Union Station, situated in the City of Los Angeles, which opened in mid-1939, has been called the last of the 'Great Railway Stations' built in the United States. Though it possesses a huge and ornate waiting room and nearby ticket concourse, it is considered small in comparison with other union stations. It was formerly designated the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, but its present owner has officially changed the name to Los Angeles Union Station.

The facility served as a part for the 1950 film 'Union Station', starring Bill Holden and Nancy Olson. Many television shows and films have utilized the station as a prop, including Speed, Pearl Harbor, Blade Runner and Star Trek. Union Station is situated opposite Los Angeles' historic Olvera Street.

Union Station was partially designed by the father and son firm of John and Donald Parkinson, helped by a group of supporting architects, including the famous Jan van der Linden. The Parkinsons were also the architects of the Los Angeles City Hall. Their firm designed many landmark Los Angeles structures from the late nineteenth century onward. The structure combines Dutch style architecture and streamline Modern style, with such details such as 8-pointed stars.

Encased garden patios are on either side of the waiting room, and passengers coming out of the trains were originally funneled through the southern garden. The lower part of the interior walls is adorned with travertine marble, and the upper portion is decorated with an early form of acoustical tile.

Adjacent to the main building is a modest station eatery designed by architect Mary Colter. As with many Los Angeles locations, it has only remained in existence by serving as an occasional filming location. The influential science fiction film Blade Runner used shots of the noted area as the 2029 police department.

The station now has fourteen train tracks, and approximately eighty train departures during the workweek. Metro provides service to Union Station in the form of three rail lines and several bus routes. Its headquarters is located in nearby Gateway Plaza. Amtrak and Metrolink provide service to the station as well. Los Angeles World Airports just opened a FlyAway express bus service to LAX, similar to the one already being utilized for the Van Nuys area.

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