NextStop Blog

Were you able to guess when this week’s Flashback Friday photo courtesy of Andrew D. Young’s book, St. Louis and Its Streetcars was taken?

This photo is of PCC (Presidents’ Conference Committee) car 1611 heading west on Olive Street in front of the Central Public Library between 13th and 14th Streets. The shot was taken on the afternoon of May 21, 1966 — just a few hours before the last Olive Street/Hodiamont streetcar ran and the city’s final rail route was retired.

Up to that day, St. Louisans had enjoyed continuous streetcar service on Olive Street for almost 107 years! Opened from Fourth to Tenth Street on July 4, 1859, the horse cars of the Missouri Railroad company’s Olive Street line were running as far west as Leffingwell Avenue less than two weeks later.

Could a new streetcar grace Olive Street once again? Only time will tell.

Happy Friday!