Friday Eye Candy: All 1,000 Miles of Southern California's Historic Rail Network

An intrepid mapmaker has created a stunning map of the Pacific Electric Railway System, the old public transit system for L.A. and surrounding environs, once the largest trolley system in the world.

1 minute read

September 7, 2018, 9:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Streetcar Graveyard

PunkToad / Wikimedia Commons

Erick Galindo shares the work of Jake Berman, who recently posted a map of the historic Los Angeles streetcar network on Reddit. Berman is quoted directly in the article explaining the thinking behind the map:

"I’d like Angelenos to be able to imagine a Los Angeles that wasn’t totally dependent on the car," Berman told L.A. Taco. "Contrary to popular belief, it was the streetcars that originally defined L.A. and you can still see traces of that legacy across the metropolis if you know where to look."

Berman has created a lot more maps, if visualizing a publicly oriented version of Los Angeles isn't enough. Berman's map work on his site fifty-three studio includes historical maps of Caracas, Venezuela and Oakland as well as the light rail system in Wakanda from Black Panther.

Wednesday, September 5, 2018 in L.A. Taco

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