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Who Killed the Red Car?

Who Killed the Red Car?

Season 5 Episode 1
26:46
Winemaking

Winemaking

Season 5 Episode 2
26:41
Prehistoric Landscapes

Prehistoric Landscapes

Season 5 Episode 3
26:46
German Exiles

German Exiles

Season 5 Episode 4
26:04
From Little Tokyo to Crenshaw

From Little Tokyo to Crenshaw

Season 5 Episode 5
26:37
Fast Food and Car Culture

Fast Food and Car Culture

Season 6 Episode 1
26:47
Historic Filipinotown

Historic Filipinotown

Season 6 Episode 2
26:39
Hiking Trailblazers

Hiking Trailblazers

Season 6 Episode 3
26:40
Eternal City: Los Angeles Cemeteries

Eternal City: Los Angeles Cemeteries

Season 6 Episode 4
26:50
Tuberculosis: The Forgotten Plague

Tuberculosis: The Forgotten Plague

Season 6 Episode 5
26:49
Tiki Bars and Their Hollywood Origins

Tiki Bars and Their Hollywood Origins

Season 6 Episode 6
26:40
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Lost LA

Shindana Toy Company: Changing the American Doll Industry

Season 4 Episode 6

The Watts riots (also known as the Watts Uprising) left South Los Angeles in social and economic distress. In its wake, Operation Bootstrap, a non-profit community-based organization was formed, with hopes of facilitating change through community empowerment. This episode explores the lasting impact of one Operation Bootstrap initiative, the Shindana Toy Company, which left a lasting mark on the American doll industry by manufacturing ethnically correct black dolls. We visit doll collector Billie Green, meet with former Operation Bootstrap organizers David Crittendon and Marva Maxey, and hear about the enduring legacy of Operation Bootstrap from the women of the Conner family, who once made clothing for Shindana dolls, It’s a story of community strength and economic revival — and one that, outside South L.A.’s black community, is barely known.

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Paul Revere Williams opposite a man explaining a project | Courtesy of J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles
26:17
Although best known for designing the homes of celebrities like Lucille Ball and Frank Sinatra, the pioneering African-American architect Paul Revere Williams also contributed to some of the city’ s most recognizable civic structures.
Men and women toasting farewell to the 18th Amendment during Prohibition | Los Angeles Examiner Photographs Collection,University of Southern California Libraries
26:40
Prohibition may have outlawed liquor, but that didn’t mean the booze stopped flowing. Explore the myths of subterranean Los Angeles, crawl through prohibition-era tunnels, and visit some of the city’s oldest speakeasies.
A Monument in the Cemetery at Manzanar Relocation Center | Ansel Adams, Courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
26:40
During World War II, three renowned photographers captured scenes from the Japanese incarceration: outsiders Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams and incarceree Tōyō Miyatake who boldly smuggled in a camera lens to document life from within the camp.
Young men walking with a view of Griffith Observatory | Courtesy of the California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California Library
26:48
Griffith Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the United States. Its founder, Griffith J. Griffith, donated the land to the city as a public recreation ground for all the people — an ideal that has been challenged over the years.
Fantasyland Banner
26:40
Los Angeles has long been the place where you can imagine something — a time period, a location, ordinary or exotic, real or fantasy — and build it. It’s a tradition that dates back to the 1910s and 1920s, when early filmmakers built huge, elaborately themed sets that often remained standing for months or years, inviting visitors to explore and to imagine being a part of the action. It found its fullest expression in nearby Anaheim, where Walt Disney’s Imagineers created the intricately themed, immersive experience that is Disneyland.
venice_canal_header.jpg
26:40
From its origins as a seaside resort to its fame as a countercultural hub, Venice Beach boasts a rich history. This episode explores the original plans for Venice, the Beat poets who lived there and the history of the Abbot Kinney commercial district.
Bodie
26:40
Some California dreams did succeed, creating a megalopolis in the state’s north and south. Other dreams failed, leaving only ruins behind. This episode explores the hopes and dreams of three California ghost towns. We feature Bodie, an early gold mining settlement in Mono County that continues to be preserved in time; Llano Del Rio, a socialist utopian community in the Mojave Desert; and Zzyzx, a former health spa community that came to an end with the eviction of founder and radio evangelist Curtis Howe Springer.
Four surfers stand in front of their boards- black and white
26:39
This episode explores how surfers, bodybuilders, and acrobats taught Californians how to have fun and stay young at the beach — and how the 1966 documentary The Endless Summer shared the Southern California idea of the beach with the rest of the world.
bombay beach
26:40
California’s deserts have sparked imaginations around the world. This episode explores the creation of the Salton Sea; the effort to preserve Joshua Tree National Park; and how commercial interests created desert utopias like Palm Springs.
Explorers in Yosemite National Park | Public Domain
26:40
This episode explores how Yosemite has changed over time: from a land maintained by indigenous peoples; to its emergence as a tourist attraction; to the site of conflict over humanity’s relationship with nature.
descanso gardens
51:47
"Lost L.A.: Descanso Gardens" explores the history of one of southern California's most-beloved public gardens.
pacific rim
26:50
Americans have long looked at the California shore and seen the end of the continent. Instead, this episode interprets that sandy edge as the beginning of a Pacific world.
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