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As one of the San Pedro Bay's most conspicuous features, Dead Man's Island became something of a landmark. Postcard by M. Reider, courtesy of the James H. Osborne Photograph Collection, CSUDH Archives.
The Demise of Dead Man's Island, Lost Landmark of L.A.'s Harbor
Home to as many as 11 graves, Dead Man's Island near San Pedro met its own demise in 1928, slowly dismantled by dredgers and dynamite.
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'Lost Rivers' Documentary Tackles Hard Questions for River Revitalization
Angelenos might think L.A. is the only one with such a strange relationship to their waterways, but a new documentary says otherwise.
Anaheim Stadium in 1966
When the Los Angeles Angels Flew to Anaheim
In 1966, the California Angels landed in Anaheim's futuristic new stadium, built on a former cornfield.
A private, open-air shopping street, Mercantile Place stretched 325 feet between Spring and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. Courtesy of the Photo Collection - Los Angeles Public Library.
Mercantile Place: The Tiny, Lost Shopping Street of Downtown L.A.
Long before The Grove, Third Street, or even Universal CityWalk, Angelenos flocked to another open-air shopping promenade: Mercantile Place
A Pacific Electric car on Santa Monica Boulevard at Canon in Beverly Hills, 1954. Photo by Alan K. Weeks, courtesy of the Metro Transportation Library and Archive.
Photos: Many L.A. Boulevards Began as Trolley Lines
Why are there two San Vicentes? Look to the boulevards' origins as electric railway lines.
Standard Oil provoked a considerable uproar among real estate interests when it built this wildcat oil well next to a new, luxury housing tract in 1927. Courtesy of the USC Libraries - Dick Whittington Photography Collection.
Monte Mar Vista: Luxury Homes With a View (of an Oil Derrick)
In a Cheviot Hills subdivision named for its views, the sudden appearance of a steel oil derrick meant trouble.
Citrus trees in Placentia, 1961. Photo courtesy of the Orange County Archives.
Photos: When Orange County Was Rural (And Oranges Actually Grew There)
Images from the Orange County Archives reveal the rural landscape that came before tract houses, superhighways, and Disneyland.
1880 view of Temple Square, looking south. Temple Block is the three-story Italianate building wedged between Main (left) and Spring (right) streets. Courtesy of the USC Libraries - California Historical Society Collection.
Temple Square: The Lost Heart of Commercial Los Angeles
The triangle-shaped intersection no longer exists, but for decades the junction of Main, Spring, and Temple streets was the commercial center of Los Angeles.
Lost! The Golden Hoard of L.A.'s Lizard People
Most Angeleños wrest their life from ordinary labors. But some of us have been lucky or possessed enough to stumble into riches. And some think the golden thread should lead to them.
This postcard manages to include three of the four tree types covered in Jared Farmer's book, 'Trees in Paradise': eucalypts, oranges, and palms. Courtesy of Jared Farmer.
How Did L.A. Become a City of Palms? And Other Questions About California's Trees
Q&A with historian Jared Farmer, author of "Trees in Paradise: A California History."
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The Michelangelo of the Menu: Alexander Perino's Rules of Fine Dining
The year was 1932. Los Angeles was firmly in the grip of the Great Depression. A new French-Italian restaurant opened its doors at 3927 Wilshire Boulevard. From the beginning, it was different.
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Victorian Los Angeles by the Arroyo Seco
Glimpses of the city's past can be found along the Arroyo Seco just before it merges with the Los Angeles River.
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