Financed by a voter-approved 1-cent sales tax, the system opened debt-free after a ribbon-cutting attended by hundreds on the east plaza at the Leadership Square office complex.

Decades after being edged out by the automobile, trolleys are back.

On the anniversary of the first Metropolitan Area Projects vote, Holt said return of the streetcar was "a dream 25 years in the making."

"It makes a huge difference to our economic development opportunities, our visitor opportunities, and it's a fundamental aspect of a comprehensive transit system," he said.

"More than that, it's an inspiration as we think ahead about the future," said Holt, who was 14 when the first MAPS passed. "This is a reminder that the things you dream of can happen."

"The dreams we make, the plans we make, the commitments we make through processes like MAPS have never been about building the city we expect to have today," he said. "It's about building the city we hope to have tomorrow."