The "Cable Boom": Public Transportation and the Cityscape of 1880s Los Angeles
Author(s): James Snead
Year: 2025
Summary
This is an abstract from the "City and Country in the American West:Post-1848 Historical Archaeologies of Denver and Los Angeles" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
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<b>The development of mass transit played an integral role in the development of cities in the 19</b><sup><b>th</b></sup><b> century American West. In particular, the rapid expansion of population in 1880s Los Angeles created complex interconnections between land development, entertainment, and innovative ways to move people around. This “Cable Boom” shaped the organization of neighborhoods, such as the “New West End,” adjacent to the historic city center. But the associated cityscape has been overlain by subsequent development, and remains poorly understood by historians and cultural preservationists. An informative material record, however, exists. This paper explores the city’s 1880s street railways and their evolution through maps, newspapers and preserved features, shedding light on an overlooked element of western urban life.</b>
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Cite this Record
The "Cable Boom": Public Transportation and the Cityscape of 1880s Los Angeles. James Snead. Presented at The 90th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 2025 ( tDAR id: 510547)
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Record Identifiers
Abstract Id(s): 53006