Hollywood Subway
| Belmont Tunnel / Toluca Substation and Yard | |
|---|---|
Preserved northern rail tunnel portal, 2017 | |
Interactive map of Belmont Tunnel / Toluca Substation and Yard | |
| Coordinates | 34°3′36.56″N 118°15′32.8″W / 34.0601556°N 118.259111°W |
| Designated | February 23, 2005 |
| Reference no. | 790 |
The Hollywood Subway, as it is most commonly known, officially the Belmont Tunnel, was a streetcar tunnel used by the interurban streetcars (the "Red Cars") of the Pacific Electric Railway from 1925 through 1955. It ran from its northwest entrance in today's Westlake district to the Subway Terminal Building, in the Historic Core, the business and commercial center of Los Angeles from around the 1910s through the 1950s. The Subway Terminal was one of the Pacific Electric Railway’s two main hubs, the other being the Pacific Electric Building at 6th and Main. Numerous lines proceeded from the San Fernando Valley, Glendale, Santa Monica and Hollywood into the tunnel in Westlake and traveled southeast under Crown and Bunker Hill towards the Subway Terminal.
The two-track tunnel, 1.045 miles (1.682 km) long, cut roughly eight miles (13 km) off rail travel through some of the most heavily congested areas in the United States. At its peak, this tunnel hosted 880 Red Cars per day, and served upwards of 20 million passengers a year.