Day 1919: Studies in contrast.

keiko, collage & digital

Want music?

 

Click here for Stevie Wonder, As.

then click back on this blog tab or here to listen as you browse, or not?

Still hot here. 

High temps, S.A. winds & dry areas mean danger for So Cal.

Today, on the way home from a doctor appointment,

I drove on the 241 toll road, recently closed by fire.

An eerie drive, between black hills on either side.

So much wildlife in the area, I wondered if they escaped.

Then I remembered an article I read, and

thought you might enjoy the contrast?

A view of I-5  further south at El Toro in 1964, also courtesy of the Orange County Archives. 

That commodious median has since been converted into several additional traffic lanes.

There was a time when Southern California's freeways 

were new, and feelings were different. 

The freeway system enjoyed widespread political support. L.A.'s infatuation with the automobile hadn't yet waned, so it was only natural for the city to embrace these new monuments to car culture. They provided an alternative to the aging electric railways 

and traffic-choked boulevards. 

They promised to improve life in the decentralized city. 

They represented the region's best hope for the future.

The concrete practically glistens in this 1958 photograph of the San Diego Freeway (then 

CA-7, now I-405), looking south at its junction with the Ventura Freeway, 

courtesy of the Los Angeles Examiner collection, USC Libraries

Here's a newly opened section of the Hollywood Freeway (US-101) in 1958, 

 courtesy of the Los Angeles Examiner Collection, USC Libraries

1954 photo of the Hollywood Freeway (US-101) at Vermont, 

courtesy of the Metro Transportation Library and Archive.

1940 photo of the Arroyo Seco Parkway (CA-110), 

courtesy of the Herald-Examiner Collection – Los Angeles Public Library.

A view of US-101's "Downtown Slot" segment shortly after its 1951 opening, 

courtesy of the Los Angeles Examiner Collection, USC Libraries.

An early view of the the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) at Bristol in Santa Ana, 

courtesy of the Orange County Archives

Quite a contrast?

PS: Am late posting tonight, 

I just finished my book mentioned here,

a sweet, compelling book. Also a study in contrast.

Thanks Denise!

A smile for Friday ...