Los Angeles from Ian Wood on Vimeo.
Category Archives: Los Angeles
Merry Christmas From Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles, 1930s?
Christmas on Broadway, Downtown Los Angeles, 1940s
Nov. 28, 1952: Police officer watches traffic on Hollywood Blvd. after holiday lights were turned on. Photo looking east from McCadden Place. (Los Angeles Times Archives)
Rooftop Views Of Downtown Los Angeles
Ever wondered what the concrete jungle of Downtown Los Angeles looks like to the birds? Ian Wood has captured this video using a small drone:
Driving Around Los Angeles In The 1950s
Sunset
Sunsets never get boring to me.
Sun setting at the Pacific Ocean, Santa Monica Bay. January 29, 2013. Photo: Reinhard Kargl
Joyriding In Beverly Hills, 1935
This film was studio background footage shot to be seen from the rear window of a stationary mock up car supposedly driving with actors in the front seat. The film records the road scenes on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills from Canon Drive past Robertson Boulevard.The last part of the film records the street scenes on the south side of Wilshire Boulevard, following the same route as previous. (Via BevHillsHistlSociety).
Helicopter Tour Over Hollywood, 1958
7th Street and Broadway, Los Angeles 1934
Scott Harrison, who says he has worked at the Los Angeles Times for 48 years and started as a paper boy, found this image:
Click to enlarge.
The photo was taken by L.A. Times photographer William Snyder on Nov. 24, 1934. It was published the next day, accompanying an article about the first day of a strike by the Amalgameted Assn. of Street and Electric Railway Employees against the Los Angeles Railway Corp.
The article notes: This photograph taken at Seventh street and Broadway yesterday morning shows what little effect the strike on the Los Angeles Rail way street-car lines had on business activities in the retail shopping district. Normal trolley car operations are apparent. (Los Angeles Times, Nov. 25, 1934).
L.A. Noire
I am not a video gamer. No, no, no! Not at all! But to my great surprise there is now a computer game I could see myself getting excited about: L.A. Noire. Its simulation of 1940s Los Angeles is simply stunning and mindboggling.
This is not an invented landscape! This is a representation of the authentic streets, buildings, landmarks and vehicles which really existed at the time, and the players navigate on a true map of the city. Here is a simulated police chase through downtown Los Angeles, circa 1947:
I never thought I’d say this, but this has gone on my “must try” list. Not that I’d really want to “solve a crime” or actually play the game — I’d be content with cruising around vintage Los Angeles for hours and hours.
Driving Through Hollywood (1932) Raw Footage