Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railway built San Bernardino’s first permanent train depot in 1886 to serve growing rail passenger traffic and to house its Los Angeles division administrative and freight offices. This two-and-a-half-story wooden structure and other railway property were completely destroyed by fire on November 16, 1916. Soon afterward, city leaders asked the railway to design and build an impressive new depot suited to the city’s image as the gateway to Southern California. The resulting $800,000 depot, designed by company architect W.A. Mohr, was the largest west of the Mississippi. When it opened on July 15, 1918, the San Bernardino Daily Sun praised it as the finest station in the west and a credit to San Bernardino’s importance as a transportation center. Once a bustling passenger and freight rail center with a restaurant, living quarters, and offices, the Santa Fe Depot later fell into disrepair for many years before a $15.1 million rehabilitation effort shared by SANBAG and the city of San Bernardino restored it to its former beauty. The depot is listed in the National Historic Register and the California Register of Historic Places.