1500 Railroad Avenue

The first depot in St. Helena was that of the Napa Valley Railroad arriving in the town in 1868. It was located at the corner of Railroad Avenue and Hunt Avenue and it served both passenger and freight traffic.

By 1886, financial problems led to the sale of the Napa Valley Railroad to the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. Southern Pacific became a major economic force in the Napa Valley and made it possible to ship agricultural products more easily from the northern and central sections of Napa County, which were remote from the Napa river traffic further south.

The Southern Pacific Railroad built a new depot at the present location in the late 1880’s. It was built in 19th Century Victorian style, characteristic of Southern Pacific Depots, with a two-story main building and a long one-story enclosed waiting and baggage area. This depot is painted in the typical Southern Pacific shade of yellow.

The location of the railroad tracks and depot resulted in the building of several of St. Helena’s fine stone warehouse buildings in this district. On August 7, 1959, filming began in St. Helena for the Walt Disney classic, Pollyanna, starring Haley Mills, and the St. Helena Depot was one of the sites used in the movie. The depot is now used for professional offices and medical offices for the St. Helena Hospital. The St. Helena Train Depot was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 7, 1997.