The Impact of the Pacific Electric Car on Southern California Development

The sprawling pattern of urban development that we know today as Los Angeles was directly influenced by a web of urban rail routes developed by Henry Huntington and his Pacific Electric Railway, aka, “The Red Cars,” which began in 1901. This amazing railway originally provided reliable transportation across more than 1,000 miles of track. Postwar society’s affair with the automobile led to the loss of an infrastructure that could have formed the basis for an enviable modern light-rail system, one that current society would be happy to utilize. Learn why this rail system was so pivotal in creating a major metropolis on Monday, February 25th at 7:00 p.m. when the San Marino Historical Society presents Jeff Arnett’s lecture on this fascinating chapter on Los Angeles history.

Jeff Arnett was born in Los Angeles in 1925 and since 1930 has resided in the Pasadena-San Marino area. He attended local schools and entered the U S Army Air Corps the day after graduation. After three years of service as a transport pilot in Burma and China during World War II, Jeff returned to graduate from USC. His business career took him from department stores to paper manufacturing, to investment management. He is currently a docent at the Palm Springs Air Museum and still a pilot, who also enjoys non-fiction reading on any subject.

Don’t miss this intriguing look at the development of Los Angeles and its once comprehensive transportation system.

The event will be held Monday February 25, at 7:00 p.m., at San Marino’s Crowell Public Library, 1890 Huntington Drive, San Marino. Call (626) 300-0777 or visit www.CrowellPublicLibrary.org