The Birth of Los Angeles

Let's take a moment to take a look at an American city that went through the biggest transformation of the 20th century.  Originally laid out in 1781 by the Spanish governor, the "pueblo" of Los Angeles was a plaza 200 feet wide by 300 feet long with four main streets extended out from the center.

Los Angeles kept its Spanish influence through the 19th century.  There were only as many houses as could be irrigated nearby.  In the 1970s the city began to grow steadily. Until 1920, however, the downtown still dominated the city.  There was still a "main street" which was the center of work by day and an vibrant nightlife. The picture on the right is Sunset Boulevard circa 1900.

Jump ahead 50 years and by 1970, LA had spread out over some 450 square miles.  Seven million people now lived there, making LA the 2nd most populous city in America.  By then there was no dominant downtown. 

Terms like "suburbs in search of a city" have been used to describe Los Angeles.  The city grew so vastly after the invention of the automobile.  The first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway, was open on December 30, 1940, and by the 1950s Los Angeles' nightlife was almost a thing of the past.

As freeways multiplied, the center city declined.  In 1953, the Good Fellows Grotto at 341 Main Street closed it's doors and became a symbol of the suburb city.  Good Fellows was a "grill and oyster house" founded in 1905 and the in-place for theater crowds and business lunches. 

The automobile changed urban life across the nation...next time.
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Today in Pioneer History: "On August 22, 1950, Athena Gibson is the first black American player to compete in a U.S. national tennis tournament in Forest Hills, New York. She beat Barbara Knaoo 6-2 and 6-2 in the match but lost in the second round.  Her first major victory came at the French Open in 1956 at the age of 30.