Lost LA | KCET
Now in its fourth season, "Lost LA" explores our region’s hidden past through documents, photos and other rare artifacts from California libraries and archives. This season, discover the untold histories behind Griffith Park, Manzanar, Los Angeles’ prohibition tunnels, architect Paul Revere Williams, the Shindana Toy Company and the Mount Wilson Observatory.
"Lost LA" airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. on KCET in Southern California with encores airing one week later on PBS SoCal at 7:30 p.m. Each episode will stream here following the broadcast and on the free PBS Video app (available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, the App Store and Google Play), as well as on YouTube and Amazon Prime.
"Lost LA" explores the past through the region's archives, where photos, documents, and other rare artifacts unlock the untold history behind the fantasy of Southern California. Hosted by writer and public historian Nathan Masters of the USC Libraries, each episode of "Lost LA" brings the primary sources of history to the screen in surprising new ways. Much of L.A.'s past is lost to history, but through the region's archives we can uncover the inspiring dreams and bitter realities that built the modern-day metropolis.
Full Episodes
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Lost L.A.
Lost L.A.
S4 E1: Griffith Park - The Untold History
Season 4, Episode 1
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.
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Lost L.A.
Lost L.A.
S4 E2: Three Views of Manzanar - Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange and Toyo Miyatake
Season 4, Episode 2
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.
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Lost L.A.
Lost L.A.
S4 E3: Bootlegger Tunnels - A Journey Through LA’s Prohibition Lore
Season 4, Episode 3
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.
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Lost L.A.
Lost L.A.
S4 E4: Paul Revere Williams - An African-American Architect in Jet-Age L.A.
Season 4, Episode 4
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.
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Lost L.A.
Lost L.A.
S4 E5: Discovering the Universe - Exploring the Cosmos Atop Mount Wilson
Season 4, Episode 5
As recently as a century ago, scientists doubted whether the universe extended beyond our own Milky Way — until astronomer Edwin Hubble, working with the world’s most powerful telescope discovered just how vast the universe is.
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Clips & Segments
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Lost L.A.
Lost L.A.
S4 E1: Griffith Park - The Untold History Preview
At more than 4,500 acres, Griffith Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the United States and it holds a wealth of hidden stories.
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Lost L.A.
Lost L.A.
S4 E2: Three Views of Manzanar - Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange and Toyo Miyatake Preview
Despite the trauma of their incarceration during World War II, Japanese Americans built new lives while detained. Three renowned photographers captured their everyday lives: outsiders Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams and incarceree Tōyō Miyatake.
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Lost L.A.
Lost L.A.
S4 E3: Bootlegger Tunnels - A Journey Through LA’s Prohibition Lore Preview
It is no secret that throughout the Prohibition Era individuals living in the city continued to enjoy their vices as much, if not more, than they ever had before. But it is how they subverted the law that still remains unclear.
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Lost L.A.
Lost L.A.
S4 E4: Paul Revere Williams - An African-American Architect in Jet-Age L.A. Preview
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.
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Upcoming Airdates
Articles
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Lost L.A.
Lawrence Lipton's book “The Holy Barbarians” was a celebration and canonization of the “Venice West” scene. It also became the biggest hit of his career, around which he revolved on for much of his life.
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Lost L.A.
There was a time that Los Angeles powered a lively Hispanic vaudeville scene, and its legacy still lives on in many performers today.
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Lost L.A.
Traditional Mexican dances (aka baile folklórico) are the forte of the Pacifico Dance Company, and they’ve helped train hundreds, performing in venues around the country and the world.
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Lost L.A.
The Chicano Moratorium and the death of Rubén Salazar continue to reverberate today as communities of color speak out against police brutality and discrimination, and as journalists are once again targeted, attacked and undermined by government officials.
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Lost L.A.
In the face of overwhelming harassment and persecution of homosexuals during the 1950s, a certain plucky queer magazine based in downtown Los Angeles was steadfast in its political mission to elevate gay and lesbian Americans.
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Lost L.A.
The L.A. Pride Parade and Festival in West Hollywood is a fixture of Los Angeles life, but 50 years ago, it was at the center of a heated battle between the authorities and the LGBT community’s wish to be publicly gay.
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