Los Angeles 1940s in Color! Driving Downtown [60fps,Remastered] w/sound design added

I colorized, restored and created a sound design for this video of Los Angeles in 1940s, we can see the everyday life of the city recorded here street traffic, people going about their business,
Video Restoration Process:
✔ FPS boosted to 60 frames per second
✔ Image resolution boosted up to HD
✔ Improved video sharpness and brightness
✔ Colorized only for the ambiance (not historically accurate)
✔added sound only for the ambiance
✔restoration:(stabilisation,denoise,cleand,deblur)
Please, be aware that colorization colors are not real and fake, colorization was made only for the ambiance and do not represent real historical data.
Thanks to A/V Geeks for share the amazing B&W Video Source
B&W Video Source from: A/V Geeks on archive.org
B&W Video Source: archive.org/de...
Rights to the black and white 35mm Video Source are held by Internet Archive. under the Creative Commons Attribution License
📨 Contact :[e-mail]
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For any Copyright issues, please reach out to us first before filing a claim with KZbin. Send us a message or email detailing your concerns and we'll make sure the matter is resolved immediately. All contact details in our channel's "About" page! Please consider "fair use" before filing a claim. Thank You!

[@NASS_0]

Like and share please!

[@mikeyh0]

Thanks. My Mom actually lived as a child in LA in the 30's and took the red trolley downtown to go to the cinema.

[@amj]

Você faz um lindo trabalho de restauração nesses vídeos não somente para a memória dos Estados Unidos mas também para a memória do mundo. Parabéns!

[@haineshisway]

I'd share more, but since I'm the guy who really sleuths these to within an inch of their life, you have never ONCE thanked me, where you seem to thank every other person. You do read the comments, yes?

[@aidanmiranda6140]

Did you add the sound in?

[@NASS_0]

@@aidanmiranda6140 yes!

[@DJSkandalous]

These videos are like stumbling across a treasure. So relaxing just to watch and try to read the signs and store names.

[@ShadiFagihi]

Hey I like ur work.

[@NASS_0]

😍 🙏

[@mookiesmith18]

Thats exactly what I was doing, trying to read the store signs.

[@usmale4915]

I do the same. Sometimes I will "pause" the video if I see something interesting to me. Great videos.

[@andrestamayo6509]

My father was born in Boyle Heights in 1923. his father owned a small jewelry store on Hill St, and later, my dad was a manager at LeRoy's Jewelers on Broadway and 7th. My aunt Lupe and Geneve, use to do hair at the Biltmore Hotel and over at the Bullocks on Wilshire Bl. My dad's brothers used to tell me how things were back then in the Downtown area. My dad took my mom to the "Pig n Whistle" cafe on Broadway, the first day that they met. They had their first breakfast together at "The Pantry". this was in 1964. My parents and uncles and aunts have all passed away, but I always remember them telling stories of old joints they used to like to eat at and old nightclubs back in the day, and taking the trolley cars everywhere. My uncle Louie always said, "Kid...we had LA when it was great. Too many people now, and it's lost a lot of it's soul and style. ".My aunt Geneve, who was born in 1917, said once, "Ah....LA back then...it was magical. People were more respectful and everyone dressed nice, especially if you were headed "into town"(Downtown). The Valley, was like going out tot he country. Fields and horses everywhere." Thank you for this footage and I like reading everyone's comments!

[@Funnymoney209]

Interesting story. How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking

[@davidwhitney1171]

As someone who loves vintage/classic cars of the '30s and '40s, as well as old LA, watching this video is like spending time in a dream- love the streetcars as well, which should NEVER have been removed.

[@notyourbusiness1352]

ohh they were removed? Thought they were replaced by city trains but runs on the same track. Thanks for the info.

[@davidwhitney1171]

@@notyourbusiness1352 Thank you for your reply. Yes, Los Angeles like most large cities in the United States (main exception being San Francisco, which retained its entire extensive streetcar and trolley bus system along with its famous cable cars), removed most or all of their streetcar or trolley lines in the 1940s and '50s, replacing them with bus lines, if they were replaced at all. This included my hometown of Brooklyn along with the rest of New York. Los Angeles also had a city rail system known as the "Big Red Cars," also removed by the latter 1950s, replaced, along, with the regular streetcars with a really awful, unreliable bus system. Streetcars were considered a relic of the past, along with interfering with the flow of motor vehicle traffic. Nowadays streetcars, now referred to as "light rail systems" are making a comback in many cities, including the New Jersey Hudson River Waterfront Light Rail system. Take care...

[@Israel-nb7ip]

@@davidwhitney1171 yes, Maricopa County in Arizona (the Valley) recently had a light rail go live and NYC I believe has plans to install light rail elevated tracks in parts of Manhattan.

[@Israel-nb7ip]

@@davidwhitney1171 only thing about street cars of that bygone era that I didn't like was all of the overhead wiring that needed to be everywhere to power them. It actually made street landscapes look bad. With modern tech, they can be fully electric without all the unattractive wiring.

[@Robotechnology101]

@@davidwhitney1171 The LARY(yellow car system) ended in 1963 and the last line of the Pacific Electric ended passenger service in 1961. Fortunately there is a large collection of cars from both systems preserved at the Southern California Railway Museum. I am a volunteer at said museum and am a qualified motorman on several cars from both the LARY and PE.

[@jeffwarr11]

The guy driving was insane. Maybe he was filming some footage for Grand Theft Auto 1930's edition

[@brianholihan5497]

Yes, LA drivers were maniacs then too.

[@matrox]

No this was filmed from a Motorcycle. Probably a Motor cop.

[@Allan-et5ig]

At one point he almost had a head-on.

[@londonwestman1]

This couldn't be a motorcycle. It would have taken a lot of kit in those days to film 4 angles simultaneously.

[@jtx38]

@@londonwestman1 A motorcycle with a sidecar setup, possibly?

[@haineshisway]

The St. Charles Apartments 248 South Western - still there and now renting. Rents are a tiny bit higher than back in 1941, which is when I think this is. So, this video probably starts somewhere around Eighth or Seventh (CORRECTION: I think it starts somewhere south of Santa Monica Blvd - the Clinton, which appears on the right, was just south of Melrose, I think). When it cuts to a new street, at 3:06 the Mayan Hotel was located at 3049 West Eighth. And I can now say this is, in fact, somewhere around March of 1941. Haven't figured out which movie theater that is, but it's playing a double bill of Chad Hanna and Love Thy Neighbor. I've found a bunch of theaters that played that bill but none match the theater in the video. I'll keep searching because that will tell us what the final street in this video is. I believe the shots on Eighth begin around Hobart. In fact, had that shot started five seconds earlier, my father's restaurant, the Kiru, would have been on the right - between Serrano and Hobart! Aha! The movie theater at the end can also be glimpsed at around :30 into the video, so it's the Clinton, which played that double bill beginning Wednesday, April 16th. Whew!

[@randymoyan7871]

Damn...good sleuthing. I look forward to the comment section for these videos because of people like you. Thanks.

[@whitsundaydreaming]

I love viewers who know their business! Thanks for this info.

[@silvrx-pz3ce]

Rent was always high in California even in 1941...the difference is the dollar and cents had more value I did the math just because everything seemed more cheaper in the past....it's not true damn inflation is to blame!!!

[@NASS_0]

oh my friend I'm so sorry, I didn't see your comment, thank you very much my friend for all the information and your help, god bless you! 🙏

[@andrewstinson3284]

I spotted the San Marcos Hotel and the Ethical Drug Store located on the southeast corner of Western and Beverly at timestamp 1:01 and again at 5:12. Both are still there!

[@markr8796]

10 minutes on the street and not one speck of litter. That says a lot about who we were and how far we have fallen.

[@bigdog2618]

That's because back then if police caught you littering they knocked you in head with nightstick..and nobody was back talking or recording them.

[@tim05519]

I’ve noticed that too, your comment is dead on my friend!

[@Eric-xr3xx]

Well to be fair, there were no fast food restaurants pumping out thousands of paper wrappers or Big Gulp cups either. If you could see the sidewalks and street edges you'd probably see a helluva lot of cigarette butts though! Not that we aren't a bunch of slobs today.

[@Mike-jv8bv]

@@Eric-xr3xx has nothing to do with that. has everything to do with the difference in culture now. back then people took pride with what they had and where raised better.

[@guerralg63]

That's what happens when cities enforce laws and codes.

[@Realroyrogers]

The camera was on a Fire Truck or Ambulance with sirens going, watch the sidewalks and traffic, everyone watched as it went by, all traffic stops at intersections so it can get by

[@tototota9817]

I think the same. It drives very fast also.

[@nana8nanashi]

Had the feel whoever driving was breaking a few traffic laws, so that makes sense...

[@OSTARAEB4]

Roy, it might have been a truck flatbed and cameras were big back then. It might not have been a fire truck or ambulance thus the people taking notice. I saw on this venue someone filmed people lined up for the White House on January, 1st, 1930 when Hoover was President. Virtually everyone was looking at the camera and smiling like they were all movie stars in the beginning days of the technology.

[@TheDkeeler]

That makes perfect sense. It seemed the vehicle with the camera on it was speeding like a demon in heavy traffic . Those old cars explode when in a head on collision. Yikes!

[@brkitdwn]

@@OSTARAEB4 Nah, it was either an ambulance or fire truck because they were driving just like one, and all vehicles yielded. Plus everyone was looking. Very typical for that time to be like that.

[@martinsplace2]

Great video! I grew up in this area in the 1960's. The beginning of the Video starts travelling southbound on Western Ave. at about Melrose Ave. and end just before Wilshire and Western.

[@NYC1927]

I've seen plenty of these clips in and around Los Angeles and I have to say this one was the most exciting! It really showed what LA looked like other than the typical Hollywood or DTLA street scenes. Cool to see that this is what LA looked like when my grandmother moved here back in 1942 from NOLA. This looked like it was in and round Western Avenue and parts of the Koreatown and Wilshire/Vermont area. I live not too far from some of these places. Thanks for posting!

[@whitsundaydreaming]

Virtually every building, billboard and sign was beautifully designed and executed. At some point humanity turned to shit and that era sadly became the times were in now. The filth and careless vandalism is evidence of our demise.

[@cappsginny699]

Cheap plastic backlit signs on high poles are the norm now. Too much competing signage, eye pollution...

[@leethrelfalllt]

As time moves forward, civilisation goes backwards.

[@robhamtom]

@@leethrelfalllt Too true....

[@Wilantonjakov]

Gradual decay... Sexual revolution, women's voting rights, central banking, global agencies, immigration/demographic change, abortion, rejection of religion. It all really started coming to fruition in the '60s. An experimental revolution of mankind and rejection of tradition and order led us to where we are today. And the amazing thing is, the oligarchs/govts in power will tell you that we are _invincible,_ that at no time in history has anyone been more _progressive_ or _advanced._ But this arrogant folly has led to the downfall of so many civilisations. Find the book "The decline & Fall of civilisations" by Kerry Bolton. It details how similar the end days of the most well known fallen civilisations were to our modern times. In some places you can already see it happening right in front of your eyes.

[@cheeseman5341]

@@Wilantonjakov Very true. It's sad to see.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

At the Shell gas station at 7:15 is a billboard that reads, "Finer Fuel for '41." Guess this was filmed in 1941. Note at 1:02 the billboard reading the "New Low Priced De Soto." Also, if you look closely you can see the semaphore type traffic lights with their "STOP" - "GO" arms that swing in and out. These were eventually all replaced in Los Angeles with conventional traffic lights by 1956.

[@OSTARAEB4]

Wow. Good eye. A new priced Desoto then was probably $800.

[@NASS_0]

thank you so much

[@brucegilbert7243]

@@OSTARAEB4 Tell'em Groucho sent ya.

[@massivebeatzz]

@@OSTARAEB4 cheaper than today, because salaries were much higher, I think like 6000-8000/a year, with a house costing 30K.... But also this was world war II... after 1945, into teh 50ies evrything changed...Rockn Roll,

[@DCmetrogreen]

At the 5:00 minute mark, there is a billboard for the film "The Devil and Miss Jones," starring Jean Arthur and released April 11, 1941

[@Robotechnology101]

I volunteer at the Southern California Railway Museum located in Perris, California and at the museum we have an extensive collection of old electric streetcars and interurban streetcars from both the Los Angeles Railway(the yellow cars that appear in this video) and the Pacific Electric Railway which were commonly referred to as the "Red Cars" due to the fact that the cars operated by the PE were painted in a shade of red. We have several cars from both electric railway systems that are over 100 years old now yet we have been able to keep them running to this very day.

[@scottnielsen1553]

I have been working down there every Monday at the archive dept. Yesterday I worked around the orange grove with Danny Giles

[@bpfromowc]

Imagine being able to go back to this time (for a trip). What an experience that would be.

[@domenicv7962]

76 trombones

[@domenicv7962]

you would not come back

[@DavidSmith-fr1uz]

@@domenicv7962 Why wouldn't you come back?

[@domenicv7962]

@@DavidSmith-fr1uz why would you not want to?

[@1990758]

Not for everyone not for everyone.

[@7775Kevin]

The guy was doing some wild driving, crossing the double line, weaving in and out of traffic! This video is incredible.

[@jeffking4176]

It seems the driving hasn’t improved any. 📻🤣

[@jimm.1013]

It looks like he just picked up a pizza and is hurrying home while it's still hot.

[@dplouro]

Police car, maybe. We can see people waving.

[@pcpablo2]

Virtually no traffic lights either.

[@buttonmasher300]

I came on KZbin to see if I could find any videos showing Downtown Los Angeles in the 1940s for research purposes. I wasn’t expecting a clear as day 60fps first person drive through the city. Great footage, great remaster. You’ve just got yourself a new subscriber!

[@karenwhite1085]

What an amazing historical video! Thanks so much for all your work to remaster this and produce it!

[@FlynBrian]

02:30 Eastbound on W 8th St, crossing S Ardmore Ave 02:40 Eastbound on W 8th St, crossing Normandie Ave 02:59 Eastbound on W 8th St, crossing S Fedora St 03:00 Eastbound on W 8th St, crossing S Catalina St 03:11 Eastbound on W 8th St, crossing New Hampshire Ave 03:18 Eastbound on W 8th St, crossing S Vermont Ave

[@bengraham6449]

Thank you. You've got it with Vermont Avenue because it has the trolley tracks. I remember the Vermont route because the trolleys were always packed. Was looking for the Ambassador Hotel at your Catalina time reference, but could not find it. Thank you for your efforts.

[@stephenoshaughnessy2279]

Thanks for the rundown. That section of W 8th St is descending into a ghetto today.

[@MKx5288]

Wow, how did you know? I used to live on Catalina right off of eighth Street in early 80s and 90s. Everything is practically gone now except for the streets, totally different world back then and cleaner

[@lourdesmiranda3236]

I lived on 8th and Irolo, what a trip

[@tonyktown]

01:38 Western and W. 2nd St.

[@pmafterdark]

Back when LA was truly beautiful. I can imagine those masterpieces at the Packard dealership.

[@bvg713]

From my hometown Warren, OH. Absolutely love those cars.

[@victorboucher675]

Yes! The war industry brought many, too many out there, my dad was in Long Beach when this was filmed.

[@garyschultz7768]

life had problems but I think this was a better time to be an american .....

[@garyschultz7768]

@@bvg713 yup..... the american cars are the stars....

[@jaminova_1969]

I wouldn't mind buying a 39 Plymouth Convertible!

[@dgatan]

Another masterpiece! Keep up the good work sir!

[@NASS_0]

thank you so much

[@hsun7997]

The streetcars should've never been removed.

[@dickkovar]

Lobbyists for General Motors and Texaco mounted a nationwide campaign to persuade municipalities to give up their "old fashioned" trolley car systems in favor of buses. In Columbus OH and maybe elsewhere they sold a hybrid system of buses hooked to the overhead electric power system.

[@Cyclone-wd9oi]

@@dickkovar yeah I was just up in Dayton and the trolleys are all electric

[@danielthoman7324]

@@Cyclone-wd9oi trolleybuses are cool 😎

[@victorboucher675]

City counsel members got car dealerships for the pay off for voting them out.

[@RK-xd8ii]

Pacific Electric was actually a private company that by the 1920s was already losing money and routes being converted to bus service. The history of its inception is well documented and you can search for Henry Huntington and Los Angeles urban sprawl for a good deep dive. Sadly, a majority of the service was already on its way to being dismantled before the final blow. It’s not like Roger Rabbit as many tend to quote. You can read more by searching GM streetcar conspiracy. Another blow to the system was a proposition to tax Angelenos for upkeep and refurbishing the remaining lines and by that point the service was rundown,dirty and losing money, not to mention slow because of the many at-grade lines that had to share the road with the booming los angeles car traffic… LA voted no. It would have been amazing to still have 1,200 miles of non polluting, electric service.

[@cosmyte9385]

This video reminded me of the incredible representation of the city in the L.A. Noire game,very good! =D

[@warnutztheloser]

U right great game!

[@estebancruz6194]

Is that a good game? Thinking of getting it.

[@cosmyte9385]

@@estebancruz6194 It's an excellent game, buddy!It is actually my favorite!Well, if you like investigative games this one is amazing!But you won't find a very "fun" game, there is no way to kill people for no reason,for example.I personally loved the game,but depending on your preferences it can have a boring gameplay...hope I helped friend 👍🙂

[@cosmyte9385]

@@estebancruz6194 Any questions just ask,friend :)

[@estebancruz6194]

@@cosmyte9385 yes, very helpful thanks!

[@danschechter9069]

The first two minutes are traveling south on Western, in the late afternoon -- it ends shortly after we pass the Frost and French Packard dealership at 230 S. Western at 1:46. Thanks for posting this wonderful clip!

[@Pluvillion]

It still fascinates me how this is their "present time" and that they have no idea what'll happen in the future. I need to keep convincing myself that this *_isn't_* a movie or a simulated render and that it happened in real life decades before I was even born.

[@massivebeatzz]

Many of them are still alive. Just 80 years old , lol! Might be alive for another 20 years.

[@shaunsteele8244]

@@massivebeatzz if they're 80 years old today, they were infants when this video was shot lol

[@Tyler-xh2sg]

This guy doesn't stop for no one. Just zig zagging through traffic.

[@mcresearch]

I'm guessing it was filmed in a police car with lights and sirens going.

[@felzke440]

@@mcresearch That's what I am guessing based on his speed.

[@thomasjoyce7910]

Possibly the first idiot to record his own traffic violations.

[@nakayle]

I wish he had gone slower, hard to see some things, I slowed that the video but that just made it jerky.

[@leealtman]

unbelievable footage quality - pure 21st century luxury to be time-transported to a real street level perspective of LA in the 1940s. Many thanks NASS

[@johnheller9216]

35mm movie film and processing was expensive. This footage was probably made for use in rear projection for one or more feature films. The long unbroken takes, rearward angle and swerving around traffic make sense. 20th Century Fox Studios was at Western and Sunset. Lots of other film industry business around Western Av then and now.

[@browan69]

I was thinking the same thing, people along the way were staring at the vehicle passing maybe because of the cameras attached to it.

[@OSTARAEB4]

Sad these streetcars have been gone since 1961 and the cars are long gone too. So many Hudson’s Nash, Dodge, Studabaker, Hupmobiles, Olds, Packard’s, Marmon’s, Graham-Kelvinator, etc. Essex.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

1963 was the last year for Los Angeles streetcars. Perhaps you're thinking of the Pacific Electric which last ran (Long Beech line) in 1961. By the way, I own a 1953 Hudson Super Wasp.

[@OSTARAEB4]

@@WAL_DC-6B Thanks for the clarification since I didn't grow up in Los Angeles. I love Hudson's! My uncle had three between the 1930's until the last one being a 56 or 57 that remained next to the backyard garage until the late 1970's. He's long passed now but I remember his saying they were good cars. I remember it being an egg shaped carton front V grille.

[@Rlotpir1972]

Don't forget your box of Rice-O-Roni.

[@danielthoman7324]

@@WAL_DC-6B aren't you special!

[@OSTARAEB4]

@@Rlotpir1972 “Rice-o-Roni, the San Francisco treat”. Also, mid 1960’s, “wouldn’t you rather have a Buick, a Buick, this year”.

[@tsukitty6420]

Oh wow, I didn't know how old the Ralph's brand was! This is cool!

[@Nscalemike56]

Old Man Ralph's..Started in the 1890's I think

[@johnfowler7660]

Ralph's @0:51

[@oldglstuf]

Fun fact that I didn't realize for the longest time: There is no apostrophe in Ralphs. Even today. The guy who founded it was George Ralphs.

[@tsukitty6420]

@@oldglstuf oh haha interesting

[@AAZZ-sf9zr]

For your reference, at 0:42 you can see on the left the same building as today (N Western Ave & Rosewood Ave), at 1:01 you can see the San Marcos Hotel on the right (242 N Western Ave)

[@CYV_COV]

Your video about Los Angeles in 1940 is amazing, it must be a lot of memories for many people especially for the people of Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

[@NYC1927]

I live in and around the area where this was filmed and you're right, it's pretty trippy to see streets I drive/walk daily and how they looked 80 years ago. Some changes yet some parts are still the same.

[@jessesdiecastgarage]

These videos are so awesome The work you've done is incredible i can watch these for hours kind of feels like you're there.omg excellent work

[@nightlightabcd]

It's like a time machine, looking back to when these cars were in their youth. One can tell the older cars still running from the newer ones as the newer, the more streamlined. It is definitely a reflection of the human created evolution of transportation, much like humans changed the natural evolution of the dog for humans whants and needs, the car was a human creation and we are seeing it evolve, and evolving yet at a rapid pace! Imagine the videos of today sixty years from now, or a hundred and sixty!

[@vancouverman4313]

Videos of today sixty years from now, nobody will want to watch.

[@domenicv7962]

Cars suck today

[@osmobileusa5958]

Many thanks to all the people who keep these glorious videos of the 1920s ..30 ..40 ..50 and so much automotive art years of innovation and progress ... thank you very much God sell them

[@lawrencebautista1]

Some of those tramcars will eventually be given a second life in Seoul after the Korean War, and used until 1969. They used the same railway gauge 1067mm.

[@johnfowler7660]

@2:30 crossed the center line against oncoming traffic to pass five cars. @3:16 narrowly avoids head-on collision. MY HERO!

[@foolishwatcher]

Busted after 80 years by his own dashcam, before dashcams were even invented. :-D

[@aitch3]

Los Angeles was so beautiful and interesting back in the day.

[@AdnanAdnan-gg7hg]

Very beautiful thanks to this video Nass

[@virtualuser9289]

I am asking again.. are you a time traveller?😂😁 looks like you are travelling daily and getting all these beautiful videos👌👌

[@silvrx-pz3ce]

Great video. Any videos from decades in future?

[@billthestinker]

Beautiful work thanks for sharing 👍

[@OsbornTramain]

Looked like a new 1942 Packard 120 Convertible on the showroom floor of the Packard Dealer at the 4:13 mark

[@afg229]

I love reading the names of the businesses on the side of the street and searching if they are still around today

[@thomask2210]

The way he weaved in and out of traffic reminded me of driving in Thailand except he was going to slow.

[@victorboucher675]

Yes - Philippines ...kasabut?

[@REOGURU]

@ :40 The building with the zigzag tile design on the right is still there. Today its a Korean Buddhist Temple today located at the intersection of Western Ave & W. Maplewood Ave. Also, the Cleaners across the street is also still there but is now a Central American restaurant. I found that many of the buildings shown still exist but disguised under newer façades.

[@hertzair1186]

Great time capsules…my theory is that these videos were done for movie scene backdrops for the in-car scenes in the movies.

[@scotnick59]

The added sound "works" ingeniously

[@robdoe5433]

No trash anywhere. Amazing.

[@victorboucher675]

Cali was Republican in those days.

[@stine69]

“Finer fuel for ‘41”, the sign states at 6:39. So this video was probably done either in late 1940 or early 1941. Maybe even before World War started. I remember my great uncle, who was in the Navy a few years before it started, showing me photos, he took of gas station signs, which he took in color and b/w. He passed away at age 97, he was a great man! This film brings back good memories of the true stories he told about the fourties’, when he was a young man; thank you.😇🥰

[@marketstreetrailway]

This is 1941. License plates consistent with that year, and billboard for Jean Arthur/Bob Cummings movie "Devil and Miss Jones" from that year appears at 5:00. Definitely a background plate, later to be rear-screen projected in a studio behind actors in a car.

[@tonyn3227]

Everything looked new, nice and clean

[@maxsager139]

Why, being a 2021 millennial, when I see that 1940 video I want and I desire to live in that time? Something inside me tells me that I would be happier.

[@tomstarcevich1147]

You probably wouldn't want to ww2 was just around the corner you would be drafted in the armed forces

[@lemorab1]

True, you wouldn't want to be coming of age in 1941. Not a good time to be young. But, ten years later the world of 1951 still looked like this. I can tell you that those were happier times than these, provided you and your family weren't affected by the McCarthy witch hunts. It was a great time to be a kid in the U.S.A.

[@massivebeatzz]

was also during WW2, So not a great time for you as a male - you'd be at the front lines!! as a millennial you should be able to remember that since the 80ies is your birth decade, only 40 years after this. The 1950ies, is another story..Rock'n Roll, Movies, the American way started,,,,

[@beezertwelvewashingbeard8703]

It would be a great time, no television yet. L.A. would be quite hot in the summer without air conditioning, you could usually only find a.c. in large department stores or universities. If you came back from WW2 unscathed, you could start living a decent life going into the 50's with your new american car and your new Sears home.

[@HoyaSaxaSD]

At 1:36-1:42, you can see the St. Charles Apartments at 248 South Western Ave. in Los Angeles, which are still there.

[@watvid1]

In the future, people will be looking at us watching our phones in the toilet through some VR world

[@glenn3914]

i realize this is 80+ years later, but its sooo clean, no trash on sidewalks or street,another thing to keep in mind is l.a. was only about 30 years old, when people started flocking to it, so it ll be cleaner,...also love the double parking, never could get away with it now

[@klarissak]

The Ralph’s at 0:50 was located on 400 N western. There is an old huildong there that still might be the old Ralph’s building. But crazy to see how much it has remained, tattered but remained and what’s gone

[@Lasagnaisprettycool]

lmfao the driving, swirving like mad on opposite lane, over crossways, traffic standing still on the road just talking to ppl 😂

[@JohnStlouis]

Crazy that we had one of the best public transportations and greed destroyed it

[@Dog.soldier1950]

St Charles apartments 1:41 is still there and this is all part of “koreatown” today. Taken in the summer of 1941

[@seandelap6268]

The streets look remarkably clean.

[@althepenguin]

If only they still were today.. 😪

[@squalli1297]

Someone must've recently thrown out old footage of traffic in L.A. & you found, remastered, & posted it on KZbin. Excellent!! There's no way anyone can drive that fast down Western Avenue today that erratic during business hours unless you're a 1st responder-& they're not that fast.

[@NYC1927]

I think someone got hold of old b-roll (background footage) from one of the old studios that they shot for use in old movies and they've been posting more and more of it. Years ago there were only a few you could find on KZbin, but since that "drive through Bunker Hill" video surface a few years ago and got a lot of media attention, more and more are popping up. Glad to see it is too!

[@VintageCarHistory]

at 0:25 I do believe that's a 1939 Buick Century parked alongside the road. Some other cars I didn't get a good enough glimpse of but I suspect that this film may be as late as mid 1941.

[@lwilton]

At around 7:00 there is a sign that indicates it is 1941.

[@E.T.S.]

That's possible. @ 8:12 there is a billboard advertisement of Royal Cola with Barbara Stanwyck. Her hair style is the same as in a 1939 picture on Wikipedia.

[@NASS_0]

thank you so much

[@haineshisway]

Week of April 14th, 1941 to be exact.

[@haineshisway]

@@lwilton It is - the movie theater towards the end is playing a double bill of Chad Hanna and Love Thy Neighbor, which played in Feb/March of 1941.

[@hypercarspotters1227]

LA Noire did a great job depicting LA at that time

[@Jesvox1234]

Nass you never dissapoint thanks

[@NASS_0]

thank you so much

[@moniquedeitz4356]

Another fun video. Thanks, NASS! The vehicle is going east on 8th Street as evidenced by The Mayan Hotel being shown on the left side which is first seen at 3:00. The area isn't really downtown Los Angeles. The Mayan Hotel was located at 3049 West 8th Street and the 1926 building is now renovated and named Mayan Apartments located at 3043-3049. It's an excellent part of town where rentals are big bucks, though that's actually the case just about everywhere in Los Angeles. The latter part of the film could be 8th Street as it gets closer to downtown L.A. Or it might be a north/south thoroughfare named Western Avenue which intersects 8th.

[@BartmanLA323]

I'm willing to bet that was filmed from a LAPD patrol car, using lights and possibly it's siren to swerve around all the traffic, including intersections and wrong way traffic. Which is cool, gives you a pretty much nonstop reel.

[@robhamtom]

good point yes

[@k40k40]

Yeah, you can see a lot of pedestrians turning and looking towards the camera when it passes them, another clue to your siren theory.

[@johnryan1798]

BINGO!

[@johnryan1798]

I was wondering why he's hauling butt

[@SunsetBoulevard111]

I slow the video down to observe everything better! This is Art!

[@bobbysands6923]

Great job, as usual. But the last time I drove like that I ended up reciting the alphabet in front of the boys in blue...

[@NASS_0]

thank you so much

[@gucker07]

Looked better than today. Cleaner, with less degeneracy around.

[@shawnmarengo494]

At 8:20 - Looks like a circular drive-in restaurant being constructed. The sign in the lot says “Modernizing”, so maybe the owner is updating to keep up with the times.

[@Lennyst]

Yeah but our definition of 'modern" means present basically. In a couple of years having a phone charger come with the phone you bought will be ancient.

[@blueocean9305]

At about 8:20 you can see a McDonald's undergoing a redesign. In 1948 the McDonald brothers shut down their restaurants for three months for alterations. In December it reopens as a self-service drive-in restaurant. The menu is then reduced to nine items: hamburger, cheeseburger, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips and a slice of pie. The staple of the menu is the 15 cent hamburger. Who knows, it might be one of the McDonald Brothers' cars in front.

[@StephanieJeanne]

Amazing! I just love those old car horns! I wonder if this was done for street scene footage in films? And many areas of L.A. almost haven't changed.👍😊

[@sneadh1]

THhe car horms are too old for the time, And the supposed streetcar bell is a fake little tinkle.

[@eugenegilleno9344]

All these video clips are brilliant....it’s like being in a real time machine, no actors, just real life. Fantastic. ....and have you noticed...NO litter.

[@egmjag]

Some places in Pasadena and Glendale look like that today. Amazing to think that average people used to live in and around downtown L.A. like living in a suburb. That was a time when it was safe to walk around L.A. But it was also a time when only certain type of people were allowed to live in metropolitan L.A. The rest had to live in places like Boyle Heights. It started to decay around the mid 50s but it was still safe...until about the mid 70s. I remember going to restaurants in downtown L.A. with my parents in the early and mid 70s. I never felt unsafe or that there was danger lurking around some corner like I did in the early 80s. Ghetto graffiti started to become part of the culture in downtown around the mid 70s but it was still sparse compared to the early 80s. After the mid 70s, it was too dangerous to walk around L.A. By the early 80s, there were murders in broad daylight.

[@kingz9916]

My mother lived on Rampart and Third and worked in Downtown LA right after WWII. No doubt it was safe and beautiful back then.

[@victorboucher675]

Yea, my grandfather lived in Compton ... I was there for the '65 riots ... after that, better get out while you still can.

[@lisacutieful]

The "Mayan Hotel" seen at 3:04 is still there, 3049 West 8th Los Angeles, California.

[@Nscalemike56]

I'm curious what the camera person was filming in? They seemed to weave in and out of traffic...onto opposing lanes with ease. We're they perhaps on a fire truck?

[@Allan-et5ig]

No, but they were perhaps 'crazy' and the driver was perhaps, 'terrible.' I agree they are guilty of "unsafe lane travel!"

[@edmendez1745]

Funny, my first thought was "Did they just rob a bank or something? What's the rush?"

[@tomkent4656]

These are background projection plates.

[@tomcasey6726]

Southbound Western Ave at 3rd St. Citizens Bank, upper left corner of screen. 1:40 tape time. Northbound picture same spot 3rd and Western. Chruch on southeast corner, 3.43 screen time.

[@AidanEyewitness]

This footage is just stunning, even though I don't know Los Angeles very well. I feel I could walk into the picture and meet my dad, who was 33 at the time, though in Ireland, not Los Angeles. It was his era.

[@patrickfranklin9661]

So grateful to get these...these are art masters!

[@OSTARAEB4]

5:46 ever so quickly looks like a black 1940, 41 Buick Eight coupe. Dark plate, yellow lettering was a Cali license plate in 1941 I believe.

[@victorboucher675]

Plates were Black and yellow then.

[@OSTARAEB4]

@@victorboucher675 Yes. black and yellow for decades like New York State every year until the mid-1960's to a blue and yellow like Cali also. I believe Cali in 1945 did a black background with silver lettering and about 1951 started the corner tabs (bolt slot)year renewals like many states.

[@briancisco1176]

LA with no graffiti, no litter, no homeless encampments. Beautiful!

[@massivebeatzz]

also during World War 2...wtf... all males at the front lines !

[@Tyler-xh2sg]

I would love to own any one of those cars on the street today. They're all classic

[@Allan-et5ig]

You'd pay a lot in leaded gasoline.

[@weeble583]

I've owned a few classic cars, you don't need leaded gasoline. It's impossible to find anyways. Use non ethanol, that's the important part. Carburetors don't like ethanol gas

[@Wilantonjakov]

@@weeble583 can confirm. my old stinker hates ethanol. anything else is fine

[@NYC1927]

I live in the area they were filming in and I have a 1940 plymouth (exactly like the 4 door seen parked at the 3:25 mark that the man is standing in front of) and THIS is what I imagine when I'm cruising her through the area. =)

[@eutimiochavez415]

Nice and clean

[@wacoflyer]

Love these old street films Nass. But this one was kind of fast to take in all the details.

[@johnfowler7660]

Go back and re-do it, young man.

[@wacoflyer]

@@johnfowler7660 Ha! I'm 75... Old man. I'll just lower the playback speed.

[@jugobetrugo7213]

Grand Theft Auto : 1940 This dude was driving like a maniac lol

[@luizbonfante9857]

imagens sensacionais, manda mais , obrigado.

[@usmale4915]

Very good video...it's very relaxing to watch. Thank you for sharing!

[@davemckolanis4683]

Notice that the LATEST and NEWEST Late Model Cars had the headlights placed Inside the front fenders, typically starting around 1939. So it would date this film during the last summer before the Pearl Harbor attack.

[@timothyh.1460]

It could have also been anytime in the early 40's as car production ceased after 1941. People had to keep driving autos from the 30's. This was the reality of life back home during the war.

[@mistervacation23]

Everybody is wrong he was on back of a stake rack truck with a camera in a tripod. They filmed a lot of this for file footage for various movies

[@tomjones7089]

Just before the war started, a lot changed from there. Especially being on the west coast, if it is 41. Great video, the hippie thing would be about a generation away too.

[@massivebeatzz]

World War 2 started September 1st 1939 my friend, you;re 2 years behind lol. This was in the 40ies, and the US had long joined too (41).

[@victorboucher675]

@@massivebeatzz So China don't count?

[@danfreisting2874]

Great video! Really fun to watch

[@pkacc1]

Heading South on Western Ave

[@dwalace4]

Besides the great footage, it's good to hear from you good people who know the area.

[@Baskerville22]

An awful lot of Pontiac Coupes on the road back then...

[@westswell2757]

Parts of this footage (facing forward) may have been filmed from an emergency vehicle going code 3, probably a police car or small ambulance. You can tell because the point of view is moving faster than the flow of traffic, and swerves around vehicles that are not moving. Some cars actually pull over and stop for it.

[@kellycoleman715]

Back when pre-owned vehicles were used cars. Whoever was driving this car went into the oncoming traffic lanes, ran stop signs and nearly ran over a couple of pedestrians. Must have been a cop. 😉

[@sandyjuntunen4088]

Fire truck. Sat up high.

[@JustFunandGames]

Oh, right.. they didn't have Uber back then.

[@matrox]

I saw dealerships for Packard, Hudson, Plymouth, Oldmobile. All out of business.

[@railfanningstuff8333]

I like how he passes the trolly by going into the oncoming lane. If I did that in Toronto Id get a dangerous driving ticket and loos like 3 points cool footage though

[@mitchflorida]

He is probably filming from a cop car. Anyone else would get in an accident or a traffic ticket.

[@danielthoman7324]

I like your new streetcars! I used to like the old PCC streetcars that I remember from the 60s. then those red ones they had in the 80s. the streetcars are my favorite thing about Toronto.

[@JustFunandGames]

@@mitchflorida All of the vehicles going in the same direction are pulling over and the cars in the opposite direction are stopping... so, yeah, either an emergency vehicle or something very scary!

[@azhurelpigeon]

I love your content & im so happy I found this channel, however I do wish you had the exact year or date the videos were taken because 40s is just so broad, that it’s harder for me to know exactly what circa I’m watching.

[@darlalove8863]

So sad how that people have sunk so low and ruined everything. 😔

[@SirLoinBeefsteak]

With safer cars.

[@matrox]

Liberal destruction all around us now.

[@randymoyan7871]

@@matrox the sad part is most people don't care. Most are sadly brainwashed by the corporate media and thus keep electing these fools.

[@andrewstinson3284]

It's not the people, necessarily. Blame the politicians who imported Mexico and Guatamala to the area and decriminalized drug use and vagrancy. Enforce the laws and Los Angeles would become a beautiful, civilized city once again.

[@shaunsteele8244]

@@andrewstinson3284 all the civilized people moved out of Los Angeles in the 80s and 90s

[@mschiffel1]

Awesome. The cars of my youth.