Santa Fe Railroad Depot

In 1888, the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway became the first railroad to construct a line into Redlands, building a depot on the west side of Orange Street just south of the tracks. The ability to ship Washington Navel Oranges by train catapulted the citrus industry in the east San Bernardino Valley and helped make Redlands "The Washington Navel Orange Growing Center of the World." In addition, passenger service allowed a rapid influx of new residents and winter tourists. By the 1890s, the Santa Fe marketed Redlands as part of its Kite-Shaped Track railroad excursion. Redlands was part of a "loop" which began and ended in San Bernardino, traveling southeast across the Santa Ana River to Redlands and Mentone, turning north across the Santa Ana River to Highland, and then west to San Bernardino. The loop through the east San Bernardino Valley was the "tail" of the kite on the Kite-Shaped Track.

In the early years of the twentieth century, civic boosters felt that the wood-framed Victorian-era depot completed in 1888 was outdated and didn't reflect the image of Redlands they wanted to present. The boosters were successful in their pleas to the Santa Fe, and Arthur Brown, Jr., of the San Francisco Bay Area firm Bakewell & Brown, was commissioned to design a new station. Brown is perhaps best known for designing the Santa Fe's San Diego train depot, San Francisco City Hall and Coit Tower, and Pasadena City Hall. Brown's design for Redlands incorporates elements of classical design, evidenced by 36 Doric columns. The original depot was moved west, and construction began on the new depot on that site in 1909. Crews completed construction in 1910. The central building of the depot included a stationmaster and ticket office, waiting room, restrooms, baggage room, and Wells Fargo & Co. shipping office. A long arcade parallels the passenger platform, and features concrete bas-relief sculptures depicting oranges, a central theme of civic identity. The depot and its function were so important that the Redlands Chamber of Commerce constructed new headquarters on the depot grounds in 1912.

Passenger service continued into Redlands until 1938, when massive floods washed out bridges across the Santa Ana River. By the 1930s, the primary purpose of passenger service was to transport US Mail into town, but with the inability of Santa Fe to run trains to Redlands until bridges could be rebuilt after the flood, alternate service was found. By the time the connection to San Bernardino was rebuilt it was too late and passenger service was abandoned. The bridge connecting Mentone to Highland was never rebuilt, severing the loop that at one time was the "tail" of the Kite-Shaped Track.

Santa Fe continued to use the depot for freight and a ticket office until the 1970s. The building was largely abandoned until 2019, when new owners embarked upon a massive restoration project to preserve the depot for the future. In addition, the platform will once again be used for passengers traveling on Arrow and Metrolink trains to San Bernardino and Los Angeles.

Redlands' Santa Fe Depot is a City of Redlands Historic Landmark, a San Bernardino County Point of Historical Interest, and is the namesake of the National Register-listed Santa Fe Depot Historic District.

A.K. Smiley Public Library Heritage Room, Historic Survey Form Scans, Orange St-Santa Fe Depot

California: Magnet for Tourists and Home Buyers, Library of Congress. Accessed August 11th 2020. https://www.loc.gov/collections/california-first-person-narratives/articles-and-essays/early-california-history/magnet-for-tourists-and-home-buyers/.

McCall, Joan Hedges. Redlands Remembered: Stories from the Jewel of the Inland Empire. Charleston, SC. The History Press, 2012.

Moore, Frank E.. Redlands: Our Town. Redlands, CA. Moore Historical Foundation, 1987.

Redlands Passenger Rail Project (Arrow), San Bernardino County Transportation Authority. Accessed August 11th 2020. https://www.gosbcta.com/project/redlands-passenger-rail-project-arrow/.

Redlands Santa Fe Railway Station, The Redlands Area Historical Society Inc.. Accessed August 11th 2020. https://rahs.org/awards/redlands-santa-fe-railway-station/.