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1921 Map of Santa Monica

Name: 1921 Topographic Map of Santa Monica
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1932
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1932

About this map

San Fernando Valley and the northern reaches of Los Angeles appear here in a state of rapid transition, captured by the Corps of Engineers shortly after the First World War. Large Spanish-named ranchos and land grants such as La Brea, Rodeo de Las Aguas, and San Jose de Buenos Ayres still define the cadastral landscape, even as modern urban centers like Beverly Hills and Culver City begin to coalesce.

Industrial and entertainment footprints are already prominent, notably the Salt Lake Oil Fields and the early site of Universal City. The network of the Pacific Electric and Southern Pacific railroads provides the skeletal structure for this growth, connecting established towns like Burbank and Lankershim to the coastal settlements of Santa Monica. From the heights of Griffith Park to the Pacific Ocean, this map reveals the interplay between the era's emerging infrastructure and the persistent geography of the original Mexican-era land grants.