SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD DEPOT

7250 Monterey Street

This two-story Italian Renaissance structure (framed with local redwood and covered in cement plaster) was constructed in 1918, by the Southern Pacific Railroad as a replacement for Gilroy's first station (opened in 1869, by the Santa Clara and Pajaro Valley Railroad). Recognizing the importance of Gilroy as an agricultural and transportation hub, local citizens asked Southern Pacific for a larger station. When this request was ignored they went to Sacramento with the result that the State Railroad Commission ordered Southern Pacific to build this handsome replacement. The building was erected for a final cost of $14,000, which translates to roughly $293,000 in today’s dollars (2025). With much fanfare the Gilroy Railroad Depot was dedicated on April 30, 1918, in a celebration that drew 6,000 people, three brass bands, and reporters from regional newspapers. It was described in local papers as the “most beautiful depot between San Francisco and Santa Barbara,” and offering “spacious waiting rooms.”

For the next five decades the depot served as a way station for rail travelers. With the advent of super highways and the American public’s growing love for the automobile, however, service reductions began in 1929. The engine house closed in 1934, though the turntable remained in use through the 1950s. The final service to the station was the Del Monte, which ran until April 30, 1971. Amtrak intercity service, including the Coast Starlight, passed through the station without stopping. The depot closed in 1972, and was boarded up with a fence installed around he perimeter.

In the 1980s, a Gilroy Citizens’ Advisory Committee recommended the the Gilroy Railroad Depot and surrounding property become a multi-modal transportation hub, which, starting in 1992, led to Caltrain providing rail service from San Francisco to Gilroy. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) purchased the depot site in 1993. After two decades of abandonment the depot building had sustained significant weather damage and was in dire need of restoration. After aggressive pursuit of government grants by the City of Gilroy and petitions by Gilroy citizens, renovation funds were raised, and the building was restored as the centerpiece of the $2.8 million Gilroy Transit Center. In December 1998, the depot re-opened as a transportation hub served by Caltrain, long distance Greyhound buses, VTA buses, Monterey-Salinas Transit, San Benito County shuttle buses, and taxis.

Future plans for the depot call for extended Amtrak Capitol Corridor service, as well as California High-Speed Rail trains, to also stop in Gilroy. In recognition of the depot’s role in, and contributions to, Gilroy’s formative years, the station was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019, as Gilroy Southern Pacific Railroad Depot.