1942: Councilwoman Solves 'Vexing' Issue

A Redondo Beach city councilwoman solved one of the city's "most vexing problems" in 1942—ugly, abandoned right-of-ways left by the defunct Pacific Electric Railway—with flowers, the Los Angeles Times reported on Jan. 4 of the same year.

In a post published Wednesday on his Daily Mirror blog, Larry Harnisch reproduces an article titled "Woman Solves Problem of Redondo Landscaping."

"One of the community's most vexing problems has been solved by a woman," the article says. "When the Pacific Electric abandoned its right of way the removal of the rails left broad stretches of unsightly, broken ground centering some of the city's most scenic boulevards.

"City Councilmen wrestled with paving and landscaping cost estimates found them prohibitive and tossed the problem squarely into the lap of their only woman member, Mrs. Bernice Venable, City Councilwoman from the First Ward."

Venable suggested planting community flower gardens along the right of ways, and the Times reported that 20 civic organizations were involved in the beautification.

According to information posted on the Redondo Beach city website, the Pacific Electric Railway "Red Cars" were retired in 1940. Redondo was the "cornerstone" of the system, and "a person could ride from Redondo Beach to downtown Los Angeles in less than one hour."