I lived in Northridge ca during 70's and 80's. I was a kid in 70's, best memories ever. Up at sunrise and gone all day on my bike and eating oranges from trees all day. Home at dinner. No stress, no worries. Just good times
I lived in Northridge at the same time. I was in Porter Ranch off of Tampa and Rinaldi. Up in the hills a bit on Thunderbird ave. How cool was it when E.T. Came out and, you knew some of the locations?!
@@racafritz yeah man I had friends that lived in your neighborhood. I saw ET at Northridge fashion center. I loved Porter ranch before it got all built up with homes. I used to swing on a cool rope up there that would go over a deep ravine.
brock Lee the ravine at the bottom of the hills along Tampa? If so, that was the view from my house! It sucked when they put those homes on the hills. The fashion center pre earthquake was the best. Bullocks, Broadway, Orange Julius oh, and that crappy restaurant called Fiddlers Three! What part of Northridge did you grow up?
@@racafritz yeah it was the ravine off Tampa. Classic man. I agree the Northridge mall was legit. Orange julius was way better back then. Good memories for sure. Too bad everything got overcrowded and got worse.
No computers, no mobile phones -- a lot of time to spend with family and friends and trying to find interesting things to do during the summer breaks. The 70's and 80's sure was different and i loved them decades for it. ^^
They did have computers in 1977, but mainly on college campuses or with the federal government. We had "pong" at our house that year- a video game that you had to hook up to the TV to play.
Theme Park Patrol. I was born in the 90's and caught the very last end of American life before the internet absolutely chained us in doors. It was such an amazing time. People were real, raw, rugged. They were humans. Now everyone is on edge, suspicious, paranoid, anxious, depressed, stressed, jaded and moody. It's almost like the internet exposed to too much at once and we all feel like we know all there is to know about one another. Nothing is novel anymore. Yet we're still on this ridiculous thing every day. I hate the internet like a heroin addict hates black tar.
John, you filmed this on 16mm? Do you have the original reels? This looks like it was transferred to VHS or something. There are companies that can upscale the originals to 4k and HD. It would bring new life into some of these.
How great our life was in the 70´s! we didn´t have all this technology and that, gave us great opportunities to meet other people face to face, not like today. I simply loved this clip! Congrats!
Floydian76 yes this!!! The block party reminded me of my parents when they were young and all their friends getting together every family in the neighborhood. That must have been awesome!💗
@Adam Kowalski your an idiot. Illegals make California go round. No gardeners , no real hard working construction workers , no one to clean toilets or your damn house. Y'all would lose your privilege minds without immigrants.
that was the golden years I remember it all. going to Disneyland still have the pictures and bell bottoms were in. notice everyone was outside playing having fun. .not like today's playing video games. . and Disneyland was cheaper to enjoy with family and friends now is costs half your check to go to Disneyland with family and friends. . thanks for sharing my memory's.
@@jasoncampbell2365 That was the first time I went (was 10 years old) was in the summer of 1977. Space Mountain had just open up there & the line to ride it was insane. It was a 3 hour wait (or longer) to ride that damn attraction back in the day.
I grew up in the Bay Area, but my dad was from Socal. Every now and again, he would take me down to visit his family, my mom hated Los Angeles, and refused to go. We drove through Boyle Heights, San Fernando Valley, Riverside and San Diego. The video allows me to remember how far less crowded Socal was nearly forty years ago, in fact, the first sheep I ever saw were on Beach Blvd in Huntington Beach. All that remarkably fertile farmland was destroyed to create the artifacts for a "modern" life, all of the rivers that flowed from mountain to ocean had long been herded into evaporation ponds. Dry, dusty, lot less lush than home, but a fascinating place, nevertheless....
I was 16 in California when this was filmed and watching this makes me feel pretty old. You don't realize how much time has passed until you see a reminder like this.
So True. Bethany Bible College. Gone. Scottville, California [right by Santa Cruz]. Sunflower Natural Foods & Restaurant, 1977. Santa Cruz Avenue. “We May Never pass this way again.” : Seals and Croft.
People got up and actually did things. No Facebook for hours on end, no extravagant videogames that take months to complete, no "social media" making people lazy. People then simply didn't sit on their butt all day and night.
Actually...the 1970s were the big boom of processed food and obesity started to become a gradual problem, but yes people were thinner. Doesn’t necessarily mean they were healthier :)
That's right, it wasn't as rampant as it is today, but even junk food was made different as it is today. T V dinners still tasted like real food, the other day I actually bought one only to throw it in the trash lol.
Brings me right back to my childhood. I lived in Cali from 1965 to 1978. I do remember those days. Dick Haynes at the reigns KLAC. the swap meet at the drive ins. The North woods inn restaurant. KRLA was the rock station. and Jerry Dunfee was at ABC channel 7. can't forget Cal Worthington. dealership. This really makes me home sick.. Thank you for this video.
760jjsole The good part of electronics is the vast information you get in seconds that would take a huge amounts of time otherwise. The time I spent at the library and the expense my parents put out for encyclopedias. Who knows what will be available in 30 years from now. ; D
760jjsole but don't judge we had our share of 70s tech for instance the mattel electronic football game , the pong and asteroids arcade machines and the space invaders game, and for tv well remember because in our time of the 70s the tvs were huge ,bulky , and not much color out of and well music really the only thing tech related was a record player and we had to buy the records for 14,15 dollars and when we got home you would put the needle on the record and when you listened to it ,it felt like if you were in heaven .
760jjsole, there's a real, albeit slow awakening taking place. People are getting fed up with the whole social media, internet, reality TV bullshit that's being dumped onto us. We're being profited off of it. Before we know it, the internet, hopefully, will be like the TV or the phone. People were fascinated by it when they were first around, but they eventually just became tools, no more, no less. It didn't disrupt people from living their real lives. Of course the internet is entirely different, but one can only hope...
Well your Generation wanted it so bad, even before baby boomers. "Space Odyssey 2001" then after baby boomers "Back to the Future" smh y'all created the problem now what to blame it on someone else. Also let me not forget StarTrack and the Jetsons smh.
I don’t know why I am such a nostalgic person but I feel an extreme nostalgic and dreamy feeling towards this I guess I will just imagine and enjoy my time
Not hard to feel nostalgic if you lived there in that period and compare it to the shape it's in today. I loved growing up there; I've always loved California and its diverse culture, history, geography, geology, and the limitless opportunities to make a good living and find places to go and things to see and do; and so it breaks my heart to see what's become of my native state. As much as I pine for the California I grew up in, there is no way in hell that I would move back to SoCal in its present state.
@@jai7184 I'm living in the Pac NW, been up here 31 years now. My career has been pretty good to me and I love it up here -- but it ain't Cali. And the politics up here are no different, just not quite as populated where I'm at.
Jeffrey Wiseman People in the affluent white suburbs where I lived had a good standard of living but seemed to work very hard and were worried about health insurance. In the UK we have universal health insurance and everybody gets a month’s paid vacation every year. Also, I had always thought of the US as the land of freedom and equality (the Pilgrim Fathers sailed to escape oppression) and the poverty of East LA, Watts and other areas was distressing. I felt menace and didn’t get out of the car when filming in some neighbourhoods.
SEEMS wonderful, and by modern-day comparison it might've been in some cases. But every generation has its share of +'s and (-)'s. I was born and raised in L.A., with the good fortune of having a father who made a lot of money there in RE development. It allowed us to live comfortably in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach, and so when I'd turn on the news and watch rioting in Watts barely 8 or 9 miles away, it drove home a serious disconnect between the life I'd grown up in and the lives of so many others just a few miles inland who were red-lined into poverty and vice. As a 10 y/o I had a hard time reconciling the two worlds I saw on the news but it struck fear in my heart and because of that there were areas of L.A. I wanted no part of. I will say, from the perspective of someone who grew up there, that the 70s was a lost decade for many of us -- burned out from the upheaval of the 60s and people turning inward seeking fulfillment and purpose. Certainly the toughest 10 years of my life and I wouldn't want to repeat it.
8:01 I think I just hit the jackpot! That’s definitely my dad at 20 and his 1969 Monte Carlo called (El tercer deseo), i have photographs of it and my dad still has the keys for it! The car was stolen in 1988 and found stripped which was a total loss! My dad is very amused to see footage of him and the car and said he misses that hair very much hahaha
1976 was the first year that I came over from Europe, as a teenager, to visit my relatives who all lived in Glendale at that time. It was so special and impressive for me too as a young person. Also meeting my cousins highschool friends. Later on, the family moved to La Crescenta and Las Vegas. Visited them several times. But the seventies was the most special era. Wish I could also go back there in the sixties. That gives me a special feeling.
I remember summers of bike riding and running around thru yards jumping fences, exploring abondonded places , junkyards, drinking out of water hoses. And like that radio broadcast YES IM FINDING JESUS.! YALL BE GOOD
You really captured the era real well John. I was turning 9 in the fall of '77. I remember the music and ads on the radio of the era well. it brings back memories of a simpler time. My biggest memories were Star Wars being released and Elvis dying. I grew up in Canada so culturally it wasn't that far off the US. Thanks for sharing this. Peace
+randy moyan - I agree. '77 was good and lousy for me. I remember seeing Star Wars at the Chinese Theater, getting my first guitar, and then the summer of '77, particularly August 16th, where I was watching TV in the afternoon, and they broke in with the news of Elvis' death, which bummed me out the rest of the summer.
I was a senior in high school and remember that time well. It's sad how much has changed and how much hasn't. More than anything, this film reminds one to enjoy every moment, because they don't last.
I was born in '73 Gardena and lived in LA till '81. I'm a Bay Area native now, but will never forget the So Cal sunsets. My go to spots were Manhattan and Redondo Beaches. Loved going to Shakey's back in the day. Hanging with my cuzzins in East LA Whittier and Brooklyn Streets. Good times. DODGERS LAKERS !!!
As someone who was a kid back then, I can attest that the mustard yellow blanket that smothered the city was smog, and not a camera defect. There air was downright terrible. Although the skies aren't as smoggy in L.A. these days, the air quality is still the worst in the nation.
5 bucks to get into Disneyland, and lots of skateboard time, fresh oranges- we also had a huge strawberry farm behind our house in GG, and neighbor shared fresh guavas from her tree, so fruit everywhere-grocery shopping at Vons and Alpha Beta, Angels games, and going to Huntington with plenty of parking spaces and nice cool waves🤙 We had no idea what we had. Now I’m freezing in the Midwest in May wishing for all those sunny days....
I find this totally fascinating as I was born in July of 1977 and don't have any memories of this time. It's really cool to get an idea of what life was like around the time I was born. Thank you for putting this together and posting it.
At 5:31 A bicycle Rodeo...I remember getting so excited when we had them in our neighborhood in the 60's and 70's. Love those old bikes with the banana seats, high handlebars, and sissy bars!
What an amazing video, such a privilege to look back in time. I have not lived through those times since I was born in 85 but anytime I watch these videos I get nostalgic regardless. It saddens me seeing kids on phones and tablets these days. I grew up in the 90s, best time ever!!
I don't have the words to express how homesick this video makes me. I miss those days so much. I guess probably because it's the last time I remember being happy. I was too young to understand the tragedy that stole my life. I wish I could make the world understand how important love is. And how hate and anger have no place in our lives. Life is short is an understatement. People don't know how short it is until they're staring down the Reaper and his scythe.
Many thanks for your comments. As it happens, I did submit this for entry to film school but it didn't conform to the aesthetic of the time. I was told at a UK film festival that it needed a British voice-over to explain it - but I eschew voice over! It's only been appreciated since I uploaded it to RUclips. It's on 16mm film and could probably be re-transferred as you suggest. Thanks again for your kind remaks.
I have lived in Los Angeles from 1973, since I came from Juarez Mexico, I lived in Pico Rivera in 1974, in East Los Angeles from 1975-1980, and then in Huntington Park in 1981-1987, and 1988-2004 in the area of Florence, (near of South Central), and 2006 to now February-14-2021 in South Gate
What's so crazy is that grandma at 6:27 probably was old enough to remember a time when you would need to take your horse downtown to get groceries. No Fridge, no electricity, no phone or TV when she was a kid. SOOOO much changed in the 20th Century!
Just an observation of reality, worth pointing out. In the comments for these kind of videos, there's a repeated refrain of how much better the world was. Believe me, THESE are the good old days, in a lot of ways. Be grateful, and learn from the past using a critical eye.
That when you actually were able to see kids playing outside, when you knew your neighbors when everyone look at you when you talking not to your cellphone 📱 technology helps but also destroy a lot more
This clip proves that how normal and healthy life was. Getting old in the era of tight yoga pants, social crap, ugly music and plastic cars is SUCK!!! I wish there is a time machine.
Wow the year and town I was born Oct 14 1977 @ General Hospital nearly 43 yrs ago! life is but an instant in time saving for posterity vision of our past that will never be again priceless .. imagine thousands years from if we humans as a species still exist what will they think of us the innumerable what ifs that would have come and gone ...
Born in Long Beach 1976 and raised in Compton. I was too young at the time of this filming to appreciate the simplicity of life then. Love the visuals and soundtrack, especially the finale with Disneyland and the Main Street Electrical Parade, which I remembered seeing in 1981.
Thanks for the appreciation! The past usually looks better than the present, but you can see the smog and the startling differences between the different districts of greater Los Angeles.
I was a kid that grew up in the mid west in the 70's...my impressions of what LA was all from TV in those days...The Brady Bunch, Sanford & son, The tonight show, ADAM-12, Dragnet...also The Beach Boys music...
Dang, integration of schools was still an issue in 1977! Smh! Amazing footage and songs! Feel nostalgic about a time that I wasn't even close to being alive in. Sad, people are so into themselves and their phones now.
1977 was the first year kids from the Eastside were bused to once all white schools in the Valley. My brother took a bus to Mount Gleason Jr. High and Verdugo Hills High in Tujunga, Sun Valley. Those neighborhoods presently have more Latinos now than they did in 70s.
People are so into themselves and their phones... as compared to what? CIgarettes? Think back, if your are old enough, you couldn't walk into anybody's home back then and not suffocate from cigarette smoke. Bars and restaurants served food while you could barely see through the air. My parents used to tell me to "go outside and chop wood", if I complained about the air quality. I'll take the "people into their phones" any day of the week, over people into breathing in 10,000 poisonous gases with every puff.
@@BrisLS1 Wow. No one I know had that experience and only a few people in our family smoked and had to go outside if they did. This seemed to be true for nearly all of the people I spoke to about it. So, maybe it depends on how your family and friends thought about it.
@@BrisLS1 That was definitely not my experience in the 70s. I didn't grow up knowing anyone who smoked. Smoking was an issue in the 70s, but it was not an issue with my family or friends.
I know a lot of you are looking at this going "oh man - that was the GOLDEN AGE!!!" I'm 50 years old. Yes - there was a lot of good stuff back then but there was also a lot of crap. Check out the immense amount of smog in the skies. I remember the burnt orange sunsets, the metallic smell in the air, and also my lungs hurting when I'd get home from baseball or soccer practice. As far as if technology is bad or not, I remember many evenings being bored out of my friggin' skull and would have killed to have something like a smartphone! That being said I love the footage here - especially the drive over Kellogg Hill into San Dimas and also along the 210 freeway in Azusa/Irwindale. I grew up in Glendora and now live in San Dimas.
+Jim Wilson You are so right about people romanticizing on this board. I am the same age as you and it was not until probably my late teens that I realized that a burning throat/chest was NOT normal. I remember the "smog days" where we were not allowed to go out to PE or play during lunch because the air quality was so hazardous. Another memory of LA is that almost every summer there would be another LA serial killer roaming the streets. There were much more dangers back then but we accepted risks more in those days than we did today where a child needs 24x7 monitoring or you are negligent as a parent. As for technology, all I needed to keep me occupied as a kid was a transistor radio where I could listen to the Lakers, Angels, Dodgers, Rams. Today, I cant even imagine listening to a sporting even for three hours with no other source of entertainment to keep me occupied.
Maybe because it was too dry. I can’t really remember I was only 3 -4 . I do remember as I was probably 6 that we were getting more rain and it was green like what we see now.
Loved these Great Memories Of growing up in the Greater Los Angeles Area. Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed hearing R.W. Shambach preach again; Jesus is passing this way again 👍🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Mid seventies to mid eighties, there was an unmistakable, prevailing element of patriotism and brotherhood in America that will never be realized again. Generations that came after see it as retro, or ‘groovy’, but the most remarkable part of that time in our past was the exact same thing that gave rise to the American spirit of that time. I’d never try to say it was a better time because every thing was so perfect. Nothing could be further from the truth. However, it was a time when we loved ourselves and every one around us, and people genuinely believed that the government’s main purpose was to govern ‘for the people.’ We watched as American citizens from all walks of life would openly, candidly, express their opinions, and make a difference that you could see in action.
@@josecarranza7555 - 3 months ago someone posted a comment on this video that said: “Cool footage of the 57 freeway going over the 10.” and then you posted this question: “What time stamp? So I’m just replying to your question by telling you where to look in the video. Hope this helps. Take care man. 👊🏼
We lived on 18th street, Longwood ave, Bronson (which is what Charles adopted his stage name), and Citrus ave. Hostess Ding Dongs were bigger and foil wrapped. Pringles and the plastic soda bottles came out in 2 liter bottles, the Marathon and Chocolite candy bars. Ronald McDonald still visited McDonald's restaurants, the banana seat bicycle, the older lady 6:25 was no doubt born in the very early 1900's. I remember the C&R Clothiers commercials 10:40. The rotating signs and the old orange 76 ball 11:53.
Smoov Operata i understand that back then it was just called “Star Wars”...cuz there were no others, just this original -kinda weird to think about but good the movie turned into a franchise 💗
This is brilliant! I grew up in Orange County in the 70s and this captures such a great overall vibe of everything going on. You've created a distinct mood here with both your subject choices and the editing. I love it!
Thank You for the memories, L.A. is my home and I grew up in this town since the late 1960's to the present time. Without a doubt, L.A. back then was better than today! L.A. was less congested and people in general were more polite and dressed better and care about their neighborhoods. I am so glad that I didn't grow up with the techs. people have today, because I had no choice but, to go outside and enjoy life and being with people and developing my social skills. Thank you again for these happy memories!
I live in LA, I wasnt even alive in 77 but I would love to go back to La between 1950-1970s... any of those times would have been the best time to live in LA, cause I would have bought a house and held on to it.
Loved the beginning weather report: “At the Civic Center it’s 70 degrees, that’s 21 Celsius.” Makes me remember when I was a kid in the early 80s and the hybrid metric road signs too! That was a change that should’ve been done. (Don’t worry...we would’ve kept the yard lines for football 🏈 😉)
@@johnmphodgson Very Well Done.. Beautiful actually, I was left in thought of my youth, I'm 46 as of a few days ago, grew up here in Orange County, with Family in L.A. Thank you very much for the Post..
roachtoasties we moved to Cali in 1985, and I clearly remember a Big Mac cost one dollar. Meaning the minimum wage was three Big Macs per hour. Today it is not even two per hour.
Great montage - including the church and religious gatherings. Really captured so much of the vibe and feel of Los Angeles circa 1977. And reminder that air quality was pretty bad back then ...
What a wonderful post. Thank you for your time and effort for posting. Beleave me, California is not the same today. This video represents the very,very,very beginning of the end of what was once a wonderful and beautiful state.
Thanks for posting. This vid is nostalgic for me but also a reminder of why I left there in '78. LA was a wonderland in the late '40's when my family moved there but by 1977, three decades of uncontrolled "free market" growth had turned it into an unattractive, paved-over world of smog, traffic and shopping malls.
Thanks! LA in '77 was a wonderland to us coming from rainy Britain, but I tried in my film to capture the ambivalence I felt even then. It's a shame the original railroads were torn up to build the freeways, which are no longer a viable transport solution. Though the smog is better now (I think).
I lived in Northridge ca during 70's and 80's. I was a kid in 70's, best memories ever. Up at sunrise and gone all day on my bike and eating oranges from trees all day. Home at dinner. No stress, no worries. Just good times
I lived in Northridge at the same time. I was in Porter Ranch off of Tampa and Rinaldi. Up in the hills a bit on Thunderbird ave. How cool was it when E.T. Came out and, you knew some of the locations?!
@@racafritz yeah man I had friends that lived in your neighborhood. I saw ET at Northridge fashion center. I loved Porter ranch before it got all built up with homes. I used to swing on a cool rope up there that would go over a deep ravine.
brock Lee the ravine at the bottom of the hills along Tampa? If so, that was the view from my house! It sucked when they put those homes on the hills. The fashion center pre earthquake was the best. Bullocks, Broadway, Orange Julius oh, and that crappy restaurant called Fiddlers Three! What part of Northridge did you grow up?
@@racafritz yeah it was the ravine off Tampa. Classic man. I agree the Northridge mall was legit. Orange julius was way better back then. Good memories for sure. Too bad everything got overcrowded and got worse.
@@racafritz I lived on sunburst st. I was walking distance from CSUN. I went to prarie street elementary.
Would love to re-live the 70s and 80s again. The two best decades ever. It sucks growing old.
I'm with you..I'm 58 but still feel a part of those good ol daze...lotta fun and craziness!!
I don't like the effects of aging but I'm glad to be alive because it beats the alternative. I'm 65, and 1977 was a pretty damn good year for me.
I was in NYC,the heat wave,the blackout,son of sam...talk about a hot summer!
@@windsorkid7069 What made 1977 a good year for you?
Naww the 50's and 60's were the best 2 decades ever! That was a very magical time to be alive 😎
No computers, no mobile phones -- a lot of time to spend with family and friends and trying to find interesting things to do during the summer breaks. The 70's and 80's sure was different and i loved them decades for it. ^^
They did have computers in 1977, but mainly on college campuses or with the federal government. We had "pong" at our house that year- a video game that you had to hook up to the TV to play.
Theme Park Patrol. I was born in the 90's and caught the very last end of American life before the internet absolutely chained us in doors. It was such an amazing time. People were real, raw, rugged. They were humans. Now everyone is on edge, suspicious, paranoid, anxious, depressed, stressed, jaded and moody. It's almost like the internet exposed to too much at once and we all feel like we know all there is to know about one another. Nothing is novel anymore. Yet we're still on this ridiculous thing every day. I hate the internet like a heroin addict hates black tar.
@@SevenFootPelican haha yea
Noo! those were not computers for regular use, I remember in junior college using the key punch machine to write a simple FORTRAN program...
That was not a computer..
Thanks! Yes, I filmed this in 1976/77 on a pre-war 16mm film camera.
John, you filmed this on 16mm? Do you have the original reels? This looks like it was transferred to VHS or something. There are companies that can upscale the originals to 4k and HD. It would bring new life into some of these.
Thank you for sharing this
@@maxamillion2140 There is a better digital version but it is 24 GB & I can’t upload it to RUclips.
@@johnmphodgson As long as you have it, that's all that matters.
@@johnmphodgson That's nice to hear. Glad you still have it.
How great our life was in the 70´s! we didn´t have all this technology and that, gave us great opportunities to meet other people face to face, not like today. I simply loved this clip! Congrats!
Floydian76 yes this!!! The block party reminded me of my parents when they were young and all their friends getting together every family in the neighborhood. That must have been awesome!💗
Was 20 yrs old in 77. Lived it. Loved it. Much love and hurt. Early 70's and 60's were more pure. Miss those simple days.
back when all us kids would be out side playing.
until it was too dark to see no more
or until your parents called for you or told you to be home before the lights came on.
sportster1988, this was also before the government allowed bigagra to fill our food with chemicals and preservatives.
A 12 ounce can of soda was all the soda you wanted.
unless there were smog alerts...
I’d turn back time in a second to 1970 Cali if I could. I wouldn’t give you a dime for it today.
Jeff Barnes we don’t want your Stinkin’ dime anyway. We don’t need your ilk around here.
@@alvarofavela2918 What exactly is his "ilk?"
@Adam Kowalski your an idiot. Illegals make California go round. No gardeners , no real hard working construction workers , no one to clean toilets or your damn house. Y'all would lose your privilege minds without immigrants.
@Adam Kowalski Truth!
Don’t call it Cali.😡
that was the golden years
I remember it all. going to Disneyland still have the pictures and bell bottoms were in. notice everyone was outside playing having fun. .not like today's playing video games. . and Disneyland was cheaper to enjoy with family and friends now is costs half your check to go to Disneyland with family and friends. .
thanks for sharing my memory's.
Disneyland also had the ticket books
It costs about two of my checks if I want it to be real fun.
One of my earliest childhood memories was going to Disneyland at the age of four in the summer of 1977.
You are Latino ?
@@jasoncampbell2365 That was the first time I went (was 10 years old) was in the summer of 1977. Space Mountain had just open up there & the line to ride it was insane. It was a 3 hour wait (or longer) to ride that damn attraction back in the day.
Beautiful. Wish I could step into the screen :) Thanks John
The '70s seemed to good to be true.
Same here in Germany.
I agree less racism it was all peace and love
I grew up in the Bay Area, but my dad was from Socal. Every now and again, he would take me down to visit his family, my mom hated Los Angeles, and refused to go. We drove through Boyle Heights, San Fernando Valley, Riverside and San Diego. The video allows me to remember how far less crowded Socal was nearly forty years ago, in fact, the first sheep I ever saw were on Beach Blvd in Huntington Beach. All that remarkably fertile farmland was destroyed to create the artifacts for a "modern" life, all of the rivers that flowed from mountain to ocean had long been herded into evaporation ponds. Dry, dusty, lot less lush than home, but a fascinating place, nevertheless....
I was 16 in California when this was filmed and watching this makes me feel pretty old. You don't realize how much time has passed until you see a reminder like this.
A wonderful time capsule of an America long gone.
Like they sing in the song Beach Baby: "But now it's fading away..."
Vos sOS arg?
So True.
Bethany Bible College. Gone.
Scottville, California
[right by Santa Cruz].
Sunflower Natural Foods & Restaurant, 1977. Santa Cruz Avenue.
“We May Never pass this way again.”
: Seals and Croft.
Sad that the best of America life is long gone
The 70s were wonderful
I had a hot car 69 camaro and a hot girlfriend
Now here in 2019 they are both gone and I’m old lol
At least you lived it and I’m sure it was amazing now you have a memory
Glad you are still here Don !!
rip
Hell yea Don. You had it all man. Damn, Build another 69 Camaro. Round 2 bro :)
Everyone is skinny or fit in this video. Processed food wasn't as rampant as is today. Obesity wasn't even a thing
People got up and actually did things. No Facebook for hours on end, no extravagant videogames that take months to complete, no "social media" making people lazy. People then simply didn't sit on their butt all day and night.
Actually...the 1970s were the big boom of processed food and obesity started to become a gradual problem, but yes people were thinner. Doesn’t necessarily mean they were healthier :)
What? There was lots of processed food. We were at McDonald's a couple times a week and snacking at night on chips pop and Pizza.
@@WinslowLeach1974 they came home and watched TV all night after dinner.
That's right, it wasn't as rampant as it is today, but even junk food was made different as it is today. T V dinners still tasted like real food, the other day I actually bought one only to throw it in the trash lol.
What a great feeling that must have been living in California in the 70’s or earlier.
It was great then in Whittier you could walk the streets, take your girlfriend to the park and not worry about getting shot.
It was. I was there.
Yeap it was. I had long blonde hair.. Vans tennis shoes and bell botton Levi's. Rode our bikes everywhere. Its was so carefree
@@mrsandmom5947 Remember custom made Van's shoes were a big deal? I had mine made in yellow and blue. Those were fun times.
Brings me right back to my childhood. I lived in Cali from 1965 to 1978. I do remember those days. Dick Haynes at the reigns KLAC. the swap meet at the drive ins. The North woods inn restaurant. KRLA was the rock station. and Jerry Dunfee was at ABC channel 7. can't forget Cal Worthington. dealership. This really makes me home sick.. Thank you for this video.
+James Dauphinais Thanks, James!
That's "Dunphy," not "Dunfee."
beat me to it....
KHJ was a rock station too.
It’s not cal Worthington it’s cal Worthington and his dog 🐶 spot
ahh... the good times, when people were outside and kids playing because there was no social media. everyone is stuck on electronic gadgets. shame.
760jjsole The good part of electronics is the vast information you get in seconds that would take a huge amounts of time otherwise. The time I spent at the library and the expense my parents put out for encyclopedias. Who knows what will be available in 30 years from now. ; D
760jjsole but don't judge we had our share of 70s tech for instance the mattel electronic football game , the pong and asteroids arcade machines and the space invaders game, and for tv well remember because in our time of the 70s the tvs were huge ,bulky , and not much color out of and well music really the only thing tech related was a record player and we had to buy the records for 14,15 dollars and when we got home you would put the needle on the record and when you listened to it ,it felt like if you were in heaven .
760jjsole And Disneyland in the 70s had a Futureworld where we could experience tech developments like picture phones - now used by everyone everyday
760jjsole, there's a real, albeit slow awakening taking place. People are getting fed up with the whole social media, internet, reality TV bullshit that's being dumped onto us. We're being profited off of it. Before we know it, the internet, hopefully, will be like the TV or the phone. People were fascinated by it when they were first around, but they eventually just became tools, no more, no less. It didn't disrupt people from living their real lives. Of course the internet is entirely different, but one can only hope...
SevenFoot Pelican That's one of the best posts I've ever read on RUclips. Bless you for putting it in perspective for us.
things will never be same again, technology has ruin humanity.
Much of America turned its back on God, influenced by the liberal media & its use of technology indeed.
He says, typing on a piece of high technology. GROAN
Well your Generation wanted it so bad, even before baby boomers. "Space Odyssey 2001" then after baby boomers "Back to the Future" smh y'all created the problem now what to blame it on someone else. Also let me not forget StarTrack and the Jetsons smh.
@DC PARODIES Air quality in LA sucked in the 70s, but the streets were cleaner and there were no homeless in tents crapping on the streets.
I realize this all the time
I don’t know why I am such a nostalgic person but I feel an extreme nostalgic and dreamy feeling towards this I guess I will just imagine and enjoy my time
Not hard to feel nostalgic if you lived there in that period and compare it to the shape it's in today. I loved growing up there; I've always loved California and its diverse culture, history, geography, geology, and the limitless opportunities to make a good living and find places to go and things to see and do; and so it breaks my heart to see what's become of my native state. As much as I pine for the California I grew up in, there is no way in hell that I would move back to SoCal in its present state.
Brian E where do you reside now ? I left LA too but not so much for the better
@@jai7184 I'm living in the Pac NW, been up here 31 years now. My career has been pretty good to me and I love it up here -- but it ain't Cali. And the politics up here are no different, just not quite as populated where I'm at.
back then Los Angeles seems wonderful.
It was. There was a feeling of hope and optimism, but the strains were already showing.
@@johnmphodgson Out of curiosity, what were the "strains" and their causes?
Jeffrey Wiseman People in the affluent white suburbs where I lived had a good standard of living but seemed to work very hard and were worried about health insurance. In the UK we have universal health insurance and everybody gets a month’s paid vacation every year. Also, I had always thought of the US as the land of freedom and equality (the Pilgrim Fathers sailed to escape oppression) and the poverty of East LA, Watts and other areas was distressing. I felt menace and didn’t get out of the car when filming in some neighbourhoods.
@@johnmphodgson Thank you.
SEEMS wonderful, and by modern-day comparison it might've been in some cases. But every generation has its share of +'s and (-)'s. I was born and raised in L.A., with the good fortune of having a father who made a lot of money there in RE development. It allowed us to live comfortably in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach, and so when I'd turn on the news and watch rioting in Watts barely 8 or 9 miles away, it drove home a serious disconnect between the life I'd grown up in and the lives of so many others just a few miles inland who were red-lined into poverty and vice. As a 10 y/o I had a hard time reconciling the two worlds I saw on the news but it struck fear in my heart and because of that there were areas of L.A. I wanted no part of. I will say, from the perspective of someone who grew up there, that the 70s was a lost decade for many of us -- burned out from the upheaval of the 60s and people turning inward seeking fulfillment and purpose. Certainly the toughest 10 years of my life and I wouldn't want to repeat it.
8:01 I think I just hit the jackpot! That’s definitely my dad at 20 and his 1969 Monte Carlo called (El tercer deseo), i have photographs of it and my dad still has the keys for it! The car was stolen in 1988 and found stripped which was a total loss! My dad is very amused to see footage of him and the car and said he misses that hair very much hahaha
Wow !!
Haha yeah right about
That is too cool.... :D
where was ur driving too lol ???u got instagram would really to see more pics
Sure, Jan.
Thank you John
Class of 74
Great times
Seems like the world has changed a lot
Watching people playing and not in much of a hurry was refreshing
So your like 63 or somewhere around there
Great capture of the era of 77 in LA! Wonderful video!
Born and raised in West Hollywood during the
70’s. It was the best!
I did a lot of swimming pool service work there, before it was incorporated.
1976 was the first year that I came over from Europe, as a teenager, to visit my relatives who all lived in Glendale at that time. It was so special and impressive for me too as a young person. Also meeting my cousins highschool friends. Later on, the family moved to La Crescenta and Las Vegas. Visited them several times. But the seventies was the most special era. Wish I could also go back there in the sixties. That gives me a special feeling.
I lived in Highland Park Glendale in 70s riding my Big Wheel and playing with my Evel Knievel stunt cycle going to Dodger games
I remember summers of bike riding and running around thru yards jumping fences, exploring abondonded places , junkyards, drinking out of water hoses.
And like that radio broadcast YES IM FINDING JESUS.! YALL BE GOOD
You really captured the era real well John. I was turning 9 in the fall of '77. I remember the music and ads on the radio of the era well. it brings back memories of a simpler time. My biggest memories were Star Wars being released and Elvis dying. I grew up in Canada so culturally it wasn't that far off the US. Thanks for sharing this. Peace
+randy moyan - I agree. '77 was good and lousy for me. I remember seeing Star Wars at the Chinese Theater, getting my first guitar, and then the summer of '77, particularly August 16th, where I was watching TV in the afternoon, and they broke in with the news of Elvis' death, which bummed me out the rest of the summer.
I'm the same age, and from Canada as well. This video brought back a lot of childhood memories from the 70's.
Me too.
Back at a time when it was always fun to go to A Park and play.
Wow, this is a wonderful time capsule.
Thanks! I enjoyed trying to catch the moment of '76-'77.
John Hodgson thank you for sharing this.
I was a senior in high school and remember that time well. It's sad how much has changed and how much hasn't. More than anything, this film reminds one to enjoy every moment, because they don't last.
I wish you would do one of Orange County in the 70's- 80's.
I was born in '73 Gardena and lived in LA till '81. I'm a Bay Area native now, but will never forget the So Cal sunsets. My go to spots were Manhattan and Redondo Beaches. Loved going to Shakey's back in the day. Hanging with my cuzzins in East LA Whittier and Brooklyn Streets. Good times. DODGERS LAKERS !!!
As someone who was a kid back then, I can attest that the mustard yellow blanket that smothered the city was smog, and not a camera defect. There air was downright terrible. Although the skies aren't as smoggy in L.A. these days, the air quality is still the worst in the nation.
5 bucks to get into Disneyland, and lots of skateboard time, fresh oranges- we also had a huge strawberry farm behind our house in GG, and neighbor shared fresh guavas from her tree, so fruit everywhere-grocery shopping at Vons and Alpha Beta, Angels games, and going to Huntington with plenty of parking spaces and nice cool waves🤙 We had no idea what we had. Now I’m freezing in the Midwest in May wishing for all those sunny days....
It was paradise to us too, coming from the UK.
I find this totally fascinating as I was born in July of 1977 and don't have any memories of this time. It's really cool to get an idea of what life was like around the time I was born. Thank you for putting this together and posting it.
At 5:31 A bicycle Rodeo...I remember getting so excited when we had them in our neighborhood in the 60's and 70's. Love those old bikes with the banana seats, high handlebars, and sissy bars!
God I miss those times, when life was simpler and enjoyable!! Good stuff Mr. Hodgson
What an amazing video, such a privilege to look back in time. I have not lived through those times since I was born in 85 but anytime I watch these videos I get nostalgic regardless. It saddens me seeing kids on phones and tablets these days. I grew up in the 90s, best time ever!!
I don't have the words to express how homesick this video makes me. I miss those days so much. I guess probably because it's the last time I remember being happy. I was too young to understand the tragedy that stole my life. I wish I could make the world understand how important love is. And how hate and anger have no place in our lives. Life is short is an understatement. People don't know how short it is until they're staring down the Reaper and his scythe.
John, this deserves a proper transfer and restoration. I am very impressed. You captured something about the period. Very cool.
Many thanks for your comments. As it happens, I did submit this for entry to film school but it didn't conform to the aesthetic of the time. I was told at a UK film festival that it needed a British voice-over to explain it - but I eschew voice over! It's only been appreciated since I uploaded it to RUclips. It's on 16mm film and could probably be re-transferred as you suggest. Thanks again for your kind remaks.
I have lived in Los Angeles from 1973, since I came from Juarez Mexico, I lived in Pico Rivera in 1974, in East Los Angeles from 1975-1980, and then in Huntington Park in 1981-1987, and 1988-2004 in the area of Florence, (near of South Central), and 2006 to now February-14-2021 in South Gate
What's so crazy is that grandma at 6:27 probably was old enough to remember a time when you would need to take your horse downtown to get groceries. No Fridge, no electricity, no phone or TV when she was a kid. SOOOO much changed in the 20th Century!
Nixon grew up in a house in Yorba Linda where they kept food cool in a small box under the floorboards surrounded by earth.
Look at all that SMOG!!! WOW!! The entire city is yellow from the stuff!
whiteclifffl yes - often the sky was white rather than blue and you could only see nearby buildings
whiteclifffl I remember it well. No blue sky just light from above.
whiteclifffl So you found something negative about this video!😁
Just an observation of reality, worth pointing out. In the comments for these kind of videos, there's a repeated refrain of how much better the world was. Believe me, THESE are the good old days, in a lot of ways. Be grateful, and learn from the past using a critical eye.
I remember that smog sometimes burning my eyes back then.
That when you actually were able to see kids playing outside, when you knew your neighbors when everyone look at you when you talking not to your cellphone 📱 technology helps but also destroy a lot more
I lived in Watts until 79... No wonder I had severe asthma... Between every adult smoking in the house and that SMOG...😢
Lol the low low hitting switches
Great footage. I love that fact that it is set to AM radio broadcasts of the day.
This clip proves that how normal and healthy life was. Getting old in the era of tight yoga pants, social crap, ugly music and plastic cars is SUCK!!! I wish there is a time machine.
I wish you spoke better english.
Was born and raised in So-Cal, didn't know what clean air was until I moved to Washington State.
@@Jadecrest123 LOL. Yeah I didn't get it until I drove over the mountains.
@Beth Sprung
Yeah and all you Californians moved up here and destroyed what was magical about the Pac NW.
Wow the year and town I was born Oct 14 1977 @ General Hospital nearly 43 yrs ago! life is but an instant in time saving for posterity vision of our past that will never be again priceless .. imagine thousands years from if we humans as a species still exist what will they think of us the innumerable what ifs that would have come and gone ...
Born in Long Beach 1976 and raised in Compton. I was too young at the time of this filming to appreciate the simplicity of life then. Love the visuals and soundtrack, especially the finale with Disneyland and the Main Street Electrical Parade, which I remembered seeing in 1981.
Thanks for the appreciation! The past usually looks better than the present, but you can see the smog and the startling differences between the different districts of greater Los Angeles.
I lived in Paramount, for a short while, across the river from you!
Brought back so many wonderful memories. Thank you so much John.
Oh my goodness, I remember that radio station, KJOY I was like 13.
I was a kid that grew up in the mid west in the 70's...my impressions of what LA was all from TV in those days...The Brady Bunch, Sanford & son, The tonight show, ADAM-12, Dragnet...also The Beach Boys music...
77 We lived in West Los Angeles went to intergrated schools Marina del Ray and Venice high school and loved it
I had a JMC BMX Bike then just came out thought I was King of the World age 10.....
Thank you for playing the radio. Makes it even more nostalgic
Coming from the UK, I was unused to so many radio stations, which seemed to catch something of the spirit.
Dang, integration of schools was still an issue in 1977! Smh! Amazing footage and songs! Feel nostalgic about a time that I wasn't even close to being alive in. Sad, people are so into themselves and their phones now.
normandyangel What are you talking about. Integration was already happening
1977 was the first year kids from the Eastside were bused to once all white schools in the Valley. My brother took a bus to Mount Gleason Jr. High and Verdugo Hills High in Tujunga, Sun Valley. Those neighborhoods presently have more Latinos now than they did in 70s.
People are so into themselves and their phones... as compared to what? CIgarettes? Think back, if your are old enough, you couldn't walk into anybody's home back then and not suffocate from cigarette smoke. Bars and restaurants served food while you could barely see through the air. My parents used to tell me to "go outside and chop wood", if I complained about the air quality. I'll take the "people into their phones" any day of the week, over people into breathing in 10,000 poisonous gases with every puff.
@@BrisLS1 Wow. No one I know had that experience and only a few people in our family smoked and had to go outside if they did. This seemed to be true for nearly all of the people I spoke to about it. So, maybe it depends on how your family and friends thought about it.
@@BrisLS1 That was definitely not my experience in the 70s. I didn't grow up knowing anyone who smoked. Smoking was an issue in the 70s, but it was not an issue with my family or friends.
I was 10 living in Pico Rivera. Best years of my life. Thank you for sharing.
I know a lot of you are looking at this going "oh man - that was the GOLDEN AGE!!!" I'm 50 years old. Yes - there was a lot of good stuff back then but there was also a lot of crap. Check out the immense amount of smog in the skies. I remember the burnt orange sunsets, the metallic smell in the air, and also my lungs hurting when I'd get home from baseball or soccer practice. As far as if technology is bad or not, I remember many evenings being bored out of my friggin' skull and would have killed to have something like a smartphone! That being said I love the footage here - especially the drive over Kellogg Hill into San Dimas and also along the 210 freeway in Azusa/Irwindale. I grew up in Glendora and now live in San Dimas.
+Jim Wilson You are so right about people romanticizing on this board. I am the same age as you and it was not until probably my late teens that I realized that a burning throat/chest was NOT normal. I remember the "smog days" where we were not allowed to go out to PE or play during lunch because the air quality was so hazardous. Another memory of LA is that almost every summer there would be another LA serial killer roaming the streets. There were much more dangers back then but we accepted risks more in those days than we did today where a child needs 24x7 monitoring or you are negligent as a parent.
As for technology, all I needed to keep me occupied as a kid was a transistor radio where I could listen to the Lakers, Angels, Dodgers, Rams. Today, I cant even imagine listening to a sporting even for three hours with no other source of entertainment to keep me occupied.
J
the air quality in L.A was horrible back then...all that unleaded fuel...
Maybe because it was too dry. I can’t really remember I was only 3 -4 . I do remember as I was probably 6 that we were getting more rain and it was green like what we see now.
yeah, too often people talk about their own decade as the best when infact they are just blinded by bias.
These were some good times!!!
Loved these Great Memories Of growing up in the Greater Los Angeles Area. Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed hearing R.W. Shambach preach again; Jesus is passing this way again 👍🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Wow, not a phone in sight, and families actually hung out together outside, enjoying life!
God how I miss those day's in L.A.....thanx for sharing this
I grew up in South Central Los Angeles in those days. These shots look very familiar. I turned 14 in August of 77.
Wow..just wow.. The best times in my life were during these times..
Mid seventies to mid eighties, there was an unmistakable, prevailing element of patriotism and brotherhood in America that will never be realized again. Generations that came after see it as retro, or ‘groovy’, but the most remarkable part of that time in our past was the exact same thing that gave rise to the American spirit of that time. I’d never try to say it was a better time because every thing was so perfect. Nothing could be further from the truth. However, it was a time when we loved ourselves and every one around us, and people genuinely believed that the government’s main purpose was to govern ‘for the people.’ We watched as American citizens from all walks of life would openly, candidly, express their opinions, and make a difference that you could see in action.
Entering the time portal. Thanks for the opportunity !! Enjoying the vibe !!
Cool footage of the 57 freeway going over the 10.
When it was still the 210 going south for a bit.
What time stamp?
@@josecarranza7555 - at minute 7:47
@@chickywilly What?
@@josecarranza7555 - 3 months ago someone posted a comment on this video that said:
“Cool footage of the 57 freeway going over the 10.” and then you posted this question:
“What time stamp?
So I’m just replying to your question by telling you where to look in the video.
Hope this helps. Take care man. 👊🏼
We lived on 18th street, Longwood ave, Bronson (which is what Charles adopted his stage name), and Citrus ave. Hostess Ding Dongs were bigger and foil wrapped. Pringles and the plastic soda bottles came out in 2 liter bottles, the Marathon and Chocolite candy bars. Ronald McDonald still visited McDonald's restaurants, the banana seat bicycle, the older lady 6:25 was no doubt born in the very early 1900's. I remember the C&R Clothiers commercials 10:40. The rotating signs and the old orange 76 ball 11:53.
It certainly was in Orange County, and probably in or near Yorba Linda, where we lived at the time. Thanks for viewing and commenting!
John Hodgson placenta, calif. ❤️👍🏻
The Land of Gracious living....
Hush Money - indeed!
Brings back memories. I lived near LA in the 80s and it was a beautiful place.
I remember in the 70s I used to listen to AM radio then switch to FM in the 80s..
Mighty 690...
Ten Q on am. I was getting hooked on KISS.
Thanks for the memories John, I was sixteen in 77" but I grew up in San Diego, it was So. Cal anyway, wow brings me back, thanks.
I miss those days so much. My Sisters and I talk about them often.
Dang I love this stuff New subscriber. This ephemera is really like a time machine.
Glad you like it. I wrote on my blog about how the movie was made: johnhodgson.org/2020/05/23/how-my-home-movie-became-a-maga-hit/
I was 10 years old in 1977!
I was living in Montebello ca. In 1977😊
Star Wars: A New Hope was released summer 77'
Smoov Operata i understand that back then it was just called “Star Wars”...cuz there were no others, just this original -kinda weird to think about but good the movie turned into a franchise 💗
It was just called .star
Wars in 77.
This is brilliant! I grew up in Orange County in the 70s and this captures such a great overall vibe of everything going on. You've created a distinct mood here with both your subject choices and the editing. I love it!
LOVE THIS!!! Thank you👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thank You for the memories, L.A. is my home and I grew up in this town since the late 1960's to the present time. Without a doubt, L.A. back then was better than today! L.A. was less congested and people in general were more polite and dressed better and care about their neighborhoods. I am so glad that I didn't grow up with the techs. people have today, because I had no choice but, to go outside and enjoy life and being with people and developing my social skills. Thank you again for these happy memories!
LA was still the third largest city when this was shot. It didn’t surpass Chicago until the 1980
Census.
I remember the good old days ,went to Hollywood high school and lived in Hollywood most of my younger years great memories 👍
I live in LA, I wasnt even alive in 77 but I would love to go back to La between 1950-1970s... any of those times would have been the best time to live in LA, cause I would have bought a house and held on to it.
I love this!!! My church, Hill Avenue Grace Lutheran!!! No one is overweight...but the SMOG!
This production is a gem. Thanks for making this John.
Thank you !
Loved the beginning weather report: “At the Civic Center it’s 70 degrees, that’s 21 Celsius.” Makes me remember when I was a kid in the early 80s and the hybrid metric road signs too! That was a change that should’ve been done. (Don’t worry...we would’ve kept the yard lines for football 🏈 😉)
We’ve kept miles in the UK, but most other things are metric. I don’t understand Fahrenheit temperatures when watching US media.
Wow, that was great. I always try to tell my wife how smoggy the '70s were, and you captured it. Thanks!
Incredible documentation of history!! Love the inner-city footage. Brilliant!
Sharp contrast between the two scenes, Latino L.A. and Suburbs.. my life was smack in the middle of both...
Thanks! I was trying to bring out the contrast.
@@johnmphodgson Very Well Done.. Beautiful actually, I was left in thought of my youth, I'm 46 as of a few days ago, grew up here in Orange County, with Family in L.A. Thank you very much for the Post..
I love LA what a great video
Thanks !
60 cent gas was cool, but back then 60 cents was expensive with the minimum wage something close to $2.50 an hour.
roachtoasties we moved to Cali in 1985, and I clearly remember a Big Mac cost one dollar. Meaning the minimum wage was three Big Macs per hour. Today it is not even two per hour.
Great montage - including the church and religious gatherings. Really captured so much of the vibe and feel of Los Angeles circa 1977. And reminder that air quality was pretty bad back then ...
Very nicely done. Inspired use of sound montage.
What a wonderful post.
Thank you for your time and effort for posting.
Beleave me, California is not the same today. This video represents the very,very,very beginning of the end of what was once a wonderful and beautiful state.
there weren't so many grossly obese people back then either.
Tom Julian Not as much welfare.
Because there wasn’t a fast food place every other city block .
I think there was more welfare.
Loved it. I was 7 in 77 growing up in L.A. This video captures the vibe of that time well.
I turned seven in 1977, too. And I grew up in L.A. What part are you from?
@@pudgyloafer9793 Hollywood mainly. Now in Long Beach.
The year I first visited L.A!
Thanks for posting. This vid is nostalgic for me but also a reminder of why I left there in '78. LA was a wonderland in the late '40's when my family moved there but by 1977, three decades of uncontrolled "free market" growth had turned it into an unattractive, paved-over world of smog, traffic and shopping malls.
Thanks! LA in '77 was a wonderland to us coming from rainy Britain, but I tried in my film to capture the ambivalence I felt even then. It's a shame the original railroads were torn up to build the freeways, which are no longer a viable transport solution. Though the smog is better now (I think).
Beautiful decade
You're beautiful too