Beaux-Arts building designed by architect Jarvis Hunt.

For decades the 16th Street station was the main Oakland station for Southern Pacific (SP) through trains, almost entirely replacing the 7th Street station. It was a companion (or "city station") for Oakland Pier, two miles away, where passengers could board ferries to San Francisco. (After 1958, the ferries were replaced by buses from 16th Street station to the SP's Third and Townsend Depot). The elevated platforms were used for the SP-owned East Bay Electric Lines commuter service (renamed IER in 1938). Many IER trains were expressed past 16th Street when the Bay Bridge opened in 1941. When the IER folded in 1941, some lines were sold to the competing Key System; however, the Key System only served the station with a surface line on 16th Street, and did not use the elevated platforms.

The station also served as the main rail link for points north and east of the Bay Area. San Francisco-area passengers boarded ferries to Oakland Long Wharf, and after 1958 boarded buses to 16th Street. Amtrak took over intercity passenger rail services in 1971, and decided to consolidate most Bay Area service in Oakland, leaving San Francisco as one of the largest cities without direct intercity rail service.

The station was severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, but continued serving trains at an adjacent building. In the 1990s, the adjacent railroad tracks were moved west during the construction of Interstate 880 (to replace the earthquake-destroyed Cypress Street Viaduct), which isolated the station from the tracks. Amtrak service to 16th Street station ended on August 5, 1994; Oakland passengers used a bus connection from the 1993-opened Emeryville station until Oakland's new main station, Oakland-Jack London Square, opened in 1995.[2] Emeryville largely replaced 16th Street station as the connection point for Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach across the bay in San Francisco (for passengers heading northbound towards Seattle or eastbound towards Chicago, or passengers arriving from the north and east), as Emeryville is closer to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge than Oakland-Jack London Square. However, Jack London Square serves as the San Francisco connection for the Coast Starlight,(for southbound passengers from San Francisco and northbound passengers heading to San Francisco).[3][4]

The station buildings are largely intact, including the interlocking tower and ironwork elevated platforms. The station was purchased in 2005 by BUILD, an affiliate of BRIDGE Housing, and is being restored as part of a local redevelopment project.[5][6] In 2015, the station was used to stage a local opera company's production of Lulu.[7] As of 2019, the station is being used as a rented space for private events.[8]

In media

The station was used in films including Chu Chu and the Philly Flash,[9] Funny Lady (as Cleveland station),[10] RENT,[11] and Hemingway & Gellhorn (as a stand-in for the Hotel Florida).[12][13] Mumford & Sons filmed their music video for "Babel" in the station.[14]

References

1. "Amtrak National Timetable Revised Edition: Fall/Winter 1993/1994". Amtrak. February 14, 1994. p. 8 – via The Museum of Railway Timetables.
2. "Hotline #839". www.narprail.org. National Association of Railroad Passengers. 19 August 1994. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
3. "Amtrak Coast Starlight Timetable" (PDF). Amtrak. October 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
4. "Amtrak California Zephyr Timetable" (PDF). Amtrak. October 5, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
5. Burt, Cecily (28 December 2008). "Shuttered but not forgotten: 16th Street depot ready for rebirth". Oakland Tribune. San Jose, California: MediaNews Group. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
6. "16th Street Station Reuse Planning Process". Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
7. Geberen, Janos (April 8, 2015). "Will Lulu Do a Karenina at West Edge Opera?". San Francisco Classical Voice.
8. "Renting the Station". Retrieved February 2, 2019.
9. Glover, Malcolm (October 16, 1980). "Ferry commuters set their sights on a motion picture's mirage". San Francisco Examiner. p. D2 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Pollock, Christopher (2013). Reel San Francisco Stories: An Annotated Filmography of the Bay Area. Lulu. p. 88. ISBN 9780578130422 – via Google Books.
11. Paiva, Troy (2013). Night Vision: The Art of Urban Exploration. Chronicle Books. p. 61. ISBN 9780811875783 – via Google Books.
12. Mendelson, Aaron; Rancaño, Vanessa (October 1, 2012). "Oakland's historic 16th Street station celebrates centennial, new role in community". Oakland North.
13. Whitlock, Cathy (December 31, 2011). "The Sets of Hemingway & Gellhorn". Architectural Digest.
14. "Where should Treasure Island Music Festival 2017 relocate?". San Francisco Chronicle. October 7, 2016.

External links

• 16th Street Station (official site)