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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)
Automobile decorated for a Fourth of July Parade in Compton, 1921. Courtesy of the South Bay Photograph Collection, CSUDH Archives.
Rockets, Cable Cars, and Protest Marches: Past SoCal Fourth of July Observances
As the region marks the nation's 236th birthday, join us for a look through historical images at how Southern Californians have observed the holiday in the past.
Edward Vischer's pre-1875 drawing of El Aliso in the courtyard of the Vignes winery. Courtesy of the Title Insurance and Trust / C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, USC Libraries.
El Aliso: Ancient Sycamore Was Silent Witness to Four Centuries of L.A. History
El Aliso -- a massive, ancient sycamore -- stood at the center of the Tongva village of Yaanga and later shaded the cellars of early wine and beer makers.
Courtesy of the Map Collection, Los Angeles Public Library.
The Oldest Things in Southern California's Archives, Part 2
Maps, legal contracts, and even two-hundred-year-old artillery make up this collection of items from around the region.
An 1880 view, looking west, of Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. Courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library.
Pasadena at 125: Early History of the Crown City
This month, the city of Pasadena turns 125 years old. Set ten miles northeast of central Los Angeles at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Crown…
Courtesy of the Santa Monica Public Library Image Archives.
The Oldest Things in Southern California's Archives, Part 1
This week, we share six of the oldest object related to Southern California history-- including photographs, official decrees, even an Etruscan wine chalice.
Home to two major film studios, Culver City once billed itself as the 'Heart of Screenland,' as seen in this undated photo. Courtesy of the Photo Collection, Los Angeles Public Library.
Culver City: From Barley Fields to the Heart of Screenland
On June 20, the Expo Line arrives in Culver City, a town that sprang from the barley fields of Rancho La Ballona and grew into "The Heart of Screenland."
Mount Wilson and the San Gabriel Mountains in 1961. Courtesy of the Dick Whittington Photography Collection, USC Libraries.
Rise of the Sierra Madre: A Brief History of the San Gabriel Mountains
For thousands of years, Southern Californians have found many reasons to value the San Gabriel Mountains, from recreation to resource extraction.
Downtown L.A.'s modern skyline took shape between the mid-1960s (top) and the late 1980s (bottom). Both photos courtesy of the Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library.
L.A.'s Changing Skyline: A Brief History of Skyscrapers in the City of Angels
The cluster of towers rising today from the remains of Bunker Hill belies the fact that, for decades, Los Angeles lacked a modern skyscraper.
Two men demonstrate the girth of a 25-year-old eucalytpus tree on the L. J. Rose ranch in Rosemead, circa 1900. Courtesy of the Title Insurance and Trust / C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, USC Libraries.
Who Eucalyptized Southern California?
The eucalyptus, or gum tree, is an invader from an alien botanical world. It arrived from Australia in the 1850s.
Circa 1885 view of Pershing Square, then called Sixth Street Park and later Central Park. Courtesy of the Title Insurance and Trust / C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, USC Libraries.
From Plaza Abaja to Pershing Square: L.A.'s Oldest Park Through the Decades
In its 163-year journey from open pasture to urban park, Pershing Square has weathered nagging complaints and survived multiple, radical renovations.
1938 postcard of the Roosevelt Highway, north of Santa Monica. Courtesy of the Werner von Boltenstern Postcard Collection, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University.
From Roosevelt Highway to the 1: A Brief History of Pacific Coast Highway
Admired for its scenery and dreaded for its traffic -- as well as the landslides that occasionally render it impassable -- Pacific Coast Highway is perhaps Southern California's most iconic ribbon of asphalt.
Astronomers gather outside the Mount Wilson Observatory, circa 1920. Courtesy of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection, USC Libraries.
SoCal and Astronomical History: The Big Bang Theory, the Demise of Pluto & More
Before light pollution transformed the night sky into a dull glow, Southern California's generally cloudless climate attracted some of the world's finest astronomers to the region.
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