Never mind its pronunciation — here’s how Los Feliz looked in 1928.

Part of the Automobile Club of Southern California collection in the USC Digital Library.

The Venice waterways pictured here are now paved roadways. Find out why the community filled in its original, signature canals in L.A. as Subject’s latest for KCET.

(This photo of United States Island and the Cabrillo and Altair canals is part of the Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection in the USC Digital Library.)

Wilshire Boulevard near Westwood, 1928.

Part of the Dick Whittington Photography Collection in the USC Digital Library.

Los Angeles City Hall construction site, 1926. Across Spring Street in the center of the photo is the County Hall of Records and, to its right, the red sandstone County Courthouse.

Part of the California Historical Society Collection in the USC Digital Library.

Composite photo produced by the Dick Whittington Studio for the White Truck Co. in 1929. The truck and men in the foreground were superimposed on the background image of a burning oil well. 

This is one of more than 30,000 photos from our “Dick” Whittington Collection that we’ve recently digitized with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

L.A.’s Miracle Mile, looking east from Wilshire and Fairfax circa 1929.

Part of the Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection in the USC Digital Library.

Intersection of Figueroa and Adams, looking north circa 1924. In the center of the intersection is an “American Bobby,” an experimental traffic control device installed by the Auto Club of Southern California.

Part of the Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection in the USC Digital Library

Anaheim, circa 1925. Pictured here is the central business district along Center Street (now Lincoln Avenue).

Part of the Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection in the USC Digital Library.

Brand Blvd. in Glendale, ca. 1926.

Part of the Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection in the USC Digital Library

A drug store at the corner of Hope Street and Pico Boulevard in 1926.

This is one of more than 30,000 photos from our “Dick” Whittington Collection that we’ve recently digitized with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.