This line began life as a steam dummy motor line in 1889, run by the Mount Tabor Street Railway Company. Confusingly, this line was often referred to as the “Mount Tabor line” in its early years – modern researchers have to pay attention to both the owner of the line and the gauge to tell the two lines apart. The line was electrified in stages starting in late 1892, being electrified all the way to the original terminus at SE 54th Avenue and Hawthorne by May 1893. Steam motors ran on the non-electrified sections of the line to the eastern terminus and to Mount Scott.
By 1903, the familiar “Hawthorne Avenue” designation was in common usage, although it was occasionally referred to as the “Reservoir line” after it got extended to the city reservoir at the corner of SE 60th Avenue and Division on January 24, 1904.
Further extensions on the “South Mount Tabor line” pushed the line out to its ultimate terminus at SE Woodward and 74th in July 1913, although further extensions out to and past the city limits at SE 82nd Avenue were mooted for a while.
Streetcar service on the Hawthorne line ended on September 26, 1936 with replacement trolleybus service starting the next day.
| Important Dates: | September 8, 1889 – Steam motor line opens December 2, 1892 – Line electrified to SE 12th Avenue December 13, 1892 – Line electrified to SE 20th Avenue May 3, 1893 – Line electrified to terminus at SE 54th Avenue January 24, 1904 – Line extended to SE 60th and Division (”Reservoir”) July 1913 – Line extended to SE 74th and Woodward (”South Mount Tabor”) September 26, 1936 – line abandoned, replaced by trolleybus service | | --- | --- | | Operating Companies: | ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ | | Gauge: | Standard (4-feet, 8.5 inches) | | Headboard: | “HA” dash sign | | Car Barn: | ‣ ‣ |