The records of Metropolitan Coach Lines document a pivotal moment in Los Angeles history, the mid to late 1950's. The contracts, correspondence, publications, photos and other material contained in this collection directly reflect post-war Los Angeles' move away from a city and suburbs connected through rail lines, to a metropolis dominated by motor vehicles. The activity recorded in this collection thus significantly shaped the peculiar character of contemporary Los Angeles. The collection contains many items of particular interest and value. Series #3, Sale of Pacific Electric Records, includes the sales agreements between Pacific Electric, Western Transit, and Metropolitan Coach Lines (MCL) that transferred the passenger rail right of ways, facilities, and properties to MCL and contractually committed MCL to phasing out rail lines. Series #6, Photos, contains vivid images of the introduction of bus transportation to Los Angeles and the concomitant abandonment of the old rail lines. A complete list of series and folders is contained in the Arrangement and Description section of this finding aid.

Metropolitan Coach Lines Company (MCL) was born out of the socio-economic changes that transformed many large American cities in the years following World War II. Postwar prosperity allowed Americans to indulge in the luxury of the automobile and freeways expanded to accommodate the new auto culture. Work and home were no longer necessarily coterminous and American city-life began to decentralize. This was particularly true in Los Angeles where, a 1955 report to the LAMTA noted, "the ratio of automobile ownership to population... is the highest of any comparable urban area in the world and in no other such area is so great dependence placed on the private automobile as the principle means of passenger transportation (Cloverdale and Colpitts, 1955: p.3)".

4 boxes 2 linear feet

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