Friday, February 3, 2012

Ansel Adams Los Angeles, 1940

On assignment for Fortune Magazine, photographer Ansel Adams took these shots of everyday Los Angeles and it's citizens. The whole collection is available online at Los Angeles Public Library, and now the collection will be on display Feb. 18-March 17 at the Los Angeles DRKRM gallery.

Intersection of Wilshire and Robertson Blvds. Notice the guy(s?) on the Coca-Cola billboard? Also amusing is the 4 way stop sign in the middle of the street.

Massive palm trees line a residential street. Looks like Korea Town or maybe the Wilshire district? I recently found out that palm trees are not native to Southern California. The Spanish and Portuguese brought them over from Europe in the early 1900's to give the land a more Mediterranean feel.

Lockheed plant employee parking lot, Burbank. Boy, they just jammed 'em in there, didn't they!

The exterior of the Earl Carroll Theatre. The names!

The original Brown Derby restaurant here on Wilshire, opened in 1926. This location is now a small strip mall, but the dome shape still stands.

Court Flight cable railway, South Broadway in downtown. Built in 1903, this is the smaller of the two cable cars in Los Angeles, the larger being Angel's Flight at Hill St.


photos by Ansel Adams, via lapl.org

1 comment:

Famous Photographers said...

Very nice Ansel Adam photos especially the second one. You're right, it actually looked like Korean town.