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Lost LA
Railroads Build – and Destroy: Competing Narratives of L.A. Union Station's Birth
Photographs reveal the celebrations surrounding the birth of L.A.'s Union Station, but also present the indiscernible loss of "Old Chinatown," a neighborhood lost to make way for the railroads.
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Lost LA
The Man Who Almost Conquered L.A.'s Skies
In the late 1800s, Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe dreamed of a luxury airship that would conquer the skies. But what Lowe had in ambition he lacked in financial investment.
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Lost LA
How California Got Its First National Forest
In the late 1800s, logging and grazing in the San Gabriel Mountains threatened the irrigation-based societies in the valley. President Harrison had a solution. Reserving 555,520 acres of the San Gabriel Mountains, effectively creating Angeles National Forest.
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Lost LA
When L.A. Drove in the Dark: SoCal During World War II
At the height of World War II, Southern Californians navigated nights in complete darkness as defense authorities imposed severe dimout restrictions on the region, ordering residents to turn of all lights that could be seen from sea at night.
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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.
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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.