This subway terminal car from Beverly Hills is at the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Olive Drive, blocking a view of Barney’s Beanery. It is heading east toward downtown Los Angeles through Hollywood, Silverlake and Echo Park, 1955. (Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Transportation Administration Library and Archive)
The line through Hollywood and West Hollywood stopped running in 1954 not 1955. The last PE Line was to Long Beach and it quit in 1961. Streetcars REALLY do have more charm than buses!
Mike
10 years ago
@ Kim, The demise of the rail system due to the auto industry is a bit of a stretch. By the 1950’s with increasing development of the SF Valley and points east, west & south, the rail system became increasingly too expensive to maintain. Yes, cars were cheap but so was housing in the valley. The rail system’s owners just gave up and did not maintain the rails and cars.
Kim Paulsen
10 years ago
This would have fix the problem of auto congestion. The Pacific Electric Railway was taken out the sell autos, tires, oil and alike. Now we have congestion. WAST MAKES MONEY, EFFICIENCY DOES NOT. The Pacific Electric built Los Angeles County. The politicians are nothing but puppets to the powers that be!
Rob Bergstein
10 years ago
Across from my house, all the buildings are built at right angles as the tracks used to run through there–the wine store on Fountain was the ticket stop with employee housing in back. The story I’m told is that Regina Kaufman, a survivor of the Warsau ghetto, saw the house that I now live in, back in in the early 60’s, for sale for $15,000.00 She called the owner & said it was to much money as it was to noisy with the trains across the street. She knew the Red Line was soon to stop running–he didn’t. Regina, aka… Read more »
Mike
10 years ago
@saveweho.. I believe that the tracks on the median were pulled out in the mid-80’s after West Hollywood became a city. Up until then it was a wide dirt median. Another point: If the pace of development continues at its current pace then traffic is going to get even worse.
luca d
10 years ago
mass transit carries people down santa monica boulevard everyday, quite efficiently and on time. buses. they are not glamorous, and neither were the electric cars way back when. i’m waiting for the city of weho to pass their own ‘no fracking’ laws, while they push for the wise move of a subway under the streets all the way to the sea. in earthquake country, it seems like a perfectly safe idea, I guess. what could go wrong? when your frame of reference is the grove’s trolley, or the disneyland express, rail travel seems so cool, clean and romantic. it’s not.… Read more »
Having a dedicated right-of-way for transit on Santa Monica would certainly be lovely, but a rapid bus line (like the Orange Line) would probably be a better investment than a trolley. Though I adore rail, it’s insanely expensive compared to buses.
SaveWeho
10 years ago
We act like this was so long ago and it wasn’t. The tracks were only pulled out in 1998. If the City of West Hollywood had any foresight they should have refurbished the tracks and created a wonderful transportation system from one end of Weho to the next. And now with the planned LA Subway system bypassing Weho altogether…I think we should take it upon ourselves to bring this back. A real trolly track along Santa Monica Blvd from La Brea to Doheny. The space is there (the green center median). It would be far better use of money than… Read more »
The line through Hollywood and West Hollywood stopped running in 1954 not 1955. The last PE Line was to Long Beach and it quit in 1961. Streetcars REALLY do have more charm than buses!
@ Kim, The demise of the rail system due to the auto industry is a bit of a stretch. By the 1950’s with increasing development of the SF Valley and points east, west & south, the rail system became increasingly too expensive to maintain. Yes, cars were cheap but so was housing in the valley. The rail system’s owners just gave up and did not maintain the rails and cars.
This would have fix the problem of auto congestion. The Pacific Electric Railway was taken out the sell autos, tires, oil and alike. Now we have congestion. WAST MAKES MONEY, EFFICIENCY DOES NOT. The Pacific Electric built Los Angeles County. The politicians are nothing but puppets to the powers that be!
Across from my house, all the buildings are built at right angles as the tracks used to run through there–the wine store on Fountain was the ticket stop with employee housing in back. The story I’m told is that Regina Kaufman, a survivor of the Warsau ghetto, saw the house that I now live in, back in in the early 60’s, for sale for $15,000.00 She called the owner & said it was to much money as it was to noisy with the trains across the street. She knew the Red Line was soon to stop running–he didn’t. Regina, aka… Read more »
@saveweho.. I believe that the tracks on the median were pulled out in the mid-80’s after West Hollywood became a city. Up until then it was a wide dirt median. Another point: If the pace of development continues at its current pace then traffic is going to get even worse.
mass transit carries people down santa monica boulevard everyday, quite efficiently and on time. buses. they are not glamorous, and neither were the electric cars way back when. i’m waiting for the city of weho to pass their own ‘no fracking’ laws, while they push for the wise move of a subway under the streets all the way to the sea. in earthquake country, it seems like a perfectly safe idea, I guess. what could go wrong? when your frame of reference is the grove’s trolley, or the disneyland express, rail travel seems so cool, clean and romantic. it’s not.… Read more »
Sorry, SaveWeho, but I don’t think the space is there. There isn’t a median all the way down SMB.
Having a dedicated right-of-way for transit on Santa Monica would certainly be lovely, but a rapid bus line (like the Orange Line) would probably be a better investment than a trolley. Though I adore rail, it’s insanely expensive compared to buses.
We act like this was so long ago and it wasn’t. The tracks were only pulled out in 1998. If the City of West Hollywood had any foresight they should have refurbished the tracks and created a wonderful transportation system from one end of Weho to the next. And now with the planned LA Subway system bypassing Weho altogether…I think we should take it upon ourselves to bring this back. A real trolly track along Santa Monica Blvd from La Brea to Doheny. The space is there (the green center median). It would be far better use of money than… Read more »