Transportation

#273: Subway Terminal Building (Downtown)

#273: Subway Terminal Building (Downtown)

December 1, 2025

For 30 years the magnificent 12-story Subway Terminal Building downtown was the end point for LA's first subway, built by Pacific Electric Railway in 1925. After two rounds of renovation, the above-ground part now serves as luxury apartments. But it's the mothballed passenger concourse and tunnel that still excites the imagination of LA history buffs, 100 years later.

#262: Claremont Depot (Claremont)

#262: Claremont Depot (Claremont)

July 13, 2025

Art & Literature

The Claremont Depot hosted the Santa Fe Railway's passenger & freight service for 40 years. After 25 years of vacancy, the depot was restored in 1992 and converted into a transit center and Metrolink stop. Today it's the home of the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art.

National Register Landmarks We Lost (and Didn’t Lose) in the LA Fires

National Register Landmarks We Lost (and Didn’t Lose) in the LA Fires

January 12, 2025

It's been a tough week, LA. Here are the landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places that we lost in the Eaton Fire & Palisades Fires – and those that are still with us.

#243-244: Point Fermin Lighthouse & Historic District (San Pedro)

#243-244: Point Fermin Lighthouse & Historic District (San Pedro)

December 15, 2024

Point Fermin Lighthouse has stood sentry over the San Pedro harbor since 1874. It’s the oldest standing lighthouse between San Diego & San Francisco, and still a beloved tourist destination, 80+ years after it last shone its beam out to sea.

#230: Mariposa Street Bridge (Burbank)

#230: Mariposa Street Bridge (Burbank)

August 18, 2024

Since 1939, Mariposa Street Bridge has connected the equestrian neighborhoods of Burbank & Glendale with the bridle trails of Griffith Park. It’s a reminder that, even though this is a car town, cowboy culture is still alive in LA.

#222: LAX’s Hangar One (Inglewood)

#222: LAX’s Hangar One (Inglewood)

July 23, 2024

Hangar One was the first building constructed for the LA Municipal Airport (now LAX), and the only one still standing from the airport’s earliest days.

#185: Holmes-Shannon House (Victoria Park)

#185: Holmes-Shannon House (Victoria Park)

December 24, 2023

Embodied in this opulent craftsman home are the history of the Victoria Park neighborhood, the legacy of the eminent architects Train & Williams, and the fascinating backgrounds of financier Nellie Shannon, her husband Michael (the first traffic cop in LA) and their son Michael Francis, who once served as Grand Exalted Ruler of the Elks.

#184: Fireboat Ralph J. Scott (San Pedro)

#184: Fireboat Ralph J. Scott (San Pedro)

December 14, 2023

Government & Politics

The fireboat Ralph J. Scott served the Port of LA from 1925-2003, making it the longest-serving apparatus in LA Fire Department history.

#177: Point Vicente Lighthouse (Palos Verdes)

#177: Point Vicente Lighthouse (Palos Verdes)

October 23, 2023

The old keepers of the 1926 Point Vicente Lighthouse used to tell of a ghostly woman that would move across the walkway garbed in a flowing white dress. Though the "Lady of the Light" hasn't been seen since someone applied a fresh coat of paint in 1955, and no keepers have minded the beacon since the early 1970s, the Point Vicente Lighthouse is still an important navigational aid for ships heading into the Ports of LA and Long Beach.

#170: San Pedro Municipal Ferry Building (San Pedro)

#170: San Pedro Municipal Ferry Building (San Pedro)

August 31, 2023

From 1942-1963, this quirky streamline moderne building was the departure point for workers and sailors heading to Terminal Island's shipyards, canneries and Naval bases. It now houses the largest maritime museum on the west coast.

#111: Watts Station | Collaboration with The South LA Recap

#111: Watts Station | Collaboration with The South LA Recap

August 11, 2022

This 1904 train station played a crucial role in the birth and growth of Watts, and was one of the only buildings on 103rd Street that survived the 1965 Watts Rebellion. In this collaboration with The South LA Recap, we trace the history of this landmark up through today.

#103: Oaklawn Bridge & Waiting Station (Greene & Greene – South Pasadena)

#103: Oaklawn Bridge & Waiting Station (Greene & Greene – South Pasadena)

June 23, 2022

South Pasadena's Oaklawn Bridge is a unique entry in the canon of master craftsman architects Charles & Henry Greene. Enhancing its gracefulness are the adorable waiting station and mysterious obelisk attached to its eastern end.

#80: La Loma Bridge (Pasadena)

#80: La Loma Bridge (Pasadena)

March 15, 2022

As one of the only roadways crossing the Arroyo Seco in the early 20th century, the majestic La Loma Bridge was vital for the growth of Pasadena and the development of car travel in Los Angeles

#77: Old Santa Susana Stage Road (Chatsworth)

#77: Old Santa Susana Stage Road (Chatsworth)

March 4, 2022

Pioneers & Settlers

This treacherous mountain trail through the Santa Susana Pass was an important artery for stagecoach passengers between Los Angeles and San Francisco in the 1860s-70s, and an official Butterfield Overland Mail route during the Civil War

#54 – #62: Historic Sites on the Rose Parade Route in Pasadena

#54 – #62: Historic Sites on the Rose Parade Route in Pasadena

December 29, 2021

All eyes are on Pasadena this week for the Rose Parade. Get to know the historic buildings that line the route of Pasadena's Rose Parade, a new year's day tradition since 1890.