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1949 Map of Los Angeles

Name: 1949 Topographic Map of Los Angeles
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1949
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1949

About this map

The San Gabriel Mountains and Santa Monica Mountains dominate the landscape of this 1940s survey, showing the Southern California region before its postwar suburban explosion. Urban development is concentrated in established centers like Pasadena, Alhambra, and Glendale, linked by early transit corridors including the Pacific Electric and Southern Pacific railroads. The map captures a transition in mobility, featuring both the Pasadena Freeway and the storied Ridge Route winding through the high country.

Industrial activity is evident from the Oak Canyon Oil Field to the high desert, where the Tropico Mine and Double Eagle Mine sit near the vast Rosamond Dry Lake. Coastal features are meticulously detailed, from the Santa Barbara Lighthouse to the strategic wartime presence at Port Hueneme USN and Point Mugu Naval Air Facility. Rural outposts like the Neenach School and Fairmont School provide valuable markers for local historians and genealogists tracing early twentieth-century settlement patterns.