This old definition of “traction” isn’t used much anymore, but back in 1915, when the former Stephenson Ave. was renamed Traction Ave., the word referred to the electric traction motor that powered streetcars via a trolley pole connected to an overhead wire. Many of today’s light rail lines still use this system. Traction-powered trolleys once glided along Stephenson, carrying passengers to and from the nearby Santa Fe depot. The street’s name was changed to Traction Ave. to avoid confusion with the Eastside’s bigger, busier Stephenson Ave., which itself would be rechristened Whittier Boulevard just five years later.
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