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Ivy Substation (also known as the Ivy Park Substation or Culver Substation) is a 99-seat theatre in
Made of brick covered in stucco, the large interior once held old style rotary mechanical rectifiers to convert very high voltage alternating current (AC) to 600 
It remained in service until 1953. The old equipment was removed and the building was purchased by the City of Los Angeles, but sat vacant for many years. In the early 1990s, the Culver City Redevelopment Agency and the City of Los Angeles renovated the building to use as a community theater by
The Actors Gang Theatre
{{Pacific Electric Railway Theatres in Los Angeles County, California Pacific Electric infrastructure History of Los Angeles County, California Railway buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Buildings and structures in Culver City, California Railway buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in California Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in California Transportation buildings and structures in Los Angeles County, California 1907 establishments in California Industrial buildings completed in 1907 Theatres completed in 1992
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
which formerly housed power equipment
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power and control, ...
for the nearby electric railways and Ivy station
''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1981.
History
A single story, rectangular shaped building in the Mission Revival style, it was built in 1907 as atraction substation
A traction substation, traction current converter plant, rectifier station or traction power substation (TPSS) is an electrical substation that converts electric power from the form provided by the electrical power industry for public utility se ...
by the Los Angeles Pacific Railway
The Los Angeles Pacific Railroad (1896−1911) (LAP) was an electric public transit and freight railway system in Los Angeles County, California. At its peak it had of track extending from Downtown Los Angeles to the Westside, Santa Monica, ...
which subsequently became part of the Pacific Electric
The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway system ...
railway in 1911.
Made of brick covered in stucco, the large interior once held old style rotary mechanical rectifiers to convert very high voltage alternating current (AC) to 600 volt
The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827).
Defi ...
direct current
Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even ...
(DC) to operate run cars for serve nearby streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
and interurban
The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...
lines: the PE's Venice Short Line
The Venice Short Line was a Pacific Electric interurban railway line in Los Angeles which traveled from downtown Los Angeles to Venice, Ocean Park, and Santa Monica via Venice Boulevard.
History
The part of the line from the Hill Street sta ...
, Redondo Beach via Playa del Rey Line
The Redondo Beach via Playa del Rey was an interurban railway route of the Pacific Electric. It operated between the Hill Street Terminal and Cliffton, south of Redondo Beach, through the company's Western Division.
History
The route began as ...
, and Santa Monica Air Line
The Santa Monica Air Line was an interurban railroad operated by the Pacific Electric between Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles. Electric passenger service operated over the line between 1908 and 1953. After abandonment as a freight railroad, ...
.
It remained in service until 1953. The old equipment was removed and the building was purchased by the City of Los Angeles, but sat vacant for many years. In the early 1990s, the Culver City Redevelopment Agency and the City of Los Angeles renovated the building to use as a community theater by The Actors' Gang
The Actors' Gang is an experimental theatre and nonprofit group based at the Ivy Substation in Culver City, California. It was founded in 1981 by a group of actors, including Tim Robbins, now a member of the board and Artistic Director of the tr ...
.
The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places because of its association with the transportation history of Los Angeles as well as for its architecture.
See also
*Culver City station
Culver City station is an elevated light rail station on the E Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The station is located on a dedicated right-of-way alongside Exposition Boulevard — between the intersection of Venice Boulevard and Ro ...
, formerly Ivy station.
*Pacific Electric Railway Company Substation No. 8
Pacific Electric Railway Company Substation No. 8, also known as the Altadena Substation, is a former traction substation in Altadena, California. It operated under the Pacific Electric Railway and served as the substation for Pasadena area lines ...
*Pacific Electric Sub-Station No. 14
The Pacific Electric Sub-Station No. 14 is a former traction substation in Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana, California. It was built by the Pacific Electric Railway to provide electricity to run the railway's streetcars in central Orange County, C ...
*List of Pacific Electric Railway lines
The following passenger rail lines were operated by the Pacific Electric Railway and its successors from the time of its merger in 1911 until the last line was abandoned in 1961. One count indicated that the company and its successors operated as m ...
References
External links
The Actors Gang Theatre
{{Pacific Electric Railway Theatres in Los Angeles County, California Pacific Electric infrastructure History of Los Angeles County, California Railway buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Buildings and structures in Culver City, California Railway buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in California Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in California Transportation buildings and structures in Los Angeles County, California 1907 establishments in California Industrial buildings completed in 1907 Theatres completed in 1992