LARY: Rimpau Loop / PE: Vineyard Junction, 1938
By Ralph Cantos
This remarkable aerial photograph taken around 1938-39 shows the LARY Pico-Rimpau Loop and Pacific Electric’s Vineyard Junction yard. This photo must have been taken on a Sunday morning. There is only one “P” car at the loading area, and several PE cars are tied down for the day at Vineyard. On a typical weekday, there would be at least 2 or 3 PCCs in the loop and just a few, if any PE cars in the storage yard. The LARY PCC was new about this time, and there are no “modernized” Hollywood cars among the cars in this scene. What a wonderful this place this must have been for LA rail fans.
Today, this scene is totally unrecognizable. Except for the two-story apartments along both sides of Rimpau Blvd., NOTHING remains of what is seen here. Only the West Blvd. bridge (just out of the photo to the right) remains today. A huge shopping center now occupies the loop area and the Vineyard yard. Both of these rail facilities are now just a distant memory for those rail fans who were lucky enough to have seen this area in person.
Ralph Cantos Collection
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Here the next segment of the the Crenshaw line is planned to follow the PE right of way through Vineyard to West Hollywood and back to Hollywood and Highland. Oh, what we had and throw away.
Alan
This is an amazing image! It’s an image of an area that I remember fondly and have wonderful memories of shopping that half round market on the NW corner of Pico and Rimpau. I see my elementary school friend Vicki’s house on Mullen Ave. My other school mates Billy and Aron also lived in the same duplex that Vicki did. The auto repair garage was part of the Sears and Robeck department store chain. I see Cooper Lumber at the bottom left. At one time they had a spur track off the PE for lumber deliveries.
We also used the P Car to get to my grandmothers and uncles home at Pico and Elron Ave. shopping trips were also made to Bullocks, May Company and The Broadway, my personal favorite.
The P Car loop also had a burger stand but I’ve long since forgotten it’s name. Maybe someone else can pick it up from here.
I noticed on Google Earth that there appears to be a small MTA bus yard next to the shopping center. Could this be a legacy of the LARY rail yard?
I usually would catch an”A” car at West Blvd and Adams to get to my job in downtown LA. At least once a week I would walk up the hill, cross Washington and stand on the West Blvd bridge to watch the PE action and there was a lot of it-Venice short Line and the Hollywood and San Vicente locals. Then on to the Rimpau loop to catch a “Streamliner” to downtown. I would be late for my job, and I would get chewed out, but it was worth it.
The MTA yard is just a layover spot for them as well as Santa Monica “Big Blue Bus” buses.