May 15, 2011 Images from a Train (LA to SLO) Jamie road the Surfliner with Poppa Bill to LA, hung out for lunch and a walk around the Old Plaza, and then returned to SLO. Poppa Bill went on to points east... The Old Plaza Firehouse is the oldest firehouse in Los Angeles. Built in 1884, it operated as a firehouse until 1897. The building was thereafter used as a saloon, cigar store, poolroom, "seedy hotel", Chinese market, "flop house", and drugstore. The building was restored in the 1950s and opened as a firefighting museum in 1960. Note the foot-activated bell. Click here for more on the Historic Plaza District. It's located just uphill and across the street from Union Station. Note that the floor has a turntable. He had one just like this as a kid. The Old Plaza Firehouse. The Old Methodist Church on the Old Plaza. Union Station. The rest of these photos are "Images from the Train" on the return from LA to SLO as seen from the Pacific Surfliner. Decapitated hoola dancers? Raspberries. This fire closed the Camarillo Airport for a while. More... The runway on Vandenberg AFB. Click here for a guide to sites along the railroad tracks from Santa Barbara to SLO. Jamie Foster Photography