PG&E Streetcar

Electric streetcar service began in Sacramento in 1890. In 1895, the massive Folsom Powerhouse began sending electricity 22 miles away to downtown Sacramento.This facilitated the development of California's first “suburb”, Oak Park, and later the southeast portion of the original city grid that became known as Newton Booth. In 1906, the Sacramento Electric, Gas, and Railway Co. became part of PG&E, and PG&E began operating streetcars until 1943. Sacramento was the only city in the state to have street cars owned and operated by PG&E. The neighborhood route of these street cars extended along 28th Street, the eastern edge of Newton Booth, and 21st Street, through Poverty Ridge, to reach Oak Park and adjacent Highland Park. 28th and T Streets marked the end of the line for this important segment of the the PG&E Streetcar in Newton Booth.

Featured images (in order of appearace): 1) This circa 1937 photograph illustrates PG&E Streetcar No. 61 headed south on 28th Street as it approaches S Street. For the first several decades of the 20th century, streetcars played an integral role in the development of the Newton Booth neighborhood, allowing for area residents to more easily commute from the southeast portion of the city, where they lived, to their jobs in or near downtown Sacramento.