One of the highlights is the marriage of noteworthy restaurants located in historic buildings. This mix is so unique that we created a tour to showcase places to dine and explore, all within easy walking distance from the station.
Come explore a center filled with history, cool shops and delicious places to dine. It is one of the quaintest spots in downtown Fullerton that was once home to the notable California Hotel. Built in 1922, in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, it contained 22 apartments, 55 hotel rooms and it had shops on the ground floor. Renamed Villa Del Sol, the complex now offers quaint courtyard dining at The Brownstone Café, the Fullerton Brew Company, Café Hidalgo and The Cellar.
Then and Now
Then: California Hotel
Now:
Brownstone Café
Green Bliss Cafe
the Cellar Restaurants
Getting here from the station
Villa del Sol is a half-mile walk north from the station. It is on the corner of Wilshire Ave. and Harbor Blvd.
Look around the room while enjoying your buffalo fried chicken sandwich or cocktail and you might notice the remnants of a very historic building constructed in the Mission Revival style in 1918. What is now the Hopscotch Tavern was originally the Pacific Electric Depot when the railway line came through Fullerton, serving passengers through 1938.
Then and Now
Then: 1918 Pacific Electric Depot
Now: Home to Hopscotch Tavern
Getting here from the station
You can reach the Hopscotch Tavern by crossing the Fullerton Transportation Center parking lot. The restaurant is just past the OC Bus transit center.
A meal at the Old Spaghetti Factory is fun enough. But dining in the historic Union Pacific Depot makes the moment that much better. The depot was built in 1923 in a combination of Zigzag Moderne and Mission Revival styles. The station remained active into the late 1970s when it was moved across Harbor Blvd. to its present location in 1980.
Then and Now
Then: Union Pacific Depot
Now: Home to the Old Spaghetti Factory
Getting here from the station
The Old Spaghetti Factory is adjacent to the Fullerton Transportation Center. It is quick stroll from the station.
The historic Fullerton Depot is part of the Fullerton Transportation Center and serves both Metrolink and Amtrak along with connections on OC Bus. The 1930 depot is a masterwork of the Spanish Colonial Revival style with graceful arches, decorative metalwork and a Monterey-style balcony. For more information on this picturesque station, learn more at Amtrak’s Great American Stations Project.
Train schedules
We always suggest when planning your adventure to check the Metrolink train schedule to Fullerton. Both the Orange County Line and 91/Perris Valley Line serve this destination.