Most of West Los Angeles was actually wetlands that were dredged to create areas suitable for development. This was a relatively little-known fact that I learn

Most of West Los Angeles was actually wetlands that were dredged to create areas suitable for development. This was a relatively little-known fact that I learned by attending the USC Library Archive Days, usually held in October. Most of what is now Culver City, all the way to the coast was essentially filled with water until it was dredged. We tend to think of LA as some sort of arid desert, yet, at least for the Westside, it was anything but dry land. Also of note, LA actually had a fully functioning subway system up until the late 1920s/early 1930s, very similar to London and NYC, although not quite as large obviously. You can find photos of people standing on the crowded platforms during the Roaring 20s waiting to take the subway into and out of DTLA in the archives. There were also the Red Cars that ran until the late 1950s I believe. They took passengers as far as OC to the south, and out into the SFV to the northeast. So public transportation was abundant in LA even before the Redline and other various MTA rail projects, and long before motor cars became ubiquitous. Look up the history of the Miracle Mile and the tire shops and car lots to gain an understanding of LA's transition to the the automobile in the 1930s. It was a vibrant city long before cars and traffic took over. Charlie Chaplin even had an airfield in Hollywood in the 1920s around what is now Wilshire and Fairfax!