The young Earle C. Anthony on his home-built automobile, circa 1897, believed to be outside his home in Los Angeles.
Sometime during 1897 - the same year that L.A.'s first purported motor vehicle - the Erie-Sturgis vehicle - appeared on Los Angeles streets - a local teenager built and drove his own electric-powered motorized vehicle. Earle C. Anthony was only 17-years-old when he built his "horseless carriage" as a school project. It was powered by an electric motor and used chain-drive to propel itself forward. It reportedly could reach 10 mph, but, had a very limited range before needing a re-charge. It handled poorly and was also said to have been in L.A.'s earliest automobile accident. It hit a pothole and ran into a pole.
The Almanac could not determine if Anthony's automobile might have preceeded the Erie-Sturgis gasoline-powered automobile on L.A. streets, but, it was California's first electric-powered motor vehicle.
Anthony went on to not only become a highly successful auto dealer, he also introduced L.A.'s earliest gasoline stations, introduced America's earliest commercial neon signage, founded KFI radio - one of L.A.'s first radio stations, and helped bring the Dodgers to L.A.
Today, Anthony's electric vehicle, mostly reconstructed from its origin parts, still exists and is in the collection of the Peterson Automobile Museum.
