With our local news media hyperventilating over this weekend's temporary closure of a section of the San Diego Freeway, I thought it would be interesting to see what this part of town used to look like.
October 25, 1956: Construction of the freeway at Wilshire & Sepulveda, taken from north of Wilshire, looking south.
source:
USC Digital Archive
25 years earlier: Pepper tree lined Sepulveda Boulevard near Wilshire, February 26, 1931
source:
USC Digital Archive
December 14, 1937: Looking north on Sepulveda Boulevard from Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood, showing the pepper trees as they appeared at sundown. This section of the boulevard was also known as Pepper Tree Lane.
source:
Los Angeles Public Library
Oct. 19, 1935: "Celebrating the completion of a modern highway over one of Los Angeles' oldest trails, Sepulveda highway will be dedicated Sunday with gay fiesta where the highway joins with Sunset boulevard. Angeline Pagones is shown with her horse on the bridle path inspecting the new roadway. The highway follows a trail used ceturies [sic] ago by the Indians on their way to the sea". (Los Angeles Herald-Examiner)
source:
Los Angeles Public Library