I get a kick out of seeing old picture of Southern California. Pictures showing how the beaches and LA basin used to be not so long ago, before the population explosion, before rampant tourism, before the major industries moved in.I once read a biography of the controversial filmmaker D. W. Griffith, and the book included pictures of Griffith and a few stars of the silent era posing on a beach in Santa Monica circa 1920. Behind them stood nothing but rolling hills of tall grass and a rickety wooden fence. There were no hotels, no Ferris wheels, no palm-tree-lined promenades. I believe most people forget, or are completely unaware, of how much change we have brought to Southern California over the last 100 years.
It didn't surprise me to learn that Hermosa Beach, a city I live close to now, was also once a vast sweep of rolling hills covered with fields of barley. During certain times of the year herds of sheep and horses would graze the hills where deluxe condos and beachy bungalows now stand. Barns were the norm. Large, circular ranches known as Rancho Sausal Redondos covered much of the area we now know at Inglewood, Torrance, and Hermosa.
Those days of horse corrals, sheep, and rolling hills of grass are a far cry from what we see today.
And what exactly is it we see today? Below I have posted some of my favorite snaps from visits to Hermosa Beach, a town that is sure to keep evolving rapidly over the next one hundred years.
 |
| North towards Manhattan Beach |
 |
| South towards Palos Verdes |
 |
| Pier of Hermosa |
No comments:
Post a Comment