LA Freeway

On the night of June 23, 1997, boxer Oscar De La Hoya was driving his brother's Mercedes on the 605 Freeway near Whittier. He was in the fast lane and suddenly the car stalled.  He maneuvered the car to the left shoulder but couldn't find his cell phone.  Common wisdom dictates that if your vehicle stalls on the freeway you should wait in the car and call for help.  De La Hoya felt differently.  He opened the car door, waited for a gap in traffic and sprinted across five lanes to the other side of the freeway.  Moments later a massive truck smashed into his Mercedes totaling the car.

All Angelenos have stories of witnessing horrific car accidents or being caught in nightmare traffic jams.  To live in Los Angeles one must make peace with the freeway.  You learn to accept the gridlock and reckless drivers, the ramshackle cars and ever-prowling highway patrol.  In a city that clearly delineates the haves from the have-nots, freeways are the last bastion of true democracy.  Whether you drive a Rolls-Royce or a broken-down Chevy, all drivers have equal access to the freeway.

Charles Bukowski wrote, "When I drive the freeways, I see the soul of humanity of my city and it's ugly, ugly, ugly."  The unwritten rule of freeway driving is to drive aggressively.  Traditional defensive driving is not enough. To signal before a lane change is to guarantee the car behind you will not let you in.  The trick is to quickly change lanes then hit your turn signal as if to say, "That's right man, I just cut you off."

Observing the speed limit is an unforgivable sin.  Posted speed limits are simply suggestions and most people drive 10-15 mph over the limit when traffic is flowing. Tailgating is like a religion on LA freeways.  It's not uncommon to see drivers riding each other's bumpers at 75 mph knowing that a sudden stop would be fatal. Driving LA freeways is like swimming in the ocean.  Everybody does it despite the riptides and sharks and large waves that occasionally claim lives.

Locals refer to the freeways by their route numbers as in "take the 405 to the 101." Each freeway has a distinct character and flavor.  The 405 is the busiest freeway in the world known for its unrelenting traffic jams.  This was the route OJ took during his infamous white Bronco chase and the freeway subject to the Carmageddon closure in 2011.  Driving the 101 is like taking a trek through old Los Angeles.  You pass the Hollywood Bowl, the Capital Records building, the iconic Western Exterminator offices and city hall.  The 5 links Los Angeles to Orange County and is know for its battered roads, narrow lanes and monster traffic jams.

In total, the LA freeway system spans 528 miles.  They are the defining architecture of Los Angeles and as Joan Didion wrote in her novel Play It As It Lays, the freeway is "the only secular communion Los Angeles has."

The history of freeways in the United States is tied to Los Angeles.  In 1901, the Pacific Electric Railroad created a public transit system known as "the Red Car." With its bright red streetcars, the Red Car line was the primary means of transport for people getting around Los Angeles.  It covered 25% more track mileage than New York City's subway line today.

As automobiles became cheap and plentiful, the Red Car began to lose ridership.  Vehicle congestion on local streets became a problem and urban planners spoke about "magic motorways" soaring above and through Los Angeles.  Fearing a loss of control over local commerce, the Southern Pacific Railroad (who owned the Pacific Electric Railroad), lobbied hard against freeway construction.

It took the Automobile Club of Southern California releasing the 1937 Traffic Survey to sway political opinion.  The Survey recommended extensive motorways with cloverleaf interchanges, on-ramps, off-ramps and elevated highways.  Only cars would be allowed though initial plans called for light rail tracks in center lanes.  The roads would be called freeways ("free of charge") to distinguish them from "toll ways" that cost money.

The first Los Angeles freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway, opened in 1940. The six-lane, eight-mile long road linked Pasadena and downtown Los Angeles. The route reduced travel time between the two cities from 27 minutes to 12 minutes.  The original speed limit was 45 mph and the road was designed to carry 27,000 cars per day.  Today, it carries more than 125,000 cars daily.

LA's second freeway, the Hollywood Freeway (the 101) also opened in 1940. Connecting the San Fernando Valley to Hollywood and downtown, the 101 made it easier for people to live in the suburbs and work in the city. Construction required the acquisition and demolition of thousands of homes and buildings via eminent domain.  Among the structures destroyed were Rudolph Valentino's house in Whitley Heights and Los Angeles High School near downtown.  Rubble and debris were dumped in Chavez Ravine, the future home of Dodger Stadium.

After World War II, pro-freeway sentiment prevailed.  In 1947, California passed the Collier-Burns Highway Act that included a 1.5 cent statewide fuel tax for freeway construction.  By 1950, the Red Car line was formally disbanded.

In 1953, a four-level interchange was completed where the 101 connects to the 110 (Harbor Freeway). This was the first stack freeway in the world.  Los Angeles became the model for freeway development and "the stack" became a symbol of local pride.

In 1956, President Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act.  The law authorized $25 billion for construction of a nationwide interstate highway system.  LA freeway construction took off and soon the city had the 405 (1960), the 134 (1960) and the 605 (1964).  Plans also called for a Beverly Hills Freeway linking the 10 to the 101 via La Cienega and Laurel Canyon. Wealthy locals protested and killed the idea.  In contrast, freeway construction through Latino neighborhoods in Boyle Heights, East LA and Lincoln Heights displaced more than a quarter-million people.

The 1973 oil crisis raised fuel prices and increased interest in mass transit. Popular opinion turned against new freeway construction.  Proposition 13 enacted in 1978 further reduced available freeway funds.  The last new freeway to be built in Los Angeles was the 105 (Century Freeway) opening in 1993.

In 1997, the Los Angeles Times reported about bizarre items found on local freeways.  These included $7,000 in quarters on the 101 in 1982; thousands of pounds of M&M's on the 57 (Orange Freeway) in 1986; 14,000 pounds of salsa on the 5 in 1987; and a body from the back of a coroner's van on the 101 in 1989.

In 1969, chickens began appearing on the side of the Hollywood Freeway near Universal Studios.  Apparently, a poultry truck overturned and freed thousands of birds.  Passing motorists killed many of the hens but a colony survived and made homes in the roadside shrubbery.  In the late 70's, the Department of Animal Regulation corralled more than 100 chickens and shipped them to a Simi Valley ranch.  A few chickens eluded capture.  The so-called "Hollywood freeway chickens" can still be seen on the 101 today.  (7" x 9", black ink print)

Zeppelin Days

Zeppelins were the first means of commercial air travel. A Zeppelin was a rigid airship developed by the German Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin in the late 1800's. The vessel had a light alloy skeleton surrounding hydrogen-gas filled balloons known as "gas bags." It was powered by an internal combustion engine and guided by complex navigational "fins." The bottom of the structural frame held a compartment for passengers, crew and storage.

The Zeppelin was first flown commercially in 1910 by the German company Delag. By 1914, Zeppelins flew more than 1,500 flights and carried 34,000 passengers. Early Zeppelins reached 400 feet in length and could travel 50 miles per hour.

At the start of World War I, Germany decided to use Zeppelins for reconnaissance and bombing missions. By 1915, Germany began Zeppelin bombing raids over England. They targeted military sites but errant bombs landed on homes and occupied buildings. Between 1915 and 1916, Zeppelin raids on England killed 474 people and wounded 1,416. The civilian deaths had little military impact but the presence of huge, bomb-dropping dirigibles over the city struck fear in all Londoners.

Zeppelins had one fatal flaw. Because they were filled with hydrogen gas, they were flammable. As the war progressed, London installed new searchlights and high-caliber anti-aircraft guns. They also developed incendiary bullets which could ignite the hydrogen gas. By 1917, the British became proficient at downing Zeppelins. German crewmen caught in burning airships had to choose between being burned alive alive or leaping to their deaths. Germany finally halted the Zeppelin raids in 1918.

The Treaty of Versailles ending World War I required Germany to surrender their Zeppelins as reparations to the Allies. Many German crews destroyed their vessels instead of handing them over.

Count Von Zeppelin died in 1917. Dr. Hugo Eckener took over the Zeppelin business. Eckener envisioned dirigibles as "vessels of peace." Civilian Zeppelin flights resumed in 1919. In 1924, Eckener flew the first transatlantic Zeppelin flight from Germany to the United States. The trip took 81 hours. In 1929, William Randolph Hearst sponsored a successful Zeppelin flight that circumnavigated the globe.

The Golden Age of Zeppelins was 1928-1937. Zeppelin travel was a combination of an ocean cruise and a luxury hotel. Travelers boarded the ship via a gangplank at a large airport hangar. Upon entering the ship, passengers had to relinquish all matches and cigarette lighters. Smoking was only allowed in a heavily fortified smoking saloon which provided cigarettes and lighters.

Passengers had their own cabins with a bed, a makeup table and a wash basin with hot and cold water. Separate Mens and Ladies bathrooms were found at the end of the hall. The rooms had central heating and ventilation. An Air Steward could be summoned by ringing a bell. Passengers could leave their shoes outside their cabins and they'd be polished by morning.

Zeppelins had a spacious dining room which served three meals a day plus afternoon tea. There was also a reading/writing room, a drawing room, a smoking saloon which doubled as a cocktail bar, a gift shop and an observation platform with large windows (which partially opened) allowing for camera shots of the scenery below.

There were three rules of Zeppelin travel. 1) Do not throw anything overboard as it could damage the hull or airship propellers. 2) Do not carry matches or lighters. 3) Do not leave the passenger quarters unless accompanied by crew. A typical Zeppelin transported 70 passengers and 50 crew. Passengers were allowed to bring 66 lbs. of luggage. Travel time from Germany to the United States took 2 1/2 days. Air travel was smooth and largely without turbulence.

When the Third Reich came to power in 1933, Dr. Eckener refused to cooperate with the Nazis. German Air Minister Herman Goring took over Zeppelin flight operations. The vessels were painted with swastikas on their fins and they flew low over Germany broadcasting music and propaganda speeches.

In 1936, Germany introduced The Hindenburg, the largest Zeppelin ever built. The ship had 15 hydrogen gas bags, an upper deck for passengers and a lower deck for crew. It spanned 803 feet and could fly at 85 mph. The Germans intended to fill the Hindenburg with non-flammable helium gas but due to a helium shortage the vessel was filled with hydrogen. The Hindenburg made 17 trips across the Atlantic in 1936. One of these trips transported boxer Max Schmeling back to Germany after he knocked out Joe Louis at Yankee Stadium. The cost for one-way passage from New York to Germany was $400.

In May 1937, the Hindenburg left Frankfurt, Germany for Lakehurst, New Jersey. The flight proceeded routinely and 3 days later it was cleared for final approach to Lakehurst Naval Station. Four minutes after ground handlers grabbed hold of the ship's landing ropes, the Hindenburg burst into flames. In just 37 seconds, the ship became an inferno and crashed to the ground. Of the 97 people on board, 35 were killed. Film cameras captured every moment. The source of the fire was never determined but the disaster effectively ended the age of the Zeppelin. (5" x 6", black ink print)