The circular, 1973 design of the El Monte bus station resembled a flying saucer if one could imagine one made of concrete. This was taken Wednesday. The station is not boarding passengers. It is sheduled for demolition beginning on Wednesday.

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Take the stairs. The escalators rarely worked.

The phone bank at the top platform. It hasn’t changed in 10 years.

This was state-of-the-art back in 1973. State of the art bunker style, maybe.

This is a rendering of what the new El Monte bus station will look like. The project will cost $45 million and is to be completed in May 2010. (rendering courtesy of Metro).