Aerial view of the intersection of First Street, Second Street, and Glendale Boulevard, as seen from the Goodyear blimp in 1936.

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

Possible makeshift Olympics for young fans, 1932. From the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection in the USC Digital Library.

More Olympic rowing in Long Beach, 1932. The oil derricks don’t quite outnumber the well-dressed spectators. From the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection in the USC Digital Library.

USC Trojan and gold-medal Olympian Lee Barnes, in mid pole vault, 1924. From the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection in the USC Digital Library.

Olympic spirit, kindergarten style. Plus a bemused-looking sheep. 1932. Part of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection in the USC Digital Library. 

Olympic rowers during the 1932 games in Los Angeles, with Long Beach oil derricks in the background. Part of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection in the USC Digital Library.

Three panoramic photographs depicting the “Growth of Los Angeles” from 1867 to 1923

Children play on a tree downed by strong winds at Converse and Gage in South Los Angeles on March 1, 1952. See our blog, Libwire, for more photos of past L.A.-area wind damage.

1936 aerial view of the intersection of Fairfax Avenue, Olympic Boulevard, and San Vicente Boulevard. (From the USC Digital Library’s Automobile Club of Southern California Collection)

On this day in 1951: a hot rod jamboree at Hamilton High School in Los Angeles.