Union station
In 1926, a measure was placed on the ballot giving Los Angeles voters the choice between the construction of a vast network of elevated railways or the construction of a Union station to consolidate the city's two mainline railroad stations (Central Station and La Grande Station). The election took on racial connotations and became a defining moment in the development of Los Angeles. One proposed location for Union Station was located in the heart of what was Los Angeles' original Chinatown. Reflecting the racial prejudice of the time, "Los Angeles Times", a lead opponent of elevated railways, argued in editorials that Union Station would not be built in the "midst of Chinatown" but rather would "forever do away with Chinatown and its environs." The "Times" also attacked the elevated railways for blocking out the California sun and in general being antithetical to the ethos of Los Angeles.