The original San Pedro line began at an uncertain point in Downtown Los Angeles and reached the South Side of the city by way of Fourth Street, San Pedro Street, Park Avenue (present-day Avalon Boulevard), Gage Avenue, and South Central Avenue to 68th Street.[2]
Following the Great Merger of 1911, the tracks on Fourth Street were removed, and the San Pedro line now ran from San Pedro Street to Seventh Street from Downtown to the outskirts of Westlake. Here, the route took advantage of an old LAIU track on Hoover, Wilshire, and Commonwealth to continue northwest via Sixth Street, Vermont Avenue, Third Street, and Western Avenue to Santa Monica Boulevard on the southern edge of Hollywood. In 1921, the route was given the letter designation "S."[3][4]
During the LARy and LATL eras, further route changes were made. The LAIU shortcut to Sixth Street was eliminated and the route ran straight on 7th between San Pedro and Vermont, while the route's southern terminus was extended 1.25 miles (2.01 km) further south to the intersection of Avalon and Firestone Boulevard.[5] When the N line was decommissioned in 1950, S was re-routed to fill in its route along 8th street.[2]
Operation of the line passed to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority in 1958. Streetcar service ended on March 31, 1963,[6] by which time the southern terminus had become Central and Manchester Avenue.[7]
^ ab"'S'". Electric Railway Historical Association of Southern California. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
^"May 1: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History". Metro Dorothy Peyton Gray Transportation Library and Archive. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved February 16, 2022. 1921: Large letter signs indicating the routes of different lines are placed on top of Los Angeles Railway streetcars.
^"Cars To Have Letter Signs"(PDF). Two Bells. Vol. 1, no. 48. Los Angeles Railway. May 2, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved February 16, 2022.