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16th Street station (Oakland Central) is a former
Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
station in the Prescott neighborhood of
Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
, United States. The Beaux-Arts building was designed by architect Jarvis Hunt, a preeminent railroad station architect, and opened in 1912. The station has not been served by trains since 1994. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 2025 under the name Southern Pacific 16th Street Station and 16th Street Tower.


History


Southern Pacific

The original 16th Street depot was a smaller wood structure, built when the tracks were on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. Later the shoreline was filled and now lies nearly a mile west. Local
horsecar A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is a tram or streetcar pulled by a horse. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public transport, public rail transport, ...
service to the station began in January 1880 when the Fourteenth Street Railroad was extended down 16th Street. The original depot was replaced by a Beaux-Arts building designed by architect Jarvis Hunt which opened for service on August3, 1912. For decades the 16th Street station was the main Oakland station for
Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...
(SP) through trains, almost entirely replacing the 7th Street station. It was a companion (or "city station") for
Oakland Pier The Oakland Long Wharf was an 11,000-foot railroad wharf and ferry pier along the east shore of San Francisco Bay located at the foot of Seventh Street in West Oakland. The Oakland Long Wharf was built, beginning 1868, by the Central Pacific R ...
, two miles away, where passengers could board ferries to San Francisco. (After 1958, the ferries were replaced by buses from 16th Street station to the SP's Third and Townsend Depot.) The elevated platforms were used for the SP-owned
East Bay Electric Lines The East Bay Electric Lines were a unit of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, Southern Pacific Railroad that operated electric interurban-type trains in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Ar ...
commuter service (renamed Interurban Electric Railway or IER in 1938). IER trains from Berkeley no longer stopped at 16th Street when railroad service over the Bay Bridge opened on January 15, 1939, as the junction from those lines to the bridge was north of the station. When the IER folded in July 1941, portions of some lines were sold to the competing
Key System The Key System (or Key Route) was a privately owned company that provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany, and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area ...
for use by their transbay trains; however, the Key System only served the station with a surface streetcar line on 16th Street, and did not use the elevated platforms. Major long-distance trains from the station included the '' Oakland Lark'' (night train to Los Angeles) and the '' City of San Francisco'' (to Chicago).


Amtrak and replacement

The station also served as the main rail link for points north and east of the Bay Area. San Francisco-area passengers boarded ferries to
Oakland Pier The Oakland Long Wharf was an 11,000-foot railroad wharf and ferry pier along the east shore of San Francisco Bay located at the foot of Seventh Street in West Oakland. The Oakland Long Wharf was built, beginning 1868, by the Central Pacific R ...
, and after 1958 boarded buses to 16th Street.
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
took over intercity passenger rail services in 1971, and decided to consolidate most Bay Area service in Oakland, leaving San Francisco as one of the largest cities without direct intercity rail service. The station was severely damaged in the
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, PST, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred at the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz Cou ...
, but continued serving trains at an adjacent building. ''Capitols'' and ''San Joaquins'' trains were shifted to the new Emeryville station on August 13, 1993, but long-distance trains continued to use Oakland Central while track work was completed at Emeryville. The ''Coast Starlight'' and ''California Zephyr'' began stopping at Emeryville on August 5, 1994; they last stopped at Oakland 16th Street on August 21. This left Emeryville as the only Oakland-area stop for Amtrak until the new
Oakland–Jack London Square station Oakland–Jack London Square station is a train station in Jack London Square (itself named after Jack London, the author) of Oakland, California, United States. The station is served by Amtrak's ''Capitol Corridor'', ''Coast Starlight'', and ' ...
opened on May 22, 1995. Emeryville largely replaced 16th Street station as the connection point for
Amtrak Thruway Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transi ...
across the bay in San Francisco (for passengers heading northbound towards Seattle or eastbound towards Chicago, or passengers arriving from the north and east), as Emeryville is closer to the
San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, commonly referred to as the Bay Bridge, is a complex of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay in California. As part of Interstate 80 in California, Interstate 80 and the direct road between San Francisco an ...
than Oakland–Jack London Square. However, Jack London Square serves as the San Francisco connection for the ''
Coast Starlight The ''Coast Starlight'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland, Oregon, Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, ...
'' (for southbound passengers from San Francisco and northbound passengers heading to San Francisco). In the mid-1990s, the adjacent railroad tracks were moved west during the construction of Interstate 880 (to replace the earthquake-destroyed
Cypress Street Viaduct The Cypress Street Viaduct, often referred to as the Cypress Structure or the Cypress Freeway, was a , raised two-deck, multi-lane (four lanes per tier) freeway constructed of reinforced concrete that was originally part of the Nimitz Freeway ( ...
), which isolated the station from the tracks. The station buildings are largely intact, including the interlocking tower and ironwork elevated platforms. The station was purchased in 2005 by BUILD, an affiliate of BRIDGE Housing, and is being restored as part of a local redevelopment project. In 2015, the station was used to stage a local opera company's production of ''
Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...
''. As of 2021, the station is being used as a rented space for private events. The station and interlocking tower were added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
on January 21, 2025, under the name Southern Pacific 16th Street Station and 16th Street Tower.


In media

The station was used in films including '' Chu Chu and the Philly Flash'', ''
Funny Lady ''Funny Lady'' is a 1975 American biographical film, biographical musical film, musical comedy-drama film and the sequel to the 1968 film ''Funny Girl (film), Funny Girl''. The film stars Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowa ...
'' (as Cleveland station), '' RENT'', and ''
Hemingway & Gellhorn ''Hemingway & Gellhorn'' is a 2012 American biographical drama television film directed by Philip Kaufman and written by Jerry Stahl and Barbara Turner, about the lives of journalist Martha Gellhorn (Nicole Kidman) and her husband, writer Er ...
'' (as a stand-in for the Hotel Florida). Multiple music videos have been filmed at the station, including "
Babel Babel is a name used in the Hebrew Bible for the city of Babylon and may refer to: Arts and media Written works Books *Babel (book), ''Babel'' (book), by Patti Smith * Babel (2012 manga), ''Babel'' (2012 manga), by Narumi Shigematsu * Babel (20 ...
" by
Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, double bass, bass guitar), and Ben Lovett (British musician), B ...
and "
Tell Me When to Go "Tell Me When to Go" is the first single from E-40's BME/Warner Bros. debut, '' My Ghetto Report Card''. Keak da Sneak is also featured on the track. It was produced by Lil Jon, and one of the first singles to kick off the hyphy movement on a n ...
" by
E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. Stevens is a founding member of the rap group The Click (band), The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 27 stud ...
.


References


External links


Oakland Heritage Alliance – 16th Street Station
{{Oakland terminals Former Amtrak stations in California History of Oakland, California Amtrak stations in Alameda County, California Railway stations in Oakland, California Railway stations in the United States opened in 1912 Beaux-Arts architecture in California 1912 establishments in California Oakland 16th Oakland Designated Landmarks Repurposed railway stations in the United States Railway stations in the United States closed in 1994 Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in Oakland, California