16th Street Station (Oakland)

Oakland 16th Street
Former Amtrak and Southern Pacific inter-city rail station
Oakland 16th Street Station, main entrance, December 2007
Location	1601 Wood Street Oakland, California 94607  United States
Coordinates	37°48′56.1″N 122°17′48.3″W / 37.815583°N 122.296750°W / 37.815583; -122.296750Coordinates: 37°48′56.1″N 122°17′48.3″W / 37.815583°N 122.296750°W / 37.815583; -122.296750
Platforms	None remaining
Tracks	None remaining
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Other information
Station code	OAK
History
Opened	1912
Closed	August 5, 1994
Services
Former services   Amtrak Terminus California Zephyr Emeryville toward Chicago Fremont toward San Jose Capitols Emeryville toward Roseville San Jose toward Los Angeles Coast Starlight Emeryville toward Seattle Terminus San Joaquin Bakersfield Terminus
Location
Location of former Oakland 16th Street Station within California

The Oakland 16th Street Station (also known as the Oakland Central Station) was one of three train stations in Oakland, California, United States at the start of the 20th century. The Beaux-Arts building was designed by architect Jarvis Hunt, a preeminent train station architect, and opened in 1912. For decades the 16th Street Station was the main Oakland station for Southern Pacific (SP) through trains. The elevated platforms were used for the East Bay Electric Lines, which went around the East Bay and after 1939 over the Bay Bridge until 1941, when it was sold to the Key System. It was a companion (or "city station") for Oakland Pier, two miles away, which was demolished in 1960. After the pier was demolished people switched to buses at this station which took passengers across the Bay Bridge to the SP's Third and Townsend Depot. Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) used this station as its main Oakland stop for nearly two decades. It also had buses across the bridge but ran them to the Transbay Terminal instead. The station was severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, but continued serving trains at an adjacent building. It closed in 1994, having been replaced by the stations in nearby Emeryville and Jack London Square. The last Amtrak train serviced the station on August 5, 1994, after which passengers accessed downtown Oakland via the Emeryville Station, until Jack London Station opened in May 1995.