On December 30, 1940, the Arroyo Seco Parkway opened as one of the US’s first freeways. The caption for this photo say it was taken in 1940. If that’s correct, it must have been taken on the first or second day after opening. Considering there is only one car in sight, I’m guessing it was taken on opening day. The Arroyo Parkway is now known as “the 110” aka “the Harbor Freeway” as it goes down to San Pedro and Los Angeles Harbor. It is also part of historical Route 66. That building in the background with the tower is the Autry Museum of the American West, but back then was known as the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, which helps up determine the exact location of the photo. (Source: KCET)
Kevin W said: “The car is parked, with no driver. It may have belonged to the photographer, and the photo is probably from before the opening.”
** UPDATE ** – Greg H says: “Although it’s now owned by the Autry Museum of the American West, the Southwest Museum, now closed, and the Autry are two different locations, the Southwest is along the Pasadena Frwy and the Autry along the 5 in Griffith Park. They both have towers though.”
And this is a 1936 view of the proposed Arroyo Seco Parkway looking upstream from Avenue 26, toward Pasadena:
This is roughly how that view looked in June 2024.
The 710 goes to the Port of Long Beach. The 110 goes to San Pedro/Port of Los Angeles.
Thanks for the correction, PDQ!
Thanks, Martin. What a sight! Bottom line is the highways (or freeways) were a genuine work of art back in the day. A salute to the good folks who saw the future of LA and lots of traffic to come, and secondly, the architechts of this massive undertaking. The thing is 1940, when the 110 was opened, how many cars were there in LA? Not much, but they were on their way. Personally, I think the 101 Freeway was the most impressive project, still a beautiful freeway. Back in the day all you had was Ventura Boulevard to get into Hollywood and imagine heading downtown? Even getting to Wilshire Boulevard must have been a chore. Holy smokes!
The original name of the highway was the Arroyo Seco Parkway, as it passed along a river bed and through parkland. Around 1952 the name was changed to the Pasadena Freeway, as part of freeway name standardization. The extension of the freeway through and southerly of Downtown was named the Harbor Freeway. In the 21st Century the name was changed back to Arroyo Seco Parkway to commemorate its legacy.
The museum in the photo is still the “Southwest Museum,” although it’s been closed for two or three years. It was the first museum in Los Angeles but became plagued with problems in the 1980s. Near the turn of this century, it was “absorbed” by the Autry Museum, located at the eastern edge of Griffith Park. The beautiful building is historically listed but evidently now up for sale by the Autry Museum. The Southwest Museum Metro stop on the A Line (often called the Gold Line or the Blue Line in these parts) is a block from building.
Thanks, Skip. I was going on the fact that the building had a tower. Thanks for the clarification.