LA as Subject Blog
How El Camino Real, California’s ‘Royal Road,’ Was Invented
Along Highway 101 between Los Angeles and the Bay Area, cast metal bells spaced one or two miles apart mark what is supposedly a historic route through California: El Camino Real. Variously translated as "the royal road," or, more freely, "the king's highway," El Camino Real was indeed among… Read more »
Topics: KCET
When Hollywood Boulevard Became Santa Claus Lane
Today, shopping malls hang garland, pipe in holiday tunes, and build showy reproductions of St. Nicholas' polar hideout, attracting customers to their privately owned concourses and encouraging the buying spirit. But before malls, holiday shoppers flocked to Los Angeles' downtown and suburban… Read more »
Topics: KCET
A Snowstorm in Los Angeles? It’s Happened.
Angelenos dreaming of a White Christmas, take note: The scene above may be set in Hollywood, but it’s no special effects shot. The photo from the Los Angeles Public Library’s collections documents the result of a freak snowstorm that passed over Hollywood on Jan. 22, 1921, dusting the gabled… Read more »
Topics: LA Magazine
Manhattan Beach Celebrates Its Centennial
This month, Manhattan Beach celebrates its centennial. Known for its lively seaside promenade, the Strand, and for its associations with surf culture, the city has its origins as a coastal resort built atop shifting sand dunes of the South Bay.
Though 2012 marks 100 years since… Read more »
Topics: KCET
The Birth of Ralphs Bros. Grocers
L.A. as Subject has launched a new collaboration with Los Angeles magazine, which has invited L.A. as Subject to contribute weekly posts to its City Think blog. The posts will highlight images from member collections while examining a single place, person, or object from Los Angeles history.
… Read more »Topics: LA Magazine
L.A.‘s First Streetcars Were Horse-Powered
Nearly fifty years since the ringing of trolley bells last echoed off the buildings of Los Angeles' historic core, voters approved of a funding measure that will likely return streetcars to downtown Los Angeles. The campaign has brought forth many fond memories of the local yellow cars of the… Read more »
Topics: KCET
The Santa Ana River: How It Shaped Orange County
On the banks of the Santa Ana River -- at nearly 100 miles, the longest in Southern California -- the interplay between nature and culture becomes visible. Since the first humans arrived in Southern California several millennia ago, people have maintained a complicated relationship with the Santa… Read more »
Topics: KCET
Support Little Tokyo Historical Society
The new 2013 LTHS calendar, "Little Tokyo: The 1930's Golden Years" is now on sale for $10 through. Visit online at www.littletokyohs.org or in person at these Little Tokyo locations:
Little Tokyo Service Center, Bunka-do, Rafu Bussan,
Japanese American National Museum gift shop
Little Tokyo… Read more »
Topics:
A Black Friday Conundrum: Why Is SoCal’s Harbor Split Between Two Cities?
With the combined equivalent of 14 million standard shipping containers moving through San Pedro Bay's harbor each year, it's likely that many of the TVs, toys, and other imported goods sold at deep discount this Black Friday will have passed through the region's twin seaports of Los Angeles… Read more »
Topics: KCET
Cynni Murphy 2012 Avery Clayton Spirit Award Recipient
Cynni Murphy has devoted her life to preserving and promoting local history of the Santa Monica Bay area.
During her career at Santa Monica Public Library (1977-2012), she was the prime force in advocating for and developing the library’s Image Archives. She began with a few boxes of prints… Read more »
Topics:
