Union Station

On our list of the best activities in Los Angeles.

A block of Mission Revival, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco just north of Olvera Street, this terminal opened in 1939 to a design by John and Donald Parkinson. Its grand waiting room still shows the details: a coffered ceiling that looks like carved wood is actually painted steel, over a terra cotta floor inlaid with marble. Mary Colter's old Harvey House dining room sat empty for decades after closing in 1967 before reopening in 2018 as Imperial Western Beer Co., a few steps from Traxx. Murals, mosaics and a river-themed sculpture installation added during the 1990s Metro rail build line the corridors leading to the platforms.