Alan Weeks’ Pacific Electric Railway 6th and Main Street Headquarters
By Alan Weeks
You might all be tried of the Main St. Station but I think this is the last batch. It really was the most important facility of the Railway. It was a grand hub of the whole system.
Millions of people must have gone thru the station from 1908 – 1961. Downstairs was and is the oldest continuous operating business in LA, Cole’s Cafe. It closed for one year for remodeling. I liked the original layout much better. But the food is still good. It had a beautiful old antique bar that became a famous “Watering Hole. Many railway people from the PERy, Southern Pacific Railroad, Santa Fe Railroad and later SCRTD.
When working at RTD on Main Street I some times went there for lunch and the bar was jammed. I guess Rule G no longer mattered.
NOTES # 383 Trolley Bus on fifth St. at Main St.
# 385 Looking down from the Viaduct at track removal in 7th St surface
tracks. The yard had a connection from both 6th & 7th Sts.
# 391 Pasadena Short Line turning North from 6th St. onto Main St.
Before one way streets took effect.
# 392 PERy Headquarters Building on the right. Also shared with the
Southern Pacific Railroad.
# 393 Double Exposures were always a concern with a wind up Box
Camera. This might have been the only one I remember doing.
Unfortunately you always lost two pictures. This does not happen
with 35 mm or Digital cameras.
# 398 View beneath the Viaduct. This was the freight and baggage loading
Area. Box Motors would load here and had access all three Districts,
North, South and West, The track connection ran to the left of this
picture. I think they were removed when Fifth & Sixth Sts. were made
One Way. That was August 3, 1947
Ariel photo of Sixth and Main St. Station provided by Yorkman Lowe
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Re the top photo: The camera’s view is S from 5th St. On the left (east) side of Main is the big Santa Fe logo, on the bare N side of the Santa Fe office bldg., NE corner of 6th & Main. Just beyond it is the cube-shaped PE bldg, 610 S Main. This photo was re-posted on Facebook, and a comment said the abandoned tracks in the foreground were probably from the former LA Ry/LATL D and U lines, which converted to bus in 47.
Hollywood film “The Ring” (1952) has a scene passing on 7th looking across the Surface Yard when much of that had gone to busses but at least one rail car is present. Another scene is shot on the 6th Street side capturing a bit of the elevated as well as the side image of the old Greyhound Depot which faced Los Angeles Street. Colorized versions exist.