Los Angeles Railway Corporation Collection of Photographs, 1851-1939

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Summary

Creators:
Lewis, Edwin L.
Abstract:
The collection consists of 1165 black-and-white photographs, 97 glass negatives, clippings, correspondence, manuscripts, notes, a card file, and a ledger book related to the Los Angeles Railway, 1851-1939, collected and created by Edwin L. Lewis, a longtime employee of the Los Angeles Railway Corporation. The collection provides a broad pictorial overview of the development of the railway systems in Los Angeles, California, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as information on the physical development of the city itself.
Extent:
1261 photographs and negatives + ephemera and paper files in 28 boxes
Language:
English.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of 1165 black-and-white photographs, 97 glass negatives, clippings, correspondence, manuscripts, notes, a card file, and a ledger book related to the Los Angeles Railway, 1851-1939, collected and created by Edwin L. Lewis, a longtime employee of the Los Angeles Railway Corporation (LARy). The collection provides a broad pictorial overview of the development of the railway systems in Los Angeles, California in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as information on the physical development of the city itself.

Lewis began collecting the photographs and related clippings and correspondence as background information for his history of the railway systems of Los Angeles. The materials depict and describe views of Los Angeles, primarily downtown, but also some of the neighborhoods that grew as a result of the construction of the street car system; methods and modes of transportation and transportation-related subjects, primarily with regard to the Los Angeles Railway; and employees of the Railway and of the Los Angeles business community, and individuals who were in some way connected with the development of the railroad in Southern California.

The collection is particularly strong in city scenes and panoramic views, primarily of downtown Los Angeles. These include "then and now" comparisons of various Los Angeles neighborhoods; business districts; hotels; city halls; school buildings; commercial and industrial buildings; post office buildings; churches; hospitals; holiday celebrations; and outlying areas (such as Catalina Island and San Diego). The transportation images include, but are not limited to, views of the railway; railway, street and cable cars; stations and station locations; and maps of rail lines. Also included are images of bicycles, carriages, and automobiles.

The material related to individuals consists of biographical files and includes biographical sketches, notes on interviews conducted by Lewis, and/or correspondence, and describes LARy and other railroad employees, individuals who worked in industries connected with transportation, and business leaders in Southern California. The interviews are essentially oral histories, and provide a great deal of information on the development of both the railways in Los Angeles and the development of the city itself. The photographs included in the biographical files are portraits.

The majority of the photographs are annotated on the reverse with location information, a short description, and/or identification of individuals. Some images include annotations on the front. Many of the photographs have clippings taped to the reverse. Some of the photographs exist in duplicate form; however, many of the duplicates are annotated with information not found on the original copy. Some photographs are missing.

Biographical / historical:

The Los Angeles Railway Corporation (LARy) was the product of mergers and consolidations of numerous local and interurban railways in Los Angeles and adjacent communities. In 1910, Henry E. Huntington yielded his interests in the Pacific Electric Company to the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, which subsequently controlled the interurban lines, and he incorporated the Los Angeles Railway Company and other railway interests to form the Los Angeles Railway Corporation, which operated the Los Angeles city lines.

This collection was compiled by Edwin L. Lewis (died 1943), who began working for the Los Angeles Cable Railway Company in 1888. Lewis became vice-president and manager of the Los Angeles Railway Land Company and manager of the Los Angeles Railway Building in 1921. He retired in 1939. Lewis collected the material as background information for his proposed book on the railway systems of Los Angeles. The two-volume history was never published, but exists in manuscript form and is housed in the Huntington's Manuscript Department.

Acquisition information:
Donated to the Huntington Library by Edwin L. Lewis, June 1939. The collection includes a number of manuscripts and scrapbooks, which are in the custody of the Manuscripts Department.
Arrangement:

The original arrangement of the collection is numerical (see the Container List), based on Lewis's numbering scheme. Each photograph is inscribed with a number that corresponds to the numbers in Lewis’s original ledger (located in box 21). The collection remains in numerical order, and is described at the folder level. Lewis also created a card file (box 27) arranged by subject, which was used to describe and access specific photographs. Item-level access is available through this card file in consultation with the Curator of Photographs. Every attempt has been made to be as inclusive as possible in the description of the folder contents; however, some folders contain images that span two or more subjects.

In addition to photographs, each folder may contain correspondence, clippings and/or notes, and their presence is noted. The biographical files contain primarily textual materials; if photographs are present, they are noted.

The collection has also been intellectually described in four broad subject areas in the Subject List following the Container List: Views of Los Angeles and vicinity; Transportation; Individuals; and Miscellaneous. Within the Views of Los Angeles, Transportation, and Miscellaneous subject areas, the arrangement is numerical. The individuals are listed alphabetically.

The majority of the clippings and printed materials included with the photographs are preservation photocopies.

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2129
reference@huntington.org
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