An illustrated cartographic history of the City of Angels from the colonial era to the present. Los Angeles inhabits a place of the mind as much as it does a physical geographic space. A land of palm trees and movie stars, sunshine and glamour, the city exists in the imagination as a paradise; of course, the reality is much bigger than this. Through seventy reproductions of seminal and historic documents, Los Angeles in Maps presents the evolution of this almost mythical place. Maps featured include historic Spanish explorers’ charts from as early as 1791, as well as more recent topographic surveys, tourist guides, real estate maps, bird’s-eye views, and more. Like the course of the Los Angeles River, the book winds through essential terrain: the discovery of oil, the rise of Hollywood, the streetcar system, Los Angeles Harbor, earthquakes, sprawl, and splendor.
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About the Author
Glen Creason is map librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library and co-curator of the landmark exhibition L.A. Unfolded: Maps from the Los Angeles Public Library.
D. J. Waldie is the author of the California Book Award–winner Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir.
Joe Linton is an artist, writer, and activist living in Los Angeles.
Morgan Yates is corporate archivist at the Auto Club of Southern California and works in Los Angeles.
D. J. Waldie is the author of the California Book Award–winner Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir.
Joe Linton is an artist, writer, and activist living in Los Angeles.
Morgan Yates is corporate archivist at the Auto Club of Southern California and works in Los Angeles.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By alfalfa44
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've now meandered the avenues of "Los Angeles in Maps," breathed breezes on its palm-bordered lanes, plan to revisit soon.
As Vinny would say, "It's a dandy."
The maps capture the tapestry of LA history in ways no other medium could manage, but it's Glen Creason's masterful synthesis of the quilt pieces that renders this book a concerto of what dazzles and intrigues us about this city.
Mr. Creason, you have such a strong, sure voice. Thank you for singing so splendidly of our hometown's eras and neighborhoods.
As Vinny would say, "It's a dandy."
The maps capture the tapestry of LA history in ways no other medium could manage, but it's Glen Creason's masterful synthesis of the quilt pieces that renders this book a concerto of what dazzles and intrigues us about this city.
Mr. Creason, you have such a strong, sure voice. Thank you for singing so splendidly of our hometown's eras and neighborhoods.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This large format book is no coffee table artifact. A lively text by the Los Angeles Public Library's map archivist, Glen Creason, along with an introduction by fellow native D. J. Waldie, with contributions by Dydia DeLyser, Joe Linton, William J. Warren, and Morgan P. Yates, attests to the diligence with which this compendium, one in a handsome series by Rizzoli, documents how cartography sold the world a vision of sunny L.A. Artistic maps, lavishly and perhaps misleadingly illustrated, spurred millions to dream about--and often move to--the sprawling City of the Angels.
The earliest charts show a few settlements scattered in blank spaces, a Spanish rancho, or a few hills the total of what can be filled in such terrain. The true natives, soon erased, rarely gain representation; Jo Mora's exuberant 1940s maps celebrated the Indian-Mexican-Early Californian romance that sold more lots in dusty chaparral than perhaps even tickets to movies and festivals that also mythologized such scenes.
Water lines, transportation, and utilities imprint their own overlays, as the remote ranchos turn into subdivisions named after the natural features and early outposts they obliterated. Pragmatism rather than beauty, Creason comments, impelled the patterns of the city, as highways and then freeways followed the rivers, rails, and pioneer trails to track the 20th century's explosive growth.
Colorful charts often enliven what might have been in other cities a drearier duty of detail. Somehow, even a reservoir or a housing tract looks cheerier with an exotic street name or meandering lane around canyons and parks.
Such depictions speckle the margins of more than one map. "Literary Los Angeles" and another map of the Library's branches prove that not only Hollywood lured and sustained audiences. "Roads to Romance," maps to the stars' homes, Arnold Schoenberg's modernist impact, Auto Club tourist guides--all appear.
The population expansion, as movies exported L.A. as a global legend, accounts for recent maps of the dully titled L.A. Basin. Until the rise of the GPS navigator, as Creason observes, many Angelenos carried a Thomas Brothers Guide in their automobile. Half-memorizing its numbered pages, this grid became the local version of the A-Z London map.
I presume the large-format book form will afford the naked eye easier ways to investigate the intricate elements of these maps. I spot-checked many maps by testing them on my own neighborhood, just northeast of downtown, but the resolution failed to enlarge them into a more readable clarification. However, the reduction of large charts and foldout sheets to a book that fits on the coffee table, let alone a shelf, may mean that some maps are meant more as impressions to be enjoyed--rather than scoured like my tattered Thomas Brothers Guide on the passenger seat.
The earliest charts show a few settlements scattered in blank spaces, a Spanish rancho, or a few hills the total of what can be filled in such terrain. The true natives, soon erased, rarely gain representation; Jo Mora's exuberant 1940s maps celebrated the Indian-Mexican-Early Californian romance that sold more lots in dusty chaparral than perhaps even tickets to movies and festivals that also mythologized such scenes.
Water lines, transportation, and utilities imprint their own overlays, as the remote ranchos turn into subdivisions named after the natural features and early outposts they obliterated. Pragmatism rather than beauty, Creason comments, impelled the patterns of the city, as highways and then freeways followed the rivers, rails, and pioneer trails to track the 20th century's explosive growth.
Colorful charts often enliven what might have been in other cities a drearier duty of detail. Somehow, even a reservoir or a housing tract looks cheerier with an exotic street name or meandering lane around canyons and parks.
Such depictions speckle the margins of more than one map. "Literary Los Angeles" and another map of the Library's branches prove that not only Hollywood lured and sustained audiences. "Roads to Romance," maps to the stars' homes, Arnold Schoenberg's modernist impact, Auto Club tourist guides--all appear.
The population expansion, as movies exported L.A. as a global legend, accounts for recent maps of the dully titled L.A. Basin. Until the rise of the GPS navigator, as Creason observes, many Angelenos carried a Thomas Brothers Guide in their automobile. Half-memorizing its numbered pages, this grid became the local version of the A-Z London map.
I presume the large-format book form will afford the naked eye easier ways to investigate the intricate elements of these maps. I spot-checked many maps by testing them on my own neighborhood, just northeast of downtown, but the resolution failed to enlarge them into a more readable clarification. However, the reduction of large charts and foldout sheets to a book that fits on the coffee table, let alone a shelf, may mean that some maps are meant more as impressions to be enjoyed--rather than scoured like my tattered Thomas Brothers Guide on the passenger seat.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By S. Salmon
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Would have given this book 5 and a half stars but it wasn't bigger than my coffee table. Loved the intro. Loved the commentary on all of the maps. Loved the maps. Well researched and well written. Anyone with any interest in LA history needs to own this book. It is essential. The author is clearly a great researcher, an expert on maps, and a lover of Los Angeles history. If you are into the history of one of the United State's most mysterious cities, you must own this book.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Look at the Evolution of a City
This is a fun and insightful look into the history and evolution of Los Angeles through maps of the city. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Christina Rice
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wish there were bigger maps
I thought this book was going to be full of legible maps, but there are mostly just small maps and lots of narrative. Sigh...
Published 2 months ago by C. Ionita
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful Book on Los Angeles
This is an amazing book that shows how Los Angeles has changed and, really, how it has stayed the same. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Marimello
3.0 out of 5 stars
Los Anglels in Maps
I thought that the print was much to small for easy reading of the maps. A magnifying glass should be included with this book.
Published 15 months ago by Dave
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT book!
Like the song says, I love LA. This book helps me to understand it and love it more. Tremendous collection of maps and superb writing.
Published 22 months ago by Tim Kirk
4.0 out of 5 stars
Makes a great gift
I first heard about this book from the LA Times and it sounded right up my street - it's about my favourite town, and I love maps. Double bingo! Read more
Published on January 6, 2011 by ToneFloat
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm so excited!
Just got this book as a gift last night. I love maps, opened it up right away, totally great book. Two of my favorite things, maps and Los Angeles. Highly recommend it.
Published on December 22, 2010 by Glen Janken
2.0 out of 5 stars
Nice coffee table book but....
Nice coffee table book, but if you are really serious about looking at maps use the web.
This site is a good start for exploring the history of LA in maps... Read more
This site is a good start for exploring the history of LA in maps... Read more
Published on December 22, 2010 by CDC
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just in time for Holiday gift giving !!!
Anyone who thinks that "there's no there there" in LA should sit down with this wonderful book and learn about the city's history, not only by studying the maps, but also by... Read more
Published on November 29, 2010 by pasadena book lover
5.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining and Gorgeous
This beautiful book is the perfect gift for the cartographer, map or Los Angeles enthusiast in your life! Read more
Published on November 17, 2010 by Lisa Falk
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