But being "back", begs the question - back from what? For that, we need to look at a bit of history. From the land boom of the 1890s, generated by the arrival of the railroad in 1876, until the 1950s, Los Angeles was a thriving cosmopolitan city. Spring Street was called the Wall Street of the West. There were more, and finer, theaters on our Broadway than on the Great White Way in New York. The wealthy lived in penthouse apartments above the tallest buildings, and the mansions on Bunker Hill rivaled the finest in any city. Our public transportation system was the envy of major cities throughout the country.

After World War II, returning service men that had been stationed or shipped through Southern California remembered the climate and flocked to Los Angeles to seek their fortune. Developers leveled the groves and fields of the old ranchos in the San Fernando Valley and, in just over 10 years, the suburbs were born, incorporating a population center nearly as large as its parent city.

Automobile and tire manufacturers promoted their brand of transportation. Development cut pieces out of the Pacifc Electric train right of ways. New roads were built. Families left the City, opting for a life of commuting in order to get more home for their money. Public transportation atrophied from loss of routes and competition from cars. And the metropolitan heart slowly leaked out of the City.

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