News and Updates: The latest on what's happening at our Library and Archive

“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

Resources To Know: Mapping All Of America With Key Census Data, Block By Block

The New York Times recently released its mapping project containing information from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. The Survey is a statistical sampling of 1

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

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

Research Roundup: A Closer Look At Transportation Policies — Energy Security Is National Security

Despite transportation accounting for 70% of U.S. oil consumption, energy and transportation policy have historically been devised and implemented in wholly disparate spheres. Transportation projects,

Bringing Streetcars Back To Downtown Los Angeles: A Closer Look At The Economic Benefits Outlined In New Study

  This week a new study was released indicating how the Downtown L.A. Streetcar will have a significant and profound effect on revitalization in Downtown

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

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

1,000,000 And Counting: Metro Library’s Historic Photo Collection On Flickr Hits A Major Milestone

Today, we achieved something extraordinary:  Our online photo collection has been viewed more than one million times on Flickr since implementation. Just over two years ago, we

Research Roundup: Which High-Speed Rail Corridors Are Poised For Success? How Does Smart Growth Promote Wealth? Why Is Intercity Bus Travel The Fastest Growing Transportation Mode?

The United States has embarked on a program of building high-speed rail corridors in the nation’s most urbanized corridors and regions. This is a bold