On April 15, 1886, passengers began riding the Capitol City Railway Company’s electric streetcar service, the first such citywide public transportation system in the U.S.A. Nicknamed the “Lightning Route”, the streetcar moved on tracks at 6 miles per hour and ran 16 hours a day powered by electricity from overhead cable. Outlying areas at that time such as Highland Park, Oak Park, Capitol Heights, and Cloverdale were integrated into the city and began to grow as a result of the electric streetcar. Electric trolleys continued to operate in the city until 1936.
