Marmion Way & Avenue 43 in 1909.
In continuation of last week’s post about the Los Angeles & Mount Washington Railway, here are some photos of where the cable car went and what is left of this important local railway.
The cable cars took visitors up to the summit and the Mount Washington Hotel. The luxury hotel was built by Meyer & Holler (Grauman's Chinese Theater) and opened in 1910 at a cost of $40,000. Photo via LAPL.
the hotel today is the mothership of the self realization centers founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920.
go here for more.
Incline Station built by architect Fred Dorn, at Marmion Way and Avenue 43 in October of 1909. Photo circa 1910, via the Los Angeles Public Library.
One of my favorite sights while riding the Metro Gold Line is the old Mt. Washington Cable Car station, spotted on the corner of Avenue 43 just before the train goes into a tunnel. This building is the last surviving remnant of the Los Angeles & Mount Washington Railway. It was essentially a mini transit hub, with the cable cars and LARy Yellow Cars meeting at this intersection. It was a place where you could get a drink and eat a hot dog or a tamale while waiting for your cable car to come down, or a streetcar to come by.
The Incline Station today. Now a duplex.
Today, the path of the cable car is now Avenue 43 and Canyon Vista Drive with a stairway bisecting the steepest part. For 10 years the cable cars ran these steep slopes every 20 minutes from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (and as late as midnight if the demand was there.) As automobiles become more prevalent the incline was needed less. The death nail for the cable car came with World War I, and the creation of the Los Angeles Board of Public Utilities. The BPU had jurisdiction over elevators, and despite this being called, and looking like a railway, it was ruled to be a vertical elevator by the State Supreme Court. The BPU demanded the railway (or vertical elevator as they called it) add a secondary cable and replace the original cable. This cost proved to be too prohibitive for Robert Marsh & Company, and with most of his real estate lots now sold, they had less incentive to keep the cable cars going. The last cable car ran on January 9,1919. In 1930 the tracks removed and right of way paved over.
The Mt. Washington sign atop a covered water reservoir in 1912. Located near where Mt. Washington School is today. Much like the Hollywood(land) sign erected 10 years later, this was placed here to promote real estate sales. (This sign, likely inspired the Hollywood sign we know and love today.) Photo via the Los Angeles Public Library.
Florence & Virginia pass each other on the Mt. Washington Railway in 1916. Note the "Mt. Washington" sign. Photo via the Los Angeles Public Library.
Quote from the Los Angeles Public Library:
Cable cars pass each other on the slopes of Mt. Washington’s Incline Railway. The railway operated over a distance of 2,900 feet, pulled by a cable under wood planking and was created to increase land sales for the Mt. Washington Development Company. The two cable cars, named Florence and Virginia (shown here), operated simultaneously, one leaving at the foot of the hill and the other heading down the mountain from the inn. In January, 1919, the Board of Public Utilities ordered the railway to stop operation due to unsafe operating conditions.
What amazes me is how barren the place looked 90 years ago. At the dawn of the automobile age, it was really these two cable cars that made living on top of Mount Washington practical.
Going to take you higher... Canyon Vista Drive. The path of the cable car now all paved over developed with houses. Just as real estate developer Robert Marsh planned a 100 years before.
A long way down. The bright red cable cars climbed this hill every 20 minutes for only a nickle.
One last tid-bit about this place and railway named Mount Washington: It is often assumed that Mt. Washington, Los Angeles was named after George Washington, or the more famous Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Instead, it was named by and after Colonel Henry Washington, who surveyed the Los Angeles region for the United States in 1855.
More detail about the lost railway of Mount Washington can be found at the
Electric Railway Historical Association.
all via
Marmion Way & Avenue 43 in 1909.
In continuation of last week’s post about the Los Angeles & Mount Washington Railway, here are some photos of where the cable car went and what is left of this important local railway.
The cable cars took visitors up to the summit and the Mount Washington Hotel. The luxury hotel was built by Meyer & Holler (Grauman's Chinese Theater) and opened in 1910 at a cost of $40,000. Photo via LAPL.
the hotel today is the mothership of the self realization centers founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920.
go here for more.
Incline Station built by architect Fred Dorn, at Marmion Way and Avenue 43 in October of 1909. Photo circa 1910, via the Los Angeles Public Library.
One of my favorite sights while riding the Metro Gold Line is the old Mt. Washington Cable Car station, spotted on the corner of Avenue 43 just before the train goes into a tunnel. This building is the last surviving remnant of the Los Angeles & Mount Washington Railway. It was essentially a mini transit hub, with the cable cars and LARy Yellow Cars meeting at this intersection. It was a place where you could get a drink and eat a hot dog or a tamale while waiting for your cable car to come down, or a streetcar to come by.
The Incline Station today. Now a duplex.
Today, the path of the cable car is now Avenue 43 and Canyon Vista Drive with a stairway bisecting the steepest part. For 10 years the cable cars ran these steep slopes every 20 minutes from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (and as late as midnight if the demand was there.) As automobiles become more prevalent the incline was needed less. The death nail for the cable car came with World War I, and the creation of the Los Angeles Board of Public Utilities. The BPU had jurisdiction over elevators, and despite this being called, and looking like a railway, it was ruled to be a vertical elevator by the State Supreme Court. The BPU demanded the railway (or vertical elevator as they called it) add a secondary cable and replace the original cable. This cost proved to be too prohibitive for Robert Marsh & Company, and with most of his real estate lots now sold, they had less incentive to keep the cable cars going. The last cable car ran on January 9,1919. In 1930 the tracks removed and right of way paved over.
The Mt. Washington sign atop a covered water reservoir in 1912. Located near where Mt. Washington School is today. Much like the Hollywood(land) sign erected 10 years later, this was placed here to promote real estate sales. (This sign, likely inspired the Hollywood sign we know and love today.) Photo via the Los Angeles Public Library.
Florence & Virginia pass each other on the Mt. Washington Railway in 1916. Note the "Mt. Washington" sign. Photo via the Los Angeles Public Library.
Quote from the Los Angeles Public Library:
Cable cars pass each other on the slopes of Mt. Washington’s Incline Railway. The railway operated over a distance of 2,900 feet, pulled by a cable under wood planking and was created to increase land sales for the Mt. Washington Development Company. The two cable cars, named Florence and Virginia (shown here), operated simultaneously, one leaving at the foot of the hill and the other heading down the mountain from the inn. In January, 1919, the Board of Public Utilities ordered the railway to stop operation due to unsafe operating conditions.
What amazes me is how barren the place looked 90 years ago. At the dawn of the automobile age, it was really these two cable cars that made living on top of Mount Washington practical.
Going to take you higher... Canyon Vista Drive. The path of the cable car now all paved over developed with houses. Just as real estate developer Robert Marsh planned a 100 years before.
A long way down. The bright red cable cars climbed this hill every 20 minutes for only a nickle.
One last tid-bit about this place and railway named Mount Washington: It is often assumed that Mt. Washington, Los Angeles was named after George Washington, or the more famous Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Instead, it was named by and after Colonel Henry Washington, who surveyed the Los Angeles region for the United States in 1855.
More detail about the lost railway of Mount Washington can be found at the Electric Railway Historical Association.
all via
