"Go from long beach to downtown in just a few minutes" How times have changed.

Moved from Michigan to California in November of '69 and have never felt so blessed. We left blizzard conditions and when we woke up the first morning, all we had was the cloud cover so common to the area during the early part of the day. I thought I had gone to Heaven and walked around in a T-shirt while the locals had jackets and sweaters on. An awesome place to grow up, however, its now so over-crowded you can't get to the grocery store in less than half an hour. And everything is dirty now, w/ trash flying around in dust devils and most places looking dilapidated and in general disrepair. Very sad to see urban blight in such a once beautiful place.

I was 7 back then, living in Granda Hills. My dad was a cabinet maker for new homes being built in the valley.

LA has become a favourite place for camping.

I have been living in L.A county for nearly 50 years, I love California specially for the weather, beaches and the mountains. For me, the west still the best.

LA looks so futuristic even back in 1961

Sigh...If only Los Angeles were still like this in 2019.

People wouldn't believe what a great place California was to live up until the 1990s .

As an Eastern European I've always dreamed to go... maybe live in Los Angeles. After 20 years of having this big wish I had the opportunity to spend a week for the first time in LA and I loved it, simply loved it. I would go back in a heartbeat if I could. Planing on spending a whole summer next next year.

I was born in LA. I loved living in the suburbs back in the 1960's. I always wished my mom didnt transplant us to AZ. California is still in my heart and it will always be my home.

I was 8 in 1961 the LA River was my bicycle highway to get around the city. Can you believe it a bunch of kids riding around all day having fun. NOT ANYMORE!!

This narrator is phenomenal! He boils everything down to a kindergarten level. He's on another video from the '50s about flying from Chicago to New York, and it is like, "This is Bob. Bob is a pilot. A pilot flies a plane. Planes fly in the air." He's a riot once you realize it's the same guy. "Some people like to live in trailers." Ah, the good old days.

Well, one thing improved and that's the air. I grew up in Pasadena from 1959-70. You could feel the smog settle in your lungs and it would sting your eyes and make them tear up. Smog alerts would often cancel recess at school or send us home early. Other than that the quality of life was awesome and I took it for granted

It's interesting how the "suburbs" they mention in the videos, like Van Nuys and Compton, are today basically part of the core urban agglomeration. Today the suburbs are places like Victorville and Lancaster. It's also interesting how, even in 1961, he noted that the freeways jam every day and new mass transit solutions will be needed. 60 years later, they've made some progress, but there's still a long way to go.

The irony of the narration mentioning the already clogged freeways when this was the year they dismantled the Pacific Electric rail network which served the region well.

it was good while it lasted - I am truly grateful to have grown up in So Cal. it was an AMAZING place to be a kid in the 1980s

This historical mini-documentary of 1961 Los Angeles is a gem, thanks a lot for this!

my mother was born in LA 1930 and grew up there. She talked about a guy she worked with that bought up houses that were being moved to put in the freeways. He got em really cheap and moved them to lots he bought. Rented them out and quit his job to be a full time landlord. I was born there in '61 and i remember the sky being so smoggy by '69 that it was like a permanent fog bank over the city. Good to see that the smog is much less nowdays.

I bet ppl were saying how much of a shithole its turned into in 1961. How times were better in 1903.

As a Canadian this was quite interesting in that I was able to watch it as if it was made in, say, 2015. The only things I've known of L.A. is urban sprawl, smog, recently some water problems and, for some odd reason, the city hall. I've connected that building with L.A. for decades. I'm sure Los Angeles natives would love to see their city through a foreigner's eyes in addition to their own.

I'm from DC been visiting LA since the 80's still love the place to visit, I was there about a month ago, it was 95 degrees in DC with humidity to match, the 2 days I was in LA the temps were like 74 degrees with a nice breeze. man it felt good.

This may be one of the best and under rated videos on you tube.

My mom would have been attending Henry T. Gage Junior High in Huntington Park when this was filmed. If you look to the back of her senior yearbook from H.P. High in 1966, you'll see a section for "Non-English Speaking" for the first time. The writing was on the wall!

Moved to Los Angeles area in 1959 and loved it, always felt safe and home like. Wouldn't go back these days on a bet.

We arrived in Los Angeles April of 1961, 59 years ago. Los Angeles was the promised land! What happened?

I wish to add to the chorus of people saying: "thank you for posting this!". This is just AWESOME. Thank you.

I lived in L.A. from 80-87. Horrible to see what's happened to the city since then. The same thing applies to San Francisco.

Good days for LA is over. As current resident of CA, looking forward to moving out to Vegas!

This was around the time of Beach Boys. It was all downhill from there.

The traffic was so light.

I was a sophomore in high school, West Covina was full of orange groves. Most cities were not connected. California went from Golden State to the Cesspool state.

It’s so cool seeing DTLA in 1961. At this time, my grandparents were living in Watts. My grandpa just came home from the Army, stationed out in Germany. In ‘61 he was in college and working. A year later, my mom was born. My grandpa was studying computers, and a few years later, 1969, he was hired at I.B.M. His office was on the 19th floor of what is now the KPMG building. Located on Bunker Hill, at one of the 2 towers of the Wells Fargo Center. From ‘69 to ‘92, DTLA was his office, until he transferred to the Bay Area. I hold the city of L.A. close to my heart. As a photographer, beat maker, and artist, it inspires me. #deeplyrootedinlosangeles

ALL I CAN SAY IS........"NOT ANYMORE"!!!!!

I first saw LA in 1961 - the freeway construction was going full speed ahead at this time.

LA in 2049 will definitely look like the blade runner 2049 movie. It’s already happening.

It will never get better. LA and California are done for..

The crane known as Herman the German is seen in Long Beach toward the end of the film. This crane was not used for cargo, but was used by the Navy Yard.

Amazing! I was born in LA just six years previous to this! Watching this makes me want to visit LA again.

While it is very sad that SoCal sucks in some ways these days, at least i was lucky enough to be born there, and spend most of youth there, from early 60's on! It really was a GREAT place to live and grow up!!!! I miss the Pike, and beaches, but more importantly, the people back then!!!!!!!!!!

a growing and evolving landscape, to this day, thanks for the video

that's crazy..at 13:04 my town..san pedro..i was 6 then...i can see our house..lol

VERY interesting; Thanks

Great film. Very informative from a historical point of view. Good Lord, L.A . Is huge.

I moved to CA in 1978, still love it, great weather and many outdoor and indoor activities year round.

Awesome video!

This was filmed in the era of Beverly Hillbillies. I remember some of the location shots.

Always seems strange when you read comments that people used to live in a place but wouldn't go back because they are afraid. I went to LA for the first time in 2022, walked all over the place, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, the Marina district, Hollywood, it was all perfectly fine. Didn't even need a bodyguard. I'm looking forward to going back for another visit.

I wish I had seen this film in my school years in the LAUSD. It would have helped me to get around when I became homeless & was forced to walk instead of driving. I no longer live there, but I will always love Los Angeles & the surrounding area. I was sad to see the free county hospital slip away from the people. But that's a sign of the times when too many people come into an area & they don't have the money to pay for their medical needs. New subscriber! Nice footage of a time gone by.

It was an amazing place back then. Van Nuys/Panorama city is a ghetto now. Maybe some day it will be gentrified into something nice again. Thats happened a lot over the years. L.A. had good paying jobs then. The smog was awful, but the sunshine made up for it, plus the affordable houses were nicely built, and public schools were top rated. And driving was a breeze. We were a modest lot then. Now everything is over the top. This is when L.A.s middle class reigned, up until the late 1980s. There are advantages today, cleaner air, diversity in culture, way more choices in schools, things to do, and transportation other that car travel, and the weather still can't be beat. But, I do miss driving, when it was fun to do so. Now, just too many people and traffic :( Maybe the self driving cars will eventually solve the traffic problems. Lets hope. Through all the changes, I still love living here. :)

They were already building into the mountains back then? woah

Super cool to explore yesteryear LA! Thanks for the post.

So much better in the 1950’s/1960’s...my parents and I moved when I was 12 to SoCal in 1956 from Elmhurst/Chicago, Illinois; it was sooo beautiful then, I was in love❣️

The soundtrack is so good

Really interesting thank you.

I was 7 then, living in Granada Hills California.

Magnificent short film, with breathtaking aerial views. Thank you for posting! The wonderful narrator sounds to me like Gene Wilder.

I love the year 1961❤️& 63

I still live in those suburbs shown. My family has had the same house since 1957 when my grandparents paid $16,000 and no down payment (my grandpa was a veteran).

My Dad worked for RCA factory electronic in Van Nuys near Bud Weiser since 56. He also lived In Down Town and worked as a postal man before us kids were born. The oldest my sister in 1961 in the bay area of Redondo Beach. Industry intertainment weather. I remember smogg alert daily. I didn't know my cousins some born in the late 50s were part of echo lake silver lake area. Good to see true heart of Los Angeles

The shots of the LA River are priceless!!!!

We moved to LA in '55 and I was too young to think of urban growth - I probably assumed it had always been there and it was really nice. Lived a walk from Redondo Beach, surfed LA beaches 50s and 60s. Late 60s brought over population and urban problems and by the late 70s we were gone; no more LA. Now 2016 the only way I would enter LA is with Godzilla as body guard. But i haven't seen him lately. I fear the big one and following Tsunami; LA has Tsunami zones now, just like Orange County and San Diego. The sea water surrounding the LA basin has nearly gone to jelly it's so polluted. LA was once beautiful and prosperous, now it is a viral urban pathology.

It seemed that California was THE place to move to be in the '60s; now it seems to be a place to avoid.

Thank you for info on my home city

very good film !!!

Too bad they took all the agriculture away.

Wow it was so different then.

amazing video!

in the opening looking at the dark area behind and left of the iconic City Hall, this is Bunker Hill, which along with many other specific 'hills' in this downtown area, were eliminated later.

The people from that time would be ashamed of the present people.

When living in LA County was bearable.

WOW look how clean the air is!! He said 25 million people would live there in 50 years, well its been 60 years now and there are 3 million people in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles has more cars than anywhere in the world, man, and that was almost 60 years ago!, I was 8., Lived in and mainly grew up in the Pico-Robertson Area.

11:06 "...some like to live in trailers" LOL!

I Love L.A.!!!

good stuff Bud.. cheers from the LBC

The L.A. area WAS a good place to grow up and live (mostly Arcadia/Sierra Madre) when I was there. An hour from the mountains/beaches and a little more to the desert. Now it's a swamp. Left 10 years ago and never looked back. Still keep in touch with friends but that's about it. And I sure miss my base ball. GO DODGERS!

GAVIN HAS DESTROYED THE MIDDLE CLASS. KICK HIM OUT !

They never mentioned the weather being great.

At 25:43 the film shows the Aliso St natural gas storage tanks. I recall seeing those tanks for years off the 10 freeway where it becomes 101. ( They were next to Brew 102. ) Now all the natural gas for the southland is stored in Aliso Canyon.

Great video.

I LOVE MY BEAUTIFUL CITY , BORN AND RAISED IN THE CITY OF ANGELS.

Wow so green and clean...man, things have really changed in 55 years! Now it's dirty and brown!

It's suffocating, and I was in Orange County. Now we're in the Great Cascades between two lakes next to the Mighty Cowlitz River. Good luck in the jungle

Looks significantly cleaner almost too clean its crazy to see i cant even imagine the city looking anything like this

Back when Compton was considered the suburbs and not the inner city.

This is great historical footage! Awful to read comments full of such hatred and bigotry. I guess the internet is where people become emboldened with a false sense of courage. Pitiful. A+ footage however.

this is amazing

Fascinating, and logical, Jim.

Many dont realize this was already the beginning of the downfall of LA, shifting to car culture and destroying the streetcar that connected LA OC and the IE

The filmmakers must've had to wait for days for the air to briefly be clear and smog-free enough to shoot this footage.

Wonderful

Wow. So nice and clean then. Expensive to live in CA because this is where everybody wants to live.

still growing.

luv Los Angeles Echo Park

This video is heartbreaking!

Two things I thought were interesting: 1) They didn't show Dodger Stadium under construction, but you get a brief shot of the Coliseum laid out for baseball. 2) The hypothetical "completed" freeway system shows the Long Beach Freeway going to Pasadena. When's _that_ gonna happen!?

Yah...now I dream of leaving this metropolis.

Los Angeles was beautiful back in those days when Debbie Reynolds was just a high school girl in Burbank. I had to leave Orange County in the Sixties as I saw the writing on the wall.

Amazing view!..city hall was the tallest building!

Thanks and Disneyland was fascinating in that era.