Santa Fe Freight Depot facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Santa Fe Freight Depot
|
|
Santa Fe Freight Depot, 2008
|
|
 Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Location in California
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | 970 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles, California |
|---|---|
| Built | 1922 |
| Architect | Leonardt, Carl; Albright, Harrison |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts |
| NRHP reference No. | 05001498 |
| Added to NRHP | January 3, 2006 |
The Santa Fe Freight Depot is a really long building in Los Angeles, California. It's about a quarter-mile long! This huge building is now home to the Southern California Institute of Architecture, often called SCI-Arc. This school moved into the building in 2000. Turning the old depot into a school helped make the area around it much nicer. This part of Los Angeles is now known as the Arts District.
What Was the Santa Fe Freight Depot?
This building was originally a place where trains would drop off and pick up goods. It was built in 1907. A smart architect named Harrison Albright designed it. He was a pioneer in using strong, reinforced concrete.
- The Santa Fe Coast lines bought the land near the Los Angeles River.
- They spent about $300,000 to build this massive concrete structure.
- It replaced an older freight center that had burned down.
- The building is very narrow, only about 37 feet (11 meters) wide.
- But it's incredibly long, about 1,250 feet (381 meters)! That's as long as the Empire State Building is tall.
- The depot had 120 openings on both sides. This allowed train cars to unload on one side. At the same time, trucks could be loaded on the other side.
From Old Depot to Cool School
By the 1990s, the Santa Fe Freight Depot was empty and covered in graffiti. Inside, it was just one huge concrete room, as long as four football fields!
- In 2000, the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) decided to lease the building.
- They wanted to move their campus there.
- Over the next two years, SCI-Arc worked hard to change the old building.
- They turned it into a modern, 61,000-square-foot (5,667 square meters) architecture school.
A SCI-Arc graduate and teacher named Gary Paige designed the renovation. He loved the building's high ceilings, which were up to 20 feet (6 meters) tall. He also liked the great views of the downtown city skyline.
- The building's long, narrow shape was a challenge.
- But it also gave the inside a unique, aged look.
- The renovation created studios, seminar rooms, and a workshop.
- These new spaces were designed to be open and flexible.
- It made the building feel like a place where anything could happen!
,_Los_Angeles.jpg)
Before SCI-Arc moved in, the area around the depot was not very nice. It was called a "gritty corner of downtown."
- Since 2000, SCI-Arc's presence has helped make the neighborhood much better.
- Hundreds of young people came to the area, bringing new energy.
- In 2011, SCI-Arc was able to buy the building for $23.1 million.
- This helped make sure the school could stay and keep helping the area grow.
A Historic Building
The Santa Fe Freight Depot is an important building. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. This means it's recognized as a special place in history.
