1902 Map of Santa Monica

About this map

Santa Monica Mountains and the San Fernando Valley define the landscape of this 1893 survey, showing Los Angeles in a period of rapid transition. Massive Spanish land grants such as La Brea, Rodeo de Las Aguas, and San Vicente y Santa Monica still serve as the primary geographic dividers, overlaid by a burgeoning rail network. The Pacific Electric Ry. and Southern Pacific R. R. connect emerging independent towns like Hollywood, Sherman, and Palms. While many areas remain open washes and canyons, the grid of S. Los Angeles is already densifying near the University. From the Soldiers Home to the small settlement of Ivanhoe, the map documents a semi-rural era where Cahuenga Pass was a simple transit point between valleys rather than the major corridor it would later become.