Category Archives: Inside Metro

L.A. had double-decker buses? Looking back at the history of Wilshire Boulevard

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Wilshire Boulevard double-decker bus, 1938

Our extensive coverage of the Westside Subway Extension and Bus Rapid Transit for Wilshire Boulevard this year provides us with an opportunity to revisit Wilshire of days gone by.

The Metro Library Primary Resources blog highlights several items of interest from the past, including 1920s and ’30s double-decker bus service, holiday celebrations and historic images from the USC and UCLA digital libraries.

There’s much to be discovered along one of L.A.’s most famous streets, so head on over to Primary Resources to learn more.

 


Look at that! Digging into Metro's photo archive treasure trove

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A streetcar passes the Southwest Museum and Mt. Washington in 1920. Click above to visit the Metro Libarary's photostream on Flickr.

Los Angeles Railway "motormanettes" (circa 1942)Did you know that the Metro Transportation Library & Archives Flickr photo site has grown to more than 7,700 digital images?The collection of local area photographs dating back to the 1880s has been online for just over 3 years, and this week it surpassed 1.5 million views.

Did you know that the Metro Transportation Library & Archive’s Flickr photo site has grown to more than 7,700 digital images?

The collection of local area photographs dating back to the 1880s has been online for just over 3 years, and this week it surpassed 1.5 million views. That reinforces what we’ve long known about Los Angeles transit and transportation — people who love Los Angeles also want to see what used to be, what could have been, and what is coming around the corner (or down the tracks) in the near future.

The Laurel Canyon trolley in 1910, a view of 3rd Street just before Angels Flight was built, what Hollywood might have looked like with overhead rail…

The Library’s Primary Resources blog takes a closer look at some of the fascinating but lesser-known images and collections on their Flickr site — one of the best resources around for researching an integral part of the past, present and future of Southern California.

Donald Lipski’s artwork, Time Piece, to be a Landmark for new Metro Transit Hub

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Lipski's 30' high clock tower will be installed in the entry plaza of the El Monte Transit Center. Rendering by RNL Architects.
Lipski’s 30′ high clock tower will be installed in the entry plaza of the El Monte Transit Center. Rendering by RNL Architects.
Artist Donald Lipski

Artist Donald Lipski

Artist Donald Lipski, whose monumental works of art dot public environments throughout the United States, was chosen from a pool of 160 artists to create an iconic, landmark artwork for Metro’s new El Monte Transit Center  at the intersection of Santa Anita Avenue and Ramona Boulevard in El Monte.

The original transit center, built in the 1970s, has been the busiest bus station west of the Mississippi. The new center will more than double passenger and bus bay capacities, add bike storage and accommodate articulated buses. In addition to Metro bus service, the center will offer service for Greyhound, Foothill Transit and El Monte Transit passengers. Future residential and retail development will surround the Transit Center.

Lipski’s artwork, a modern-day clock tower, was inspired by visits to El Monte, and imagining the hustle and bustle at the new transit hub. “As the busiest bus station west of Chicago, and as a new hub of civic activity and development, the new terminal demanded something bold, memorable and dynamic,” Lipski said. “Having a vertical artwork as a focus will add immeasurably to creating a gathering place in the plaza.”

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Looking back at the Los Angeles mini-bus: the DASH predecessor rolled out 40 years ago this week

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SCRTD Board Member (and Star Trek star) George Takei joins LA City Councilman Gilbert Lindsay at the Mini-Bus launch in 1971

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation DASH system logs 7 million passenger trips per year on five different lines downtown and another 27 throughout the city.

This innovative service got its start forty years ago this week when the Southern California Rapid Transit District launched a proto-DASH service under the name “Mini-Bus.”

It featured small buses with distinctive canopy tops, perimeter seating, and an orange-brown-white color scheme.

The complete story along with vintage photos can be found on the Metro Transportation Library’s Primary Resources blog.

Metro poster creates a buzz at Whittier Library’s conversation with the artist

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Whittier poster-signing with artist Jane Gillespie Pryor

Photos by Carl Greenlund

The Whittier Public Library was abuzz Thursday morning during a conversation between local artist Jane Gillespie Pryor and a roomful of residents, students, bee lovers and friends.

The event is the second in a series of “Artists in Conversation” events to be held in the local libraries of neighborhoods featured in the “Through the Eyes of Artists” poster series commissioned by Metro Creative Services.

Jane Gillespie Pryor's original artwork

Jane Gillespie Pryor's original artwork

Gillespie’s poster depicts a residential community of houses made of honeycomb and populated by bees. The poster pays homage to the city’s namesake, poet John Greenleaf Whittier, as well as the indigenous population who called the land Sejat, meaning “a place of the wild bees.”

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What happened to the subway on Monday?

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A few readers have asked about the nearly hour-long delays on the subway on Monday afternoon and early evening.

There were two issues: first, at about 4:30 p.m., there was an issue with a switch not working properly near Union Station that had to be verified and fixed.

Then, at 7:30 p.m, there was a medical emergency on a subway train at Union Station, which interfered with trains getting back on schedule.

Obviously, these are very busy hours for the subway, particularly at Union Station with its connections to Metrolink, Amtrak, the Gold Line and many bus routes. We hope folks weren’t too inconvenienced by the delays.

Art for the Orange Line: Artists discuss station designs

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Sam Erenberg shares his final artwork designs for Roscoe Station with the Metro Orange Line Extension Art Advisory Group.

Artists presented their final designs at a meeting of the Metro Orange Line Extension Art Advisory Group at the Chatsworth Branch Library a few days ago. The meeting marked the end of the design phase and the beginning of fabrication for station artwork along the four-mile busway extension between Canoga Park and the Chatsworth Metrolink station, a Measure R-funded project.

Convened in 2009, the Art Advisory Group is composed of volunteers who live or work in the project area, have a vested interest in the stations and surrounding neighborhoods, have an active interest in the arts and are involved in the community.

Art Advisory Group members view the artworks alongside samples of fabricated sections.

Over the course of many months, the group worked with Metro staff to compile a Community Profile – a document that provided the artists with an insider’s look into the neighborhoods along the Orange Line Extension. The document gathered the area’s history, demographics, natural environment, cultural resources, bicycle resources and film heritage and served as a point of departure for station artists as they began their concept designs.

The five artists were selected from a pool of over 150 who responded to the Call for Artists after workshops held at the Canoga Park Library and the California State University Northridge Art Gallery.

At the last Art Advisory Group meeting, the station artists spoke about their approaches to the projects and the ways in which Community Profile provided a foundation for the development of their concepts. Samples of fabricated sections of the artworks were on display, demonstrating how the artworks would be translated into durable materials appropriate for a transit environment.

Paving designs and art panels will be featured at every station on the Orange Line Extension. Pictured above are Margaret Lazzari's designs for Sherman Way Station.

When the station platforms are completed, each will house a double-sided, twenty-foot long porcelain enamel steel art panel and a twenty-seven foot long elliptical-shaped, glass mosaic artwork paving design.

There are more photos from the meetings after the jump. And more information about each of the artists and their designs is available on the Metro website:

Western Imaginary  by Ken Gonzales-Day for Canoga Station

Owensmouth/Canoga Park  by Margaret Lazzari for Sherman Way Station

Liquid Light: Flowing Into the Future  by Sam Erenberg for Roscoe Station

 Strati  by Anne Marie Karlsen for Nordhoff Station

 A Glimpse of Stoney Point Park  by Lisa Adams for Chatsworth Station

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Art videos return to Metro buses in October and November

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This June Metro riders were treated to a week of moving art thanks to the Out The Window project – a collaboration between Freewaves, Echo Park Film Center, Public Matters and UCLA REMAP.

The videos shown in June were produced by local high school students under the direction of professional artists. Starting tomorrow and continuing through the end of November, the professional artists steal the show with their own videos airing daily on Transit TV.

The work of 60 artists will be showcased – with a different video featured each day to millions of L.A. bus riders. The videos vary in style and content, but all tell stories and share insights about Los Angeles.

The project will also offer an interactive element. Bus riders will be invited to share feedback and answer questions presented in the videos via text message.

The videos are meant to be viewed on the bus (see the schedule here) but they can also be viewed online by visiting http://out-the-window.org/videos/.

Metro Red Line subway broke ground 25 years ago today

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Metro’s Transportation Library & Archive is taking a look back at this week’s 25th anniversary of the groundbreaking for the Red Line subway.

On September 29, 1986, numerous dignitaries converged on the future home of the Civic Center station to turn over the first shovels of dirt in digging our local Metro Rail system.

The Library’s Primary Resources blog post features groundbreaking footage from that day, along with a 1985 promotional film that primed Angelenos for the subway system that was headed their way.


Transit agencies give frontline traffic reporters a little love

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From left, Golden Pylon Award winners Sean Murphy (NBC4 Today in L.A.), Dianna Olea standing in for winner Ryan Duggan (KRLA), Larry Barajas (KNX and KRTH), Scott Burt (KNX, KFWB, KOLA) , Kajon Cermak (KCRW), and CHP Officer Luis Mendoza. Photos by Juan Ocampo.

From left, Golden Pylon Award winners Sean Murphy (NBC4 Today in L.A.), Dianna Olea standing in for winner Ryan Duggan (KRLA), Larry Barajas (KNX and KRTH), Scott Burt (KNX, KFWB, KOLA) , Kajon Cermak (KCRW), and CHP Officer Luis Mendoza. Photos by Juan Ocampo.

Traffic reporters may be the commuter’s best friend, but to transit agencies they are action heroes on the front lines of some of the nation’s worst traffic. Every year, right before Rideshare Week, five regional transit agencies, including Metro and Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and Ventura counties, roll out the red carpet for the nominees and winners of the Golden Pylon Awards.

Metro's Stephanie Wiggins gives the reporters a heads-up on the ExpressLanes, a pilot, one-year demonstration program to convert carpool lanes on the I-10 and I-110 freeways into congestion-busting toll lanes.
Metro’s Stephanie Wiggins gives the reporters a heads-up on the ExpressLanes, a pilot, one-year demonstration program to convert carpool lanes on the I-10 and I-110 freeways into congestion-busting toll lanes.

The 15th Annual Golden Pylon Awards are a prelude to Rideshare Week Oct. 3 – 7 when commuters are invited to give ridesharing a try. Not a bad idea considering that carpooling can cut the cost of commuting in half. Even better, walking, biking and using public transportation can send savings straight into T-bills.

This year the gleaming Lucite trophies inscribed with a traffic cone pylon went to six reporters who report on the daily traffic grind for numerous broadcast outlets.

Kajon Cermak reports traffic on KCRW four times an hour during the drive-time broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." The avid public transportation supporter got more than a trophy -- she was also presented with a visual of her trademark 'pack a snack' advice to commuters in the grip of the classic L.A. traffic jam.

Kajon Cermak reports traffic on KCRW four times an hour during the drive-time broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered." The avid public transportation supporter got more than a trophy -- she was also presented with a visual of her trademark 'pack a snack' advice to commuters in the grip of the classic L.A. traffic jam.

And, the winners are:

  • Sean Murphy, NBC4′s prime time traffic reporter on  the “Today in LA” morning news broadcast.
  • Kajon Cermak puts heart and soul and even a smile into Southland traffic reports on KCRW. “It’s bummer to bummer out there,” she’s been known to report. “Pack a snack, folks.”
  • Scott Burt, airborne traffic reporter helps Southern California motorists navigate their way through the clogged freeways of L.A.,Orange, and San Diego counties on KNX, KFWB, KOLA.
  • Larry Barajas, powerhouse airborne reporter, broadcasts live traffic reports on KNX AM 107 and KRTH FM 101.
  • Ryan Duggan, a familiar Southland radio personality and airborne traffic reporter, tracks the region’s freeways on KRLA.
  • California Highway Patrol Officer Luis Mendoza, reports traffic conditions on FOX 11 Morning News, Univision 34 morning news, Primera Edicion of Univision 34, 6 p.m.,and on radio stations KWRM Radio Mexico mornings; KFRN 1280 Family Radio, La Ponderosa 1550 and on the Internet Real Time Traffic internet show on Myfoxla.com for Fox network.

Give ridesharing a try for Rideshare Week and show the traffic reporters some love. Call 511 and say, “Los Angeles County Rideshare” or visit metro.net/rideshare to find a commuting plan that works for you.