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Lost LA
The Convoluted Logic of L.A.'s Numbered Avenues
As Los Angeles expanded, a need to clear up confusion for citizens came when duplicate numbered streets and avenues appeared throughout the city.
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Lost LA
The Lost Plan to Create a National Park in L.A.’s Backyard
In 1916, the proposed establishment of the Sierra Madre National Park laid in the hands of conservationist Stephen Mather. But an underfunded national park system and the area's lack of "nationally significant" monumental scenery meant a swift end to the plan.
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Lost LA
Edgar Lucien Larkin: The Wizard of Echo Mountain
Edgar Lucien Larkin came to Southern California in 1900 to work the Lowe Observatory's 16-inch refracting telescope and discuss science with tourists. But what made him stand out and draw crowds up the mountain night after night was the way he explained astronomy as a kind of magic, bridging ancient mystery and modern science.
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Lost LA
When the Los Angeles Angels Played Ball Inside an Amusement Park
Discover the Angels' humble beginnings as a then-minor-league club playing out of Chutes Park, an all-dirt stadium part of a larger family entertainment center that included attractions like bowling alleys and an 85-foot-tall water ride.
Article
The Early History of L.A. International Airport
The transportation hub has hardly stood still since it emerged from the bean fields of Westchester in the late 1920s.
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Lost LA
Lost LA Field Notes: Fantasyland
For the Fantasyland episode, I met an Imagineer, sat down with the director of the Walt Disney Archives and went through photos of Universal's original studio tour. We also visited the restaurant that inspired Walt Disney's fantasy theme.
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Lost LA
Lost LA Field Notes: Venice
Venice has been in a state of perpetual renaissance since tobacco heir Abbot Kinney founded the seaside resort town in 1905. And yet traces of its past stubbornly persist in street names, artworks and the built environment.
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Lost LA
Lost LA Field Notes: Ghost Towns
The only ghosts in this episode are the dreams of the past — visions of wealth, of new cities, and of new ways of living that failed. One of our stops was at Zzyzx, where we found multiple layers of history baked under the desert sun.
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Lost LA
Lost LA Field Notes: Surf’s Up!
Before we made this episode, I didn’t realize how far surfing’s influence extended, even to my own childhood. Conversations with surf culture historians Dick Metz and Peter Westwick, and a visit to Muscle Beach, helped to tell the story.
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Lost LA
Lost LA Field Notes: Desert Fantasy
Californians have learned to love their arid eastern lands. Joshua Tree continues to enjoy (or suffer from, depending on your perspective) record visitation. Music and art festivals draw hundreds of thousands more. For many, the desert is home.