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Photo, Print, Drawing National City Depot, 900 West Twenty-third Street, National City, San Diego County, CA Southern California Transcontinential Terminus Depot

View 16 images in sequence.
[ Photos from Survey HABS CA-2654  ]

More Resources

View 11 images in sequence.
[ Drawings from Survey HABS CA-2654  ]
[ Data Pages from Survey HABS CA-2654  ]
[ Photo Captions from Survey HABS CA-2654  ]

About this Item

Title

  • National City Depot, 900 West Twenty-third Street, National City, San Diego County, CA

Other Title

  • Southern California Transcontinential Terminus Depot

Names

  • Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
  • Kimball, Frank A
  • Architect Milford Wayne Donaldson, AIA, Incorporated, contractor
  • Maul, David, transmitter
  • Gohlich, Edward, photographer
  • Mellon, Dolores, historian

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1933

Headings

  • -  railroad stations
  • -  California -- San Diego County -- National City

Latitude / Longitude

  • 32.66013,-117.11064

Notes

  • -  Significance: The California Southern Transcontinental Railroad Terminus is the last original transcontinental terminus depot in the United States. It is listed on the local register as a Designated Significant Building. Although the building has been altered, the building's original location and current condition still convey its major significance in railroad history. The depot, built in 1882, in Italianate style of architecture, represented the culmination of over a decade of work to procure a transcontinental railroad link for the San Diego Bay region and the resultant economic "Boom of the Eighties" which heralded the railroad's arrival. Although the life of the California Southern Railroad was a short one, it nevertheless had a major impact both locally and nationally during the years of 1882 through 1891. Not only did the railroad forever alter the course of rail travel in the United States by successfully breaking the Southern Pacific's strangle-hold on intracontinental freight and rail travel, but it also insured the success of the fledgling cities of San Diego and National City.
  • -  Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N587
  • -  Survey number: HABS CA-2654
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1882 Initial Construction

Medium

  • Photo(s): 16
  • Measured Drawing(s): 11
  • Data Page(s): 10
  • Photo Caption Page(s): 4

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HABS CAL,37-NATC,5-

Source Collection

  • Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • ca2187

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HABS CAL,37-NATC,5-
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    • If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

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  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
    • Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
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      • All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

Access to Originals

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  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Frank A Kimball, Aia Architect Milford Wayne Donaldson, and Dolores Mellon, Gohlich, Edward, photographer. National City Depot, 900 West Twenty-third Street, National City, San Diego County, CA. National City California San Diego County, 1933. translateds by Maul, Davidmitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/ca2187/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, C., Kimball, F. A., Architect Milford Wayne Donaldson, A. & Mellon, D., Gohlich, E., photographer. (1933) National City Depot, 900 West Twenty-third Street, National City, San Diego County, CA. National City California San Diego County, 1933. Maul, D., trans Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/ca2187/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, et al., photographer by Gohlich, Edward. National City Depot, 900 West Twenty-third Street, National City, San Diego County, CA. trans by Maul, Davidmitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/ca2187/>.