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Nathan Masters

Nathan Masters (2018)

Nathan Masters is host and executive producer of Lost L.A., an Emmy Award-winning public television series from KCET and the USC Libraries. The show explores how rare artifacts from Southern California's archives can unlock hidden and often-surprising stories from the region's past. Nathan’s writing has appeared in many publications, including Los Angeles Magazine and the Los Angeles Times. He also helps manage public programs and media initiatives at the USC Libraries, home to the L.A. as Subjectresearch consortium.

Nathan Masters (2018)
The Second Street Railway extended west from Spring Street to housing subdivisions beyond Bunker Hill. This 1889 view looks west down Second from Broadway. Courtesy of the Photo Collection, Los Angeles Public Library.
L.A. Once Had Cable Cars, Too
As in San Francisco today, cable cars once plied L.A.'s streets.
Hollywood Blvd. transformed into Santa Claus Lane, circa 1950. Courtesy of the Photo Collection, Los Angeles Public Library.
When Hollywood Boulevard Became Santa Claus Lane
Every November beginning in 1928, elaborate holiday decorations transformed Hollywood Boulevard into Santa Claus Lane.
Aerial view of Manhattan Beach, laid out on the sand dunes of the South Bay coast, circa 1920. Courtesy of the Photo Collection, Los Angeles Public Library.
Manhattan Beach: The City Built on Sand Dunes Celebrates Its Centennial
This month, Manhattan Beach celebrates its centennial. Known for its lively seaside promenade, the Strand, and for its associations with surf culture, the city has its origins as a coastal resort built atop shifting sand dunes of the South Bay.
A two-horse City-Central streetcar, circa 1886. Courtesy of the California Historical Society Collection, USC Libraries.
L.A.'s First Public Transit Was Horse-Powered
Public transportation made its L.A. debut in 1873 with a horse-drawn omnibus.
The mouth of a swollen Santa Ana River near Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, 1927. Courtesy of the Orange County Archives.
The Santa Ana River: How It Shaped Orange County
Southern Californians have long maintained a complicated relationship with the Santa Ana River, accepting its life-giving water but fearing its wrath.
The Raymond Hotel dominates the South Pasadena landscape in this circa 1894 photo by Truman D. Keith. Courtesy of the South Pasadena Local History Images Collection, South Pasadena Public Library.
Southern California's Lost Resort: The Raymond Hotel of South Pasadena
Each winter, the Raymond Hotel in South Pasadena invited well-heeled tourists to escape the frosty East Coast for the sunny skies of Southern California.
Drawing of the Bella Union, L.A.'s first hotel, as it appeared in 1858. Courtesy of the Photo Collection, Los Angeles Public Library.
L.A.'s First Hotel, the Bella Union, Was a Wild West Institution
For decades after the Bella Union opened as Los Angeles' first hotel in 1849, it was the heart of civic life in the rough-edged, newly American city.
1920 view of the Ridge Route ascending Grapevine Canyon. Courtesy of the Metro Transportation Library and Archive. Used under a Creative Commons license.
From Footpaths to the Grapevine: A Brief History of Southern California's Ridge Route
A vital link between Los Angeles and points north, the winding Ridge Route traced historical routes through the mountains.
A car wrecked by a 75-foot cypress tree, felled by strong winds in Palms in 1955. Courtesy of the Herald-Examiner Collection, Los Angeles Public Library.
The Devil Wind: A Brief History of the Santa Anas
Santa Ana winds have long been a fact of life in Southern California – the unadvertised price residents pay for the region's otherwise idyllic weather.
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Rediscovering Robinson Jeffers: the Poet's Formative Years in L.A.
"He's the one world-class poet who emerged from Los Angeles."
As this ca. 1920s postcard shows, oil derricks and houses co-existed in Torrance. Courtesy of the South Bay History Collection, Cal State Dominguez Hills Archives.
Torrance at 100: the South Bay City's Origins as a Model Industrial Town
In an era when labor tensions gripped Los Angeles, Pasadena businessman J. Sidney Torrance envisioned his new settlement as a model industrial town.
Courtesy of the Ayn Rand Archives.
Ayn Rand in Hollywood, Star Wars, and Other Highlights from SoCal Archives
What could Jedi knight Luke Skywalker, novelist Ayn Rand, and Malibu rancher May Rindge possibly have in common?
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