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Watts Station is a train station built in 1904 in Watts, Los Angeles, California. It was one of the first buildings in Watts, and for many years, it was a major stop for the Pacific Electric Railway's "Red Car" service between Los Angeles and Long Beach. It was the only structure that remained intact when stores along 103rd Street in Watts were burned in the 1965 Watts Riots. Remaining untouched in the middle of the stretch of street that came to be known as "Charcoal Alley", the station became a symbol of continuity, hope, and renewal for the Watts community. It has since been declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Watts
Watts Station, May 2008
General information
Location1686 E. 103rd Street
Watts, Los Angeles, California
Tracks4
History
Opened1904
Closed1961
Services
Preceding station Pacific Electric Following station
Abila
towards Morgan Avenue
Long Beach Latin
towards Pacific Electric Building
Abila
towards Balboa
Balboa
Abila
towards San Pedro
San Pedro via Dominguez
San Pedro via Gardena
Palomar
towards Santa Ana SP Depot
Santa Ana
Centralia
towards Clifton
Redondo Beach via Gardena
Centralia
towards El Segundo
Hawthorne–El Segundo
Terminus Watts Local Elcoat
towards Pacific Electric Building
Watts Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 36
Coordinates33°56′35″N 118°14′34.80″W
Built1904
Architectural styleLate Victorian
NRHP reference No.74000523
LAHCM No.36
Added to NRHPMarch 15, 1974[1]

Construction and operation as a Pacific Electric station


Ticket windows at Watts Station
Ticket windows at Watts Station

Watts was built on the old Rancho La Tajauta. In 1902, the family of Charles H. Watts, for whom the community was later named, sought to spur development of the rancho by donating a 10-acre (40,000 m2) site to the Pacific Electric Railway. Watts Station was built on the site in 1904, serving for more than 50 years as a major railway depot and stop for the Pacific Electric's "Red Car" service between Los Angeles and Long Beach. It was located at a major junction, where lines to San Pedro and Santa Ana branched off from the main line to Long Beach. The station is a single-story, 2,200-square-foot (200 m2), wood-frame structure divided into three rooms.[2][3] It was one of the first buildings erected in Watts and is one of the few remaining from its early years.[2] It also served as a model for later depots built in La Habra, Covina and Glendora.[3]

With the Watts junction connecting the Long BeachSanta Ana line to the San Pedro–Redondo line, Watts was able to secure a working-class population who depended on the service for travel.[4] This service helped the Watts community to continue to grow, with many of its population traveling outside the Downtown area for work opportunities. [5]

The service in Watts Station also allowed for leisure and enjoyment. The population in Watts were not confined to the boundaries of their neighborhoods but free to enjoy the entertainment offered by distant communities, with many using the system to attend nightclubs and dance halls within the larger urban region.[6]

The building remained an active depot until passenger rail service was discontinued in 1961.


Effects of its discontinuation


The end of the “Red Car” in Watts brought about change in the community. With its closing, Watts Station lost a key form of mass transportation. Many of Watts' low-income residents could also not afford to own automobiles, which were becoming the norm. The spread of employment across Los Angeles and lack of transportation resulted in less employment opportunities and more traveling expenses for the people in Watts.[7]


History


Watts station, c. 1906
Watts station, c.1906

Incidents occurring around Watts Station in its early years including the following:


Symbol of hope along "Charcoal Alley"


View of Watts Station from tracks
View of Watts Station from tracks

In August 1965, the Watts Riots resulted in the destruction of buildings up and down 103rd Street—the main commercial thoroughfare in Watts. Watts Station was situated in the center of the one-mile (1.6 km) stretch of 103rd Street between Compton and Wilmington Avenue that came to be known as "Charcoal Alley" due to the widespread destruction.[16][17][18] One observer recalled: "Both sides of 103rd Street were ablaze now. The thoroughfare was a sea of flames that emitted heat so unbearable that I believed my skin was being seared off."[19] Another account of the riots along "Charcoal Alley" states: "On the third day of the Watts Riots, 103rd St. was burned to the ground."[20] In the middle of the rubble and widespread destruction along "Charcoal Alley", the Los Angeles Times reported that "the train station was the only structure that remained intact when stores along 103rd Street burned during the Watts riots."[21] The survival of the old wood-framed Watts Station, whether an intentional omission or a mere coincidence, resulted in the station becoming, as the Los Angeles Times put it, "a symbol of continuity, hope and renewal" for the Watts community.[21]


Historic designation and restoration


Four months after the riots, the station was declared a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM #36) by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission.[2][22] It was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In the 1980s, after the station had been vacant for many years, the Community Redevelopment Agency spent $700,000 to restore the structure to its original exterior design. The station was re-opened in 1989 as a customer service office for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and a small museum of Watts history.[3][21] Mayor Tom Bradley attended the dedication ceremony and said: "Those days of glory are going to return, and we are going to be at the heart of the action right here at the Watts train station."[21]

In 1990, the Metro Blue Line resumed train service from Los Angeles to Long Beach along the old Pacific Electric right of way. Though the old Watts Station does not serve as a passenger platform or ticket booth for the new Blue Line,[21] the trains do stop at a new "Watts Station", 103rd Street-Kenneth Hahn, on 103rd Street, at a location next to the old Watts Station.[23] More than 87 motorists and pedestrians having been killed at Blue Line crossings since 1990,[24] making it the deadliest and most accident-prone light rail line in the country.[25] The Blue Line was renamed to the A Line in 2019.




See also



References


  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. "Watts Station Declared: 'Of Historic Significance'" (PDF). Los Angeles Sentinel. 1965-12-09.
  3. "Historic Train Depot in Watts Set For $310,000 Restoration". Los Angeles Times. 1986-11-09.
  4. Avila, Eric (2004). Popular Culture in the Age of White Flight: Fear and Fantasy in Suburban Los Angeles. University of California Press. p. 35. ISBN 9780520939714.
  5. Avila, Eric (2004). Popular Culture in the Age of White Flight: Fear and Fantasy in Suburban Los Angeles. University of California Press. p. 165. ISBN 9780520939714.
  6. Avila, Eric (2004). Popular Culture in the Age of White Flight: Fear and Fantasy in Suburban Los Angeles. University of California Press. p. 166. ISBN 9780520939714.
  7. Elkind, Ethan (2014). Railtown: The Fight for the Los Angeles Metro Rail and the Future of the City. University of California Press. p. 6. ISBN 9780520957206.
  8. "Dies Awful Death To Save Her Child". Los Angeles Times. 1904-05-19.
  9. "Ground To Death: Miss Mary Ryan Steps Before Pacific Electric Flyer to Shocking Fate". Los Angeles Times. 1904-12-28.
  10. "Duke of Watts Was 'Pinched': Scared Italian Grocers Had No Passports; Terrance Mulligan Ordered Them Out of His Dominions, and They Flew to the City to 'Get the Law on Him' - War Busted Loose on the Pacific Electric". Los Angeles Times. 1905-05-14.
  11. "Stepped to His Death: Laborer Employed by Pacific Electric Killed by Long Beach Car at Watts Station". Los Angeles Times. 1905-07-30.
  12. "Cannot Recover: Mexican Struck by Car Near Watts Station Sustains Injuries Which Will Prove Fatal". Los Angeles Times. 1906-02-19.
  13. "Motorman May Die: He Is Pinched Between Two Cars of Work Train at Watts Station; Taken to Hospital". Los Angeles Times. 1906-12-09.
  14. "Shoots Into Car Window: Woman's Bad Aim Endangers Many Passengers; Mrs. Welsh Fires on Mate at Watts Station; Climax to Numerous Stormy Domestic Quarrels". Los Angeles Times. 1906-01-27.
  15. "Says He Can't Get Fair Trial: Trolley Car Guard Wants a Change of Venue; Declares Gangsters Menace City Court at Watts; Faces Disturbing of Peace Charge for Doing 'Duty'". Los Angeles Times. 1919-09-16.
  16. Hebert, Ray (1966-02-27). "Hope Brightens for Riot Areas: Action Promises Revitalization of Forgotten Slum". Los Angeles Times. In Watts, for example, a mall is being discussed for a stretch of 103rd Street -- the riot's infamous 'charcoal' alley between Compton and Wilmington Ave.
  17. Landsberg, Mitchell; Reitman, Valerie (2005-08-11). "Watts Riots, 40 Years Later". Los Angeles Times. They had just secured one of the hardest-hit areas of Watts, a stretch of 103rd Street that had been dubbed 'Charcoal Alley.
  18. Berman, Art (1965-12-06). "Watts Scars Heal Slowly: Businessman's New Store Looted". Los Angeles Times. Along a mile of 103rd Street in Watts -- dubbed 'Charcoal Alley' after 41 commercial buildings were destroyed by fire during the riot -- block after block is dotted with bare or rubble-filled lots or blackened shells.
  19. Betty Pleasant (2005-08-03). "Eyewitness Account of the Watts Riots". The Wave Newspapers.
  20. "Charcoal Alley". Community Walk.
  21. Feldman, Paul (1989-03-17). "Watts New? Reopening of Historic Red Car Station as Museum and DWP Office Seen as Symbol of Hope, Renewal". Los Angeles Times.
  22. Los Angeles Department of City Planning (2007-09-07). "Historic - Cultural Monuments (HCM) Listing: City Declared Monuments" (PDF). City of Los Angeles. Retrieved 2008-07-08. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  23. "Blue Line Train Kills Pedestrian at Watts Station". Los Angeles Times. 1999-06-25.
  24. "Summary of Blue Line Train/Vehicle and Train/Pedestrian Accidents". Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 2007.
  25. "Light rail fatalities, 1990-2002". American Public Transportation Association. 2005-05-20.
  26. "Artwork | Blue Line Totems in Red". www.metro.net. Retrieved 2018-12-05.



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