An elevated police traffic box overlooks the intersection of Main, Spring, and 9th Streets, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1917

An elevated police traffic box overlooks the intersection of Main, Spring, and 9th Streets, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1917Here we have a circa 1917 view of one of L.A.’s most complicated intersections, where Main, Spring, and 9th Streets converge in downtown Los Angeles. I don’t know how these people managed to negotiate this 5-way intersection without traffic lights, but apparently they figured it out. It’s also probably why there is an elevated police traffic box – that’s the booth in the center of the photo. But what did he do when he got up there? Yell at reckless drivers?

Here’s that same intersection in December 2020. It looks a lot calmer, doesn’t it?

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7 responses to “An elevated police traffic box overlooks the intersection of Main, Spring, and 9th Streets, downtown Los Angeles, circa 1917”

  1. J Yuma says:

    The police box was an attempt by the city Fathers to say”Look, we’re doing something about this horrible problem”.

    I’d like to know what this is. Early version of Jumbovision? https://i.imgur.com/flAmOFX.png

  2. John E Fisher says:

    I believe that the tower was placed there for the purpose of regulating the rail movements. Perhaps a light was activated by a man inside to advise train conductors of the right of way assignment.
    Based on photos that I have seen, some of the Downtown intersections at this time were regulated by a rectangular sign attached to overhead lines with the word STOP.
    In October 1920 the first Acme signals would be installed along Broadway between 3rd and 7th Streets. By 1924 32 of the Downtown intersections would have these new Acme signals.

  3. Bill Wolfe says:

    The triangle-shaped building at the place where Spring and Main converge housed a restaurant for many years. (It might still be there, but I’m not sure.) When our office was moved from City Hall to Fourth and Spring while City Hall underwent earthquake retrofitting and general rehabilitation in the late Nineties, my boss and I would occasionally eat at this restaurant’s rooftop dining area. It was always fascinating to watch the traffic, both automotive and pedestrian, from this second floor perch. I can’t imagine what the addition of trolleys would have done to the traffic flow!

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