| Santa Susana Depot | |
|---|---|
 View from the southwest | |
  Location within California | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Stick/Eastlake |
| Location | 6503 Katherine Road, Simi Valley, California |
| Coordinates | 34°15′39″N 118°39′40″W / 34.2607°N 118.6611°W |
| Completed | 1903 |
| Owner | Rancho Simi Parks and Recreation Department |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Southern Pacific Railroad |
Santa Susana Depot is a train station building located near the Santa Susana Pass in Simi Valley, California. Originally located on Los Angeles Avenue at Tapo Street,[1] the depot opened in 1903.[2] The station was named after the Santa Susana Mountains at the east end of the Simi Valley.[2] The Southern Pacific Railroad used the double-"N" spelling of Susanna on the depot sign facing west, and the single-"N" spelling of Susana on the sign facing east.[2] The Santa Susana Tunnel opened the next year, reducing the distance and transit time between Montalvo and Burbank on the Coast Route linking Los Angeles and San Francisco. Plans and construction for the building were based on Southern Pacific Railroad standard design Two Story Combination Depot No. 22.[3] The depot served the community of Rancho Simi as a passenger station, telegraph office, and freight depot where farmers could deliver crops for shipping and pick up farming equipment delivered by the railroad.
Due to lessening passenger traffic and changes in the shipment of freight, Southern Pacific closed the station in the early 1970s, leaving Santa Susana Depot empty and destined for demolition. The County of Ventura purchased the depot from the railroad for $1.06. In May 1975 the building was divided into three parts and moved by truck to county property two miles east of the site it was built on. The County of Ventura designated the building Landmark #29 in January 1976.[4]
The current Simi Valley station for Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink's Ventura County Line is located one mile east of the original Tapo Street depot location.
- ^ "Santa Susana: Populated Place". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ a b c Bill Appleton; Simi Valley Historical Society (10 August 2009). Santa Susana. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-3820-0. OCLC 700950508.
- ^ Bender, Henry E. Jr. (2013). Southern Pacific Lines Standard-Design Depots. Berkeley and Wilton, California: Signature Press. p. 134. ISBN 9781930013339.
- ^ Cultural Heritage Board. "Ventura County Landmark Map" Archived 2015-10-16 at the Wayback Machine County of Ventura Planning Division Accessed 30 October 2013