Cable car street railways first began operating in Los Angeles in 1885 and lasted until 1902, when the lines were electrified and electric streetcars were introduced largely following the cable car routes. There were roughly 25 miles (40 km) of routes, connecting 1st and Main in what was then the Los Angeles Central Business District as far as the communities known today as Lincoln Heights, Echo Park/Filipinotown, and the Pico-Union district. The first cable cars climbed Bunker Hill on October 8, 1885. A total of three companies operated in the period through 1902.