Here’s some gridlock I’m glad I wasn’t caught up in. A couple of Pacific Electric streetcars (the front one is heading to Glendale) block the intersection of Broadway and 6th, downtown Los Angeles. The motorist in the center of the photo looks like he’s about to hit the streetcar. Or maybe he’s trying to get out of the way of the second motorist, who is blocking the path of the third one, who has zipped in front of the streetcar. But is he now blocking it from moving forward? This photo is from June 1919, so I doubt there are any traffic signals to obey—or ignore, so I guess those pedestrians are crossing the street whenever it suits them. (Also note the Silverwood’s menswear store in the background.)
I don’t know exactly which intersection we’re looking at in the vintage photo, but here’s what that intersection looked like in June 2024.
Silverwoods would be the Northeast corner where that jewelry place is is the modern image. The cars would be heading west along Sixth coming up from the alignment north of the Pacific Electric Station at Main. I’m not sure if they are originating there or coming all the way from ArcadeDepot/Central Station on this run. There may have been access to the Surface Yard (behind the PE terminal and past Los Angeles Street) from 6th, as there was from 7th. Some trolley runs may have been started out there (the platform viaduct was built above it) but information tends to be cloudy on early era operations. If the cars were coming all the way from the SP depot, there would be little or no reason to run them into the terminal as you could just hop one at the corner. This photo is before the Subway Terminal was opened, so the routing to get around the hills downtown is complicated.
BTW…These would have been considered Suburban type car for the intermediate length runs, rather than either locals or Interurbans. No numbers are visible but the arch windows may give them away as the finer cars inherited from the Los Angeles & Redondo when the system was grabbed and split between LARy & PERy. To combine them as a singular train, cars had to be equipped or re-equipped for “multiple unit” operation (usually called M.U. for short).
I find it so interesting that in most of the old photos the buildings all seem to have big awnings. I wonder when and why those fell out of favor. I kind of like awnings on windows. I think it adds class to the buildings.
As well as much-needed shade!
Amen!!!
I totally agree and was just thinking that recently when looking at a downtown photo on here. I love awnings, and we’re certainly going to need them if global warming continues.
I’m assuming there wasn’t air conditioning in the buildings as the norm, hence the awnings.
Quite right..a/c first installed in a NYC building in 1929. To get beyond applied window units, you need a big basement for water chillers and pumps, duct work and blowers, and likely roof tanks (for gravity) and some exhaust fans. You always see a brand new deep hole when they replace the old buildings. It’s not just for foundation columns. Boilers go down there too as well as electrical panels. There may be one guy with boilermaker credentials who works below daily and has to see to monitoring those alarms (false ones were not uncommon). How they handle all this nowadays is beyond my experiences. Munchkins with smart phones?