Los Angeles in the 1930s: The WPA Guide to the City of Angels

...to the City of Angels is a fascinating and informative read. The book met, if not exceeded, my expectations of a comprehensive description of everyday life in 1930s Los Angeles, including it's many quirks that must have made the city seem otherworldly to those who travelled west and made it their home, never mind those of us living in the present day, and in another country. I was introduced to an older Los Angeles by entertainment in two formats; video games (LA Noire) and novels (Chandler's Philip Marlowe mysteries, and have since become somewhat fascinated. After searching for a non-fictional account of LA of that era, this is the book I bought. As it was intended to aid visitors travelling around the city, the guide includes a vast quantity of general information including where to stay, eat, and play when in LA. Of course much of this information is out of date but makes interesting reading nonetheless. Following this, 'Part 1 Los Angeles: A General Survey', is made up of more than 100 pages of detailed history, from the establishment of early missions, to more recent activities including the birth of the movie industry. 'Part 2 Los Angeles Points of Interest' is perhaps the section most useful to visitors of Los Angeles today. Many of the landmarks described are still standing and still as impressive as they were over 70 years ago (the City Hall and Union Passenger Terminal to name a few). Of this section, I found the detailed descriptions of the landmark buildings' architecture and interior appointments to be most interesting. I doubt many public, or even private, buildings are constructed today with 'columns and pilasters of deep-red Alicante marble, wainscoting of delicate rose marble above a base of green marble, and floor of black, cream, and red mottled marbles', as featured in the California State Building. The book goes on to describe the areas surrounding downtown LA, and further afield, along with maps and tours of these areas (some of which I am yet to read) in an efficient manner suitable for guiding motorists, to which the tours are squarely aimed at. Aside from occasionally turning back or forward through the pages to find something referenced elsewhere, the guide was enjoyable to read and very informative. I certainly soaked up the enthusiasm for the city that some of the writers exhibited and would love to drive the tours and see for myself what remains of what was The City of Angels in the late thirties. To anyone with even the slightest interest in a Los Angeles-that-was, I recommend the guide. And you will, no doubt, be even more interested after reading it.

Typical of the WPA guides that were written in the 1930's and funded by the FDR administration - although it follows a standard format - this guide in particular is a very interesting look at a Los Angeles few would recognize today. Besides being the motion picture capital of the world, and having an active oil industry, I'm sure many would be surprised at the ruralness of the region surrounding Los Angeles that was awash in citrus and fruit groves and a large diary farming region. This is also pre-freeway Los Angeles, where many small towns existed even within the city limits along with the extensive farms and ranches of the San Fernando Valley which were also within Los Angeles' vast corporate limits. This guide gives true insight how Los Angeles became the model for the decentralized sprawling metropolis it is today, and that other sunbelt cities have followed in it's path.

If you want to step back in time and see what L.A. was like in the 30's, this is the book to purchase!

Jewel of a research tool. Took me back to the decade I needed with very informative content and easy to navigate.

There are a number of guided tours around LA/Orange county 1937-39. Orange groves everywhere and towns in LA/Orange county with populations of 1000-8000. Some groves contain ruins of adobes from the land grant days. Others mansions of gentleman orange ranchers. Lots of lemon groves and oil wells. Lots of motorcourts. Put the top down on your 37 Ford, put the kids in the rumble seat and take a cruise before Disney arrived and cut down the groves. You can smell the citrus, sea, and oil.

Just to scan read. For example, where we live isn't even in the book though now we have around 60,000 people here! And we overlook the harbor and city! So much has changed. Great book for your library!