The forgotten arterial landscape: Photographic documentation of commercial development along Los Angeles boulevards during the interwar years

Journal of Urban History

Volumn 23, Issue 4, 1997, Pages 437-459

  Longstreth, Richard ^a  

^a GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0001444597     PISSN: 00961442     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/009614429702300403     Document Type: Article

References (34)

1. For a sampling of the vast array of literature debunking strip commercial development, see. Christopher Tunnard and Boris Pushkarev, Man-Made America: Chaos or Control? (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1963), esp. Pt. 4; Peter Blake, God's Own Junkyard: The Planned Deterioration of America's Landscape (New York: Holt, Reinhart & Winston), 1964; Edmund K. Faltermayer, "How to Wage War on Ugliness," Fortune 73 (May 1966), 130-4, 250, 255-6; and Douglas E. Kneeland, "Garish Strips Stir Hostility, Coast to Coast," The New York Times November 28, 1971, 1, 52.
2. For a sampling of the vast array of literature debunking strip commercial development, see. Christopher Tunnard and Boris Pushkarev, Man-Made America: Chaos or Control? (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1963), esp. Pt. 4; Peter Blake, God's Own Junkyard: The Planned Deterioration of America's Landscape (New York: Holt, Reinhart & Winston), 1964; Edmund K. Faltermayer, "How to Wage War on Ugliness," Fortune 73 (May 1966), 130-4, 250, 255-6; and Douglas E. Kneeland, "Garish Strips Stir Hostility, Coast to Coast," The New York Times November 28, 1971, 1, 52.
3. For a sampling of the vast array of literature debunking strip commercial development, see. Christopher Tunnard and Boris Pushkarev, Man-Made America: Chaos or Control? (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1963), esp. Pt. 4; Peter Blake, God's Own Junkyard: The Planned Deterioration of America's Landscape (New York: Holt, Reinhart & Winston), 1964; Edmund K. Faltermayer, "How to Wage War on Ugliness," Fortune 73 (May 1966), 130-4, 250, 255-6; and Douglas E. Kneeland, "Garish Strips Stir Hostility, Coast to Coast," The New York Times November 28, 1971, 1, 52.
4. For a sampling of the vast array of literature debunking strip commercial development, see. Christopher Tunnard and Boris Pushkarev, Man-Made America: Chaos or Control? (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1963), esp. Pt. 4; Peter Blake, God's Own Junkyard: The Planned Deterioration of America's Landscape (New York: Holt, Reinhart & Winston), 1964; Edmund K. Faltermayer, "How to Wage War on Ugliness," Fortune 73 (May 1966), 130-4, 250, 255-6; and Douglas E. Kneeland, "Garish Strips Stir Hostility, Coast to Coast," The New York Times November 28, 1971, 1, 52.
5. See, for example: Brian J. Berry, "The Impact of Expanding Metropolitan Communities on Central Place Hierarchy,"Annals of the Association of American Geographers 50 (June 1960), 112-6; Gurney Breckenfeld, " 'Downtown' Has Fled to the Suburbs," Fortune 86 (October 1972), 80-7, 156, 158, 162; Thomas J. Baerwald, "The Emergence of a New 'Downtown,'" Geographical Review 68 (June 1970), 308-18; Thomas Muller, "Regional Malls and Central City Retail Sales: An Overview," in George Sternlieb and James W. Hughes, eds., Shopping Centers: U.S.A. (Piscataway, N.J.: Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University, 1981), 177-99; Trent A. Robertson, "Downtown Retail Activity in Large American Cities 1954-1977," Geographical Review 73 (June 1983), 314-23; Thomas J. Baerwald, "Changing Sales Patterns in Major American Metropolises, 1963-1982," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 355-74; Truman A. Hartshorn and Peter O. Muller, "Suburban Downtowns and the Transformation of Metropolitan Atlanta's Business Landscape," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 375-95; and Truman Asa Hartshorn, Interpreting the City: An Urban Geography (New York: John Wiley & Sons, rev. ed., 1992), Chap. 16.
6. See, for example: Brian J. Berry, "The Impact of Expanding Metropolitan Communities on Central Place Hierarchy,"Annals of the Association of American Geographers 50 (June 1960), 112-6; Gurney Breckenfeld, " 'Downtown' Has Fled to the Suburbs," Fortune 86 (October 1972), 80-7, 156, 158, 162; Thomas J. Baerwald, "The Emergence of a New 'Downtown,'" Geographical Review 68 (June 1970), 308-18; Thomas Muller, "Regional Malls and Central City Retail Sales: An Overview," in George Sternlieb and James W. Hughes, eds., Shopping Centers: U.S.A. (Piscataway, N.J.: Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University, 1981), 177-99; Trent A. Robertson, "Downtown Retail Activity in Large American Cities 1954-1977," Geographical Review 73 (June 1983), 314-23; Thomas J. Baerwald, "Changing Sales Patterns in Major American Metropolises, 1963-1982," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 355-74; Truman A. Hartshorn and Peter O. Muller, "Suburban Downtowns and the Transformation of Metropolitan Atlanta's Business Landscape," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 375-95; and Truman Asa Hartshorn, Interpreting the City: An Urban Geography (New York: John Wiley & Sons, rev. ed., 1992), Chap. 16.
7. See, for example: Brian J. Berry, "The Impact of Expanding Metropolitan Communities on Central Place Hierarchy,"Annals of the Association of American Geographers 50 (June 1960), 112-6; Gurney Breckenfeld, " 'Downtown' Has Fled to the Suburbs," Fortune 86 (October 1972), 80-7, 156, 158, 162; Thomas J. Baerwald, "The Emergence of a New 'Downtown,'" Geographical Review 68 (June 1970), 308-18; Thomas Muller, "Regional Malls and Central City Retail Sales: An Overview," in George Sternlieb and James W. Hughes, eds., Shopping Centers: U.S.A. (Piscataway, N.J.: Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University, 1981), 177-99; Trent A. Robertson, "Downtown Retail Activity in Large American Cities 1954-1977," Geographical Review 73 (June 1983), 314-23; Thomas J. Baerwald, "Changing Sales Patterns in Major American Metropolises, 1963-1982," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 355-74; Truman A. Hartshorn and Peter O. Muller, "Suburban Downtowns and the Transformation of Metropolitan Atlanta's Business Landscape," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 375-95; and Truman Asa Hartshorn, Interpreting the City: An Urban Geography (New York: John Wiley & Sons, rev. ed., 1992), Chap. 16.
8. See, for example: Brian J. Berry, "The Impact of Expanding Metropolitan Communities on Central Place Hierarchy,"Annals of the Association of American Geographers 50 (June 1960), 112-6; Gurney Breckenfeld, " 'Downtown' Has Fled to the Suburbs," Fortune 86 (October 1972), 80-7, 156, 158, 162; Thomas J. Baerwald, "The Emergence of a New 'Downtown,'" Geographical Review 68 (June 1970), 308-18; Thomas Muller, "Regional Malls and Central City Retail Sales: An Overview," in George Sternlieb and James W. Hughes, eds., Shopping Centers: U.S.A. (Piscataway, N.J.: Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University, 1981), 177-99; Trent A. Robertson, "Downtown Retail Activity in Large American Cities 1954-1977," Geographical Review 73 (June 1983), 314-23; Thomas J. Baerwald, "Changing Sales Patterns in Major American Metropolises, 1963-1982," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 355-74; Truman A. Hartshorn and Peter O. Muller, "Suburban Downtowns and the Transformation of Metropolitan Atlanta's Business Landscape," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 375-95; and Truman Asa Hartshorn, Interpreting the City: An Urban Geography (New York: John Wiley & Sons, rev. ed., 1992), Chap. 16.
9. See, for example: Brian J. Berry, "The Impact of Expanding Metropolitan Communities on Central Place Hierarchy,"Annals of the Association of American Geographers 50 (June 1960), 112-6; Gurney Breckenfeld, " 'Downtown' Has Fled to the Suburbs," Fortune 86 (October 1972), 80-7, 156, 158, 162; Thomas J. Baerwald, "The Emergence of a New 'Downtown,'" Geographical Review 68 (June 1970), 308-18; Thomas Muller, "Regional Malls and Central City Retail Sales: An Overview," in George Sternlieb and James W. Hughes, eds., Shopping Centers: U.S.A. (Piscataway, N.J.: Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University, 1981), 177-99; Trent A. Robertson, "Downtown Retail Activity in Large American Cities 1954-1977," Geographical Review 73 (June 1983), 314-23; Thomas J. Baerwald, "Changing Sales Patterns in Major American Metropolises, 1963-1982," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 355-74; Truman A. Hartshorn and Peter O. Muller, "Suburban Downtowns and the Transformation of Metropolitan Atlanta's Business Landscape," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 375-95; and Truman Asa Hartshorn, Interpreting the City: An Urban Geography (New York: John Wiley & Sons, rev. ed., 1992), Chap. 16.
10. See, for example: Brian J. Berry, "The Impact of Expanding Metropolitan Communities on Central Place Hierarchy,"Annals of the Association of American Geographers 50 (June 1960), 112-6; Gurney Breckenfeld, " 'Downtown' Has Fled to the Suburbs," Fortune 86 (October 1972), 80-7, 156, 158, 162; Thomas J. Baerwald, "The Emergence of a New 'Downtown,'" Geographical Review 68 (June 1970), 308-18; Thomas Muller, "Regional Malls and Central City Retail Sales: An Overview," in George Sternlieb and James W. Hughes, eds., Shopping Centers: U.S.A. (Piscataway, N.J.: Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University, 1981), 177-99; Trent A. Robertson, "Downtown Retail Activity in Large American Cities 1954-1977," Geographical Review 73 (June 1983), 314-23; Thomas J. Baerwald, "Changing Sales Patterns in Major American Metropolises, 1963-1982," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 355-74; Truman A. Hartshorn and Peter O. Muller, "Suburban Downtowns and the Transformation of Metropolitan Atlanta's Business Landscape," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 375-95; and Truman Asa Hartshorn, Interpreting the City: An Urban Geography (New York: John Wiley & Sons, rev. ed., 1992), Chap. 16.
11. See, for example: Brian J. Berry, "The Impact of Expanding Metropolitan Communities on Central Place Hierarchy,"Annals of the Association of American Geographers 50 (June 1960), 112-6; Gurney Breckenfeld, " 'Downtown' Has Fled to the Suburbs," Fortune 86 (October 1972), 80-7, 156, 158, 162; Thomas J. Baerwald, "The Emergence of a New 'Downtown,'" Geographical Review 68 (June 1970), 308-18; Thomas Muller, "Regional Malls and Central City Retail Sales: An Overview," in George Sternlieb and James W. Hughes, eds., Shopping Centers: U.S.A. (Piscataway, N.J.: Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University, 1981), 177-99; Trent A. Robertson, "Downtown Retail Activity in Large American Cities 1954-1977," Geographical Review 73 (June 1983), 314-23; Thomas J. Baerwald, "Changing Sales Patterns in Major American Metropolises, 1963-1982," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 355-74; Truman A. Hartshorn and Peter O. Muller, "Suburban Downtowns and the Transformation of Metropolitan Atlanta's Business Landscape," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 375-95; and Truman Asa Hartshorn, Interpreting the City: An Urban Geography (New York: John Wiley & Sons, rev. ed., 1992), Chap. 16.
12. See, for example: Brian J. Berry, "The Impact of Expanding Metropolitan Communities on Central Place Hierarchy,"Annals of the Association of American Geographers 50 (June 1960), 112-6; Gurney Breckenfeld, " 'Downtown' Has Fled to the Suburbs," Fortune 86 (October 1972), 80-7, 156, 158, 162; Thomas J. Baerwald, "The Emergence of a New 'Downtown,'" Geographical Review 68 (June 1970), 308-18; Thomas Muller, "Regional Malls and Central City Retail Sales: An Overview," in George Sternlieb and James W. Hughes, eds., Shopping Centers: U.S.A. (Piscataway, N.J.: Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University, 1981), 177-99; Trent A. Robertson, "Downtown Retail Activity in Large American Cities 1954-1977," Geographical Review 73 (June 1983), 314-23; Thomas J. Baerwald, "Changing Sales Patterns in Major American Metropolises, 1963-1982," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 355-74; Truman A. Hartshorn and Peter O. Muller, "Suburban Downtowns and the Transformation of Metropolitan Atlanta's Business Landscape," Urban Geography 10 (July-August 1989), 375-95; and Truman Asa Hartshorn, Interpreting the City: An Urban Geography (New York: John Wiley & Sons, rev. ed., 1992), Chap. 16.
13. For background, see Peter B. Hales, Silver Cities: The Photography of American Urbanization, 1839-1915 (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1984).
14. A small percentage of the studio's negatives were donated in the 1970s to the Huntington Library and Art Gallery in San Marino, California. Bill Bradley, comp., Commercial Los Angeles 1925-1947: Photographs from the "Dick" Whittington Studio (Glendale, Calif.: Interurban Press, 1981) offers a sampling of that collection and some sense of the richness of the material as a whole. The main body of the collection has resided at USC since 1992.
15. The material presented in this article draws from research done for a study of retail decentralization using Southern California as a case study: City Center to Regional Mall: Architecture, the Automobile, and Retailing in Los Angeles, 1920-1950 (Cambridge: MIT Press, forthcoming).
16. Wilshire Boulevard was a primary axis of elite residential development in Los Angeles during the late nineteenth century, and likewise experienced rapid change after World War I. For background, see Thomas Hines, "Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California," in Jan Cigliano and Sarah Bradford Landau, eds., The Grand American Avenue 1850-1920 (San Francisco: Pomegranate Books, 1994), 306-37.
17. For case studies, see Homer Hoyt, One Hundred Years of Land Values in Chicago . . . (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1933); and Michael P. Conzen and Kathleen Neils Conzen, "Geographical Structure in Nineteenth Century Urban Retailing: Milwaukee, 1836-1890," Journal of Historical Geography 5 (January 1979), 45-66.
18. For case studies, see Homer Hoyt, One Hundred Years of Land Values in Chicago . . . (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1933); and Michael P. Conzen and Kathleen Neils Conzen, "Geographical Structure in Nineteenth Century Urban Retailing: Milwaukee, 1836-1890," Journal of Historical Geography 5 (January 1979), 45-66.
19. Harland Bartholomew, "Business Zoning," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 155 (May 1931), 101-2; idem, Urban Land Uses . . . (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1932), 71-2; Paul J. Fitzpatrick, "What Factors Make a Successful Store Location," Journal of Retailing 9 (October 1933), 90-1.
20. Harland Bartholomew, "Business Zoning," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 155 (May 1931), 101-2; dem, Urban Land Uses . . . (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1932), 71-2; Paul J. Fitzpatrick, "What Factors Make a Successful Store Location," Journal of Retailing 9 (October 1933), 90-1.
21. Harland Bartholomew, "Business Zoning," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 155 (May 1931), 101-2; idem, Urban Land Uses . . . (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1932), 71-2; Paul J. Fitzpatrick, "What Factors Make a Successful Store Location," Journal of Retailing 9 (October 1933), 90-1.
22. "Inaugural Ceremonies . . . ," Hollywood Daily Citizen February 26, 1926, 5.
23. For background, see Chester H. Liebs, Main Street to Miracle Mile: American Roadside Architecture (Boston: Little Brown, 1985), 137-45.
24. "New Automobile Cleaning Firm . . . ," Hollywood Daily Citizen June 15, 1927, 17; "El Patio Auto Laundry . . . ," Hollywood Daily Citizen August 17, 1927, II-1; Ward K. Halbert, "Department Stores for Auto Servicing . . . ," National Petroleum News 20 (October 3, 1928), 17-9.
25. "New Automobile Cleaning Firm . . . ," Hollywood Daily Citizen June 15, 1927, 17; "El Patio Auto Laundry . . . ," Hollywood Daily Citizen August 17, 1927, II-1; Ward K. Halbert, "Department Stores for Auto Servicing . . . ," National Petroleum News 20 (October 3, 1928), 17-9.
26. "New Automobile Cleaning Firm . . . ," Hollywood Daily Citizen June 15, 1927, 17; "El Patio Auto Laundry . . . ," Hollywood Daily Citizen August 17, 1927, II-1; Ward K. Halbert, "Department Stores for Auto Servicing . . . ," National Petroleum News 20 (October 3, 1928), 17-9.
27. "New Features Found . . . ," Los Angeles Times November 6, 1927, VI-2. For additional views of the complex, see Donald E. Marquis, "The Spanish Stores of Morgan, Walls & Clements," Architectural Forum 50 (June 1929), 906-7.
28. "New Features Found . . . ," Los Angeles Times November 6, 1927, VI-2. For additional views of the complex, see Donald E. Marquis, "The Spanish Stores of Morgan, Walls & Clements," Architectural Forum 50 (June 1929), 906-7.
29. Montebello Park was laid out by the J.B. Ransom Corporation and opened in 1925. The area shown in the photograph was likely in or near the Belvedere Gardens tract, whose lots were platted and sold, beginning in 1921, by the Janss Investment Company. Such large-scale undertakings of the period, catering to skilled factory workers and their families, have yet to receive careful study.
30. Longstreth, City Center to Regional Mall, chaps. 5-6.
31. For background on the type, see Richard Longstreth, "The Perils of a Parkless Town," in Martin Wachs and Margaret Crawford, eds., The Car and the City: The Automobile, the Built Environment, and Daily Urban Life (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992), 141-53; and idem, "Innovation without Paradigm: The Many Creators of the Drive-In Market," in Thomas Carter, ed., Images of an American Land: Vernacular Architecture Studies in the Western United States (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, forthcoming). Concerning Hattem's, see Maurice Hattem, "I.M. Hattem and His Los Angeles Supermarket," Western States Jewish Historical Quarterly 11 (April 1979), 243-51.
32. For background on the type, see Richard Longstreth, "The Perils of a Parkless Town," in Martin Wachs and Margaret Crawford, eds., The Car and the City: The Automobile, the Built Environment, and Daily Urban Life (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992), 141-53; and idem, "Innovation without Paradigm: The Many Creators of the Drive-In Market," in Thomas Carter, ed., Images of an American Land: Vernacular Architecture Studies in the Western United States (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, forthcoming). Concerning Hattem's, see Maurice Hattem, "I.M. Hattem and His Los Angeles Supermarket," Western States Jewish Historical Quarterly 11 (April 1979), 243-51.
33. For background on the type, see Richard Longstreth, "The Perils of a Parkless Town," in Martin Wachs and Margaret Crawford, eds., The Car and the City: The Automobile, the Built Environment, and Daily Urban Life (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992), 141-53; and idem, "Innovation without Paradigm: The Many Creators of the Drive-In Market," in Thomas Carter, ed., Images of an American Land: Vernacular Architecture Studies in the Western United States (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, forthcoming). Concerning Hattem's, see Maurice Hattem, "I.M. Hattem and His Los Angeles Supermarket," Western States Jewish Historical Quarterly 11 (April 1979), 243-51.
34. For background, see Longstreth, City Center to Regional Mall, Chapter 10.