L.A. Transit & Transportation History
“Every city has had its boom, but the history of Los Angeles…should be regarded as one continuous boom punctuated at intervals with major explosions.” —Carey McWilliams, Southern California: An Island on the Land, 1946 Metro Transportation Library, Archives & Records…
This week marks the anniversary of the 1937 National Transportation Week celebrations in Los Angeles. We reviewed the event for last year’s 75th anniversary, and included video footage of child actress Shirley Temple helping out with the launch of the new PCC…
Going back as far as at least the Gold Rush, California has been built on promotion — and we lost one of our greatest boosters this week. Television host Huell Howser criss-crossed the state promoting our diverse history and culture, uncovering…
It was announced yesterday that plans to bring streetcars back to Broadway in downtown Los Angeles took a giant step forward. Business owners and residents with an approximate three-block radius of the proposed streetcar route voted to tax themselves to…
This Sunday marks the 75th anniversary of the formal opening of the Golden Gate Bridge linking San Francisco to Marin County. The iconic span was at once the greatest over-water structure in the entire world, a profound achievement in engineering…
This weekend, the local news will be filled with stories about the long-awaited opening of the Metro Expo Line Phase I running from downtown to La Cienega Boulevard. But another event this week in Los Angeles history is worth noting as…
The third week of March, 1937 had been designated “National Transportation Week” and Los Angeles was ready to roll out its new streetcars. 10,000 cheering spectators celebrated the arrival of two Presidents’ Conference Committee (PCC) streetcars at City Hall. It…
Today marks the anniversary of an important experiment in the history of local transportation and alternative fuels. On this date in 1972, the Southern California Rapid Transit District took delivery of a prototype steam turbine-powered bus for a year-long demonstration…
January 21st marks the anniversary of groundbreaking for the 11-mile long El Monte Busway and planning for what was billed as the “world’s first bus rapid transit station.” U.S. Transportation Secretary John A. Volpe officiated at ceremonies marking commencement of construction…
Today marks another auspicious local transportation anniversary – a century ago, the first streetcars rolled into the small outlying town of Van Nuys. On December 16, 1911, Pacific Electric Railway Company launched its service to the San Fernando Valley. Van…
