There’s a special new player in the Downtown drinking scene, and it’s an absolute gem. This is Imperial Western Beer Company at Union Station, and it hopes to be an anchor tenant at the bustling transit hub for many, many years.

As previously discussed, Imperial Western Beer Company is the primary new tenant of the former Harvey House space on the Union Station property, just to the right of the front doors of the historic Downtown/Chinatown building. The AvroKo-designed space itself goes back almost a full century, operating over the years as a home for transit-hurried drinkers and men returning home from war.

Now the working brewery is filled with games like pool and shuffleboard and checkers, with tall booths ringing two sides for more intimate memory-making with friends. There are two bars pegged to the center of the gigantic room (which can hold up to 435 people at a time), one a small grab-and-go stand that will offer some snacks from a display case. The other is a wraparound wood behemoth touched off with flashy Art Deco details in all directions.

There’s a long, open patio to one side and room to check out the 15-barrel brewing system in the back, but most folks will find their way into the space’s historic architecture, which offers an absolutely soaring ceiling and impossible amounts of natural California sunlight. The 213 Hospitality team’s years-long work to adapt and retain much of the detail work inside is nothing short of spectacular.

In terms of food and drink, chef David Lentz (Hungry Cat) assembles a tight collection of approachable bar snacks, including $1 oysters during happy hour and house-smoked mussels, fried chicken, fish tacos, and po’ boys. The focus will lean towards seafood without being exclusive to the ocean, while the beer (for now) sticks to the hits with room for an IPA, Mexican lager, stout, and so forth. The real beer-nerd stuff will come soon, when head brewer Devon Randall releases a line of sours.

And then there is The Streamliner, a smaller drinking enclave just to one end of the overall space, with its own entrance to the outside world. The room was, in a previous life, a breezeway towards the former Harvey House, but has since been transformed into a bar all its own, complete with inviting turquoise booths that weave their way to the back. The floating, backlit ceiling gives the place a defined form, while Eric Alperin, Max Seaman, and Mikki Kristola of the Varnish make sure the drinks match the destination.

Expect a lot of bottled and pre-batched stuff from The Streamliner, done for speed and cost (as in, $7 to $9 for drinks) but also with an eye towards consistency. That means a pared-back menu of basics that can be enjoyed by all, say before a Dodger game or just before catching a train out of town. There won’t be any heavy shaking or stirring going on here, just simple classics like gimlets, martinis, and old fashioneds done with a bit of conversation and a smile.

The entire stunning Union Station property by Cedd Moses, Eric Needleman, Brian Lenzo and the rest opens on Thursday, October 4. Expect hours from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday through Wednesday, to start, with a jump to midnight on Thursdays and 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Lunch and more will come down the line.

Imperial Western Beer Co./The Streamliner, 800 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles, CA.