Smog in Early Los Angeles

 
(1948)* - L.A. Civic Center masked by smog on January 6, 1948. Courtesy of UCLA Library Special Collections - Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive.  

 

Historical Notes

Air pollution reached its worst levels in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 1950s.  Millions of people driving millions of cars plus temperature inversion provided Los Angeles with a near perfect environment for the production and containment of photochemical smog.

 

 

 

 
(1946)* – View looking east on 1st Street at Broadway showing a smoggy day in downtown Los Angeles.  

 

Historical Notes

Los Angeles suffered from smog well before World War II. Industrial smoke and fumes were so thick during one day in 1903 that residents mistook it for an eclipse of the sun. From 1905 to 1912, the Los Angeles City Council adopted several measures to combat dense smoke emissions. As the century progressed, the city sprawled and industry boomed, overwhelming those first primitive air pollution control measures.*

 

 

 

 
(1949)* - Standing above the old Hill Street Tunnel on a smoggy morning, looking south down Hill Street from 1st. This shot is in the Examiner Collection at USC with the caption “Beautiful Los Angeles Smog.”  

 

Historical Notes

On Oct. 14, 1947, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors established the nation's first air pollution control program by creating the Los Angeles County Air Pollution Control District.

 

 

 

 
(1940)* - BEFORE SMOG CHECKS - Three cars are seen here heading east on Hollywood Boulevard with smoke billowing out of their tailpipes.  

 

Historical Notes

The first California “Smog Check” program wasn't implemented until 1984.

 

 

 

 
(1940s)* – Driving into Downtown Los Angeles on a smoggy day.  

 

Historical Notes

Massive wartime immigration to a city built for cars had made L.A. the largest car market the industry had ever seen. But the influx of cars and industry, combined with a geography that traps fumes like a big bowl, had caught up with Angelenos.

 

 

 

 
(1940s)* - A woman is seen wiping her eyes as smog blankets Downtown Los Angeles.  

 

Historical Notes

The day after the first big smog, city officials pointed to the Southern California Gas Company's Aliso Street Plant as the source of the thick cloud. The facility manufactured an ingredient in synthetic rubber called butadiene.

Public pressure temporarily shut down the Aliso Street Plant, but the smog episodes continued to get even worse. Undeterred, Los Angeles Mayor Fetcher Bowron announced in August that there would be "an entire elimination" of the problem within four months.

But the search for the culprit of the "gas attacks" -- and the ensuing battle to curb the culprit's emissions -- was just beginning.*

 

 

 

 
(1955)^^ - Buildings in Los Angeles Civic Center are barely visible in picture looking east at 1st and Olive Streets when smog was at its peak.  Photo by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times  

 

Historical Notes

The real cause of L.A. smog wasn’t determiend until the 1950s.  The scientist who solved the smog mystery was Arie Haagen-Smit, a chemist at the California Institute of Technology. He was the first to recognize that ozone was the primary source of the haze. Ozone is created when partially unburned exhaust from automobiles and the hydrocarbons from oil refineries are hit by sunlight. Haagen-Smit also demonstrated that the ozone was the cause of the bleach smell L.A. residents were reporting, as well as the source of their eye irritation and respiratory problems.*

 

 

 

 
(1953)* – Looking SW toward City Hall from the site of the Aliso Street Project of the Santa Ana Freeway through downtown. Also seen here (L to R): Taix French Restaurant, Old Hall of Records, and the Federal Courthouse and U.S. Post Office Building.  

 

 

 

 

 
(1954)* – Blimp flying over downtown Los Angeles on a smoggy day. Buildings seen (L to R): Federal Courthouse and U.S. Post Office Building, International Bank Building, and City Hall.  

 

Historical Notes

Photograph caption dated September 9 1954 reads, "This Navy blimp is gathering smog samples over downtown Los Angeles for study seeking solution to smog problem. Samples are taken at three different levels--500, 1,000 feet and at top of smog layer."

 

 

 

 
(1955)* - Three women on a downtown Los Angeles sidewalk are troubled by the eye-irritating smog. City Hall is barely visible in the background. Photograph dated Septmber 14, 1955.  

 

Historical Notes

On some days, the air was so polluted that parents kept their kids out of school; athletes trained indoors; citrus growers and sugar-beet producers watched in dismay as their crops withered; the elderly and young crowded into doctors' offices and hospital ERs with throbbing heads and shortness of breath. ^

 

 

 

 
(1955)#* - LAPD officer wiping his eyes due to the smog, with City Hall in the background.  

 

 

 

 

 
(1958)* - Photo from LA Times article titled:  ‘Blanket of Smog Obscures View of City from Top of Angels Flight  

 

 

 

 

 
(1950)* - A very large backyard incinerator located on Bunker Hill with City Hall in the background.  

 

Historical Notes

Until the late 1950s most people burned their trash in their own backyards using incinerators similar (but smaller) to the one seen above.

 

 

 

 
(1957)* - Outdoor view of a residential incinerator burning trash. Photo dated July 1, 1957.  

 

 

 

 

 
(ca. 1950s)* - Everyone had one of these in their backyard.  

 

Historical Notes

All refuse burning in Los Angeles ended October 1, 1957 when Air Pollution Control District's ban on residential incinerators became effective.

 

 

 

 
(1958)* – Photo caption reads:  “Man at right defies convention and eye-searing pollutant as he strolls down Broadway wearing a gas mask, as Los Angeles battles another smog attack. Women on left suffer and use their handkerchiefs to wipe away their tears.” Photo dated: September 19, 1958.  

 

Historical Notes

By the mid 1950s there was no doubt among scientists that cars were a primary factor in LA’s smog crisis.
However, Los Angeles had no influence over the auto manufacturers. Smog wasn’t yet a national problem and it was very easy to dismiss smog as a quirk of LA geography.

Automakers were slow to respond.  They were wary of any change that would add cost to their vehicles.  As a result of public pressure, emission regulations would come to pass.  But, it would take another two decades for things to change.

It wasn’t until 1975 that the U.S. required new cars to have catalytic converters, the key piece of technology that allowed everything to change. ^

 

 

 

 
(1957)^.^ - Hollywood messenger Edward M. Baker making his rounds wearing a gas mask near the intersection of Hollywood and Vine. In the background can be seen the iconic Capitol Records Building and Dupar’s Restaurant. Photo source: Saturday Evening Post titled: Los Angeles Battles the Murk  

 

 

 

 

 
(1958)* – Smog and traffic congestion on the Pasadena Freeway near Downtown Los Angeles.  

 

Historical Notes

Air pollution reached its worst levels in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 1950s. Millions of people driving millions of cars plus temperature inversion provided Los Angeles with a near perfect environment for the production and containment of photochemical smog.

 

 

 

 
(1961)* - Traffic congestion and smog on the Hollywood Freeway near the Vineland interchange.  

 

 

 

 

 
(1962)* - An aerial view of Los Angeles on Dec 20 1962, shows the complex of freeways, new construction, familiar landmarks and smog, In the foreground is the Harbor Freeway; just beyond is Bunker Hill where work has begun on the nation's biggest urban redevelopment project; and in the background, barely visible through the smog, is the steel framework of the new Department of Water and Power office building.  

 

 

 

 

 
(ca. 1958)* - Nice afternoon Dodger game at the Coliseum but unfortunately forgot to bring the binoculars and my eye drops. More on Dodgers at the Coliseum HERE. Photo by Allan Grant / LIFE Magazine  

 

 

 

 

 
(1964)* - View looking south as seen from the Hollywood Hills showing the Wilshire corridor at top of photo with Baldwin Hills further back.  

 

Historical Notes

On August 22, 1964, Los Angeles basin was recognized as having the worst ozone problem of any city in the U.S.*

 

 

 

 
(1958)^.^ - A Los Angeles motorcyclist prepares to turn while driving on a street engulfed in a thick haze of smog.  

 

 

 

 
(1959)^^ - Smog blankets Los Angeles as seen from First and Broadway looking south. This photo was published on page one of the Nov. 13, 1959 Los Angeles Times.  

 

 

 

 

 
(1960)** - A smoggy day in Los Angeles. View is looking north on Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles.  

 

Historical Notes

Photo caption for the above photo reads: “SMOGGY DAY-It was smoggy yesterday as indicated by this photograph made from Figueroa St. looking east on 6th St. But it wasn't nearly as bad as the Air Pollution Control District predicted.”

 

 

 

 
(1966)* – Photo caption reads:  “In the smog battle a Los Angeles commuter wears an only slightly satiric gas mask on October 2, 1966. Automotive experts show how a new smog device cuts down on the emission of car fumes, while testifying before the California Assembly.”  

 

Historical Notes

It wasn’t until 1975 that the U.S. required new cars to have catalytic converters, the key piece of technology that allowed everything to change. ^

 

 

 

 
(ca. 1970)* - Looking across the Civic Center Mall toward a smog-hidden City Hall as seen from the LADWP building.  

 

 

 

 

 
(1958)* - Smog-shrouded view of downtown Los Angeles, looking toward City Hall and the Hall of Justice, on December, 1958.  

 

 

 

 

 
(1986)* - View of Spring Street looking south from 3rd Street at 3 p.m. on an unidentified day in November 1986, using infrared film.  

 

 

 

 

 
(1980)^.^ - Freeway sign reads: "SMOG ALERT Reduce Driving".  

 

Historical Notes

In the 1970s and 1980s formal Smog Alerts were issued asking people to reduce driving.  Schools were also affected by Smog Alerts.  If the alert was bad enough, recess was cancelled and children were kept inside to play board games.  Unfortunately, classrooms didn’t have air conditioning or filters so being inside wasn’t much better than being outside.

Smog Alerts came in three stages:  Stage 1 – Unhealthy; Stage 2 – Very Unhealthy; Stage 3 – Hazardous

 

 

 

 
(1980s)^ – An air pollution control vehicle sits by the side of the freeway looking for violators of the new air emission laws.  

 

Historical Notes

In 1984, The California Smog Check program went into effect to identify vehicles in need of maintenance and to assure the effectiveness of their emissions-control systems.*

 

 

 

 
(1973)^.^ - View looking northeast showing downtown Los Angeles on a smoggy day with with the San Gabriel Mountains in the background. City Hall can barely be seen at center-right.  

 

 

 

 

 
(1970s)* - View of downtown Los Angeles office towers, barely visible through the smog as seen from the Hollywood Freeway.  

 

Historical Notes

In 1974, the nation’s last recorded Stage Three smog alert occured in Upland (east of Los Angeles). Ozone levels hit .51 parts per million. Gov. Ronald Reagan urged residents to “limit all but absolutely necessary auto travel” and recommended that people drive slower to reduce emissions.*

 

 

 

 
(1986)* - View of Wilshire Blvd. looking east from San Vicente at 11:30 a.m. on December 5, 1986, following five first-stage smog alerts.  

 

Historical Notes

In 1987, AQMD established a landmark rideshare program requiring companies employing at least 100 people to offer incentives to workers to carpool or use public transit. Employers complained that it shouldn’t be their job to change workers’ driving behavior, and the project went away in a few years.*#

 

 

 

 

 
(1970s)^^ - A driver fights the smog in 1970s Los Angeles.  

 

 

 

 

 

 
(1979)* - Photograph caption dated September 14, 1979 reads, "The Hollywood sign is barely visible through the smog in this photo taken from above Lake Hollywood in Cahuenga Pass."  

 

 

 

 

 

 
(1984)* - A tourist at the Griffith Park Observatory focuses her telescope for a sharper view of what appears to be a city skyline, looming through the smog.  Photo date:  August 10, 1984  

 

 

 

 

 

 
(1973)** - The tall buildings in downtown Los Angeles rise above a blanket of smog.  

 

Historical Notes

Most of smog found in Los Angeles is a type of air pollution derived from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines and industrial fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog. *^

 

 

 

 
(1982)^ – Aerial view of DTLA from over the Santa Monica and Harbor Freeways interchange on a smoggy day.  

 

 

 

 

 
(ca. 1979)* - View from Elysian Park looking south along the Pasadena Freeway from Buena Vista Drive about 11:00 a.m.  Downtown Los Angeles office buildings nearly disappear into the smog.  

 

 

 

 

 
(1993)^^ - The Los Angeles skyline shrouded in smog as seen from the 1st street bridge in July 1993.  

 

Historical Notes

In 1993, bowing to pressure to do its part to revive the sluggish economy, the AQMD approved a program that allowed major polluters to trade emission credits among themselves. The program, dubbed RECLAIM, proved ineffective and fed the agency’s soft-on-the-bad-guys reputation that continues to this day.

Some 58 bills were introduced in Sacramento that would exert control over the AQMD and state Air Resources Board and make them more business-friendly. *

 

 

 

 
(1990s)** – View of the downtown LA skyline through a thick layer of smog as seen from Hollywood. Photo by Ron Eisenberg / Time Magazine  

 

Historical Notes

IIn 1996, the ‘Big Seven’ automakers committed to make zero-emissions vehicles, and General Motors rolled out the EV-1.

 

 

 

 
(2003)^^ – The downtown Los Angeles skyline peaks out above a layer of smog as seen from Griffith Park.  

 

Historical Notes

In 2003, automakers went to court and effectively eliminate the state’s zero-emissions vehicle standards.

 

 

 

 
(2015)^^ – Downtown skyscrapers reflect the light from the setting sun as seen from more than 20 miles away on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. (Los Agneles Times)  

 

Historical Notes

The year 2000 saw a milestone in that no Stage One smog alerts were issued for that year, compared to 42 days in 1990, when people with respiratory problems were urged to stay indoors.*#

 

 

 

 
(2005)++ – Panoramic view looking northeast showing downtown Los Angeles, with snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains in the background.  The Harbor Freeway and LA Convention Center are in the foreground. Photo by Daniel Castro  

 

Historical Notes

Although a pristine view of the downtown skyline may still elude Angelenos on most days, air pollution rarely cripples the city in present times as it did in the mid-twentieth century. Severe smog has largely abated.  This was all due to citizen activism, scientific advances, and landmark environmental legislation that allowed the EPA to regulate air pollutants.^

 

 

 

 
(2013)*^ – A slightly different angle view also showing downtown Los Angeles with the beautiful snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains in the background.  City Hall is seen at lower center-right. Once the tallest building in Los Angeles (1928 thru 1964), City Hall is now dwarfed by scores of other high-rise buildings.  Photo by Todd Jones  

 

Historical Notes

In the 1970s and '80s, the Los Angeles region often saw more than 200 bad-air days a year, with ozone levels exceeding 300 parts per billion on the smoggiest summer days. Peak ozone concentrations have dropped to about a third of that, even as the region’s population has grown and the number of vehicle miles traveled has doubled.

The success of emissions standards that began more than four decades ago, especially The Clean Air Acts of 1970 and 1977, has slashed air pollution in Southern California by 70% since 1970.^^ 

 

 

 

 
(2008)## - Aerial view of Downtown Los Angeles with Wilshire Blvd in the background heading off to the west. Photo by Ron Reiring  

 

Historical Notes

Over the past several decades, California officials set groundbreaking standards that phased out many inefficient car and truck engines and some of the dirtiest fuels for everything from jet skis and lawnmowers to school buses and heavy-duty trucks. Local smog-fighters in the Los Angeles basin forced cleanup of oil refineries, manufacturing plants, and consumer products such as paints and solvents. Other local and state programs offered incentives for replacing old trucks and buses.

The result: Some of the most problematic pollutants-smog-forming nitrogen dioxide and fine particles created by diesel-engine exhaust and other fossil fuels-declined in the worst neighborhoods by up to 50 percent in 20 years.^*

Much more can still be done.

 

 

 

Then and Now

 
(1959 vs. 2022)* - Looking south on Broadway at 1st Street in DTLA.  

 

 

 

 

Then and Now

 
(1950s vs 2022)* - Looking west on 2nd Street from Hill Street towards Bunker Hill, DTLA.  

 

 

 

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Other Sections of Interest

 

Early City Views (1800s)

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Water in Early Los Angeles

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Water and Power in Early LA

 

 

 

 

 

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References and Credits

* LA Public Library Image Archive

^ KCET: LA's Smoggy Past in Photos;

** UCLA Library Digital Archive

*# USC Digital Library

+# LA Weekly: History of Smog

#+ AQMD - The Southlands War on Smog

#^ LA Smog: The Battle Against Air Pollution

^^ LA Times: Los Angeles Under Cover - Smog Through the Years; New Attack on California's Dirty Air

++ City-Data.com: Los Angeles

+^ Facebook.com: SoCal Historical Architecture

#* Facebook.com: Photos of Los Angeles

## Flickr-Los Angeles in Good Light - Ron Reiring

*^ Wikipedia

^* National Geographic: As Smog Thins in L.A., Dramatic Evidence of Kids' Healthier Lungs

^# WIRED: July 26, 1943: L.A. Gets First Big Smog

 

 

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