A few days ago, we marked an important milestone in Los Angeles’ transit and transportation history. The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (LAMTA) was formed as the city’s first publicly-run transit planning agency by the State of California on July 24, 1951. Sometimes referred…
Category: Primary Resources
Primary Resources
Mapping Los Angeles’ Transportation Legacy: Metro Library & Archive Brings History Alive As A Global Launch Partner For Historypin
This month, we’re proud to announce our role as a Global Launch Partner in Historypin — a new multi-platform technology that strives to share photographs from around the world and the stories behind them — in bringing together people and…
A Closer Look At Three Vital Reports On Transportation & Greenhouse Gas Emissions
This month, no less than three new reports worth a closer look have been published regarding transportation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) published the first two reports — each dealing with the…
Decorated Cable Cars Of 1892 & Other Notable 4th Of July Anniversaries From Early Los Angeles Transit History
The upcoming holiday prompted us to share this rarely-seen image of a Los Angeles cable car decked out for the 4th of July, 1892. When you think about it, the photograph was taken nearly midway between the founding of the…
Rail Rapid Transit Now!: Early Freeways, “Bus Rapid Transit” & The Competing Transportation Plans Of 1948
One hundred years ago, the first traffic study of Los Angeles was published. Bion J. Arnold explained “The Traffic Problem Of Los Angeles” in the November 4, 1911 issue of The California Outlook: A Progressive Weekly. In subsequent years, congestion…
L.A. Transit Paintjobs Of The Past: King Tut, Disneyland & Other Notable Livery
If you’ve been dipping into our extensive Flickr online photo collection or reading about it elsewhere, you may know that it now holds well over 7,500 images. As we add to this growing repository of the past, present and future of Southern California transit…
Experience The Future Of History & Culture in Los Angeles: Our New Leadership Role In “LA As Subject”
This morning, LA as Subject members met at the Los Angeles City Archives for the organization’s bi-monthly Archives Forum meeting. Following ten days of voting online, other members cast ballots in person to choose four new Executive Committee members and…
Creating Pacific Coast Highway And Other Landmark Projects From 1924: Metro Library’s New Collection Of Historic California Highway Commission Documents
We have embarked on an exciting new project this year, one that is already yielding fascinating insights into local transportation history. Metro’s Transportation Library & Archive has entered into an arrangement with Occidental College Library to digitize their complete collection of California…
“Come Ride With Us” On The Rolling Submarines Of Los Angeles: SCRTD’s 1974 “Street Fleet” Beach Bus Service
(Promotional video for RTD’s “Street Fleet” bus service, 1974) Memorial Day has come and gone, and while the weather this week doesn’t make it feel like Summer, June means schools are closing and Angelenos will soon begin flocking to Southland…
Approaching Transportation Research: Our Step-By-Step Guide To Getting Started & Up-To-The-Minute Bibliographies For Hot Transportation Topics
Whether you need answers fast or you are not familiar with a subject or its terminology, a timely and effective quest for knowledge can be challenging. Transit and transportation research can be especially daunting. These fields of study are interdisciplinary…