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Photograph of Watts Station
Photograph by Los Angeles, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Watts Station

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. 19 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1896.

From the record

“Watts Station is a train station built in 1904 in Watts, Los Angeles, California. It was one of the first buildings in Watts, and for many years, it was a major stop for the Pacific Electric Railway's "Red Car" service between Los Angeles and Long Beach.”

Wikipedia article Watts Station, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 616 National Register listings published here for Los Angeles County · listed in 1974 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 1686 E. 103rd St., Los Angeles, 90002
  • When was it listed? March 1974
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Los Angeles
  • National Register reference number. 74000523 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1896 to 1901

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 5 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Watts Station, surveyed 1901
Topographic sheet covering Watts Station, surveyed 1896

Fires near this property

456 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 456 fires within 5 miles of Watts Station between 2005 and 2020, burning about 2,198 acres in total. None started naturally. 37 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined325
Smoking49
Arson/incendiarism37
Misuse of fire by a minor20
Equipment and vehicle use16
Debris and open burning9

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
8 September 2016Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 September 2007Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
7 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2011Smokingunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named

Every fire recorded in Los Angeles County

Mines and quarries near this property

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Watts Station: 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Alameda St. PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Atkinson PitClayPast Producer
City Brick Co. PitClayPast Producer

Every working recorded in Los Angeles County

Storms near this property

8 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Los Angeles, the town this property stands in, in 8 storm reports between 2000 and 2026: 3 flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 high wind, 1 tornado. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
March 2023Tornado (EF1)East Los Angeles1 hurtA weak tornado developed in the community of Montebello. The EF1 tornado impacted the area around the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Maple Avenue. There was substantial damage to the industrial warehouse and commercial business district, including nearly total roof collapse in one building and a total of 17 damaged structures. Numerous vehicles were damaged due to flying debris.
February 2000Thunderstorm WindLos Angeles1 hurtno account filed
February 2026FloodLos Angeles-Heavy rain produced significant roadway flooding on Interstate 110 near West 39th Street.
February 2026Flash FloodLos Angeles-Heavy rainfall generated flash flooding near the intersection of Interstates 10 and 110.
February 2026Thunderstorm WindLos Angeles-Strong thunderstorm winds knocked down several trees in the South Los Angeles area.
March 2002High WindLos Angeles-no account filed
February 2000FloodLos Angeles-no account filed
April 2000FloodLos Angeles-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Los Angeles County

Maps showing this location

19 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Watts Happening Cultural Center0.2 miles2023
Watts Towers of Simon Rodia0.3 miles1977
Lynwood Pacific Electric Railway Depot2.2 miles1974
52nd Place Historic District3.8 miles2009
John Muir Branch3.8 miles1987
Prince Hall Masonic Temple3.8 miles2009

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 74000523 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Los Angeles CountyAll 616 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.