CityNerd | In Search of Walkable L.A.: How Defunct Electric Railways Could be Southern California's Salvation @CityNerd | Uploaded July 2022 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
Do you ever think about the inflection point in US history where we stopped building streets and communities for people walking and accessing electrified rail, and started building streets for individuals driving their personal vehicles wherever and whenever they wanted? Well, I do!
Today's video is an exploration of the history of electrified rail (streetcars) in greater Los Angeles, including the Pacific Electric Railway (the "Red Cars" and the Los Angeles Railway (the "Yellow Cars"). Even though the last of the streetcars were ripped out by the middle of the 20th century, the urban form and street design remains, persistent , like a phantom limb that keeps reminding you what once was.
We'll explore great streetcar suburbs like Silver Lake, Larchmont Village, and Highland Park -- L.A. neighborhoods that still have intact urban fabric and are in higher demand than ever. We'll also look at places where the region is investing in modern rail to reconnect and leverage these great assets.
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Patreon - a way to directly support continuing CityNerd output! Thanks to all who have signed up so far.
patreon.com/CityNerd
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Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
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Other CityNerd Videos referenced:
- Humungous Parking Lots: youtu.be/Oqsk73g6tqI
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Resources:
- knowyourmeme.com/memes/this-kind-of-smart-walkable-mixed-use-urbanism-is-illegal-to-build-in-most-american-cities
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Railway
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric
- kcet.org/shows/lost-la/where-to-find-remnants-of-l-a-s-red-car-system
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subway_Terminal_Building
- metro.net/riding/schedules/?line=804
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Image Credits:
- Santa Ana streetcar By Not given - Courtesy of Orange County Archives, Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18372420
- LA Traffic Video by William Sevilla from Pixabay
- Red Cars awaiting destruction By Unknown author - Los Angeles Times photographic archive, UCLA Library [1], Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6524109
- Hill Street 1910s By Unknown author - http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll65/id/2928, Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30887776
----------
Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)
----------
Inquiries: nerd4cities@gmail.com
Do you ever think about the inflection point in US history where we stopped building streets and communities for people walking and accessing electrified rail, and started building streets for individuals driving their personal vehicles wherever and whenever they wanted? Well, I do!
Today's video is an exploration of the history of electrified rail (streetcars) in greater Los Angeles, including the Pacific Electric Railway (the "Red Cars" and the Los Angeles Railway (the "Yellow Cars"). Even though the last of the streetcars were ripped out by the middle of the 20th century, the urban form and street design remains, persistent , like a phantom limb that keeps reminding you what once was.
We'll explore great streetcar suburbs like Silver Lake, Larchmont Village, and Highland Park -- L.A. neighborhoods that still have intact urban fabric and are in higher demand than ever. We'll also look at places where the region is investing in modern rail to reconnect and leverage these great assets.
----------
Patreon - a way to directly support continuing CityNerd output! Thanks to all who have signed up so far.
patreon.com/CityNerd
----------
Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
----------
Other CityNerd Videos referenced:
- Humungous Parking Lots: youtu.be/Oqsk73g6tqI
----------
Resources:
- knowyourmeme.com/memes/this-kind-of-smart-walkable-mixed-use-urbanism-is-illegal-to-build-in-most-american-cities
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Railway
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric
- kcet.org/shows/lost-la/where-to-find-remnants-of-l-a-s-red-car-system
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subway_Terminal_Building
- metro.net/riding/schedules/?line=804
----------
Image Credits:
- Santa Ana streetcar By Not given - Courtesy of Orange County Archives, Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18372420
- LA Traffic Video by William Sevilla from Pixabay
- Red Cars awaiting destruction By Unknown author - Los Angeles Times photographic archive, UCLA Library [1], Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6524109
- Hill Street 1910s By Unknown author - http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll65/id/2928, Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30887776
----------
Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)
----------
Inquiries: nerd4cities@gmail.com
