The Waiting Station, designed by Charles and Henry Greene and built in 1906, is a combination of redwood timber, brick, cobblestone, and tile roof. Located at the edge of the Oaklawn Ave Bridge (also designed by the Greenes) on Fair Oaks Avenue, the station was originally built for the passengers awaiting the "big red cars" on the Pacific Electric Line - a branch of what was one of the greatest rapid transit systems in the country.
The Hampton Hotels marker is on the light pole at left. It is now missing.
The station also signified the entrance and set the tone for the handsome houses in the development along Oaklawn Ave. The tracks down Fair Oaks Ave have long since been removed. The Waiting Station is a Registered South Pasadena Historical Landmark, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
The bridge was built over Santa Fe railroad tracks, and the railroad demanded that another support pillar be added to ensure structural integrity. The Greenes insisted that the structure was sound exactly the way it was, but the railroads prevailed and a very unsightly pillar was installed under the center span.
In 2002, when the City of South Pasadena restored the historic bridge, engineers finally vindicated what the Greenes had known all along: the unsightly pillar had been unnecessary. In fact, when engineers examined the construction, they found that the support had been installed with a full inch of space between it and the actual bridge. In 90 years, the pillar had been an eyesore, but never actually supported the structure at all.
Today the railroad under the bridge is part of the Metro Rail transit system.
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