Alameda Street
Alameda Street is a major north-south thoroughfare in Los Angeles County, California. It is approximately 21 miles in length, running from Harry Bridges Boulevard in Wilmington; and through Carson, Compton, Lynwood, Watts, Florence-Graham, Huntington Park, Vernon and Arts District to Spring and College in Chinatown. For much of its length, Alameda runs through present and former industrial corridors, and is paralleled by Union Pacific Railroad (formerly Southern Pacific Railroad) tracks.
Length
History[edit]
The street is located on Tongva land. In the 1820s, historian William David Estrada records that immigrants from France came to Los Angeles in small numbers and settled around the Commercial and Alameda streets, close to the original village site of Yaanga.[4]
The street became a center of prostitution activity in Los Angeles by the late 19th century, after the city council passed an ordinance prohibiting prostitution from the new central business district. Prostitution reportedly peaked in the 1890s, "with the support of local police and elected officials, many of whom were regular visitors" to the brothels. Those on North Alameda Street, adjacent to the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks, were the most active and became "the first view of Los Angeles for arriving train passengers."[4]
In the late 19th century, the corner of Alameda Street and Macy Street (now Cesar Chavez Avenue) was home to residences shared by Mexican and Chinese families. Along Alameda and Los Angeles Streets to Second Street was primarily a Japanese community, shared with Mexicans, and the last remnants of the French community.[4]
Transit[edit]
Metro Local Line 202 runs along Alameda Street between Del Amo Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway. Metro Local Line 58 formerly served Alameda Street between Union Station and Washington, but was discontinued in 2005.
Three Metro A Line Stations are located on Alameda Street: Little Tokyo/Arts District, Union Station, and Chinatown, with the former-most also served by the Metro E Line. Union Station is also served by the B and D lines, as well as Metrolink and Amtrak.