Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge
Pacific Electric Railway- El Prado Bridge | |
Pacific Electric Railway | |
Architectural style | Modern Movement |
---|---|
NRHP reference No. | 89000854[1] |
Added to NRHP | July 13, 1989 |
The Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge or Southern Pacific Railroad Bridge now officially named the "Pacific Electric Railway- El Prado Bridge" is a historic double-tracked
Torrance, California is a town that was planned on the drawing board. Before 1912 there was no settlement in the area.
After splitting off to the east from the Union Tool Company plant which was once a short distance south of the bridge, the line terminated at the new Torrance plant of the
Designed by Irving Gill and built in 1913 as part of the original layout of the city as determined by Jared Sidney Torrance and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., the bridge became the city's second entry in the National Register of Historic Places on July 13, 1989 after Torrance High School.[5][6][7] It is also listed with the California Office of Historic Preservation.[8]
The Pacific Electric Railway- El Prado Bridge, was dedicated as a Local Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2013.
Though trackage, turnouts and remnants of a switch remain on the bridge, it is no longer in use nor has it been for quite some time. There is no chance of the bridge returning to service, since the right-of-way at either end has been redeveloped. Nevertheless, the Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge has become a symbol of the city as part of the Torrance Police Department's logo as of January 1, 2000, only the third such change in the department's history.[9]
See also
- List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in California
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Los Angeles County, California
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ http://www.erha.org/pesspt.htm History of the Torrance/San Pedro line
- ^ "Maps of the Torrance Area". The Pacific Electric Railway in Southern California. Reprise, Inc. Archived from the original on 2009-02-11.
- ^ "The Torrance Branch". Abandoned Rails. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011.
- ^ "Historic sites". City of Torrance. Archived from the original on 2009-01-27, accessed November 2008.
- ^ "Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge - Torrance, CA". Hellotorrance.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
- ^ "Old Torrance Olmsted Districts". Arcadia Publishing. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge". California Office of Historic Preservation Listed Resources. Archived from the original on 2008-10-27. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
- ^ http://www.ci.torrance.ca.us/PDF/Ths0002.pdf Archived 2007-10-26 at the Wayback Machine PDF file of the February 2000 edition of the Torrance Historian