DEPOT DEBUT : San Juan Renovation Project Hailed as Success

When the San Juan train depot opened in 1897, it brought a flood of tourists lured by newspaper advertisements promising romantic nights in San Juan by the Sea and healing from the mystical waters of San Juan Hot Springs.

Almost 100 years later the name of the town has changed, but city fathers are hoping that the old national landmark still holds the same magic--and will bring more tourists and economic prosperity to the downtown area.

After an 11-month closure for renovation, the depot reopened this week, and city leaders, Amtrak commuters and preservationists were calling the project a success.

Apart from the depot’s Spanish colonial revival architecture, the depot’s main attraction is a spruced-up restaurant--and a place for the hundreds of Amtrak commuters to rest comfortably for the not always-on-time commuter trains.

“Gosh! It’s wonderful,” exclaimed Linda Forest, a San Clemente resident who commutes to her job as a bank manager in Los Angeles. Forest is among the 500 commuters who daily board north and southbound trains out of San Juan and will now have a place to rest as they wait on their trains.

“We’re all so grouchy on our way up there. A cup of coffee would go a long way,” she said.

The depot’s front yard has been converted into a patio for restaurant seating, and an atrium--a few feet away from the tracks--has been added on the north side of the building.

Amtrak passengers who now wait for their trains on a new redwood deck shaded by towering jacaranda trees also have a view of the quaint Los Rios historical district--probably the oldest residential community in Orange County.

Reed Farr, owner of Capistrano Depot travel, which sells Amtrak tickets, said passengers were elated about the new facilities.

“It’s very convenient, and it makes commuting to Los Angeles a much more viable option,” said Dana Point audiologist John Coleman, who works at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles.

“I’m so glad. Now we won’t have to stand out in the rain to wait for the train.”

The city bought the depot for $900,000 in 1987 from two brothers. It later awarded a seven-year lease to Pete Henderson, managing owner of the new Rio Grande Bar and Grill. Henderson and two other partners operate a similar business at the Rio Grande Depot in Salt Lake City.

Henderson said he had made a special effort to maintain the depot’s “historical appeal.” Stones for the patio were brought in from Guadalajara, Mexico, and the old fittings have been left in place. Diners in the old baggage room can see old suitcases stored on shelves above their heads.

“We’ve mortgaged the farm on this one,” Henderson said, noting that the renovation cost $400,000. “We hope we can satisfy everyone--tourists, commuters and the local folks.”

City Councilman Lawrence F. Buchheim, who was having lunch in the restaurant with Councilman-elect Gil Jones, said the council was pleased with the project.

“This brings back some childhood memories,” said Buchheim, who grew up in San Juan. “We’re glad with the way things have worked out. You can still feel the old charm and character I remembered feeling when I was a boy.”

Last year, 317,056 people used the train station. Cassandra Walker, manager of the city’s Redevelopment Agency, said a significant number of the tourists who journey from across the country to see the historic San Juan Mission and other adobe buildings come by train.

The depot has always been an important part of the community’s appeal.

Pamela Gibson, who has written three books on San Juan Capistrano, said the depot is one of the oldest such train stops in Southern California.

“When the trains first came in the late 1880s, the natives were terrified,” Gibson said. “For them, it was a big smoke-belching steel monster. But it opened a whole new market for tourism. People would come to go to the beach, and others would hire buggies to take them to the hot springs. And farmers began selling their produce on a wide scale.”

Unlike a few other projects in the city, the depot’s restoration has met with approval from the community’s preservationists.

“Most of the historic parts have been retained or enhanced,” said Mark Clancey, president of a local preservation group that opposed the neighboring Franciscan Plaza, which includes a multi-screen movie theater.

Tom and Shirley Schnell said they had traveled from South Dakota to visit the depot and other sites.

“I visited the San Juan Mission a year ago,” said 72-year-old Tom Schnell. “I didn’t know this existed, so I wanted to see it too. I’m glad I came . . . because you can see and feel the history here.”

Len Hall contributed to this report.