Our documents, photographs, film clips, maps and other resources have been used far and wide across a variety of news and information outlets and other publications. We have also shared assets from digitized resources in the public domain to help tell the story of transit and transportation in the region.
Our Los Angeles Transportation Headlines daily digital newspaper compliments our robust collection of primary resources in providing inspiration and value-added content for writers, bloggers and others seeking to share transit and transportation knowledge with a broader audience.
This list is a record of just some of the wide-reaching impact of our efforts to raise awareness, inform, educate and inspire people across Southern California and around the world:
October 6, 2022 LAist: LA Metro’s K Line — The Long Awaited Crenshaw/LAX Extension — Is Opening. Here’s What Riders Can Expect (points to Primary Resources knowledge base page, one link to a historical planning report, and one historical photograph)
June 14, 2022 Streetsblog USA: Tuesday’s Headlines Want to Go Back in Time (one historical photograph)
March 16, 2022 KCET: From Rail to Roads and Back Again: The Rebirth of L.A.’s Public Transit (four historical maps)
February 6, 2020 LAist: The Little Known History Behind LA’s Most Tolerable Freeway (links to two digital resources for proposed Beverly Hills Freeway)
December 17, 2019 Curbed LA: Did a Conspiracy Really Destroy LA’s Huge Streetcar System? (One attributed historical image; others may be from our collection; links to other stories using our images)
December 4, 2019 Curbed LA: Old Photos Show the Evolution of Transportation in LA (One attributed historical image; others may be from our collection)
October 21, 2019 Longbeachize: Opinion: C’Mon Metro, the LA-to-LB Rail Line Was Quicker a Century Ago than It Is Now (one image of a Pacific Electric timetable from an archival report)
July 24, 2019 The Metropole, the Official Blog of the Urban History Association: Digital Summer School: @LAhistory (Our @MetroLibrary Twitter account is called out as featuring “the region’s transportation history” in the context of Los Angeles history and social media)
July 2, 2019 Curbed LA: 1959 Ad Shows Where in LA You Could Get on a “Funliner” Bus (one historical map and one historical image of a brochure serve as focus of entire article)
[June 12, 2019] Mashable: The Future of America’s Worst Freeway: After Decades of Gridlock, There’s a New Vision for Los Angeles’ Congested 405 (two historical monorail photographs in story about I-405 San Diego Freeway)
June 4, 2019 The Eastsider: When the Red Cars Rumbled Through Atwater Village, Echo Park and Silver Lake: A Chat with Railroad Historian Paul Ayers (two historical photographs)
March 25, 2019 LAist: Why Aren’t There More One-Way Streets in L.A.? (two historical streetcar photographs)
February 20, 2019 StreetsBlog LA: Today’s Headlines (links to a 2013 Los Angeles Magazine article about Los Angeles Railway “Yellow Cars” — which includes one historical photograph, a link to another historical photograph, and a link to our historical interactive timeline — following renewed interest based on a tweet six years later)
December 25, 2018 LAist: What Christmas in L.A. Looks Like Across Space and Time (one historical image of candy cane painted streetcars; first photo in article among dozens from many collections)
July 27, 2018 Curbed LA: Don’t Build a Streetcar in Downtown LA, Use the Buses, but Gussy ‘Em Up a Bit (one historical image; link to an additional historical image)
June 26, 2018 Curbed LA: LA Weighing Plan for More Density Along Expo Line Through Westside (one image of Expo Line in Culver City)
June 11, 2018 Los Angeles Daily News: Dodgers Gondola Gets One Step Closer to Becoming a Real Thing (references our digitized 1990 Los Angeles County Transportation Commission report on transit access to Dodger Stadium)
June 8, 2018 Curbed LA: Travel the Path of the Expo Line Predecessor That Ran from 1908 to 1953 (ten historical images; link to our Flickr photo collection)
June 7, 2018 Curbed LA: The Olympics Fixed LA’s Traffic Once — Can the 2028 Games Do It Permanently? (two historical images; seven links to digitized documents; two links to our video clips on YouTube; 1 quote from Research Library & Archives Director Matthew Barrett; author tells us, “You already wrote the article!,” referring to our inspiring post: 28 Years Ago This Week: The World Returns For Los Angeles’ Gold Medal Performance in Olympic Traffic Relief)
May 14, 2018 Daily Kos: Last of the Great Train Stations (video embed of our digitization, along with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, of the only known footage of opening day celebrations for Union Station in 1939)
April 26, 2018 KPCC: Could a Gondola to Dodger Stadium Solve Traffic Woes? L.A.’s Mayor is Pitching It (page embed from and link to digitized 1990 LACTC Dodger Stadium access study)
March 26, 2018 Curbed LA: Blue Line Will Shut Down For Much Of 2019 (historical photograph of 1990 opening)
January 30, 2018 Los Angeles Magazine: Relive the Wacky Opening of the Metro Red Line 25 Years Later (video embed of Metro Rail planning)
January 26, 2018 Curbed LA: Did a Conspiracy Really Destroy LA’s Huge Streetcar System? (one historical photograph)
December 22, 2017 KCRW: 4 Freeways That Did Not Get Built In LA (And Why) (one historical rendering; one historical map excerpt)
September 22, 2017 Curbed LA: The Far-Out Future 1960s Planners Envisioned for LA Transit (historical monorail image)
August 18, 2017 KCET: How Public Transit Helped the 1932 Olympics Move Around Los Angeles (various maps; article inspired by Primary Resources blog post)
July 14, 2017 Mobility Lab: Transit Should be Uncluttered Onboard and In Its Advertising (video embed of 1950s Metropolitan Coach Lines commercials)
July 8, 2017 Bastard Urbanism: Marketing the Freedom of Transit (video embed of 1950s Metropolitan Coach Lines commercials)
June 20, 2017 Planetizen: Los Angeles Metro to Go Fully Electric by 2030 (“hat tip” for story from our Los Angeles Transportation Headlines)
May 8, 2017 Planetizen: Omnibus Spending Bill Will Save Transit Grant Programs — For Three Months (“hat tip” for story from our Los Angeles Transportation Headlines)
May 5, 2017 KCET: The Mt. Lowe Railway’s Thrilling, Terrifying Circular Bridge (two historical photographs)
April 5, 2017 Planetizen: Back To The Future: The 1970 Los Angeles ‘Centers’ Concept (digitized “polycentric city” map from report)
March 28, 2017 Urbanize LA: Metro Takes a Key Step on Vermont Subway (unattributed map used)
March 23, 2017 Glendale Community College El Vaquero: Streetcars May Return to the Jewel City (one photograph)
March 22, 2017 Curbed LA: Metro Considering Rapid Bus Line in Northern San Fernando Valley (link to video of Metro Blue Line video opening)
January 22, 2017 Walk Eagle Rock: Support Mass Transit For Eagle Rock on January 25th (two historical photographs used)
January 11, 2017 Los Angeles Sentinel: Obama Administration Provides 1.6 Billion in Los Angeles Transportation Funding (unattributed photograph)
December 29, 2016 Smithsonian Magazine: This Art Show Looks at 500 Years of Failed Utopias (discussion of resources lent to this exhibit at USC Libraries)
December 13, 2016 Hyperallergic: 500 Hundred Years of Failed Utopias (historic monorail rendering)
December 6, 2016 Planetizen: What it Takes To Pass a Transportation Sales Tax Measure in California (“hat tip” for story from our Los Angeles Transportation Headlines)
November 28, 2016 KCET: Five Ways Southern California Once Dressed Itself Up for the Holidays (historical photograph)
November 1, 2016 Los Angeles Times: The long, tortured journey to bring rail back to Los Angeles (photograph and historical rendering)
September 20, 2016 LAist: In Defense of the Expo Line (three historic photographs)
September 19, 2016 Alhambra Source: Community News and Sources Reader Poll: Alhambra Not Included as a Metro Gold Line Stop in LA County’s Major Rail and Freeway Improvement Plan (historical photograph)
August 27, 2016 Planetizen: Ride Hailing to Replace Former Bus Route (“hat tip” for story from our Los Angeles Transportation Headlines)
July 27, 2016 Planetizen: Good News on Car Sharing (“hat tip” for story from our Los Angeles Transportation Headlines)
July 15, 2016 KCET: Angeles Crest: The Creation of L.A.’s Highway Into The Heavens (two historical digitized images)
June 9, 2016 KCET: The Balloon Route: A Tourist’s Trolley Trip Through Early-1900s Los Angeles (digitized historical image)
June 3, 2016 Planetizen: L.A. Metro and City of Los Angeles to Launch Metro Bike Share on July 7 (“hat tip” for story from our Los Angeles Transportation Headlines)
May 30, 2016 Planetizen: Seattle May Follow San Francisco in Tossing Conventional Level of Service Standards (“hat tip” for story from our Los Angeles Transportation Headlines)
May 29, 2016 KPCC: Two and a half minutes of rapping about bus maintenance (one historical photograph; one video embed of 1980s bus maintenance, with link to Metro Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video; “If you haven’t explored it yet, the Los Angeles Metro Library and Transportation Archive on YouTube is kind of amazing.”)
May 23, 2016 Planetizen: What L.A.’s New Expo Line Extension Won’t Do (“hat tip” for story from our Los Angeles Transportation Headlines)
May 20, 2016 California Historical Society: All Aboard! Electric Rail Line to Santa Monica Officially Opens May 20, 2016 (three historical photographs)
May 20, 2016 KPCC: Expo Line Extension Opens Friday — Here’s What You Should Know (photograph)
May 19, 2016: KPCC: A Former Red Car Conductor Rides the New Expo Line: ‘It brings back memories’ (four historical photographs)
May 16, 2016 LAist: L.A.’s First Subway Terminal Is Being Resurrected As A Shopping Center (two historical photographs)
May 9, 2016 Planetizen: The Greening of Large Trucks Begins at California’s Ports (“hat tip” for story from our Los Angeles Transportation Headlines)
April 20, 2016 KPCC: LA Metro Shifts Some Bus Routes, Hands Others Off to Smaller Agencies (photograph)
April 12, 2016 LAist: Photos: A Brief History of L.A.’s Beautiful Union Station (one digitized image used; Library Director Matthew Barrett consulted about impact of Union Station opening on local transit)
April 4, 2016 Planetizen: How High Is Too High For Transportation Sales Taxes? (“hat tip” for story from our Los Angeles Transportation Headlines)
February 25, 2016 LAist: The Expo Line Will Open In Santa Monica On May 20th (historical photograph)
February 23, 2016 KCET: Three Decades Before Porter Ranch, a Methane Explosion Derailed L.A.’s Subway Plans (one map; one digital rendering; one link to Primary Resources blog post)
January 29, 2016 KPCC: After Ridership Declines, Metro Head Urges Taking The Long View (photograph)
December 30, 2015 LAist: Photos: The Arroyo Seco Parkway, The First Freeway, Turns 75 (two historical photographs)
December 21, 2015 LAist: Photos: The Candy Cane Streetcars and Buses From L.A.’s Holiday Past (seven historical photographs)
December 21, 2015 LAist: Metro Will Offer Free Train And Bus Rides On New Year’s Eve (photograph)
December 7, 2015 LAist: Historic NoHo Train Depot Will Become A Groundwork Coffee Shop (historical photograph)
July 30, 2015 Curbed LA: Travel Down the Pacific Electric Air Line, the Expo Line Predecessor That Ran From 1908 to 1953 (twelve historical photographs; this post focuses exclusively on Metro Research Library & Archive assets)
July 28, 2015 KPCC: Bid for 2024 Olympics Brings Nostalgia of Traffic-Free LA During 1984 Games (video embed of 1984 SCRTD Olympic transit public service announcements; historic photograph)
April 10, 2015 KCET: Photos: When the Red Car Rolled Through Orange County (two historical photographs)
April 7, 2015 StreetsBlog LA: More Lanes on the 710 Means More Trucks: More Trucks Means More Pollution, Get it Caltrans? (historical photograph)
February 19, 2015 KPCC: How Late are Los Angeles Buses and Trains? Depends Which Line You’re Riding (one photograph)
December 12, 2014 KCET: Riding the Big Red Car: Work, Leisure, and Community in Multiethnic L.A. (three historical photographs)
November 3, 2014 Streetsblog LA: Zocalo: Are Trains the Future of L.A.? (one photograph)
October 21, 2014 KPCC: Metro Passenger Bus Shot in South Los Angeles (one photograph)
October 14, 2014 KPCC: Police Seek Man Who Told LA Metro Bus Driver He Has Ebola (one photograph)
September 24, 2014 KCET: Photos: Aliso Street, Before It Became the 101 Freeway (one historical photograph)
July 28, 2014 KCET: When PCH Blasted Through Point Mugu (three historical photographs)
July 10, 2014 KCET: Photos: When Trolley Tracks Ran Through Southland Beaches (two historical photographs)
May 20, 2014 Streetsblog LA: Today’s Headlines (“hat tip” for story from our Los Angeles Transportation Headlines)
May 2, 2014 LAist: Vintage Photos of Union Station’s First Years, Celebrating Its 75th Anniversary (one historical photograph; embedded video of Union Station 1939 grand opening celebration for which Metro Research Library & Archive was instrumental in preserving. “Metro and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently restored this video, which is the only known footage of this large event. It can be see here.”)
March 31, 2014 KCET: Why Isn’t There a Freeway to Beverly Hills? (four historical maps; three historical renderings)
March 26, 2014 Los Angeles Magazine: CityDig: When L.A.’s Buses Had an Upper Deck (one historical photograph; link to digitized 1924 Los Angeles Railway employee news magazine)
February 21, 2014 KCET: Photos: Many L.A. Boulevards Began as Streetcar Lines (two historical photographs)
February 11, 2014 LAist: Video from 1937 Shows Shirley Temple Inaugurating L.A. Street Car Line (one embedded video of historical footage in story about the former child actress’ death)
December 14, 2013 Streetsblog LA: Southern California Transit Advocates Holiday Banquet (event notice: ” Special guest is Metro Library, Archives and Records Administrator Matthew Barrett.”)
December 13, 2013 KCET: Stunted Progress: Belmont Tunnel and the Repurposing of a Faded Los Angeles Dream (one historical photograph; one historical map)
December 12, 2013 Los Angeles Magazine: CityDig: When Candy-Cane Streetcars Rolled Out Holiday Cheer (one historical photograph; link to digitized 1949 Los Angeles Railway employee news magazine)
December 6, 2013 KCET: Broadway Place: Downtown L.A.’s Lost, Quirky Street (two historical photographs)
November 22, 2013 KCET: Colorado Street Bridge at 100: The Birth of a Pasadena Landmark (one historical rendering)
November 6, 2013 Los Angeles Magazine: CityDig: When Trolley Tracks Divided the 101 (one historical photograph)
November 1, 2013 KCET: Photos: When the Metro Orange Line Was Rail (three historical photographs)
September 23, 2013 Streetsblog LA: Today’s Headlines (“Metro Library’s Excellent Site for Transportation Headlines Shut Down”; they later resumed in the current format)
July 18, 2013 KPCC: Mayor Garcetti’s Appointments to Metro Board Include Westside, Valley Councilmen (one photograph)
July 11, 2013 KCET: Incline L.A.: The Lost Residential Railway of Mt. Washington (Episode 2) (historical photographs and maps used in 6 minute video)
June 10, 2013 KPCC: Ratepayer Advocate Says DWP Overpaying for Large-Scale Solar Power, but Others Say Program Off to a “Promising Start” (one photograph)
May 30, 2013 KCET: Incline L.A.: Angels Flight and Its Lost Sibling, Court Flight (Episode 1) (historical photos and map)
May 25, 2013 KPCC: Rail Yard Along LA River May Become City’s Next Park (one photograph)
April 30, 2013 Los Angeles Magazine: CityDig: The Mt. Lowe Railway’s Thrilling, Terrifying Circular Bridge (one historical photograph)
April 3, 2013 Streetsblog LA: Memories of Julian Burke (one photograph)
April 2, 2013 Los Angeles Magazine: CityDig: The Trackless Trolleys of Laurel Canyon (one historical postcard image)
March 12, 2013 Los Angeles Magazine: Remembering L.A.’s Other Trolleys: The Yellow Cars (one historical photograph)
February 1, 2013 KPCC: LADWP Launches Solar Buyback Program (Finally) (one photograph)
January ?, 2013 CBS News: “Never Built”: What Los Angeles Could Have Been (one historical image credited to the A+D Museum which was borrowed from our collection for the exhibit, exact date of story publication online unknown)
January 31, 2013: KCET: The L.A. That Might Have Been (two historical maps)
January 23, 2013: KPCC: Never Built: Los Angeles Architecturally Reimagined (one historical monograph image; discussion of A+D Museum exhibit featuring numerous Metro Research Library & Archive resources. A large-scale version of the same image was also used for the front of the museum on Wilshire Boulevard)
January 17, 2013: KCET: Lost Train Depots of Los Angeles History (one historical postcard image)
December 27, 2012 KCET: L.A. Once Had Cable Cars, Too (three historical images)
December 20, 2012 KCET: When Hollywood boulevard Became Santa Clause Lane (one historical photograph)
December 6, 2012 KCET: L.A.’s First Streetcars Were Horse-Powered (two historical photographs)
November 5, 2012 KPCC: Metro Bus Driver Attacked At The Wheel; Passengers Grab Suspect (one photograph)
November 1, 2012 KCET: From Footpaths to the Grapevine: A Brief History of Southern California’s Ridge Route (one historical photograph)
September 10, 2012 KCET: Creating the Santa Monica Freeway (one historical map)
August 15, 2012 KCET: L.A.’s First Freeways (three historical renderings; one historical map)
August 1, 2012 KCET: Seventh & Broadway: Photos of Downtown’s Crosssroads Through the Decades (one historical postcard image; one historical photograph)
July 4, 2012 KCET: Rockets, Cable Cars, and Protest Marches: Past SoCal Fourth of July Observances (one historical photograph)
June 20, 2012 KCET: The Oldest Things in Southern California’s Archives, Part 2 (one historical document)
May 30, 2012 KCET: Rise of the Sierra Madre: A Brief history of the San Gabriel Mountains (one historical photograph)
April 17, 2012 Streetsblog LA: Union Station Master Plan Vision board Viewing Next Week (one historical postcard image)
February 22, 2012 StreetsBlog LA: Origins of the Metro Code of conduct (Metro Research Library, Archive, and Records Information Management cited in comments as source of information for article)
January 25, 2012 KCET: Why L.A. Has Clashing Street Grids (one historical photograph)
January 5, 2012 KCET: Feuer Kicks Off Legislative Season with “Measure R Plus” and Fast Track for Rail Challenges (one photograph)
January 4, 2012 KCET: Lost Tunnels of Downtown L.A. (three historical photographs; one historical digital document)
December 21, 2011 KCET: Photos: Holiday Celebrations of SoCal’s Past (three historical photographs)
October 24, 2011 KCET: Transportation: End of the Line (Nine historical photographs used; end of Highland Park streetcar service)
August 25, 2011 KCET: A Brief History of Sunset Junction: Street Cars, Gay Rights and Its Namesake Festival (one historical photograph)
June 16, 2011 KCET: Pasadena at 125: Early History of the Crown City (one historical photograph)
May 12, 2011 KPCC: Free Slideshow on Pacific Electric Red Car at Glendale Public Library (one historical photograph)
March 31, 2011 KCET: What Rodeo Drive Looked Like in 1925 & More Hidden Treasures of SoCal’s Archives (one historical map)
March 17, 2011 KCET: L.A.’s Smoggy Past, in Photos (one historical digital document; link to Primary Resources post)
March 10, 2011 KCET: Many Roads to the Historical Southland (one historical photograph [attribution via hovering text])
March 3, 2011 KCET: Union Station and the Dream of Flying Buses (one historical photograph; one photograph)
October 21, 2009 LAist: Now Online: Transit Maps and Plans Dating Back to 1906 (links to numerous Metro Research Library and Archive maps via Scribd which is no longer used by the Library)
October 21, 2009 StreetsBlog LA: Welcome to the Blogroll: Steve Hymon, Fred “Camino” and The Source (Metro Research Library and Archive’s daily Transportation Headlines referenced as a source for quality transit/transportation news)
June 23, 2009: Streetsblog LA: Dana Gabbard: Why My Community is the Best for Transit (one historical photograph)
March 16, 2009: StreetsBlog LA: Metro Moving Ahead with Bus Expansion (one photograph)
February 24, 2009: StreetsBlog LA: Your Measure R Dollars at Work: Safer Metrolink (one photograph)
December 17, 2008: LAist: Metro CEO Plans to Retire After 43 Years in Public Transit (one photograph)
November 3, 2008: StreetsBlog LA: One Last Look at “Yes” and “No” on Measure R (one photograph)
July 12, 2008: LAist: LAistory: The 1925 “Hollywood Subway” (one historical map; one historical photograph)