[CityBoyDoug]

Originally Posted by Wig-Wag

Doug, The theory was that the streetcar patron would remain safely on the sidewalk until he saw the destination sign of the car he wished to board and then cross with the light to wait out the remaining seconds until boarding. In the main it worked quite well. However, inevitably there were those times when streetcar patrons fell victim to an inattentive or drunk driver, with predictable results.

I especially like this photo for not only the PCC car but also the 1950 Pontiac Streamliner alongside the streetcar "safety zone", as this year and model was my first car!

Cheers,
Jack

Jack, thanks for your nice reply.....I'm a bit sensitive to this issue for a personal reason.
My brother and I were taken one night to a movie at the Glendale Alex Theatre by our babysitter. The movie was a Disney feature and an animated live-action film called Bill and Coo. It was a bizarre film about birds, yet strangely fascinating.

After the film, we were crossing the street when a 16 year old drunk driver plowed through us in the crosswalk [driving his first -day, brand new Pontiac]. Many people were sprawled on the pavement...popcorn was everywhere. I was tossed around but not injured. My older brother was injured and taken by ambulance to the hospital. There were some serious injuries for others. Fortunately my brother only had some cuts and bruises.

Our mother was furious that the babysitter had taken us to a movie without her permission. She called the local newspapers and pleaded for them not to name us in any story as we were hiding from her violent former husband [ there was a warrant out for his arrest concerning a bloody assault on her father]. The papers printed our names anyway and my mother promptly received a hostile call from her former husband's relative. The woman caller inquired, sneeringly asking, "Are the little boys alright?". My mother was not amused. Later that same night my brother and I were driven 60 miles east of Glendale to stay with relatives for the remainder of that year....and hopefully out of harms way.

Who would have thought that an evening at the movies could have turned into a nightmare.

Lobby Cards images

A short clip of the movie....


http://youtu.be/Ppkea9nH0mY