This Auto Row on Van Nuys Boulevard was home to names like Studebaker, Buick, and Nash.

It was also home to the San Fernando Valley line of the Pacific Electric Railway.

The year was 1927.

Photo from USC Digital Library

On the Left: An old streetcar from the Pacific Electric Railway, On the Right: A new streetcar from Washington, D.C.

If all goes according to plan, streetcars will return to Downtown Los Angeles in four years. But, what will they look like?

I’ve argued before that they should be historic replicas of the Red and Yellow Cars that used to traverse this city when it boasted the largest street railway system in the world. I championed a streetcar that would complement the architecture of our city’s Historic Core instead of mimicking trains you would find in Portland or Seattle or Whereverville. One that says Los Angeles.

That is most likely not going to happen. But, what about a compromise?

The new D.C. streetcars were just unveiled this past December. They already bear a slight resemblance of Big Red. Perhaps L.A.’s newest streetcar could at least pay homage to the past with a clever paint scheme.

It was a special kind of streetcar. One whose sole purpose was to ferry passengers between the Maryland hotel in Pasadena, and Virginia hotel in Long Beach. It was the fastest car in the Pacific Electric fleet, clocking in at 109mph.

It was the Maryland Special. The year was 1900.

Photo from the USC Digital Library

The first interurban rail line ran from Los Angeles to Pasadena. It opened in 1895.

33 years later, The Pacific Electric Railway was operating over 1000 miles of track and 2700 trains daily.

It was another milestone. It was the opening of the Hollywood Subway. The year was 1928.

Photo from the USC Digital Archive

The War was on. So was a strike by workers of the Pacific Electric Railway.

They walked at Sixth & Main. The year was 1943.