Restoration Details
The historic restoration of the Santa Fe Depot has included the original 1918 structure and the 1921 addition. Architect Milford Wayne Donaldson was awarded the contract to help develop an adaptive reuse study and final design for the depot. MWD was charged with maintaining the historical architectural guidelines for the depot, which is listed in the Registry of National Historic Buildings. Soltek Pacific was hired as the construction contractor, and Transtech Engineers was named the construction management firm. Both Soltek Pacific and Transtech have worked diligently to restore the depot to its original beauty and prominence.
The project included the removal of a number of items, including:
- Nearly $1 million worth of asbestos, which was found in the wall insulation, attic and roof of the building
- Pigeons and approximately 30 tons of pigeon droppings
- Bees and 500 pounds of honey from inside the walls
- Climbing fig (Ficus pumila)vines that had grown into the structure and wrapped tendrils around columns, walls and restroom fixtures
- Lead-based paint
- Heating ducts
- Plumbing systems
- A mother cat and litter of six kittens that had taken up residence in a storage area
- A lost, disoriented hawk
Other interior improvements included the installation of new heating and air conditioning systems, plumbing, electrical wiring, telephone wiring, fire detection equipment and ceiling sprinklers, an elevator, wheelchair lifts to move between levels on the second floor, carpeting in selected areas and a security system. Wherever possible, original doors were retained and refurbished. Windows were replaced with new “restoration glass,” which are sheets of modern-day glass made to look old by rolling small glass balls across the hot glass during the manufacturing process. This process creates a wavy texture to resemble glass used in 1918.
The cleaning, repair and replacement of tile also was a significant part of the project. On the walls, tiles in shades of green, gray and brown were used as wainscoting in the general lobby, the women’s waiting room and the men’s smoking room. Over the years, many of the tiles were damaged. Workers sent the tiles to San Francisco and to Arkansas for professional color matching. Small hexagonal floor tiles also required work in the men’s and women’s restrooms. In the former baggage area, which has been converted to a community room, the brick flooring had settled and differed in elevation as much as five inches. All of the brick was re-set, a process which took about three weeks.
The depot contains many decorative touches that required repair. Capitals at the tops of columns had broken, and artists were hired to re-carve broken pieces. Crown moldings were patched or re-carved. Ornamental lights in the coffered ceilings were falling off and had to be rewired to meet current electrical standards and reattached.
An original marble staircase was discovered under a black rubber coating. The rubber was removed, and the marble was cleaned and polished.
Upstairs, the dropped ceiling was removed to uncover skylights. Restrooms were added for women; formerly the only restrooms were for men. A new staircase was installed, walls were repainted, an old metal outdoor fire escape was removed and a kitchen/break room was added. New casings were built around windows. Office doors were installed in the western end of the building, while doors in the eastern end are original; markings from the hardware still are visible.
Other interior improvements include new carpet and tile in the area previously used by Amtrak, as well as Metrolink-funded tenant improvements, including offices for a Metrolink manager, staff and training rooms. Limited improvements have been made to the former Harvey House dining area and to the living quarters above the restaurant. These spaces are available for lease. Future tenants would be responsible for site improvements.
Exterior improvements have been extensive. These include the installation of a new roof and chimney, drainage fixtures, canopy over the double doors, lighting and a parking lot on the east side of the building. Red roof tiles were cleaned, repaired and replaced. About 90 percent of the wood trim was replaced, the remainder was repaired, and all of the trim was painted. The brick arcade that runs between the depot and the train tracks was rebuilt. Additional personalized, engraved bricks are available for purchase by individuals and businesses. Stucco was patched as needed. The entire building exterior was steam cleaned to remove years of dirt.
SANBAG began occupying the second floor of the building on June 21, 2004. Metrolink is expected to move into its offices later this summer.
Next: The Santa Fe District - Looking to the Future
For More Information
- View early photos of the Harvey House restaurant and other related historic photographs provided by the University of Arizona at http://digital.library.arizona.edu/harvey
- Visit the San Bernardino Railroad Society’s website, www.sbrhs.org