Streetcars line Broadway at 7th St, downtown Los Angeles, 1943
There seems to be quite a log jam of streetcars along Broadway in downtown L.A. at 7th Street. Maybe it’s because this photo was taken in 1943, when America was in the depth of WWII. Gasoline was strictly rationed and so people were more reliant on public transport. With LA being flooded with war workers and servicemen, there was a lot of bodies to be moved around. Or maybe a really terrific picture was playing at the Loew’s State Theatre, whose marquee we can see at the extreme left.
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If you notice the extension of the white line (an auto barrier) beyond the main platform sector, this was probably a method to alleviate congestion at other intersections by creating a primary loading zone. Obviously, there are few streetcars in the blocks beyond as they have converged here. The presence of two cops for traffic duty would have been neccessary to deal with the left turns and those peds trying to get across this mess. Even up to final abandonment of rail traffic in the early ’60’s, some of these crossing points were quite a nightmare. L.A.’s Finest would put on an amazing show directing it all. Those movable “No Left Turn” signs would become common sights as AUT-eri-O-scleroris set in.