Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, Yuma Arizona

Date added: March 04, 2025

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Yuma has long been a vital link in the main southern transcontinental route. From prehistoric times, Yuma has been the site of the best and most important crossing of the Colorado River, and this elegant depot reflects the importance of the location.

The Southern Pacific Railroad Depot at Yuma was completed on the 1^st of April 1926 to replace an earlier depot at a different location. The building was dedicated on April 7^th and was part of a general improvement plan by the company.

When the new depot was built, the main line had to be relocated, and a new 400-foot single-span bridge was built across the Colorado River. The levee on the Gila River also had to be raised to protect the new track.

The Yuma depot was an important station on the transcontinental railroad, and Yuma was a popular winter tourist area. Local Native Americans displayed their handiwork beside the tracks when passenger trains arrived.

Yuma was also a shipping point for citrus, lettuce, and other produce.

Use of the passenger depot was discontinued in the 1960s and the building passed into the hands of the Yuma Fine Arts Association. It was refurbished as an art gallery, and the association received a grant from the Arizona Bicentennial Commission for restoration and remodeling.

Building Description

The Depot is a one-story building 166 x 50 feet in size. It is symmetrical with a central main section 66 x 50 feet and 25 feet in height and two wings, one to the north, and one to the south, each 50 x 50 feet square. At the time of construction, the style was classified as "Mediterranean with Spanish Influence." It is more properly a reflection of "Spanish Colonial Revival" architecture popular after the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego (1915) until the middle 1940s. It is characterized by its low-pitched red tile roof, flat/plain stuccoed surfaces and arched openings with detailed ornamentation. The west facade includes five central arches on spindled columns and two bay windows topped by ornamented attic vents. The east facade is similar to the west except for a long porch 15 x 65 feet, supported by columns. Behind the building, to the east, are the railroad tracks on top of a raised levee which was reached either by a flight of stairs or a ramp.

When constructed, the central section of the building served as the passenger waiting room and also housed the ticket and telegraph offices, restrooms, and lavatories. The south wing housed the trainmen's quarters, and the north wing served as baggage and express office.

The depot has been adapted to serve the community of Yuma as an Art Gallery/Museum. The waiting area and north wing serve as a gallery space and a work room. The south wing is used for office space, special exhibits, restrooms, and storage. External alterations during the renovation consisted of the filling in of some 22 windows and doors, the detail surrounding these openings was left and the main central portion of the building is intact, complete with the original doors and ceramic tile detailing.