L (Los Angeles Railway)

L was a streetcar line in Los Angeles, California. It was operated by the Los Angeles Railway from 1920 to 1940.

This article is about a former streetcar service. For the discontinued modern light rail line, see L Line (Los Angeles Metro).

L
Overview
OwnerLos Angeles Railway
LocaleLos Angeles
Service
TypeStreetcar
SystemLos Angeles Railway
History
OpenedMay 9, 1920 (1920-05-09)
ClosedMay 26, 1940 (1940-05-26)
Technical
Track gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Electrification600 V DC overhead line
Route map

 Fountain and Edgemont
 Fountain and Vermont
 Fountain and Virgi
 L 
 Virgil and Santa Monica Pacific Electric
 Virgil and Clinton
 Hoover and Silver Lake
 Temple and Rampart
 Temple and Alvarado
 Temple and Belmont
 2 
 Temple and Edgeware
 Temple and Beaudry
 Temple and Figueroa
Pacific Electric
 Hill and Temple
 A 
 Broadway and Temple
 2   5   10   W 
 Broadway and 1st
 P 
 Hill and 1st
Pacific Electric
 Hill and 2nd
 Hill and 3rd
Angels Flight Angels Flight
 Hill and 4th
Pacific Electric
 Hill and 5th  D   U   3 
 Hill and 6th
Pacific Electric
 Hill and 7th  J   R   S 
 Hill and 8th
 Hill and 9th  N 
 Hill and 11th
 A   W 
 11th and Olive
 11th and Grand
 J 
 11th and Hope
 11th and Flower
 11th and Figueroa
 U 
 11th and Georgia
 11th and Alvarado
 Olympic and Hoover
 Olympic and Vermont
 V 
 Olympic and Harvard
 Olympic and Western
 Olympic and Wilton
 Olympic and Crenshaw
 Olympic and Murfield
Los Angeles Railway lines
Pacific Electric lines

History

The West 11th and Lincoln Park line began service on May 9, 1920, as a through routing of the San Pedro and W. 11th Street Line and trackage on Main Street.[1] The eastern end of the route formed a large counterclockwise loop through Lincoln Heights,[2] with the complementing clockwise service through the segment routed to the West Adams and Lincoln Park line. It was given the letter designation L in 1921.[3][4] In August 1924 loop was eliminated, with line now running bi-directional on Mission Place and the A Line taking over tracks on Broadway.[5] That December the west end was rerouted to Spring and Ord Streets. L service took over the branch line which was built to serve the Glendale and Montrose Railway in 1925 — O and E cars initially had served been routed along the line. Tracks between Spring and Main Streets were eliminated in April 1926 to facilitate construction of the new Los Angeles City Hall.[5] The following July, service to the Glendale and Montrose Railway depot was discontinued and the line was rerouted downtown to terminate at Spring and Court Streets. Cars followed a detour on P line tracks at the end of 1927 and routed to Spring and Temple Streets following constriction of the 1st Street Viaduct.[5]

On June 12, 1932, the line was rerouted downtown to terminate at Fountain Avenue and Edgemont Street[6][7][8][9] — cars ceased running on Flower Street, 10th Street, Main Street, and Spring Street. Cars were briefly run through the new Hill Street Tunnel in 1939 before again being rerouted downtown.[10] The final iteration of the L line began at Olympic Boulevard and Mullen Street and ended at the Civic Center, running via 10th (which was being rebuilt as Olympic), Country Club, Victoria, Hoover, 11th, Main, and Spring. The western end of the line was cut back to Menlo Avenue in April 1940, shortly before the service was discontinued on May 26.[5][11]

Sources
  1. "Street Car Rerouting". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. May 5, 1920. p. 10. Retrieved February 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. icon of an open green padlock
  2. Terrass, John (1922). Study and Plan of Relief of the Street Traffic Congestion in the City of Los Angeles, California (PDF) (Thesis). University of California. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  3. "May 1: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History". Metro Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved February 16, 2022. 1921: Large letter signs indicating the routes of different lines are placed on top of Los Angeles Railway streetcars.
  4. "Cars To Have Letter Signs" (PDF). Two Bells. Vol. 1, no. 48. Los Angeles Railway. May 2, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  5. "'L'". Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  6. "Spring Street Extension to be Opened This Week". Los Angeles Times. June 19, 1932. p. 17. Retrieved February 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. icon of an open green padlock
  7. "Transit Routes to Change". Los Angeles Times. June 3, 1932. p. 17. Retrieved July 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. icon of an open green padlock
  8. "New Street Car Routes in Effect". Los Angeles Times. June 13, 1932. p. 13. Retrieved July 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. icon of an open green padlock
  9. H.P. Noordwal (1938). "Route Map Los Angeles Railway Electric Car and Bus Routes" (Map). Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. Los Angeles Railway. "Alternate link" (Map). via Google.
  10. Walker, Jim (2007). Pacific Electric Red Cars. Arcadia Publishing. p. 68. ISBN 978-1531628581.
  11. "Olympic Blvd. Coach Service to Begin Sunday". Los Angeles Times. May 24, 1940. p. 35. Retrieved February 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. icon of an open green padlock
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