Monday, October 6, 2008

1922: Infrastructure Already an Issue


Photo: Hunter Terrace Elysian Gardens Real Estate Brochure, excerpt, 1922. Photo on the right cannot be duplicated without stopping in the middle of the 2 Freeway, so here's a link to a close approximation. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Hunter Terrace brochure proclaims, "Big improvements are under way and contemplated, both on Allesandro Street and Riverside Drive...and there is every assurance that in a short time there will be a viaduct spanning the river at Allesandro Street." No such viaduct was ever built at Allesandro.

By 1955, the State declared eminent domain and bought out homeowners in the area for construction of the 2 and 5 Freeways.

Perhaps the most telling line of the brochure is, "Los Angeles is now estimated to have a population of over 800,000. Transportation facilities are not keeping up with its rapid growth - buy where you have good car service."