Hill Street Tunnel
Sunset Boulevard
Tunnel 2
976 ft (297 m)
Temple Street
Tunnel 1
1st Street
Hill Street

Hill Street Tunnel referred to a series of rail and road tunnels in Los Angeles, California. Initially constructed to bypass the grades of the street's namesake Bunker Hill, one bore of the dual-bore tunnel served as the roadway of Hill Street while the other facilitated streetcars and interurban trains via a double track dual-gauge railway. One tunnel ran between Temple and 1st Streets.[1]

The rail bore was built by the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad and was opened for traffic on September 15, 1909.[2][3] The company rebuilt five miles (8.0 km) of their track as standard gauge the night before the tunnel's opening.[4] The new private route cut twelve minutes off the trip to downtown for Hollywood Line and Sherman Line cars.[5] Pacific Electric cars continued through a second tunnel between Temple and Sunset.[6][7] The roadway bore opened to traffic on September 9, 1913.[8] The Los Angeles Railway ran streetcars through the southern tunnel starting in July 1939.[9]

Rail service through the tunnels was discontinued with the opening of the Hollywood Subway and the Hollywood Freeway. The tunnels and hill itself were leveled by 1955 and the Los Angeles Civic Center was built on the land.[1] The northern tunnel was partially filled with dirt and remained unused until 1967 when part of it was excavated and turned into underground storage for the rebuilt Los Angeles Unified School District offices on the surface.[7] The tunnel served in this capacity until 2003, when the Central Los Angeles High School #9 was built and the tunnel again filled.[10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Harrison, Scott (March 22, 2019). "From the Archives: First car through Hill Street Tunnel". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  2. ↑ "First Car Run Through New Hill Street Tunnel Cut-off to Hollywood Yesterday". Los Angeles Herald. Los Angeles, California. September 15, 1909. p. 8. Retrieved December 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  3. ↑ "Hill Street Tunnel Franchise Limited". Los Angeles Herald. Los Angeles, California. January 28, 1910. p. 5. Retrieved December 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  4. ↑ "L. A. & P. Made Broad Gauge in One Night". Santa Ana Register. September 15, 1909. p. 1. Retrieved July 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  5. ↑ "Hill Street Tunnel Bore is Completed". Los Angeles Herald. Los Angeles, California. August 30, 1909. p. 12. Retrieved December 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  6. ↑ Veysey, Laurence R. (June 1958). A History Of The Rail Passenger Service Operated By The Pacific Electric Railway Company Since 1911 And By Its Successors Since 1953 (PDF). LACMTA (Report). Los Angeles, California: Interurbans. pp. 10, 19, 21, 30, 40, 43, 77, 86, 91, 94. ASIN B0007F8D84. OCLC 6565577.
  7. 1 2 Bentley, Colleen (August 16, 1982). "L.A.'s old Hill Street Tunnel speaks volumes". News-Pilot. San Pedro, California. pp. 1–2. Retrieved December 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  8. ↑ "Hill Street Bore Opened Today For Traffic". Los Angeles Evening Express. Los Angeles, California. September 9, 1913. p. 16. Retrieved December 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  9. ↑ "Timepoints The Southern California Traction Review · Volumes 1-7". Southern California Division, Electric Railroaders' Association. 1950. p. 7.
  10. ↑ Rasmussen, Cecilia (April 4, 2004). "Hills Yielded Early to Make Way for the City's Traffic". Los Angeles, California: Newspapers.com. The Los Angeles Times. p. B5. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
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