1940s Photos of San Diego Streetcars

Broadway westbound at 12th

What a cool old photo of a San Diego streetcar. This image is from some time in the 1940s.

San Diego Electric Railway PCC streetcar travels westbound on Broadway between 12th Ave. and 13th St. in the late 1940s. The auto dealership on the left is the Pearson Motor Company, later located on El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego Electric Railway PCC streetcar travels westbound on Broadway between 12th Ave. and 13th St. in the late 1940s. The auto dealership on the left is the Pearson Motor Company, later located on El Cajon Blvd.

Source: San Diego Metropolitan Transit System

Eastbound on Broadway at 12th Ave.

San Diego Electric Railway PCC streetcar on Route 2 travels eastbound on Broadway between 12th Ave. and 13th St. in the late 1940s.
San Diego Electric Railway PCC streetcar on Route 2 travels eastbound on Broadway between 12th Ave. and 13th St. in the late 1940s.

Source: San Diego Metropolitan Transit System

If I’m not mistaken, this is approximately the same view today on Google Maps.

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Inside a streetcar

Here’s a cool shot from inside a streetcar.

San Diego Electric Railway streetcars on Broadway in downtown San Diego, viewed through the windshield of another car. Looking east on Broadway from Front St. in the late 1940s.
San Diego Electric Railway streetcars on Broadway in downtown San Diego, viewed through the windshield of another car. Looking east on Broadway from Front St. in the late 1940s.

University Ave. at Park Blvd.

Source: San Diego Metropolitan Transit System

Here’s another cool streetcar photo from San Diego around the same time.

San Diego Electric Railway streetcar on University Ave. at Park Blvd., having just traveled under the Georgia St. bridge in the late 1940s.
San Diego Electric Railway streetcar on University Ave. at Park Blvd., having just traveled under the Georgia St. bridge in the late 1940s.

Source: San Diego Metropolitan Transit System

Here is the Google Street View of the same area today.

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