Games of the XXIIrd Olympiad Los Angeles 1984

Illustrated view of the 1984 Olympics featuring Sam the Olympic Eagle.

This abstract view (absent of all traffic, which undoubtedly plagued the highways as it does today) of Southern California was published by the Thomas Brothers Map Company for the Olympic Committee in Los Angeles. It features the 1984 mascot, designed by an artist at Disney, participating in the various events that would take place across the region.

The logo of the games, “Stars in Motion,” can be seen next to the rings in the upper corners. Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, and Anaheim Stadium, despite not playing any role in the games, still managed to find their way into the image as part of the identify of the host city.

The games were a financial success, bringing profits in excess of $250 million, despite the absence of fourteen Eastern Bloc countries who boycotted the games in response of the American led boycott in 1980. The abstention opened the opportunity for Romania, the only country within the Soviet sphere to attend the games, to win the second most gold medals after the U.S.