Along with Angelino Heights to the north of downtown L.A., Boyle Heights to the city’s east is one of the places where Los Angeles’s 10-million-people sprawl first began. In this photo from 1895, we see a streetcar approach the intersection of Boyle Ave and 1st Street. The city is so far away that we can’t see it, which made the 1st St Streetcar a vital link to the people who lived here (as did the Temple St streetcar did for the residents of Angelino Heights) and allowed Los Angeles to spread further than the confines of downtown.
Roughly that same view in April 2019. Miraculously, the building has survived the ravages of 20th century redevelopment:
Along with Angelino Heights to the north of downtown L.A., Boyle Heights to the city’s east is one of the places where Los Angeles’s 10-million-people sprawl first began. In this photo from 1895, we see a streetcar approach the intersection of Boyle Ave and 1st Street. The city is so far away that we can’t see it, which made the 1st St Streetcar a vital link to the people who lived here (as did the Temple St streetcar did for the residents of Angelino Heights) and allowed Los Angeles to spread further than the confines of downtown.
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