There are plenty of vintage aerial photos of Los Angeles, but I don’t think I’ve seen one from such a great height as this one taken probably in the late 1920s. That cluster of buildings near the center is downtown L.A. We can see the white tower of L.A. City Hall (which opened in 1928). We can also see the greenspace of Pershing Square and the Biltmore Hotel in the heart of the city. Farther to the left we can see the lake in MacArthur Park (then called Westlake Park), and past that, Hoover St which is where the layout of Los Angeles shifts from the Spanish way of aligning streets to the standard American north-south axis.
“Circa late 1920s” is just a guess. If anyone sees evidence to place this photo at a different or more accurate date, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section.
I wonder what this would look like after being run through that colorizing gizmo you use sometimes.
I tried it, but it didn’t come out very interestingly. It gave everything a blue-ish tint that look unconvincing.
Best aid might be the book “Southern Pacific in Los Angeles” which would show rail features at given dates. Here, Taylor yard appears relatively less developed without big shop features. Also, Central Station is visible but no sign of LAUPT (Union Passenger Terminal work) from what I can see. I’d venture 1928-35 range, but there might be more to help. What of Griffith Observatory/Planetarium…are we in view of where it would be seen along left border up? No Arroyo Freeway work. No Aliso viaduct work. Airfield features? Oil/gas tank features? Richfield or another building’s features?
I thought of the Griffith Observatory too but it appears to be out of frame.
I found a link to this photo on NLA where it was noted that you can see the Eastern Columbia building under construction, and so they dated it to March-June 1930! Although I’m having trouble locating that building on this photo myself!
I both love and hate when you post pics like these. I love them because it’s fascinating to see these snapshots in time. I hate them because I spend lots of time zooming in to pick out details, and jumping back and forth between modern maps and the pic! Ok, I actually love doing that too.
Sooooooo…you love it and you love it? I love that!
I do the same thing. Heaven help us.