The Belmont Tunnel / Toluca Substation and Yard is a designated historic monument located within the city limits of Los Angeles, California. The tunnel, substation and yard are remnants of the former Pacific Electric Railway's line that ran between the Subway Terminal Building in Downtown Los Angeles and the residential district of Westlake. The monument occupies a vacant lot roughly one mile west of downtown.
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The Belmont Tunnel / Toluca Substation and Yard is located at 1304 West 2nd Street, in the Los Angeles district of Westlake. The property is bounded by 2nd Street and the Beverly Blvd. viaduct to the north, Lucas Avenue to the west, Emerald Street to the south, and Toluca Street to the east.
Although the tunnel, substation and yard are regarded by many Angelenos as another example of urban decay, the property has a rich history dating back to the early 1920s. Responding to the traffic congestion that clogged the streets of Los Angeles's downtown, the California Railroad Commission in 1922 issued Order 9928, which commissioned the Pacific Electric company to construct a subway system allowing passengers to bypass downtown's busy streets altogether.[1] Plans for the proposed "Hollywood Subway" were drafted as early as February 1924, and ground was broken in May of the same year.[1]
After 18 months of construction and $1.25 million in expenditures, the Subway officially opened to the public on December 1, 1925.[1] Traveling a distance of slightly over one mile, the subway transported passengers through the Belmont Tunnel, which connected the tunnel's portal near the intersection of Beverly and Glendale Blvds. in Westlake with the Subway Terminal Building, located at the corner of Fourth and Hill Streets in the core of downtown. The subway cars were powered by a new substation - Toluca No. 51 - which was constructed in the yard adjacent to the tunnel's opening and provided the electrical energy needed for the Subway's operation.
From the day of its opening, the Hollywood Subway proved to be a successful operation and quickly emerged as one of Los Angeles' most popular means of transit. As a faster and more convenient alternative to the streetcar or the automobile, the Subway transported thousands of commuting Anglenos each day through the 1920s and 1930s. Ridership hit its peak during the Second World War; in 1944 - considered to have been the peak of the subway's operation - an estimated 65,000 passengers traversed the Belmont Tunnel on a daily basis.[2]
The construction of an extensive freeway system throughout Southern California ultimately led to the closure of the Hollywood Subway in the 1950s. As Angelenos became increasingly reliant on the personal automobile, ridership on the Subway plummeted and forced the struggling Pacific Electric company to abandon their operation in 1955. The last subway car to carry passengers - carrying a banner reading "To Oblivion" - traversed the tunnel on the morning of June 19, 1955.[2] Shortly thereafter, Pacific Electric removed the tracks from the Belmont Tunnel, closed the Subway Terminal Building and Toluca Substation, and left the site abandoned.
Few changes have been made to the tunnel, substation and yard since the Subway's closure, as the site of the former railway has long escaped the attention of city officials. In the 1960s, the city briefly attempted to make use of the defunct tunnel for the storage of impounded automobiles, and later as a makeshift disaster shelter.[1] The only physical alteration to the site came about in 1967, when a portion of the tunnel between Flower and Figueroa Streets in downtown was filled in to accommodate the foundation of the Bonaventure Hotel. [1]
Over the next 35 years, the site was left largely neglected and its historical significance was overshadowed by its gritty, run-down appearance. The abandoned tunnel, substation and yard - which were left entirely intact and open to public view - lent themselves to attract many graffiti artists.[1] The site also appealed to the homeless, who took refuge in the shelter provided by the tunnel and substation. [2] There were also several underground "rave" parties hosted at the site in the 1990s, often with the power being supplied from one of the neighboring residential dwellings. To locals and passers-by, the site - simply referred to as "The Tunnel" - has long blended into the landscape and is regarded as little more than another vacant lot.
In 2002, West Los Angeles-based Meta Housing Corporation purchased the property and announced plans to construct a 276-unit apartment complex on the former Toluca yard. Belmont Station Apartments was completed in late 2008. The entrance to the tunnel has been sealed and painted with a mural of a Red Car, which glows in the dark, by artist Tait Roelofs.[3] The substation remains next to the tunnel entrance at the back of the property, behind the new construction, and has been cleaned of the graffiti which adorned it for many decades.
The tunnel has served as a movie set for a large number of TV shows and movies.
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