Third and Townsend Depot

San Francisco
Southern Pacific's Third and Townsend Depot terminal, August 1974
General information
LocationSan Francisco, California
Owned bySouthern Pacific Railroad
Line(s)Coast Line
Construction
Architectural styleMission revival
History
Opened1915
Closed1975
Services
Preceding station Southern Pacific Railroad Following station
Terminus Coast Line 23rd Street
Coast Daylight Palo Alto
Del Monte 23rd Street
toward Monterey
Lark Burlingame
Peninsula Commute 23rd Street
toward San Jose
Valencia Street
(pre-1907)
toward San Jose
Ocean View Branch
(pre-1928)
Valencia Street
toward San Bruno
Suntan Special Burlingame
toward Santa Cruz

The Third and Townsend Depot was the main train station in the city of San Francisco for much of the first three quarters of the 20th century. The station at Third Street and Townsend Street served as the northern terminus for Southern Pacific's Peninsula Commute line between San Francisco and San Jose (forerunner of Caltrain) and long-distance trains between San Francisco and Los Angeles via the Southern Pacific's Coast Line. For service for destinations to the north, such as Seattle, and destinations to the east, such as Chicago, passengers generally needed to travel to Oakland, initially on ferries to Oakland Long Wharf, and later on buses to 16th Street Station. It was demolished in the 1970s and replaced by the Caltrain commuter station a block away at Fourth and King Streets.