The Building That Started Watts | Watts Station | Pacific Electric Red Car | Watts Riots | Rebellion
In Watts, one of the oldest buildings in the neighborhood is one of the only to survive the fires that engulfed a stretch of 103rd Street nicknamed “charcoal” alley during the 1965 Watts Rebellion.
This is the Watts Station, a Pacific Electric Rail station that operated for over 50 years. But what’s the significance of this station, anyway? And what does it represent for Watts today?
In this episode, I collaborated with LA history blogger Etan Does LA ( / narfish1 ) to unravel the history behind the Watts Station.
Etan is visiting every Los Angeles landmark on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Check out Etan on Instagram: / etandoesla
- Read Etan’s blog: etandoesla.com/
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
1:10 The Origin of Watts
3:35 Brief History of The Watts Rebellion
5:09 The Watts Station Redevelopment
6:05 The Watts Station Today
Sources:
Pacific Electric Rail Map for Los Angeles - library.csun.edu/virtual-exhi...
Photo of Watts’ Main Street in the early 1900s - tessa.lapl.org/cdm/ref/collec...
Brief history of the Watts Riots - web.archive.org/web/202006161...
The end of the Watts Pacific Red Car line (1959): metroprimaryresources.info/th...
The South LA Recap
Let’s connect on the web - southlarecap.com/
Instagram - / southlarecap
Facebook - / southlarecap
Пікірлер: 16
I remember riding the red cars as a child. My family lived in Watts during the time the trolley cars ran.
I’d really like to see you do a video on Dolphin Square and Dolphin’s of Hollywood. Those are huge parts of South LA history and you seem like the right person to do it.
I’ve passed by tons but never did any research. Thanks for continuing to highlight areas of South LA that most overlook!
@SouthLARecap
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks, Moses! This one is super easy to miss. But I’m glad to add this one to the series of videos on South LA. Thank you for your consistent support. Always means a lot when I see your comments!
If Pacific Electric had a standard depot, that was it. Going through my files Azuza, Brea, Compton, Covina, East Long Beach, El Monte, Garden Grove, Glendora, La Habra, Monrovia, San Dimas, and Yorba Linda all shared the same basic design. A few were remodeled and/or enlarged over the years. There may have been others. The PE depot in Yorba Linda still exists. It's now used by the Polly's Pies restaurant.
Ohhhh my goodness!!! So excited about this video! I taught down the street and walked my students over here to do a photo journalism project back in the day. LOVE that you’re highlighting this building and it’s story 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Thank you!
@SouthLARecap
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much, J L! I just hope Etan and I could do it justice. Such a cool story! But that’s so awesome to see how you incorporated the community into your class experience. There’s so much to learn!
@etandoesla
2 жыл бұрын
What a sweet note J L! There are so many stories to tell about this station. It really is a window into the history of the region, all encapsulated in this small, empty structure. Appreciate your appreciation!
Any chances of doing a Watts rebellion video?
@SouthLARecap
2 жыл бұрын
Benny! Long time no see. This is definitely a plan of mind. Tackling that topic can be tricky because a lot of the footage is under heavy copyright. But I'm actively looking into this to figure out the best way to tackle it within the next year!
@Quaquadaqu
4 ай бұрын
It was a riot.
Intriguing 🧠💚
Can u do the underground red cart station in dtla it's still an entrance at one of the buildings in dtla also the underground tunnels that go through dtla
WATTS Up 🍇
Can't really talk about these areas without talking about the history of government redlining.