Chronicles of Old Los Angeles: Exploring the Devilish History of the City of the Angels

by James Roman

There’s more to Los Angeles than lights, camera, action! From the city's early, devilish days populated by missionaries, robber barons, oil wells and orange groves, Chronicles of Old Los Angeles explains how the Wild West became the Left Coast. Learn how Alta California became the 31st state, and how ethnic waves built Los Angeles—from Native Americans to Spaniards, Latinos and Asians, followed by gangsters, surfers, architects and the Hollywood pioneers who brought fame to the City of the Angels. Then, discover the city yourself with six guided walking/driving tours of LA’s historic neighborhoods, profusely illustrated with color photographs and period maps.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

As a writer based in Los Angeles, Mr. Roman contributes regularly to publications that document emerging technology, but readers may also spot him on re-runs of the HBO television series "Six Feet Under," a break he attributes more to luck than to acumen.

Reviews

[Lance Carney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking for a little history of LA in the 20s and 30s. This book fit the bill with an added bonus of walking tours of LA today. Enjoyed it.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to the history of Los Angeles. Enthusiastic and very well-written. If you've lived in LA all your life, always hearing names like Abbot Kinney and Doheny and Mulholland, but never really knowing who those guys were, then you should read this book. Lots of color photos to go along with the text. I'm inspired to explore LA this summer!

[Holli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun collection of stories that go more or less chronological and cover interesting or major events in LA history. This worked both as an LA primer and to uncover some interesting gems. Well written and felt well researched though there are citations or footnotes which was a bit frustrating because I just like to be able to go look up things for further reading. Occasionally the writing got me a bit lost on what date certain things happened. It's far more about the good story rather than being overly dry or precise on the history. Great set of pictures and some very brief driving/walking tours make up the last couple dozen pages.

[Kevin Pitchford · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easily digestible pop history book detailing Los Angeles from its infancy as the San Gabriel Mission to The Watts Towers to the Getty Center. It served as a great intro book which led me to further research on many of its topics. Great and fun reference guide with many interesting photos. Highly recommended.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second half of the book is more of a walking/driving tour

[Booknerd Fraser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good L.A. history, especially the early stuff; actually learned a lot. If I were visiting, the walking tours would be of interest.

[Brian Kolda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read. Very interesting

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always wanted to know the origins of Los Angeles and how it got to where it is at. The names of Abbot Kinney, William Mulholland (fun street to drive through!) And Henry Huntington are constantly mentioned throughout L.A., but this was the first time I have read a book about them and their place in the cities history.

One question I have always had--a question I believe everyone has had--is why the public transportation system is so inadequate compared to NYC and other major cities? Well, Henry Huntington played a very big part in that. Huntington's story was by far my favorite part of this book. I believe he played the biggest role in creating the transportation landscape we see today and reading how it all came to be was truly fascinating.

Another great chapter of was the story of William Mulholland and the corruption and backdoor dealings he was up against. The man just wanted to bring water to L.A. but the greed of the oil and railroad tycoons was just too insatiable.

Those two stories were my favorite, but the founding of Los Angeles and the Yang-na village provided great info that few LA locals know about. The history of Olvera St., Chinatown, and West Hollywood were also entertaining. These are cities, neighborhoods, and streets I walk daily, so to know their history brings a certain feeling to me that is hard to describe.

The only negative of this book is how it's divided in two parts; history of LA and the walking tour. I was so engrossed with learning about the history that when the walking tour part of it kicked in, I was somewhat disappointed and just skimmed over it. There are various other books that do a much better job at constructing a fully-loaded walking tour book. The one in this book seemed very limited causing the book to feel imbalanced at the end. I think the author should have left that out of the book.

Walking tour section aside, I highly recommend the book.

[Virginia Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is a bit of a misnomer. These chronicles do indeed go back to the early days of the pueblo, but the author also includes the controversy over Siquieros' mural in 1932, the heyday of jazz at the Dunbar Hotel from the thirties through the forties, the Dodgers' move from Brooklyn to Chavez Ravine, the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968, and other interesting episodes from our city's more recent history. Very readable.

[Lulu · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a decent overview of Los Angeles history. I especially liked the opening chapters about the city's founding and the stories of some of its famous developers such as Doheny and Mulholland.