Three days ago, I posted a photo of the Los Angeles river as seen from the 9th St/Olympic Viaduct before it was concreted over as a consequence of the heavy rains that inundated Southern California in early March 1938. This photo show us just how heavy those rains were. We’re looking east along W. 43rd Place at Garthwaite Ave, southeast of the USC campus. Judging from the guy pushing the car on the right, the water looks like it reached waist height. But I have to wonder: What is the school bus doing there? With flood water measuring in feet, did that bus driver really think it was a regular school day?
This is roughly how that view looked in August 2022.
The bus engine sits higher up so they probably thought it could be used as a rescue ferry as long as the motor and exhaust pipes stayed above the water line. Looks like they might have been close to “too deep to go further”. Did not have high clearance military 5-ton transporters back then.
Ah yes, that makes sense.
That apartment building on the left side of the photo looks relatively the same as your 2022 update. Amazing that it hasn’t been replaced by another ugly apartment complex.
I remember a day of intense rain while I was a student on campus at USC in the 1960’s. The water was several feet deep in the streets as seen in this photo. The basement of at least one building I know of was flooded.