D.V. Waldron

D. V. Waldron was a member of the Los Angeles Common Council, the governing body of that city, and in 1873 he was the first person to receive a permit for a streetcar line in Los Angeles.

Vocation


Waldron owned an outdoor park at Washington and Main streets (called a "beer garden" by a 1935 writer), and in 1873 he obtained a city permit to establish a horse-drawn public carriage between his business and the main part of town at Temple and Main streets.[1] That same year he was issued a five-year permit to dig up Main Street from Alameda Street to Jefferson Street, lay down and maintain "two iron railroad tracks and to run cars thereon, to be propelled by horses or mules." Waldron, however, "forfeited his rights," and the franchise was taken up by Robert M. Widney.[2][3]

Common Council

Waldron was elected to represent the 3rd Ward on the Los Angeles Common Council, the legislative branch of the city government, on December 6, 1875, and served two terms, until December 6, 1877.[4]

References

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  1. ↑ Jack Carleton, "Los Angeles Grew With the Tracks," Los Angeles Times, June 2, 1935, page H-11
  2. ↑ "The Street Railway History of Los Angeles," Electric Railway Historical Association
  3. ↑ Ira Berthelot Wood, "The Beginning of Los Angeles," Los Angeles Times, April 10, 1927, page 32
  4. ↑ Chronological Record of Los Angeles City Officials,1850-1938, compiled under direction of Municipal Reference Library, City Hall, Los Angeles (March 1938, reprinted 1966). "Prepared ... as a report on Project No. SA 3123-5703-6077-8121-9900 conducted under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration."