Streetcar tunnel opens new era

Nov. 30, 1925: Los Angeles’ “first section of underground electric railway” opened with much fanfare -- including a Chamber of Commerce luncheon for 1,100 people at the Biltmore Hotel -- and The Times declared it “the beginning of a new era in transportation” for the city.

The privately owned Pacific Electric Railroad started work on the one-mile tunnel in May 1924, The Times reported. The new route connected Hollywood and Glendale with downtown Los Angeles.

“Scenes in the underground chambers of the terminal at Hill Street prior to the starting of the first train at about 2 o’clock ... rivaled those of the famous ‘shuttle’ between Times Square and the Grand Central in New York,” the newspaper said. “Thousands gathered in the street and on the sidewalks outside the terminal long before the departure of the train which was waiting for the delegation of dignitaries who had attended the luncheon.”

The Pacific Electric Band serenaded those first riders.