Public Transit in the early 1900s

There were several public transportation options for Los Angeles residents, including trolley cars that served many neighborhoods including Little Tokyo. Elevated booths were used by the Los Angeles Railway and the Yellow Cars as a switchman’s tower to control the flow and path of streetcars through the intersection. The image on the left shows the intersection of Main Street, Spring Street, and 9th Street in downtown Los Angeles circa 1917 (2.4 miles from Azusa Street). Note the elevated kiosk at the corner. In 1920, US Census Bureau recorded that Los Angeles had a population of 576,673, growing from 319,198 in 1910. This population boom was partly due to America’s increased dependency on gasoline and the lucritive oil production industry in Los Angeles.

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