Whittier highlight
Historic downtown
Whittier's downtown centers on the 1892 Southern Pacific Railroad Depot and the 1955 Civic Center, landmarks of the city's growth from rail hub to modern municipality.
The Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, built in 1892 on what is now Greenleaf Avenue, was the physical heart of Whittier's growth. It was a Standard Design No. 18 wood-frame depot, the kind the railroad used across California, but in Whittier it took on special importance: the freight room was expanded in 1894 to serve the Whittier Fruit Exchange as the city's citrus and walnut shipments made the depot one of the busiest in the region. The building was restored in 2002 according to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Rehabilitation and remains a landmark of that era.
In 1955, the city completed its Civic Center Complex, and on March 8, 1955, the Whittier City Council met in the new chambers for the first time. That moment marked the city's formal transition into the modern suburban age. While Whittier's downtown has evolved with retail, dining, and gathering spaces, the Civic Center remains the symbol of the city's commitment to self-governance and community institutions that serve every resident.
The buildings of Whittier's downtown—from the preserved 1892 depot to the mid-century Civic Center—tell the story of households and businesses making long-term commitments. That same long view is what term life insurance is for: securing the future that a family has already begun to build together.