The freeways of LA seem so deeply embedded in the fabric of Los Angeles, that it can sometimes feel like they’ve been there forever. This aerial shot from 1964 is of La Cienega Blvd at Venice Blvd during the construction of the Santa Monica Freeway. It shows was a massive project it was to building these things, and also what a pain it must have been for the locals to get around their neighborhood.
And here is a January 2020 satellite view of that same stretch of the 10.
Oh yes, I was growing up in a neighborhood directly affected by the expansion of the freeway system, but nearly a decade before the Santa Monica. I grew up in Sherman Oaks and the Hollywood went from an entrance off of Ventura Blvd. between Vineland and Lankershim and through the Cahuenga Pass to exit off on Highland by the Hollywood Bowl entrance. The ‘ Cloverleaf ‘ downtown L.A. was being built and right-of-way being cleared. Our home was on the north edge of the neighborhood to remain, and all the houses north were pulled off their foundations and moved.
Relentless pounding of the Pile Drivers drove in the overpass foundations continued throughout 1956, having to navigate the construction to get to the nearby Elementary School. Then the semi-truck dirt hauling, bottom dumping trailers layered load after load to raise the roadbed to match up to the finished overpasses. Concrete road surfacing continued west to the Sepulveda Flood Control basin and beyond and the I-405 interchange.
Years of noise, dirt and debris affected our once comfortable home, and finally the elevated sides of the freeway were planted, reducing traffic noise somewhat. A ” pain ” for us to endure is an understatement. So many times the folks considered moving, but as Dad had designed the house and built it in the late ’40s, a different house would never be.
My grandmother’s house was “taken” by the Santa Monica freeway. Her house would have been under the overpass from the WB 10 to the SB 405. Hers was the last house left on the street, though the street is completely gone now. We didn’t live there, but when we visited it was exciting for us kids. I remember a huge mountain of what was probably a shale type rock that formed an embankment. There was also a big hole at the end of the street. On a rainy Christmas, a drunk drove down the street and landed in the hole full of water. It was deep enough that the car was partially submerged. More excitement for kids!
Thank you Paula for the ‘ fun ‘ part of freeway construction mentioned, at least for kids. While Mom agonized at every turn with dirt infiltration and having to have the house closed up during the hotter summer days, the open acreage after the former homes were removed made for a largescale playground. With the TV shows themed with Westerns and War, these subjects stimulated emulation into hours of adventurous play sessions. The bad part was returning home with dirtier clothes than the days before freeway construction. Mom set limits and for the most part we complied but not always. Sometimes we got dirt into places we didn’t even know we had.
Yes, we weren’t supposed to play on the stone embankment, because the stones had such sharp edges. Oh, well. Dirt and blood just go along with kids, right?
Of all the freeway construction photos I’ve come across, this is a photo I’ve never seen before!
I’ve often thought that Los Angeles really would not have been so nice to live in during all of the freeway construction for so many years; unless one didn’t travel around so much. As Richard said, “Years of noise, dirt and debris.”
I’ve lived near construction, both building and roadwork (remember SMB being torn up and redone over 20 years ago?) and it…just…wears on you. Wears…you…down.