Looking for something fun to do for Halloween? Well you may have noticed some activity over the border at the 16th St. Central Station along the highway frontage road. Southern California-based ScareCo, which specializes in haunted houses, leased the station for a monthlong Halloween event dubbed “Platform 13” that wraps up this Saturday. The 102-year-old abandoned train station has been transformed into a long, windy, fear-filled walk-through where you’re never sure who (or what) is going to jump at you. “The Bay Area has never, ever seen a haunted house of this caliber before.” according to staff magician Dexter Morgan (Hmmm …).

[youtube id=”To0QG2uyHzQ” width=”620″ height=”360″]
Designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt and built in 1912, this historic beaux-arts landmark played an important role in Oakland’s development but has languished in disrepair since it was closed for good in 1994 following severe damage from the 1989 Loma-Prieta Earthquake. Longterm intentions are to transform it into a community asset for the Central Station neighborhood, West Oakland and the entire Bay Area. Nonprofit BRIDGE Housing, who purchased the station in 2002, will be developing it using a phased approach with plans to include a museum, event and performance space, urban farm, restaurant & charter school.

Read more about the history and efforts to restore the station on 16thstreetstation.com →

Oakland’s historical 16th Street train station gets spooky at night

The echoey, cavernous stone interior of West Oakland’s historical 16th Street train station could almost exist on its own as a haunted house, without any added accessories needed. The disused station stands alone, as it has for more than a century, centered in an open field in the midst of a heavily industrial area, producing a spooky yet intriguing aura.

In its glory days, the station was a symbol of the United States’ completion of the transcontinental railroad, and served as the final stop on the West Coast for a spell. When ownership of the station was given to an affordable housing corporation and officially closed off to the public in the early 1990s, it was turned over to the homeless, thrill-seeking urban explorers, a couple of film crews here and there and countless graffiti writers but few others.

But this month the station will be open to the public four days a week, as a haunted attraction featuring three main features: a long walk-through haunted house, a simulated séance and another walk-through radioactive creature showcase that resembles something from a Godzilla movie.

Read More on InsideBayArea.com →

More information including Tickets on ScareCoPro.com →

Photo Credit: Live105.com