Davis Depot

Yesterday I travelled by train from Davis to Berkeley to have brunch with my folks. There is an old Southern Pacific railroad depot at both ends of the journey. Sadly, the depot in Berkeley is presently sitting unused—its last role was as a restaurant, and it is currently slated to be the centerpiece of some new development. Traingoers at Berkeley simply get on and off at the side of the tracks underneath the overpass at the foot of University Avenue.

The depot in Davis is in active use as an Amtrak station, and the city has put a lot of effort into making the area around the station an attractive entrance to the town. The depot dates from 1913, at a time when Southern Pacific was building many Mission-style depots. At left is a sketch I did of the station while waiting for the train yesterday. The palms, another good Southern California touch, date from the 1920s.