H (Los Angeles Railway)

H was a streetcar route in Los Angeles, California. It was owned and operated by the Los Angeles Railway from 1912 to 1947.

H
Overview
LocaleLos Angeles
Service
TypeStreetcar
SystemLos Angeles Railway
Daily ridership14,484 (1940)[1]
History
Opened1912 (1912)
ClosedAugust 3, 1947 (1947-08-03)
Technical
Track gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
ElectrificationOverhead line600 V DC
Route map

1925–1947
Melrose and Western
 S 
Melrose and Normandie
Melrose and Heliotrope
Heliotrope and Beverly
Beverly and Vermont
 V 
Vermont and 1st
 V 
2nd and Commonwealth
2nd and Rampart
Rampart and 6th
 3 
6th and Park View
6th and Alvarado
 D   3 
Alvarado and Wilshire
Alvarado and 7th
 R   S 
7th and Figueroa
7th and Grand
 J 
7th and Hill
Pacific Electric
7th and Broadway
 N   P   W   5   9 
7th and Main
 B   F   O 
7th and Los Angeles
7th and Maple
 J   R   S 
Maple and 8th
Maple and Olympic
Pacific Electric
Maple and 12th
Maple and 16th
Maple and Washington
Maple and Adams
Maple and Jefferson
Wall and Santa Barbara
Maple and Vernon
 V 
53rd and San Pedro

History

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The route's origins begin when the streetcar lines running on Washington Street and Maple Avenue were combined into a single service in 1912, running through Downtown. During the 1920 rerouting, the Washington Street line was spun into the West Washington and Garvanza Line.[2] Thus, the Maple and Heliotrope line consisted of tracks on Melrose; Heliotrope; Temple; New Hampshire; First; Bimini Place; a private right of way; 2nd; Rampart; 6th; Alvarado; 7th; Maple; Woodlawn; Santa Barbara; Wall; and 53rd.[3] The Maple segment became the south end of the new line, which ran to Melrose to Normandie in Melrose Hill. The line was given the letter designation H in 1921.[4][5] Service between First and the University of California was temporarily discontinued in the summer of 1924 amid citywide power cuts.[6] The western end was rerouted via Vermont and Beverly in 1924 and extended to Melrose and Western the following year. This routing pattern held until August 3, 1947 when service was discontinued.[2][7]

Sources

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  1. ^ Breivogel, Milton; Bate, Stuart (1942). "Mass Transit Facilities and Master Plan of Parkways" (PDF). Los Angeles City Planning Commission. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "'H'". Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  3. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Terrass, John (1922). Study and Plan of Relief of the Street Traffic Congestion in the City of Los Angeles, California (PDF) (Thesis). University of California. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  4. ^ "May 1: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History". Metro Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved February 16, 2022. 1921: Large letter signs indicating the routes of different lines are placed on top of Los Angeles Railway streetcars.
  5. ^ "Cars To Have Letter Signs" (PDF). Two Bells. Vol. 1, no. 48. Los Angeles Railway. May 2, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "Power In L.A. Cut 25% Monday". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. July 7, 1924. p. 2A. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ "'H' Car Line to Retain Route". Los Angeles Evening Express. Newspapers.com. May 30, 1928. p. 19. Retrieved February 6, 2022.  
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