P (Los Angeles Railway)

P
Overview
Type	Light rail
System	Los Angeles Railway, Los Angeles MTA
Locale	Los Angeles, East Los Angeles
Termini	Pico Boulevard and Rimpau Boulevard Brooklyn Avenue and Rowan Avenue
Stations	34
Operation
Opening	1920
Closed	1963
Owner	Los Angeles MTA
Technical
Track gauge	narrow gauge
Electrification	Overhead lines
Route map edit Pico and Rimpau Pico and Crenshaw Pico and Arlington Pico and Wilton Pico and Western Pico and Harvard Pico and VermontV Pico and Hoover Pico and Alvarado Interstate 110 Pico and Georgia Pico and Figueroa Pico and Flower Pico and Hope Pico and GrandJ Pico and Hill Pico and Broadway Broadway and 11th 5 Broadway and 9th Broadway and 7thJ Broadway and 5th Broadway and 1st 1st and Spring 1st and Main 1st and Alameda 1st and Vignes ATSF Los Angeles River 1st and Mission U.S. Route 101 1st and Boyle 1st and State 1st and Soto 1st and Fresno 1st and Lorena 1st and Indiana 1st and Rowan Rowan and Brooklyn

P was a line operated by the Los Angeles Railway from 1895 to 1958, and by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority from 1958 to 1963. It was by far the most popular of the railway's routes.

History

Pico Street Electric Railway (1887-88)

The first streetcar line on Pico Boulevard was short lived, running from an Orange Grove at Lorde Street (present-day Harvard Boulevard) to the Plaza de Los Angeles by way of Pico, Maple Avenue, 7th Street, San Julian Street, 3rd Street, and Los Angeles Street. The company went under almost immediately.

The Modern Route

The Pico and First Street Line was one of the first routes built by the new Los Angeles Railway in 1895. Its new route crossed from Pico and Van Ness Avenue in the west to Brooklyn and Rowan avenues in the east, via Pico Boulevard, Main Street, Broadway, 1st Street, and Rowan Avenue. In 1919, Broadway was extended south from 11th and Main to Pico Boulevard, removing the line from Main Street entirely. In 1920, the route was extended west to the Rimpau Loop and renamed P. Its route was unchanged for the rest of its existence.

Gage Street Shuttle Line

As part of the Los Angeles Railway's expansion, a shuttle line was built north from Rowan and Dozier along Rowan, Hammel and Gage to Blanchard Street, at the foot of what is now City Terrace. Ridership was very low and the route was discontinued by LATL.

Sources

Electric Rail Heritage Association