Owensmouth (Pacific Electric)

Owensmouth (Pacific Electric)
Owensmouth
Overview
Type Light rail
System Pacific Electric
Locale Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley
Termini Downtown Los Angeles
Owensmouth-Canoga Park, California
Stations 34
Daily ridership 1,038,622 (last count)
Operation
Opened 1911
Closed 1952
Owner Southern Pacific Railroad
Rolling stock PE 5050 Class PCC Cars (last used)
Technical
Line length 29.1 miles
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)
(standard gauge)
Electrification Overhead lines
Route map

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Owensmouth
Urban stop on track
De Soto
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Urban stop on track
El Nogal
Urban stop on track
Mapleton
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Urban stop on track
Marian
Urban stop on track
Pattenton
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Fremont
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Urban stop on track
Solano
Urban stop on track
Cabrillo
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Hanna
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San Fernando
Urban stop on track
North Sherman Way
Urban station on track
Van Nuys terminus after 1938
Urban stop on track
Whitley
Urban stop on track
Castro
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Cortez
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Kester Junction
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Tujunga Wash
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Garnsey
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Sadler
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Eucalyptus
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Lankershim
Urban stop on track
Hoffman
Urban stop on track
Los Nogales
Urban bridge over water
Los Angeles River
Urban stop on track
Universal City
Urban stop on track
Oak Crest
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Hollywood Park
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Dusky Glen
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Cahuenga Pass
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US 101 (CA).svg U.S. Route 101
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Beverly Hills, Venice via Hollywood
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Sherman
Urban station on track
Highland Avenue
Urban station on track
Colegrove
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Western and Franklin Avenue
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Virgil Avenue L
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several lines
Urban station on track
Sanborn Junction
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to Hill Street Station
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Glendale-Burbank
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L
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I
Urban non-passenger station/depot on track
Toluca Substation and Yard
Enter urban tunnel
Hollywood Subway
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2
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2
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F, 5, 9
Urban End station in tunnel
Subway Terminal

The Pacific Electric streetcar service to Owensmouth (present day Canoga Park) was part of an extraordinary real estate development in Southern California. Nearly the entire southern San Fernando Valley was bought in l9l0 by the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Co., owned by a syndicate of rich Los Angeles investors, developers, and speculators: including Harrison Gray Otis, Harry Chandler, Moses Sherman, Hobart Johnstone Whitley, and others. [1] It anticipated possible connections to but was planned independent of the soon to be completed (1913) Los Angeles Aqueduct from the Owens River watershed to the City of Los Angeles through the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County.

To help promote sales of the land, General Moses Sherman set off to build a streetcar line across the San Fernando Valley, to serve the three plotted new towns: Van Nuys (l9ll); Marion (now Reseda); and Owensmouth (now Canoga Park) (l9l2). [1] At the time, it could have seemed like a streetcar to open agricultural fields at the end of the line — but was a necessity to promote development. Alongside it across the Valley westward from Van Nuys was Sherman Way, the "$500,000 paved boulevard" with lush landscaping and no speed limit where one might get up to 35 mph, a separate dirt road for farm wagons/equipment, and telegraph lines.[1]

Owensmouth was named in classic real estate "boosterism", as 'nearest' the outlet-'mouth' of the Owens River Aqueduct and echoing English and New England town names such as Falmouth, Yarmouth, and Plymouth. [1] It was actually 20 miles away when founded in 1912 and used well water instead until being annexed to L.A. city in 1917.[1] The controversy of Valley land speculation and the aqueduct brought the community to change its name from Owensmouth to Canoga Park in 1931, after the Southern Pacific "Canoga" station there.[1] The name of the Pacific Electric line was unchanged as Owensmouth until its demise in December 1941. Though the line had far higher annual ridership than any rapid transit line in the region today, most of that was within urban Los Angeles, and the community of Owensmouth-Canoga Park was relatively undeveloped until the line's later years.

The line through the Valley came over Cahuenga Pass, up Vineland Avenue through North Hollywood, turning onto Chandler Boulevard, proceeding west to the curve onto Van Nuys Boulevard, through Van Nuys to a curve (Sherman Circle) off of Van Nuys Blvd. turning west onto Sherman Way to Owensmouth. On Shoup Avenue, named after Pacific Electric president Paul Shoup [1], the center was used as its end of the line sidings.

Orange Line

In the l990's a new cross-Valley rapid transit line was built, the Metro Orange Line, a dedicated bus transit-way which uses part of the old Pacific Electric right-of-way (Chandler Blvd. east of Ethel Ave.) and the former Southern Pacific south and west Valley route (from White Oak Avenue to the Chatsworth station).

List of Major Stations

Station Major Connections Date Opened Date Closed City
Owensmouth
Van Nuys San Fernando 1912 1952 Van Nuys
Lankershim San Fernando 1902 1952 North Hollywood
Highland Avenue San Fernando, Sherman, Venice via Hollywood (Pacific Electric line) 1902 1955 Los Angeles
Colegrove San Fernando, Sherman, Venice via Hollywood 1902 1955
Virgil Avenue San Fernando, Sherman, Venice via Hollywood, Western and Franklin Avenue 1902 1955
Sanborn Junction Beverly Hills, San Fernando, Sherman, Venice via Hollywood, Western and Franklin Avenue 1902 1955
Subway Terminal Building Beverly Hills, Echo Park Avenue, Glendale-Burbank, Redondo Beach via Playa del Rey, San Fernando, Sawtelle, Sherman, Venice Short Line, Venice via Hollywood, Western and Franklin Avenue, Westgate 1905 1961

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "The Owensmouth Baby"; by Catherine Mulholland; Santa Susana Press (CSUN—California State University, Northridge); ©1987; ISBN 0-937048-42-9.




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