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History & Society

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Circular Bridge, circa 1910
Call it 19th-century L.A.’s idea of a thrill ride.
Nixon Frost Interview
“I let down my friends,” Nixon confessed. “I let down my country. I let down our system of government.” 
Main Street, USA
At a time when many cities were tearing out their historic downtowns, Disneyland reacquainted Americans with pedestrian-oriented cityscapes.
Protest in the park, 1981
The resistance has a long history at L.A.'s MacArthur Park.
"A Woman Worker" poster (cropped)
During the First World War, L.A. women laid the foundation for the Rosie the Riveter feminism that followed decades later.
El Camino Real
Private groups are seeking World Heritage designation for California's "Royal Road." But did that highway ever actually exist?
The Clothesline Project
Whether it’s through student activism, the involvement of men, discussions on consent, or new ways of healing, these universities are getting it right.
Shady Nook in Laurel Canyon
Reflecting on the canyon wonderland's millennia-long history reveals something more complicated and darker.
Not A Cornfield
The land of Los Angeles State Historic Park has woven itself through Los Angeles history.
The Bible Institute of Los Angeles and the Church of the Open Door
An oil tycoon invested his fortune in Christian fundamentalism, making Los Angeles a world center of the movement.
Fighting fire in 1910s LA
Rare photos reveal life in an early-20th-century fire station.
Under the oaks
Audiences thronged the rustic camps of the Southern California Chautauqua Assembly each summer. They came to be educated, entertained, and uplifted.
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