Sponsored message
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Map: Riding the Rails in Los Angeles, 1906

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

As we work to build a rail-based transit system to fully serve Los Angeles, it's hard not to take a look at the past, and what we once Had. The Big Map Blog has just published this 1906 map showing L.A.'s rail transit system. Five different lines are mapped out here, including the railroad and the city's interurban (streetcar). It's hard to imagine L.A. without its freeway cloverleafs and overpasses, and instead so many rail lines criss-crossing the city, isn't it?

We've cut the map into a few sections here so you can see up close, but if you want to download and time travel a bit with the whole document, you can download it here.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right