Third and Townsend Depot

Southern Pacific's Third and Townsend Depot terminal

The Third and Townsend Depot was the main train station in the city of San Francisco for much of the first three quarters of the 20th Century. The station at Third Street and Townsend Street served as the terminus for Southern Pacific trains serving the commuter rail market between San Francisco and San Jose and long distance trains between San Francisco and Los Angeles via the SP's Coast Line. For passenger service for destinations to the north, such as Seattle and destinations to the east, such as Chicago, passengers needed to travel on ferries to Oakland.

History

The station was built in 1914 for the occasion of the Panama-Pacific Exposition to be held in 1915. The station was built in the characteristic mission revival architecture style.^[1][2][3] With the rise of freeways and the declining emphasis on long distance passenger rail service, the structure was demolished in 1971. A new Fourth and King Street Station serves Caltrain commuter service to San Jose.

Named passenger trains

• Coast Daylight
• Coast Mail
• Coast Starlight
• Lark (train) (overnight train)

The Coast Starlight in the Amtrak era has been routed through Oakland and extends north to Seattle. No long distance inter-city trains run from San Francisco any longer; only commuter trains run between San Francisco and San Jose. Passengers on the San Francisco-San Jose corridor need to take the commuter trains to San Jose, from there they would connect with continuing service to Los Angeles.

Notes