Category: L.A. Transit & Transportation History

L.A. Transit & Transportation History

Future Stations Of The Past: Downtown’s 1968 “Metroport” & Express Service To LAX

After profiling past plans for both a subway and aerial station at Wilshire & La Brea earlier this month, we turn our attention to Los Angeles International Airport and efforts to transport passengers there from downtown more than 40 years ago.…

50 Years Ago This Week: The Story And Photos From The Last Day Of Red Car Service & First Day Of Bus Service To Long Beach

This past weekend marked the 50th anniversary of the last “Red Cars” running between Los Angeles and Long Beach. The Los Angeles Times ran an article a few days ago reprinting the April 8, 1961 story of how “Red Cars will…

Future Stations Of The Past: 1980s Plans For A Wilshire / LaBrea Subway Stop & Overhead Metro Rail

This look back at plans for a Wilshire / La Brea Metro Rail station is the first in an occasional series focusing on “future stations of the past.” We want to begin sharing images and plans for stations already built, under future consideration, or off…

Advertising Los Angeles’ Bus Service On Television: 1956 Cartoon Commercials & How They Were Made

  Transit promotion is everywhere. The ever-expanding media universe and our constant contact with it provides ample opportunities to spread the word about the benefits of public transportation. These days, transit marketing can be found not only in traditional media…

“Metro Diesels Don’t Cause Smog”: The 1954 Tests “Proving” L.A. Buses Were Clean & Actually “Helped” Solve The Smog Problem

Earlier this year, Metro retired its last diesel bus from its fleet of over 2,2000 vehicles. At that time, we took a closer look at the early history of diesel buses in Los Angeles and how Los Angeles Motor Coach‘s 1940 fleet…

Celebrating Women’s History Month: The First Women Transit Operators In Los Angeles, Which Led The Way As “Motormanettes”

The first reported instance of a woman working on Los Angeles streetcars occured during World War I, in May of 1918. She was recruited from the Los Angeles Railway’s office help, and worked as a conductor collecting fares and making…

Arroyo Seco Parkway At 70: The Unusual History Of The “Pasadena Freeway,” California Cycleway & Rare Traffic Plan Images

This Winter marks the 70th anniversary of the oldest freeway in the United States:  The Arroyo Seco Parkway opened on December 30, 1940. Built during the Great Depression, construction of the parkway put a lot of people to work. At…

Celebrating Black History Month: How The First African-American Motormen & “Motormanette” Pioneered Social Justice On The Los Angeles Railway

  Los Angeles Railway was not previously known as a socially progressive organization, nor were many other industries or job markets of the early 1940s. The headlines of the Los Angeles Sentinel and the California Eagle from 1942-1944, the leading African…

40 Years Ago Today: San Fernando Earthquake Topples Freeways & Prompts Seismic Retrofitting Plan

Forty years ago today, at 6:01 a.m., an earthquake near San Fernando measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale rolled across Southern California, leaving at least 65 dead and staggering structural damage. While the Northridge Earthquake of 1994 is the largest shaker in recent…

20 Years Ago Today: Groundbreaking For The “Fully Automated” Metro Green Line…But Why Doesn’t It Go To LAX?

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Metro’s Green Line groundbreaking.  The 23-mile long rail line connects Norwalk in the east to El Segundo and Westchester in the west. Speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony held at the future Aviation / LAX…