{"nrhp_refnum":"78000689","name":"Plaza Substation","other_names":["See Also:Los Angeles Historic District"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"10 Olvera St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.05708640900008,"lon":-118.23797499299997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-09-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story unreinforced brick electric railway substation at 10 Olvera Street in Los Angeles, built by the Los Angeles Railway Company between December 1903 and 1906 (ca. 1905), within El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Park.","why_significant":"It is an important landmark in the history of transportation in Los Angeles, representing the electric street railway system built under Henry E. Huntington. It was the largest power producer among the company's substations and served much of downtown's streetcars. It is one of the last four of the original fourteen company substations and the only one left in the central city.","narrative":"Tucked at the north end of Olvera Street in Los Angeles, this three-story unreinforced brick building once supplied electric power to the city's streetcars. The Los Angeles Railway Company bought the site in December 1903 and had the substation operating by 1906, as Henry E. Huntington's transit systems expanded and demanded more electricity. Motor generators were installed in 1906 and 1907, and rotary converters followed in 1920. It was the largest power producer among the company's substations, serving much of downtown. Its design followed the Mission lines common to railway facilities of the period. Power equipment was removed in the late 1950s, and the stepped parapets were taken down after damage in the 1971 earthquake. Vendors' stands now attach to the Olvera Street front. It is one of the last four of the company's original fourteen substations and the only one remaining in the central city, which made it an important reminder of electric rail transportation in Los Angeles.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Los Angeles Railway Company","architectural_style":"Mission lines of architecture (Mission Revival)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as unoccupied and deteriorated, used for storage; altered by removal of stepped parapets after the 1971 earthquake. It was proposed for demolition because it does not meet seismic code.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.846632-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000689.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000689/261cf976b0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000689/261cf976b0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Downtowngal","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plaza_Substation,_Los_Angeles.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Downtowngal</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plaza_Substation,_Los_Angeles.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"72000231","name":"Los Angeles Plaza Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/california/los-angeles-plaza-historic-district-72000231/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859418","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaza_Substation","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7203650"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/plaza-substation-78000689/"}