Happy 10th Birthday, Metro Gold Line!

Remember "Discover Gold?"

A decade ago today, The Metro Gold Line, Los Angeles' first light rail line in the 21st Century opened on one hot Saturday. Originally planned as an extension of the Metro Blue Line to Pasadena, it's the only direct transportation link between the Los Angeles and Pasadena downtowns (The 110 Freeway ends short of it).

The Militant, who has yet to miss an opening day for a Metro Rail line, was there, and remembered waiting in a long-ass line that snaked around the Gateway Plaza parking garage (the one some of you park in to ride the Dodger Stadium Express bus to games). It took nearly forever, but The Militant got on his train, rode all the way to the Sierra Madre Villa station, where the celebration had already ended in the parking structure there, and headed back.

Old-school Gold Line vehicles, now since replaced with the silver/gray Italian-built Ansaldobreda trains.

A few things have changed since Opening Day; the original 13.5-mile line is now nearly 20 miles long, having been extended from Union Station to East Los Angeles back in 2009. Originally an under-performing line due to its apparent slowness (something the Expo Line knows all too well), it now carries over 42,500 riders per day. Also, the orange-striped white Siemens light rail vehicles no longer run on the line, having been moved to their new tours of duty on the Green, Expo and Blue lines. And a few of the stations have changed their names: Lincoln/Cypress (originally Lincoln Heights/Cypress Park), Heritage Square (originally French Ave), Highland Park (originally Avenue 57) and South Pasadena (originally Mission).

Long-ass lines that day in the parking structure!

The future's bright for the Gold Line: In just two years it will be extended even farther into the SGV, terminating in Azusa with a station near Azusa Pacific University and Citrus College (The Militant won't miss that one fo' sho!). And by the next decade, the line will function as it was originally planned, when the two-mile Regional Connector tunnel is completed under Downtown Los Angeles. But alas, most of what the "Gold Line" is known for will no probably longer be named as such. Potential plans for the line may likely integrate the Union Station-to-Azusa section into the Blue Line, leaving the Eastside segment remaining Gold (and turning the Expo line into "Gold") in the process.

If you're feeling nostalgic for re-living the line circa 2003, take The Militant's Ultimate Gold Line Tour, which came out in 2009, and shows you places of significant interest along the old school Union Station to Sierra Madre Villa route.

Happy Birthday, Metro Gold Line! Here's to many more years, in whatever form you may or may not become!

Muertomania!

The Militant just loves stumbling into cool random events around Los Angeles. Right when the Militant was done with his research mission on Sunday in the SGV for his upcoming SGV Week series (as selected by you, the readers!) , while on his way back to The Militant Compound, he passed by a banner right before the Los Angeles River bridge on North Main Street in Lincoln Heights that read "Muertomania" and a gathering of several people in a canopy-lined parking lot.

Hmm...instinctively, he decided to do a U-turn.

Some pretty badass Dia de los Muertos-themed art at Muertomania!

He didn't regret it. It's a small Dia de los Muertos-themed festival at the Solidarity Ink print shop and gallery featuring holiday-themed arts, crafts, food and lucha libre matches! (You gotta love the Dia de los Muertos/Wrestlemania portmanteau moniker...) It's a total local Eastside event, small but apparently very well-organized with lots of stuff going on. MILITANT APPROVED! Definitely check it out if you can today - it's on until 10 p.m., do if you're reading this on Sunday afternoon, get on over there!

Muertomania
Sunday, October 30, 12-10 p.m.
Solidarity Ink
1749 North Main St.
Lincoln Heights

Pose with these life-sized luchador figures!

Mr. La Cucaracha himself, Lalo Alcaraz in the house! Ask him to sign some of his artwork!

The Militant's Ultimate (M) Gold Line Tour

Yes, Angelenos, the Militant is back.

He took a brief hiatus after getting over his post-Dodger-postseason Depression (PDPD) and had a bout with what may or may not have been the Swine Flu.

The Militant is okay, both emotionally and physically, and in fact did see someone dressed in a costume resembling that of the Militant at a gas station on Halloween Night (for you "Pics-Or-It-Didn't-Happen" types, sorry, the Militant Cam didn't work quickly enough, and certainly none of you would be amused by the picture of a back of someone's car).

Anyhoo, let's get right down to business. Sometimes the Militant gets lazy, sometimes he rants, sometimes he does a little event coverage, but sometimes he does a Mega-Post(tm) - such as last year's Pulitzer Prize-winning* post on the lost Sacatela Creek. A post full of text, images and a heck of a lot of Militant Research. Well, Angelenos, the Militant is about to give you the proverbial Mother Of All Mega-Posts.

This Mega-Post(tm) contains not one, not two, nor three, four or five, but - count 'em - six years of Militant research (Of course, there was no MA blog as we know it even three years ago, but you'll just have to trust the Militant on this one.

Okay, we're inflating the word count already...As you may or may not know, the (M) Gold Line will never be the same this Sunday, as the long-awaited expansion to the Eastside (the Real Eastside, to you hipster lowlifes out there) will open to the transit-riding public.

Well, your lives - and your knowledge of Los Angeles - will never be the same after this Mega-Post(tm). The Militant is about to take you on a tour of the Pasadena-to-Los Angeles (M) Gold Line...MILITANT STYLE!

Yes, it's not just about parades, football games, concerts or pub crawls. The Gold Line is a veritable, uh, gold mine of historical and trivial facts, most of which aren't visible to the casual obvserver. It's like a Transformer, yo...More than meets the eye!

So here it is...drum roll please...a post over two years in the making...

THE MILITANT'S (M) GOLD LINE TOUR!

Being that the Militant is central Los Angeles-centric, this tour will start from Union Station and end at Sierra Madre Villa station. Got it? Now tap your TAP cards (beep), and let's goooo!

Oh wait, you gotta go to the bathroom first? OK, OK, It's down the pedestrian tunnel, then make a left. HURRY!

...Okay, we're off!



View The Militant's (M) Gold Line Tour in a larger map

1. Private Rail Car Yard
Look to your left, as the train ascends up the elevated structure. There's a private rail car yard for privately-owned (non-Amtrak) passenger cars, whose owners pay Amtrak a fee for connecting to existing passenger trains.

This yard was originally built to house the business cars of the Southern Pacific, Union Pacific and Santa Fe railroads, during the heyday of passenger rail travel.

2. Homeboy Industries / Homegirl Cafe
Due directly right as the train curves, you can literally touch the building. It's the new headquarters of the nonprofit social enterprise Homeboy Industries. The Militant has already eaten at Homegirl Cafe. Great food, great service, great cause - MILITANT APPROVED!

3. Capitol Milling Company
This family-owned flour mill operated from 1831 to 1997, before moving its operation to a much larger facility in Colton. The mill supplied flour to clients such as Ralphs, Foix French Bakery and La Brea Bakery. In 1999, the family-owned operation was purchased by industry giant Con-Agra Co.

The historic building, built even before the railroads arrived in Los Angeles, still has a horse-tethering ring, back to the days when grain was hauled by horse carriage from farms in the San Fernando Valley.

4. Zanja Madre Relics
This recovered piece of Los Angeles history appears as a pipeline-like structure made of bricks and masonry. The Zanja Madre was the early water supply/irrigation system for the early pueblo of Los Angeles, which channeled water from the then-naturally running Porciuncula (Los Angeles) river into the town.

This relic was discovered by Metro construction crews in 2005 and placed on display here.

5. Swallow's Nests
Who says there's no wildlife in the City? Look towards the side of the Broadway Viaduct (along the middle of the photo on the left) and you'll see a row of swallow's nests - constructed in the same fashion as they are in mountainside cliffs - built into the concrete!

6. (M) Gold Line Yard & Shops
This yard, the former approach to the old Southern Pacific Cornfield Yard, (now Los Angeles Historic State Park), is where the Gold Line's fleet of Siemens and Breda light rail cars are stored, cleaned and maintained daily.

7. The Old Lincoln Heights Jail
Former LAPD Police Station and City Jailhouse from 1931 to 1966, holding up to 2800 prisoners at its peak. Still owned by the City, it was abandoned due to capacity and now serves as the home of the Los Angeles Youth Athletic Club, The Bilingual Foundation for the Arts theater company, and the Aztlan Foundation which provides workshops in Latino art and culture for the community.

8. Unidentified Flying Object!
Look to your left right before the train crosses the Pasadena Freeway! There's a flying saucer here at this Lincoln Heights scrapyard!

9. Bird Zoo
If you're heading towards Pasadena, look quickly to your right, just before you reach the Southwest Museum station and behind the fence, you'll see a bunch of caged birds and animals in the backyard of this apartment complex. Exotic animals seen here include a peacock, cockatoos and a goat.

10. Casa de Adobe
Building owned by the nearby Southwest Museum for temporary exhibits and cultural events, such as the annual Lummis Day Festival.

11. Figueroa Upper Walkway
You'll have to get off at the Southwest Museum station to see it. This second-set-of-sidewalk above the street-level sidewalk is a unique sight in Los Angeles, connecting various houses and apartments with the Casa de Adobe and the entrance to the (M) Gold Line Southwest Museum Station.

12. Old L.A. Certified Farmer's Market
Hop off the Gold Line at the Highland Park station every Tuesday from 3 to 8 p.m. for this weekly Farmer's Market in Highland Park. Check out the Militant's post!

13. Quetzalcoatl Chicano Heritage Mural
This mural, painted in 1995, depicts and celebrates Chicano history and heritage. Commissioned for $50,000 and partially financed by Rage Against The Machine singer Zak de la Rocha, this mural at Ave 61 and Figueroa has been a visible landmark and point of pride for the Highland Park community.

14. Arroyo Seco Viaduct
Your train travels on this bridge, along with most of the Gold Line's right-of-way, carried freight and passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (now merged into the BNSF Railway) until 1994. The bridge was converted from single-track to double-track during the Gold Line's construction in the late 1990s.

15. Mission West Farmer's Market
Don't forget to hop off the Gold Line at the Mission Station on Thursday evenings to catch this SouthPas tradition. Check out the Militant's Post!

16. Oaklawn Pedestrian Bridge
This decorative concrete arch bridge was built in 1910 for the neighborhood's bougie residents to cross over the Santa Fe Railway tracks. More info here.

17. Potential Bikeway?
Wouldn't this be a neato location for a future bikeway? A Militant can dream...C'mon Metro, let's make it happen!

18. Art Center South Campus
The South Campus of the Art Center College of Design opened in 2004. The building was originally an aircraft testing facility built during World War II. The Militant visited this place at the end of a Pasadena Ride-Arc ride last year.

19. The First Trader Joe's
This is the oldest and longest-operating Trader Joe's supermarket in the entire chain. So for all of you with friends in Seattle or Boston or NYC who just rave about "their TJ's," show them the OG TJs and make them RECOGNIZE!

20. Historic Santa Fe Pasadena Depot
This building at the Gold Line Del Mar station says "Pasadena" on it for a reason: it was the original Pasadena railroad depot operated by the Santa Fe Railway from 1925 to 1971, and by Amtrak form 1971 to 1994, when the passenger line was rerouted and the line abandoned to make was for what was then known as the "Pasadena Blue Line." The Santa Fe "cross" logo motifs can still be found all over the station building.

The station is now adaptively reused as a restaurant as part of the Del Mar Station mixed-use development.

21. Del Mar Station Bike Parking Facility
Check it - this station has bike parking! No, not just some lame aluminum "sinewave" racks placed in some obscure, forgotten corner, but an actual room where bikes can be parked and locked!

22. Manny Ramirez's Condo(?)
Not confirmed, but according to operative reports, Dodgers Outfielder Manny Ramirez owns a condo in this mixed-use development. The Militant doesn't know which unit, nor has he had the opportunity to party like a rockstar there.

23. Colorado Blvd Subway
The original Santa Fe Railway tracks crossed Colorado, but Metro built an underpass for the light rail line for some reason. Something to do with a parade every January...

24. Ruins of the Original Pasadena Public Library
This "Memorial Park" in Pasadena is no cemetery, but it does contain the remains of the original central Public Library building, located here from 1890 to 1927, and demolished in 1954. The current Public Library opened in 1927. The city of Pasadena retained the columns in memory of the original library building, dedicated in 1955.

25. Former Pacific Electric Right-Of-Way
This landscaped median, typical of many in Southern California, once carried interurban streetcars of the Pacific Electric Railway from 1904 to 1950 in a line that originated from 6th and Main streets in Downtown Los Angeles.

26. Eaton Wash
This flood control channel captures snow runoff from the San Gabriel Mountains about a mile high above, and runs through Eaton Canyon.

27. Pasadena Sandwich Co.
Some of the biggest sammiches you've ever seen are sold at this hole-in-the-wall shop on Sierra Madre Villa Ave, just steps away from the Gold Line station.

28. Site of Hastings Ranch
This large suburban retail development was once the location of Charles Cook Hastings' 1,100-acre Mesa Alta Rancho from 1882 to 1942, boasting a vineyard and later exotic plant and animal life. After the death of Hastings' son the land was sold to become tract housing, retail and a drive-in theater during the post-war development boom.

So there you have it, 28 points of interest from the window of your Gold Line train or a short walk away. Come Sunday, the Militant will no doubt have to update this list (Google Maps needs to put some more recent images, ahem, ahem). But for those of you who do the Gold Line every day to and from work, you'll never look at your commute the same way again.

Walk Like A Po-bla-dor...

Every early September, to celebrate Los Angeles' birthday, several hundred Southern Californians walk nine miles from Mission San Gabriel to El Pueblo (Olvera Street) to re-trace the steps of the 44 Pobladores who were sent to establish a wee little village along a river.

Every September, the Militant had plans to join them, but the Militant usually can't wake up that early.

Until this year.

The Militant has a reputation to uphold, after all, so he can think of nothing more to express his militancy than to walk the walk to celebrate the 226th anniversary of the city's founding.

So he got his militant ass up Sunday morning at 5 a.m., hopped on the subway at 5:45 and got on a bus at El Pueblo at about 6 a.m., taking him to San Gabriel.

The world looks much different at dawn. There is no traffic. There is tranquility. And in this heatwave, the Militant savored the relatively cool weather as much as he could. Most of all, he saw something he only witnessed very few times in his life - a Southern California sunrise (pictured right).

Some 400 or so walkers, most adorned in the peach-colored t-shirts given away to them, loaded up on coffee, water, juice and pastries as local dignitaries such as San Gabriel Mayor Kevin Sawkins, Los Angeles City councilmen Eric Garcetti and Jose Huizar, County Supervisor Mike Antonovich and State Assemblyman Mike Eng emphasized the significance and symbolism of the voyage of Los Pobladores and Sunday morning's modern-day re-enactment. Their descendants, wearing red sashes and period garb, as well as others dressed as 18th century Spanish soldiers, were the people of the day.

And we were off (pictured left).

With a brisk pace, the pack headed west on Mission to the city of Alhambra along a mostly-residential neighborhood save for the large ditch alongside the road that serves as a conduit for Union Pacific container trains. Even at 8 a.m. the air was muggy, the sun only barely starting to wield its power. The public speakers earlier on mentioned how the Pobladores didn't have the paved roads we have, and perhaps had other dangers like wild rattlesnakes, coyotes and bears (oh my). But then the Pobladores most likely didn't have to be there by 10:30 for a fanfare-filled ceremony with local TV news cameras waiting for them. The Militant is sure they took their own sweet time to get to the river back then.

Nearing the halfway mark, the walkers, now starting to thin out from the dense mass into a longer line of varying paces, arrived at Los Angeles city limits (pictured right) in El Sereno, and the San Gabriel and Alhambra police officers who escorted the pack on cruiser, motorcycle and bike handed it all off to their LAPD counterparts.

The neighborhoods through this part of town were largely industrially-zoned, straddling a railroad yard (the entire route seemed to be no more than 50 yards from a railroad track), filled with auto repair/body shops, many with the carcasses of cars on display behind their gates. There were even trucks covered with graffiti tags and the random encampment of the motor-homeless, parked in vans and RVs along the street. It was also here the stretched-out pack moved from the street to the sidewalk, and instinctively along the south side of the street where the buildings provided a much-needed cover of shade. But walking these streets provided a closer glimpse into what's really here -- children and families living in nearby homes and apartments, the chirping of caged birds hidden behind a large roll-down door of a body shop, perhaps there to add a semblance of nature and tranquility into an otherwise dark and greasy confine.

As the pack approached the City Terrace area, the Downtown skyline was clear in view, a visual symbol of our destination, both in terms of distance and history. The Militant chatted with fellow walkers, most of whom happened to hail from the SGV but had done the walk at least once before. Many of them were well familiar with Los Angeles history and politics (eventually the topic landed on the world (wide web)-famous TMZ video of da Mayor and Mirthala caught in the act (of shopping) - don't ask the Militant how).

Though the Militant felt pain from head to toe -- the oppressive heat (still nothing compared to the oppression of the East Coast media powers) and the onset of blisters in his shoes, respectively -- the walk was still a rare opportunity, a feat to accomplish and a historical treat.
The group took a brief pit stop at Linkin, er, Lincoln Park, next to El Parque de Mexico which pays homage to the heroes of Mexican independence. Once the walkers approached "Windshield Row" at Mission St. and Cesar E. Chavez Ave -- we were in the home stretch.

The walkers grouped near Union Station, led by native dancers in Gabrielino Indian costume and crossed Alameda Street into the gazebo stage of la placita at El Pueblo State Historical Monument, where the walkers were treated to more speeches and the appearances of the walker dignitaries, Mayor Villar, Fox 11's Tony Valdez and Herbert Siguenza from Culture Clash. Even one of the Pobladores descendants - a woman by the name of Irene Sepulveda Hastings - yes that Sepulveda and that Hastings - wearing an 18th century- era dress - got to say a few words.

The walkers, mission accomplished, were treated to snacks, drinks and some Los Angeles birthday carrot cake. What a way to celebrate a city's birthday. The Militant can just picture those Pobladores look down from above with smiles on their faces...or maybe they're shaking their heads, saying how loco we are.

Yes, the Militant was tired, aching and was looking forward to a nice cold shower when he got back to his compound. But needless to say, he would do it all over again...

...Er, next year.

Some more pics from the walk and post-walk ceremony:

Olvera Street at dawn.


"...There she stood in the doorway/I heard the mission bell..."


Los Dignitarios in front of Mission San Gabriel.


The walkers get a police escort via San Gabriel PD.


The Soto Street overpass in Hillside Village.
The bridge once carried the Big Red Car trolleys back in the day.
Look closely -- you can see the faded letters "PACIFIC ELECTRIC"
on the abutment directly to the right of the "No Parking" sign.


El Parque de Mexico in Lincoln Heights.


The County Coroner's Office in Boyle Heights.
Yep, if you're ever found dead somewhere,
this is where you're gonna end up.


The river didn't look like this 226 years ago,
but at least it won't look like this 226 years from now.


A resident of Yang-Na eagerly awaits Antonio's autograph at El Pueblo.


Da Mayor gets interviewed by an immensely hot reporter
from KRCA Canal 62
(if the Militant were the Mayor, he would dump Mirthala NOW).

A Deflated Change in Plans

The Militant has plans. Future plans. Urban plans. Master plans. The Death Star Plans. Plans for his Militant revolution. A Man A Plan A Canal Panama Plans. One can say the Militant is a planning freak (the Militant is not much of a party planner though). But as life runs its course, plans have to change.

Wow, that all sounds real heavy. No the Militant isn't hanging up his combat boots (the Militant has only just begun!), but he had to change some minor plans today.

It all started after the Militant had a nice hour-long talk with the head of a local non-profit arts group in his community, having a nice chat about the community, and sharing with each other our own plans (see? There you go!) for it. The Militant had to ride on over to the AWV for an appointment. When it was done, after, snapping pics of the River (pictured above), the Militant had planned to bike on over to Little Tokyo via Frogtown, Lincoln Heights and Chinatown to do more research for Part 3 of his Ethnic Iced Dessert Quest, and maybe check out a little bi-monthly talent show there as well.

Well something happened after the Militant crossed the bridge over the Los Angeles River where Riverside Drive suddenly becomes Figueroa: The Militant's rear bicycle wheel felt suddenly uneven and he dismounted immediately. There it was.

A flat.

Not just a flat, a "Your inner tube has less air than the vacuum of space and your rear tire is literally falling off the wheel" kind of flat. And that can only mean one thing:

Sabotage.

The Militant knows he is being under attack. The East Coast media powers are out to stop him, at all costs, and have sent their expatriate minions "out here" to stop the Militant. So they scored a microscopic victory against me by finding a way to deflate my rear tire, perhaps via the use of some laser device. There was absolutely no evidence of debris or sharp objects stuck in my tire, as there normally is when the Militant hits a flat (as Will Campbell knows, the Militant is phobic of riding on the Los Angeles River Bike Path for fear of getting puncture weeds stuck in his tires). The Militant was lucky, as this happened just after he had crossed the Los Angeles River, which meant that he had entered The Real Eastside, and that he knows that those who want to stop the Militant never venture into The Real Eastside, so that is probably what saved his front tire from destruction.

The Militant called roadside assistance at around 6:30 p.m., who informed him there was a bicycle shop further north on Figueroa by York in the Highland Park/Eagle Rock/Garvanza area but the Militant didn't want to take the chance of arriving at a place that was closed for the day. So he lifted the rear wheel off the ground and manually walked his wounded chariot a few blocks where the (M) Gold Line Avenue 26 station (pictured left) stood. Pure gold. The Militant rode the train to Union Station where he transfered to the (M) Red Line and on to the Vermont/Beverly Station. While on the train, the badly-flattened tire was an easy conversation starter from fellow passengers, though the Militant had his eyes fixes on a real hot looking Angelena sitting in the middle of the subway car (Damn, she was hot...). After alighting the train and hopping onto the elevator, a quiet, unassuming , but still cute Angelena asked him questions about his bike and bicycles in general. The conversation continued on the mezzanine level and on the second elevator to the street. The Militant didn't hesitate to give her his contact info, you know, just in case, she had more questions about bikes. She may or may not call him back, but hey...the interesting things that can happen outside the confines of a car.

After schlepping his bike on the sleek articulated 204 bus, he brought it to his mechanic where he not only replaced the tube, but got new road wheels, also bumping unexpectedly into a few of his operatives, of all people.

You know the city well enough, and it becomes a small town.

So changing one's plans isn't necessarily a bad thing, it can pave the way for good or better things. The only thing that really matter in the end is...that the Militant still came away with something to wrote for his blog entry for the day.