Buried History
As we're celebrating the opening of the Pasadena Gold Line this weekend, there's bad news on another front for Los Angeles' urban explorers, or wannabe ones like myself (although, admittedly, I'm mostly all talk at this point): Someone has gone and sealed off the Red Car Subway tunnel at the corner of Glendale and 2nd, near downtown.
A leftover remnant from the days when Pacific Electric red cars headed toward Hollywood sped under portions of downtown, half of the tunnel was filled in when the Bonaventure Hotel was built in the 1970s. But you could still enter it from the other side-- and still see rail spikes, electrical wiring and other things that were reminders of what was once the largest public transit system in the nation.
You might recognize the tunnel from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' video to "Under the Bridge." The tunnel and the Toluca Substation, which provided and managed electrical power to the rail line, are totally covered by graffiti.
Until it was sealed over (which I believe must have only happened in the last few months), the tunnel was used most often by homeless people, who would camp inside, and by the ocassional explorer.
For a tour of the tunnel -- and some great pictures from its past and present-- click [here].
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