When The SD&AE ran out of here, it was a Union Station!

The Santa Fe Depot (as it was originally designated) officially opened on March 8, 1915, to accommodate visitors to the Panama-California Exposition. The depot was completed during a particularly optimistic period in the City's development, and represents the battle waged by the City of San Diego to become the West Coast terminus of the Santa Fe Railway system’s transcontinental railroad, a fight that was ultimately lost to the City of Los Angeles.

In its heyday, the facility not only handled Santa Fe traffic but also that of the San Diego and Arizona Railway (SD&A) and San Diego Electric Railway (SDERy). The designation was officially changed to San Diego Union Station in response to the SD&A's completion of its own transcontinental line in December 1919. The Santa Fe resumed solo operation of the station in January, 1951 when the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway (successor to the SD&A) discontinued passenger service, the SDERy having ceased operation some two years prior.

The historic Santa Fe Depot is located in Centre City (downtown) San Diego and is still an active transportation center, providing services to Amtrak, the San Diego Coaster, the San Diego Trolley, and the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System bus system. It was the ninth-busiest station in the Amtrak system in FY 2007. (visit link)