Historic Union Station in Los Angeles is hosting a 75th birthday celebration in honor of the iconic art deco train station, which has been restored as a multi-modal transit center.
If I lived in Los Angeles, I’d head over to Union Station on May 3, 2014, for this free family event!
The celebration, sponsored by Metro, in partnership with National Train Day, Amtrak and Metrolink will commemorate all things rail on Saturday, May 3, 10 am to 4 pm.
There will be dozens of exhibitors at the station, tours, entertainment on four stages, as well as free Metrolink rides, a guided bike tour, and discounts at museums, restaurants, and theaters in half a dozen nearby neighborhoods.
Events at Union Station
Events at the station will include:
- Official ceremony to rededicate of the historic ticket concourse
- Step aboard one-of-a-kind rail cars
- Tour the Amtrak Exhibit Train
- Self-guided architectural tours of Union Station’s architecture, embellishments and artworks
- Watch model trains in action
- Play in the Chuggington Kids Depot (a preschool television series)
Entertainment on Four Stages
- Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, an all-female mariachi ensemble
- Las Cafeteras, Afro-Mexican Son Jarocho, Hip Hop, Folk and Native American sounds
- Big Jay McNeely & The Hollywood Combo, a Rhythm & Blues band
- The Ladd McIntosh Big Band plays Swing, Two-Beat, Latin, Funk
- Dr. Pinch and the Pinchtones perform WWII-era swing music
- Cava, sounds of Afro-Cuban Son, Cumbia, Ska, Salsa and Funk
- East Wind Lion Dance Troupe performing a traditional Chinese lion dance
- Choo Choo Bob, railroad-themed music
- Los Angeles Muses, a cappella harmonies from groups like the Andrews Sisters
- Vocalist Jennifer Keith leads a quintet in jazz, American roots and pop music
Free Metrolink Rides and Neighborhood Discounts