DATE: January 31, 2017
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Laurel C. Prysiazny, County Librarian
Penny Raven, Chair, Historical Landmarks and Records Advisory Commission
SUBJECT: Historic Place - Lone Star Train Depot
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve designation and placement of the Lone Star Train Depot on the County’s Register of Historic Places; and
2. Authorize the Chairman to execute the certificate for a Historic Place.
REPORT
There is no Net County Cost associated with these actions, which will allow the Lone Star Train Depot to be placed on the County’s List of Historic Places. The Historical Landmarks and Records Advisory Commission recommends historic and prehistoric sites and structures that qualify for placement on the Fresno County’s List of Historic Places. Approval by the Board of Supervisors encourages preservation of the County’s history.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board could choose to not approve these actions, which would result in the Lone Star Train Depot not being placed on the County’s Register of Historic Places at this time.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions.
DISCUSSION:
The Historical Landmarks and Records Advisory Commission recommends your Board approve the application submitted by Victor Andalon, property owner and Operations Manager, Tri-Boro Fruit Co., Inc. to add the Lone Star Train Depot to the County’s List of Historic Places.
Lone Star opened a Santa Fe storefront ticket agency in 1901 and later transferred to a boxcar in 1903. Located in an agricultural region, business steadily increased for the ticket agency forcing Santa Fe to expand. In 1910, Lone Star added a telegraph/train-order office to the ticket agency and, three years later, the two-story depot was constructed and opened.
The depot was designed by Santa Fe engineer William Benson Storey Jr, in 1911. These depots were called “combination” because they offered multiple types of services. The services at this station included freight, passenger, and express service. The Santa Fe Lone Star Railroad Depot in Fresno was constructed in 1913 as part of the Visalia District Line. It serves as an example of the “Standard Combination Frame Depot” designated as #2A. The site hosts a telegraph booth and an eight-room depot. The 24’ by 114’ depot building consists of an open waiting room (still intact with original columns), office, baggage room, freight room, and restrooms, as well as living quarters on the second floor. Although the loading platforms no longer exist, the owner plans on replacing them as part of the restoration.
The train station closed in 1958. It still sits on its original site now purchased and owned by Tri-Boro Fruit Co., Inc. The owners are intent on restoring and preserving the Lone Star Train Depot as it was in 1913 due to its historical significance and its status as the last of the Standard Combination Frame Depots on the Visalia District Line. Upon restoration, the owners intend to open the depot and surrounding area to the public as a historic site.
The Historical Landmarks and Records Advisory Commission reviewed the application during its May 12 and September 9, 2016 meetings and during the November 10, 2016 meeting unanimously voted to recommend that the Lone Star Train Depot be listed on the Fresno County’s Register of Historic Places.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
Historical Landmarks and Records Advisory Commission
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Historic Place Certificate
CAO ANALYST:
Samantha Buck