Streetcar on the S line at 8th St and Western Ave looking west, Los Angeles, circa mid to late 1950s

Streetcar on the S line at 8th St and Western Ave looking west, Los Angeles, circa 1950Here we have a scene that any Angeleno wouldn’t have thought twice about back in around the mid to late 1950s, when this photo was taken. But now we live in a streetcarless Los Angeles, where some of us miss a form of public transit that we never got to experience. This is the LA transit lines No. 1419 streetcar on the S line. We’re looking west along 8th St, where the line terminates at Western Ave. If you look past the streetcar, you can see the first Ben Frank’s restaurant. Next to that is the American Cancer Society building which later became Wonderland Studios owned by Stevie Wonder.

This is roughly the same view from July 2022. Not a lot remains except for the two brick buildings on the right.

My thanks to Lisa Gilmour for bringing to photo to my attention.

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5 responses to “Streetcar on the S line at 8th St and Western Ave looking west, Los Angeles, circa mid to late 1950s”

  1. Richard Fulwiler says:

    I believe the date should show at least 1957, with a ’57 Chevy convertible in the lot to the far right. The car facing is a 1953 Mercury Monterey which got me started to look at the other autos in this great image.

  2. william mcnally says:

    The Mercury on the left, and the Oldsmobile in right rear are early ’50s.

  3. Russell Stoll says:

    My dad used to eat at Ben Frank’s nearly every day from the time it opened on Western Avenue to the mid 60s. I remember the street cars that ran on 8th Street and there was a car wash on the right there too and my dad‘s clinical lab was next-door to a hotdog stand as well at that junction. This picture would’ve been taken just about in front of where my parents business was into the left would be the hotdog stand just out of view. It was a bustling area in the 50’s, early 60’s. I remember my dad having apple pie with a slice of cheese on top for dessert and the people in the restaurant being very friendly, it brings back good memories…

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