William Crandell on March 10, 2011, at 05:09PM – #1

During the month following his 1980 election to the White House, Reagan announced that in no way would his administration fund such a project. Preservationists, urbanists, architects with a sense of urban design, urban planners and landscape architects had strongly opposed the project.

Hack administrators, hack engineers of all stripes, hack architects all supported the project. A special division had been established within the CRA for planning and construction and they all cried to the heavens when Reagan cut them off at the knees.

I've always believed that it was Thornton Bradshaw, chief executive of ARCO who had lobbied the president elect over concern regarding the degree of impact the project would have had, an elevated station above Figueroa, elevated tracks runing up and down Figueroa, eastward along Fifth Street, north on Hill Street.

Irony: there would have been another station above Fifth Street right where the Bunker Hill Stairs are now located. I rather doubt that Robert Maguire would have cared, would have made his effort to save the Central Library if that gawd-awful People Mover had gone forward.

Anyone who does not understand or appreciate the negative impact this project would have had should take a walk along Flower Street from Fifth up to Third and really, really look at the environs thereabouts.

Ronald Reagan: saviour of Downtown Los Angeles.

Jerry Brown is so right: eliminate the CRA. Ride them all out of town on a rail.

William Crandell on March 10, 2011, at 05:56PM – #2

The final design had two separate tracks between the intersection of Fifth and Figueroa and a spot on Hill Street just south of where Angel's Flight now is located. Union Station bound automated cars would have run along a track eastwards along Fifth and then northward on Hill. Convention Center bound cars would have entered the tunnel under Bunker Hill, run through the basements of Cal Plaza, Wells Fargo Center, Security Pacific Headquarters (now the BOA tower), bridged across Flower Street to the second floor station of the WTC and then out over and down Fig to join up with the other track at Fifth. The terminal station at the Convention Center would have been where Staples Center is located.

Those automated, driverless cars would have been perfect billboards, for graffiti. All of the support pylons would now be plastered with concert posters and more graffiti and all of those cars would have the stench of you know what.

If James Earl Carter had been re-elected, Downtown would now be a horror show.

on March 11, 2011, at 10:41AM – #3

The true believers that keep advocating for a monorail to be built (either on Wilshire Boulevard, or along various rivers, both of which have been advocated in the past few years) would do well to read Mr. Crandall's posts above.

A monorail is never going to be built, and yet some people continue to bring it up. I wish they would stop doing that.

A monorail is a very lousy idea.

on March 11, 2011, at 03:32PM – #4

Just a few weeks ago I posted comments on The Source with my faint knowledge about this forgotten corner of L.A. downtown history. Great research, Eric!

William Crandell on March 11, 2011, at 03:33PM – #5

Ray Bradbury is one of those; they're 'the monorail people.' RUN FOR YOUR LIVES, EVERYONE!!!!

(And we all know the hoot of a story behind Esther McCoy's '53 story about the design of the Bradbury. Hint: she was a friend oF MR. Sci Fi...)

Ray Bradbury: it's time to come clean about that 1953 article in Arts & Architecture magazine!

BobbyD on March 29, 2011, at 09:00AM – #6

I remember reading that a city council member, at a city council meeting, saying that he was glad that Ronald Reagan was controling federal spending. Two or three meetings later that same city council member was quiet when asked his opinion about the People Mover being cancelled.

Now I ask- what lesson can you learn about that?