Los Angeles in the 50s

[swimmieswammi]

I wish I lived in those days. Los Angeles is gonna look like Tijuana in about 25 years watch.

[FernandoMendoza775]

L.A. Noire was in the 40's. d:

[ampthilluk]

@FernandoMendoza775 close enough

[fandlinlv]

Winnipeg still has one standing example of the Safeway store at 1:02, but it hasn't been occupied by Safeway in more than 40 years. It's at the corner of Corydon and Stafford and it houses a Rexall/Pharma Plus drugstore.

[eric101online]

streetview of the 50s!

[June28July]

Wow, looks nice!... No computers!?

FUCK!

[Philacav]

Broadway back then....(drooling)

[MIKECNW]

Looks clean?

Notice the garbage on the streets?

[ShushLorraine]

Still too big for me, even then. Thanks for posting. What a fun video!

[3211957]

I was a grocerman for 45 years, and the checker brought back memories using the old National reg. and the items.Loved it!! Any onew recall Clarks Market?Thanks for posting..Bill

[jiber47collection198]

ill take any of those cars

[DetroitLove4U]

I hope 20 years from now the entire city of Los Angeles is decimated. It's nothing shy of haunting grounds for most notably illegal aliens from Central America.

[hebneh]

All those cars look shiny and colorful and nostalgic. Los Angeles, just by itself, had more vehicles in the 1950s than many entire countries did.

However - those cars lack the safety equipment that keeps us alive today in accidents. And no, just because they were bigger than some automobiles today did not automatically make them safer.

This was also before it was figured out that lanes of opposing traffic on freeways required strong concrete walls separating them, which save people today too.

[bolitapelona]

Did you see the how fast the cashiers were checking out the goods @1:19? Dam it seems that manual work was faster than walmart electronic idiots...

[NEOSTERX3]

There is always an idiot that brings race into the comments section. If you really want to judge, think about how the Native Americans felt before the "Immigrants" desecrated their land.

[jeremiahjacobs]

I love the soundtrack so much! I've written music just like it!

[nubia1950]

I was born in L.A. during this time ~~~~I remember

[avantisprod]

There were very few billboards and mini-malls and 7-11's back in those days. Commerce had some dignity. And another point: The population density was lower, period. The film shows the "old" cars with fresh paint...fresh paint is how you sell things in America. But each of those vehicles probably polluted 10 times as much as what we have today. Very enjoyable video, thanks for posting this.

[349326]

Wow has L.A changed....for the worse.

[Gideon1928]

Brought to you by union jobs.

[lobsterboyx]

As i was watching this, i never wanted it to end. there has to be more.

[jengod1]

I miss Thrifty Drug Stores.

[cesarchavezbeaner]

i cannot even believe how white and clean that city looks, if only the people then could stare into the future at what their city would become..

[samw454]

@cesarchavezbeaner Wow, you couldn't be a better candidate as a real world Raymond Cocteau. Be Fucked.

[nowinrar]

i loved the video but for some reason i was waiting for a punch line :/

[carolluking]

Fun footage and the music is perfect. It's easy to understand why so many people want to live here. Loved seeing unclogged freeways - we won't see traffic flowing like that ever again on California freeways. They were designed for the number of cars using them back in the day.

[ghostoferkrussell]

This is some really great footage.

[misfits4life1]

@ghostoferkrussell hi bandwagoon boy hope you had a happy new year

[MrDownwitthesouth]

@ghostoferkrussell You old son of a bitch...you stupid georgia punks screwed it up for the rest of the conference move to the acc punk bitch

[simoon678]

where are all these old cars now ?

[AndyFlash0f]

that music make me lol

[castlezfinest1]

lot better than now

[AppleMacgic911]

1 Person is a failed actor.

[AppleMacgic911]

1 Person is a failed actor.

[AppleMacgic911]

1 Person is a failed actor.

[hdwblade]

Wow looks so cute! Wish we could have seen what the world would be like if the computer chip was never invented.. I mean how similar to the 50's it would be today... This keyboard wouldn't even BE here! /mindblown

[FreedomOfTheUSA]

Look at how peaceful LA was back them? Then Mexicans came, and fucked it up it's asshole, as they are doing with the rest of this country. It's really sad.

[wobbledobbleish]

@FreedomOfTheUSA The Mexicans came to LA? No, the Mexicans were already here.

[FreedomOfTheUSA]

@wobbledobbleish Either way, before they became the majority here, it was much cleaner. They brought the crime rates up. And I'm talking statistics, Hispanics cause more crime than non-hispanic whites, and nothing you say will change that.

[ldrz1]

@FreedomOfTheUSA LOL! now thats funny

[FreedomOfTheUSA]

@ldrz1 Do you have a rebuttal? Do you need LAPD records? 

[ldrz1]

@FreedomOfTheUSA nah not really since everyone knows white people are so good and clean and the LAPD have always been so damn honest right? :D

[FreedomOfTheUSA]

@ldrz1 Lol, you're such a moron. While the LAPD isn't perfect, it's less than 50% white now, so how can they be biased? You're so blind. There's more Mexican gangs than blacks these days. And yeah, it's a known fact non-hispanic whites commit less crimes than Hispanics, despite your conspiracy theories.

[wobbledobbleish]

@FreedomOfTheUSA They were always the majority here. Cleaner? This goes for anywhere in America regardless of population statistics. It depends on the city itself. I live in Burbank, CA and the majority is Mexican and the streets are clean and the crime is low. The city maintains the aesthetics properly as well as keep out gangs.

[DeRealUno]

Until the immigrant came LOL 

[FreedomOfTheUSA]

Haha, the top comments are the two things I thought about immediately after seeing this video. It's like they read my mind.

[nemesis962074]

Today around 30% of all people in LA are Mexicans, and only 40% are non-Hispanic whites.

[GerrettJihad]

Wow, seems peacefull.

[pacemaker2point0]

L.A. Noire

[97nachotv]

Los Angeles was their city, built in their generation.

[jliscorpio]

What a treat!!! Thanks for posting this!

[bungaroosh]

@BloodRedChorizo

Haha, I guess not.

[OneMetropolis]

LA looks why cleaner back than then now

[FreedomOfTheUSA]

@OneMetropolis Maybe because it was.

[tripios]

no internet...this sucks

[Aniconicx]

nice, thanks

[jsndacruz]

Is this what the future will be like?

[FreedomOfTheUSA]

@jsndacruz The future will be a bunch of Mexican drug cartels running around with AK's like in Mexico.

[Moviesandvideo]

Everyone walked. There's still traffic

[bondophobic]

if i can go back in time...

[steveo3002]

very cool...thanks

[princebambi]

Great images! Annoying music, though.

[dantanasgirl]

I posted this on my VINTAGE LOS ANGELES page on facebook! Check out how many people watched it tonight and look at all the comments!!

[mrpitv]

@dantanasgirl Thank you!!!

[dantanasgirl]

@mrpitv your video was also mentioned and posted in the LA Times online section today!!

[IRsuperman]

@dantanasgirl Any clue where these spots were filmed? Would be pretty cool to film the exact same shots in the same manner to show comparison...

[dantanasgirl]

@IRsuperman That shot of Rexall Drugs is was at the corner of La Cienega and Beverly blvd...Kiddieland was across the street. It's now a CVS. At the time it was the most GLAMOUROUS drug store in the city!! Kind of blew my mind seeing it here!!

[dantanasgirl]

@dantanasgirl. ALSO.....At 25 secs in is Angeles Flight downtown At :47 in they are waiting to enter the Chinese Theatre...The mall at 55 is in Covina I believe...at 1:04 is the Ralphs in Westwood..That building still stands now as a novelty store. at 1:15 is Wilshire blvd at Miracle Mile,

[pinkyracr]

why shocked? there were only 5 million people living in LA in 1955. Now there are over 13 million. Those of us who ride bikes or Metro are part of the solution.

[edmill]

Cool video, but if you look closer, it was one of the dirtiest cities ever, even back then.

[glasshammer52]

Strange, but it hasn't changed a damn bit.

[dantanasgirl]

Thank you for these wonderful clips!!!

[cvjucla3]

@dantanasgirl Really interesting seeing our hometown almost 60 years ago. Viewing it anytime in the past is cool.