I have long been interested in the history of the bicycle. I’ve also been to California numerous times, though never to Los Angeles. And quite frankly, I would never think of bicycle history and Los Angeles in the same thought. More likely, and this is stereotyping (please, Los Angelers, don’t send me hate mail), I think of cars and wide highways. But 100 years ago this wasn’t the case…they were on the cutting edge. You can imagine my surprise and intrigue when I came upon an article about the California Cycleway. Built in 1900 and dismantled about 10 years later, it’s original intention was to link Pasadena with L.A….via an elevated bike path. To read more about it on Wikipedia, click here. For a well-written story about it–with more photos, I recommend this site. Am I the only cyclist who thinks that path looks like a ton of fun?
Urban Simplicty 
They built the cycle path because they were so far behind the cutting edge. I'd gladly pay the toll to give 'er a go though.
What an excellent idea, if it had a roof it would be even better. If we built these over existing pavements (er… sidewalks)they'd have the added advantage of keeping pedestrians dry.
Andy, back in the day stores commonly had an awning in the front. As the buildings in a proper city are built with common walls the awnings effectively formed a roof without anyone needing to build anything, at least where walking traffic was dense.
KFG and Andy…yes awesome, I would definitely pay a toll to ride this thing to work everyday. And roofs/awnings over pavements/sidewalks still make the most sense…when I'm in a large city such as NY or TO on a rainy day I still find myself ducking under them…or at least the overhangs of the buildings.ehes
It's worth noting that the reason it was built elevated was not a matter of technical considerations, the advertised benefits or even the undeniable coolness factor.It was built elevated because of the toll booth.
But for the air quality issue,his would be great if placed over highways/freeways/beltways.