ac

The early days of the movies in Los Angeles inadvertently allowed visitors to experience the largest collection of animals in the western United States. When animals weren't appearing in a movie, they were rented out to other film companies, performed for studio visitors, or in the case of filmmaker William Selig's collection — an opportunity to create one of Los Angeles' first zoos.

As snow flurries dot the skies over Los Angeles during a record-breaking winter storm — and accumulation occurs at as low as 1000 feet of elevation — here's a look back at some of the historic snowfall in L.A. throughout the 20th century, including vintage images of snowball fights, snowmen and more.