South Hollywood–Sherman Line

South Hollywood–Sherman
South Hollywood–Sherman
Overview
Owner	Southern Pacific Railroad
Locale	Los Angeles
Termini	Hill Street Station; West Hollywood
Stations	8
Service
Type	Light rail
System	Pacific Electric
Operator(s)	Pacific Electric
Rolling stock	Steel 600 Class (last used)
Daily ridership	5,314,149 (last counting)
History
Opened	1896
Closed	May 31, 1953
Technical
Line length	9.84 mi (15.84 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	600 V DC Overhead lines
Route map
	Legend
	US 101
	Harbor Freeway
	This diagram: view; talk; ;

The South Hollywood–Sherman Line was a suburban route of the Pacific Electric Railway. The line ran between Downtown Los Angeles and the suburb of Sherman (present-day West Hollywood). The line was named after Moses Sherman, who built the line and the Sherman street car yard on the line in West LA. The large 5.56-acre (2.25 ha) rail facility was on Santa Monica Boulevard just west of La Cienega Boulevard. The yard had a steam power house, a car barn and a shop building. (Pacific Electric would go on to move the yard works to 7th and Central in Los Angeles.)

History[]

The line was originally built in 1896 as part of the Pasadena and Pacific. Pasadena and Pacific became part of the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad. In the 1930s buses started to run from the West Hollywood depot also. Passenger rail service was discontinued on May 31, 1953.^[1] In 1974 all the rail buildings were demolished for development.^[2]

Route[]

The South Hollywood–Sherman Line followed the Glendale–Burbank Line as far as Park Junction, located on Glendale Boulevard one block south of Sunset Boulevard. Here at the present location of Park Avenue opposite Angeles Temple, the South Hollywood–Sherman branched left to climb up a slight grade in a private right of way (later paved as Park Avenue, with tracks in the center) to turn left (west) into Sunset Boulevard.

The dual tracks ran westerly and then northwesterly, running in the middle of Sunset Boulevard, crossing such major intersections as Alvarado Street and Silverlake Boulevard, to reach Sanborn Junction, where the line branched left (west) into Santa Monica Boulevard.

On Santa Monica Boulevard, the dual tracks in the center of the pavement headed west, passing such major streets as, Vermont Avenue, Western Avenue, and Vine Street in Hollywood. Leaving Vine Street, the tracks continued west past Highland Avenue (where the San Fernando Valley Line branched north), and La Brea Avenue, to Crescent Junction. Crescent Junction, located near Fairfax Avenue, is where the Hollywood Line joined the South Hollywood–Sherman.

Leaving Crescent Junction, the dual tracks continued west in the pavement of Santa Monica Boulevard, passing Crescent Heights Boulevard to Hacienda Park (two blocks east of La Cienega Boulevard) here, the tracks entered an unimproved private way between the dual roadways of Santa Monica Boulevard, ran southwesterly across La Cienega Boulevard, and then four blocks farther to the terminus of the route at Sherman (West Hollywood). The dual rails turned southerly out of the private way into the West Hollywood Carhouse and shops (located on the south side of Santa Monica Boulevard between Huntley Drive and San Vicente Boulevard).