Exploring Los Angeles Union Station (incl. nearby streets)
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- Опубліковано 10 лип 2024
- I walked around Los Angeles's Union Station, big transport hub for Amtrak, Metrolink, Greyhound and Flix and other buses, and much more. Union Station opened in 1939 and is a beloved building and transportation center in eastern Los Angeles. This video explores the various areas of the station, which I was visiting for the first time ever. Included are the big waiting hall, the restaurants and shops, the tracks, the Patsaouras Bus Center, and the famous courtyard. I also walk around some of the gritty streets near the station and get introduced to some of the interesting characters in the area. Then I visit the station later in the evening and very early in the morning, to see what the vibe is at different times. This is the good, the bad, and the ugly, for better or worse, of Union Station.
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In the early 90's I worked part time for a catering co and we had a function there. During a break I wandered around and came across a closed off area that had a bar that was being used for storage. It was done in the Art Deco style, and it was beautiful. I thought to myself what a waste
Union Station is close to three walking distance neighborhoods with great restaurants. Little Tokyo, Chinatown and Mexican Placita Olvera (which is actually just across street). But in the video, the person exits through the south side which has nothing , no business or restaurants for at least 6 to 8 blocks.
if you exit through the North side and make a left, two blocs away and you are in Little Tokyo with dozens of great restaurants, if you turn right, Chinatown is about 3 blocks away and even more restaurants. If you just cross the street you will find Placita Olvera which has a row of great Mexican restaurants.
The architecture is amazing. In 2021 I rode Amtrak from LA to Albuquerque, NM. In January I'll be coming to LA from Japan. After I rest and recover, I'm going to leave later at night on Amtrak to Houston, Texas. The last time I had a couple hours to kill, and walked around the whole station.
A beautiful station. It was restored several years ago. I just wished they would use a better designed barrier that surrounds those original waiting room chairs. Something made out of wood that would match the rest of the station's architecture.
The homeless issue has improved a lot over the last 6 months. Good to see more people using the station now compared to a year ago. And, at all hours of the day. The extra security, ambassadors, and cleaning crews are making a difference.
Yeah the barriers did feel temporary and kind of a letdown
@T1DWanderer Yeah, they had never been there until they started having homeless use the chairs for sleeping.
Yes, I remember when anyone could use them, not just train ticket holders, but too many homeless people started using them to sleep. Now everyone else is paying for it. Maybe they'll remove them again once they feel they're no longer needed.
I was in Union station in late June of this year. The restrooms are pretty busy and not very clean. If you have more time take the LA Metro. I took the A train to Little Tokyo station. I switched trains to the E train. I rode that train to Santa Monica and hung out at the beach for awhile. It is a beautiful station.
When I was there, someone in the next stall was yelling or singing or something, and it looked like a security person was coming in to see what was up. Kind of a chaotic atmosphere
Amazing tile work and the station looks very clean too. It made me feel a little melancholy, though, in an Edward Hopper sort of way.
Heh, good analogy
Thanks for showing Union Station , and for a City full of Cars it seems to be so Peaceful and Quiet .
For clarity, the train platform up to tracks 1 and 2 are not the Metro subway, it's above-ground light rail which goes out through nearby Pasadena and is currently being extended toward Claremont which is about 25-30 miles East. The L.A. subway is downstairs from street level, but again yes you would need a pass for it to get down there.
What a grand and well maintained train station. Looking forward to seeing for myself when we fly over to LA
Problem is he went during a time where Metro was being scrutinized about safety. After a couple of weeks security is gone, place feels shady, someone gets stabbed or shot, and the cycle repeats itself.
Thank you for taking an actual walk about outside the station. It is one of the few that I get to with not enough connection time and someday I will!
Excellent video, but just for reference: Union Station is located in Downtown Los Angeles, not "Eastern Los Angeles."
When you walked across the street on the west entrance you walked right past Olvera Street. There's food there. Right next to Olvera Street is Chinatown. Not really the best Chinatown, but there's Philippe's famous French dipped sandwiches. To explore Downtown further you would have had to take the subway or light rail line to save some walking. Those leather chairs that are fenced off in the main lobby are for Metrolink or Amtrak passengers (not Metrorail passengers). You need to show a ticket to sit there. They didn't use to be fenced off, but I think it's because too many homeless were making their home right there.
The reason Los Angeles’ Chinatown is not as great as others is due to the Station. It was built on the site of the original Chinatown and forced the removal of the Chinese community to the current location.
Philippe's is a Los Angeles landmark! Olvera Street has some good food, shops and very historical buildings.
@@erik_griswold "Los Angeles’ Chinatown" has moved ways away to the "valley" it's now in the Alhambra/El Monte areas, lively, young, jumping and vast. The so called Chinatown in downtown is strictly for tourists and a few die hard Chinese locals. There are still a couple of hole-in the wall eateries that offer authentic Chinese food if you don't mind the exteriors...
Great Amtrak Station Tour! Stealing my thunder. 😂😂 very nice vlog and like how you showed day vs night. Take care. We are posting new Amtrak station tours every Saturday night
Thanks, always room for more train videos!
There's also Phillipe near the station, claims to have invented the French Dip sandwich
This is my 5th time watching this video. Nice translation and good information in detail.
Thanks, glad it's helping!
Several years ago a direct connection between LAX and Union Station was added, it runs frequently and is only $8 one way. There aren’t any other stops. Just go to Nick Pastouras bus area and you’re good to go and it stops at every terminal at the airport.
Do you mean this? ua-cam.com/video/sVBq-5xgaJg/v-deo.html
Yeah, it's the Flyaway bus. It's operated by LAX.
Great video! The A line is LRT to Long Beach and Pasadena/Azusa (soon Pomona) while the B and D lines are Subway to North Hollywood and Koreatown with extensions to Miracle Mile, Century City, Beverly Hills and UCLA under construction.
I only wish you had also shown the relatively new Busway platform that serves the J (Silver) Line and Silver Streak buses that use the El Monte Busway and provide quick access to El Monte, Covina, Montclair, Pomona, USC, South Los Angeles and San Pedro.
But it is easy to miss especially since Metro and Union Station have not installed adequate signage.
Oops, didn't know I missed that. Thanks
As far as the lockers are concerned yes they did indeed exist. When I was growing up in the 1960's we used to travel by train quite often through Los Angeles Union Station. There were indeed lockers as we utilized the lockers quite often. Lockers were a staple at every bus and rail station in the country at that time. We used to leave our luggage in the lockers the day before travelling and then pick them up just prior to boarding the train. Also, I don't understand why today you have to take an Amtrak bus to go to Bakersfield to catch the San Joaquin Amtrak trains. Back in the 1960's the San Joaquin trains departed directly from Los Angeles Union Station and then proceeded to Bakersfield across the Tehachapi Pass. There was the San Joaquin Daylight and then there was the evening San Joaquin called "The Owl." I have to say that the Los Angeles Union station of today resembles very little the LA Union Station of the 1960's. Today half of the LA Union Station is still closed down where the ticket windows used to be. The boarding gates that were placed before the long tunnel to the trains have also been taken down. Also, LA Union Station feels more like a commuter train station today. Back in the 1960's there was no Metro Link and LA Union Station was home to only long distance passenger trains run by the Union Pacific, Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe. No Amtrak in those days. Back in the 1960's the area around LA Union Station was considered a sacred place. You would never see homeless drug addicts occupying LA Union Station or the surrounding area.
Really interesting info. Thanks
Though it has probably never been busier considering all the additional type of rail and bus services come through Union Station today. And, in the future, the addition of the high-speed rail trains. The station will get a huge expansion in anticipation of high-speed rail.
Great video. That’s a really beautiful place. I enjoyed this video. 😊
Thanks!
2:38 It's! Too bad that they did not get someone to proof read the message before having the plaque made.😂
Its the least they could do
(get it?)
Just saw your video on your trip from LA to Chicago. Watched the whole thing. I am assuming this is the day before you left.
Looking at the conditions at night around the station, I can only lament that the city has fallen into the same plight my own city is suffering from. Be safe brother.
BTW, Love the grammatical correction.
Yes this was just before I left on that trip, plus a bit of footage from other visits (the early morning and the late night). Glad you noticed the apostrophe mini-lesson ;)
I used to explore L.A. Union Station & surrounding areas during the '60's when all areas of the station had seating similar to what's there today in the cordoned off waiting section. The men's & ladies restrooms were huge at the North end of the cordoned off ticketing booths. People knew how to behave then & "dressed" to travel. Homeless folks didn't appear homeless & would fit in. The L.A. County Men's Central Jail is 1-2 blocks Northeast of the station. You can see the back side of the jail behind a razor wired wall on the right side of your train as it pulls out of from the platform & makes a turn towards Mission Tower. Skid Row is approx. 6 blocks away. The mentally impaired will be seen in & around the station. It wasn't too bad during the '60's, but I suggest wandering about with a partner & being vigilant.
I sometimes watch Soft White Underbelly videos, so Skid Row was certainly on my mind when I was at Union Station and the surrounding streets
@@T1DWandererYou were no where nesr Skid ROW in this video. Skid ROW is much further South.
BTW, the area you show in the video is not considered or referred to as Eastern LA. It's just DTLA. East LA is East of the LA River. I guess you can think of it as the Eastern edge of DTLA, but Angelenos don't refer to it as you did.
@@mrxman581 "referred to as Eastern LA." Yes, I did a double take too when I heard that. I guess for most out of town folks , "downtown" just means a few blocks, but for LA, downtown means a whole section of "town," such as Beverly Hills, Long Beach, etc.
did you ever record your flight from Japan to US?
I think that would be worth viewing.
Do you think so? I will keep that in mind - not a fan of flying all that much, but maybe I could find a way to document the experience anyway
Where can I put my bags if I want to walk around la for 2 hrs
If you have a ticket, you can leave them at the Amtrak office (according to the internet)
There is also an upstairs complimentary lounge for Amtrak passengers.
American architecture was amazing at the times these stations were built. very sad how it declined like so much of America.
There is some great architecture happening in the USA today, especially in Los Angeles. There are two new museums currently under construction that will be iconic buildings as soon as they're completed. They are the Lucas Museum and the new LACMA Museum.
The burrito place was overpriced BUT I will say it was absolutely delicious. The lady that served me made sure I was getting my money's worth AND she was super sweet. I'm looking forward to my next trip whenever that will be....
I'm been trying for over 7 hours now to reach any employee who is actually on site at the union station greyhound terminal..no luck..anybody know how to reach this specific location by phone?
I thought the Greyhound terminal was on Olympic Blvd and not at Union Station.
From all the videos I saw from this guy this is the one I understood the less. I tend to think the reason is because he is in home language environment now. but I am not sure. Strange, anyhow.
Maybe I talk faster when I'm in the US...?