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Everything old is new again. This 1934 map via the Big Map Blog shows what Los Angeles looked like before freeways but after an extensive rail and bus line system had been built.
The dotted lines show the routes for cars (meaning bus lines), the solid lines are for the coaches run by the Pacific Electric Railway, Los Angeles Railway and Los Angeles Motor Coach Company. The first subway in the area started rolling nearly a decade before but it didn't last forever thanks to freeways, car culture (and maybe conspiracy). At the time, Los Angeles proper had about one-third of the population it has today.
Related:
LAistory: The 1925 "Hollywood Subway"
Potential Routes for Downtown Streetcars Getting Reviewed
Now Online: Transit Maps and Plans Dating Back to 1906
Bringing Back the NoHo Streetcar Idea
