【09.12.28 时代周刊】城市画像——洛杉矶篇

渔音谦谦

Los Angeles — Portrait of a City

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1948120,00.html

A stunning collection of photographs from Benedict Taschen's new book, Los Angeles — Portrait of a City, reveals the city's colorful history

Original Billing
The Hollywood sign was built in 1923 as an advertisement for Los Angeles Times scion Harry Chandler's "Hollywoodland" real estate development. Each letter of the sign was 30 feet (9.1 m) wide and 50 feet (15 m) high, and was studded with 4000 light bulbs. In the background, the San Fernando Valley remains largely rural and undeveloped.

Easy Rider
The intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard, Melrose Avenue, and Doheny Drive in West Hollywood, captured through the wind shield of actor Dennis Hopper's car in 1961.

Location, Location, Location
Downtown Los Angeles plays host to a rooftop shoot in 1922. During the decade, the film industry used L.A. as a ready made film set, making movies on its streets and in its buildings, helping to turn the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford into even bigger stars.

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Shooting Stars
Spectators join police at the aftermath of a shootout in 1953. Many years later, the movie LA Confidential would show how a shooting at an all night diner was investigated by three policemen in their own unique ways.


Up In Lights
The grand opening of the Warner Brothers Western Theater, located between Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue, took place on October 7, 1931. It's now known as the Wiltern. It was used as the primary location for the 1983 film Get Crazy, directed by Allan Arkush and starring Malcolm McDowell, Allen Garfield, Daniel Stern, Gail Edwards, and Ed Begley, Jr.


Perfectly Formed
In 1940, a minutely detailed model of downtown Los Angeles was displayed at the Museum of Natural History. The real downtown area has proved popular with filmmakers, who could make it look like nearly any other city in any historical era. As an example, on streets with older buildings developed in the early part of the 20th Century, downtown was often a stand-in for old New York.

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Melting Pot
A snapshot of Little Tokyo, First Street, in 1953. The Japanese community recovered its presence near downtown Los Angeles after World War II. It's one of only three official Japantowns in the U.S. (San Fransisco and San Jose are the other two). At its peak, Little Tokyo had around 30,000 Japanese Americans living in the area. It remains a cultural focal point for Los Angeles's Japanese American population.


Simon Says ... Eat
Simon's drive-in on Wiltshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue during the late 1930's. It became a Johnie's Coffee Shop, which has now also closed. The location has been used for filming, as with so many other locations in Los Angeles.


Life's A Beach
The Jackson 5 do some publicity in Santa Monica, before the release of their first album, Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5, in 1970. "I Want You Back" topped the charts that same year.

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Main Men
President Gerald Ford (right) and then governor Ronald Reagan confer at the Century Plaza Hotel in 1974. Many Presidents have stayed at the hotel and it was nicknamed "The Western White House" during the Reagan era. It was built in 1964 — completed just two years later — on what was formerly part of the back lot of 20th Century Fox Studios.


Slim's Swim
Rita Aarons, wife of the photographer Slim Aarons, is seen swimming in a pool festooned with floating baubles and a decorated Christmas tree during the mid-1950's.