The historicPacific Electric Building (also known as theHuntington Building, after the railway’s founder,Henry Huntington, or simply6th & Main), opened in 1905 in thecore of Los Angeles as the main train station for thePacific Electric Railway, as well as the company's headquarters;Main Street Station served passengers boarding trains for the south and east of Southern California. The building was designed by architectThornton Fitzhugh. Though not the tallest in Los Angeles, its ten floors enclosed the greatest number of square feet in any building west of Chicago for many decades. Above the train station, covering the lower floors, were five floors of offices; and in the top three was theJonathan Club, one of the city's leading businessmen's clubs introduced by magnates from theNortheast.[a] After the “Great Merger” of Pacific Electric intoSouthern Pacific Railroad in 1911, the PE Building became the home of Southern Pacific in Los Angeles. In 1925, a second electric rail hub, theSubway Terminal, was opened nearPershing Square to serve the north and west.
The building opened on January 15, 1905 as a terminal for the electric railways being constructed byHenry Huntington.[3] In 1914, a total of 1,626 scheduled Pacific Electric trains entered or left Los Angeles at Main Street Station in 3262 interurban car trips daily.[4] The elevated tracks and passenger concourse on the back of the building were constructed in 1916.[5]
With the great rise in the number of automobiles in the 1920s, congestion — from the cars, fromsharing streets with the cars, from sharing the streets withLos Angeles Railway’s Yellow Cars — often caused PE trains to run late, especially while traveling north on Main Street towards Glendale, and west to Hollywood and Santa Monica. To relieve such problems, the California Railroad Commission issued Order No. 9928 in 1922, which called for thePacific Electric to build asubway to leave downtown's busy streets.[6] TheSubway Terminal Building, a second PE terminal, was then built across downtown at the base ofBunker Hill at 4th and Hill Streets by Pershing Square to serve the subway, which opened December 1, 1925, speeding passenger service considerably to Hollywood, Santa Monica, San Fernando, and Glendale.
Interurban rail service remained the 6th and Main PE Terminal's sole function until 1942. Trains entered the back (east side) on ground-level track from San Pedro Street, loaded and unloaded passengers inside the building concourse, then exited onto Main Street (west side) and turned north or south. (See the attached photograph accompanying this article.) In 1942, the terminal was converted to accommodate the Pacific Electric's growing fleet ofbuses.[7] Trains continued to enter and use the original concourse on New Year's Day to carry crowds to and from theTournament of Roses events inPasadena until 1950 when Northern District (Pasadena–Sierra Madre–Monrovia–Glendora) rail service was abandoned. After that, the PE concourse saw no trains and Main Street tracks were no longer used. Remainingservice to Glendora, the Harbor, and toBellflower was provided at the rear of the PE terminal on outdoor passenger loading platforms and stub tracks at the rear (east side) of the PE Terminal. Trains used a ramp up from San Pedro Street that crossed Los Angeles Street to reach the loading platforms. Passengers walked into the terminal concourse via an enclosed bridge.
Over the next decade, interurban rail routes toBellflower, theWatts local, and Long Beach and harbor area were abandoned and replaced bymotor coaches. The last active route was theLong Beach Line. The final "Blimp" multiple unit interurban train to use the terminal (so named for their unusual plump size and round front windows) toLong Beach was on April 9, 1961 and was inMTA green livery: no longer painted the famous and classic Pacific Electric red.MTA Bus service continued to operate from Sixth and Main until 1964. The MTA ran "Freeway Flyer" motor coach service to old PE destinations from the basement of the nearby Greyhound Terminal, and this continued duringRapidTransitDistrict (SCRTD) operations.
Following the closure of the terminal's main floor depot, the former waiting room and bus concourse were converted to a parking garage. With the commercial and social decline of Main Street and the east side of downtown in general, the rented offices on the upper floors of the building became less desirable and gradually emptied out. The building was largely vacant for many years, though it became a popular location for the movie and television industries. Over 400 location shoots have taken place there, including scenes fromForrest Gump,LA Confidential,Jumpin' Jack Flash and interior shots for the 1970sStreets of San Francisco TV series.
In 1908,Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet was opened on the lower floor of the building and is still there today. As such, Cole's claims to be Los Angeles' oldest restaurant and pub that has been in operation in the same place since its founding. It is one of two local establishments which lay claim to having invented theFrench dip sandwich. Additionally, the structure held the architectural offices ofGreene and Greene circa 1905.
In 2005, the building was converted by ICO Group into residential live/work lofts and is occupied by residents. Several commercial tenants have filled the first floor spaces along 6th Street. The original Cole's space was renovated and divided to add another restaurant and bar. The building lobby currently displays a number of artifacts left over from its days as once an exceptionally active interurban rail terminal. "DANGER" warnings are set into the sidewalk at the Main Street location where trains once entered and left the building, remaining as evidence of its original grand purpose.[8]
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