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HISTORY of SAN LUIS OBISPO
History of San Luis Obispo
Joseph A. Carotenuti
City Historian/Archivist
In the early 1890s, locals undoubtedly spent considerable amounts of time thinking about Progress Around the Bend
aka The Railroad. The local press made sure any information – including rumors, innuendos, opinions and facts -
were amply reported in its pages.
After all, the Goddess of Tomorrow had already reached Soledad (early 1870s); the eastern route was completed
between San Francisco and Los Angeles (1876) and ten years later San Miguel (a mere 45 miles north) became the
new terminus. Within weeks, it even reached El Paso de Robles Resort Hotel ten miles further south. While any
hamlet along its route has its own history, the prize remained the county seat.
How much longer until the train’s whistle would be heard locally? Indeed, after years of bargaining, dreaming,
wheeling and dealing lead by Robert E. Jack and Chauncey Hatch Phillips, the rail’s moguls were lured further and
further south first to the planned community of Templeton (1884) and a few years later to Santa Margarita. More
years of pleading, planning and cajoling and the tunnels through the Cuesta Pass opened and the iron ribbons
streamed south ending in a “railroad section” of town (1894). Today, the statue of the Chinese railway workers near
the station pays tribute to their contributions nationally to building the railroad but not here
To keep its good will with the San Francisco railway headquarters, part of the bargain was granting free land and
rights-of-way. If Phillips and Jack were able to convince the rail barons to expend a fortune to construct the tracks
into San Luis Obispo, there were others who contributed part of their land (and thus their wealth) for the benefit of
the small town.
When the epoch making day finally arrived on May 4, 1894, there seemed no end to the cheers and joyful noise to
welcome more than an engine, more than a link (almost) to rails around America, but a civic rite of passage as – at
least, instinctively – everyone knew the community would never be the same. However, Progress is often a fickle
companion and not all change would prove positive. It is a lesson learned, often slowly, by those who relinquish (or
chose to forget) the past for the often illusory promises of a better tomorrow.
Locals were not the only entrepreneurs planning to reap the benefits of a railroad. A few months after the opening of
the ill-fated Andrews Hotel, a Colonel A. M. Gray presented plans to build a mecca for entertainment: a 700 seat
opera house on the corner of Higuera and Broad Streets. While never constructed, the Colonel saw the potential
(correctly) as once connected between north and south, the central coast was a logical midpoint – and overnight stop
– for the travelers. People need lodging and food and entertainment. While never built, San Luis Obispo did develop
for a spell as a popular venue for entertainers traveling between the great cities of the north and south.
More importantly, the next month after the railroad’s grand celebration, another quieter inauguration is enjoyed
today.
Contact: jacarotenuti@gmail.com 11/2015
First Train