Los Angeles and Approaches

The roads of sunny Southern California during the bleak days of the Great Depression.

During the Great Depression, the fertile fields and sunny beaches of California were idealized as a beacon of hope for those looking for a better life. Some may have used a map like this in their eagerness to head West. One side of the sheet presents the primary highway approaches to the Los Angeles area. U.S. Routes 66, 99, and 101 were among the principal thoroughfares used by tourists, workers, and settlers traveling into Southern California. Small stars identify branches of the Security-First National Bank of Los Angeles, whose widespread network, even extending to Catalina Island, advertised the bank’s reach and success during an era of economic uncertainty.

The verso presents two similarly designed maps: one of the entire state of California and a second, larger-scale map focused on Los Angeles. The latter is accompanied by indexes of country clubs, golf courses, and aviation fields, reflecting the recreational and commercial landscape of Southern California during the period. The map was designed by Donald McLain, a landscape artist and Los Angeles-area resident who also worked extensively as a cartographer. It was copyrighted and distributed by the Security-First National Bank of Los Angeles and printed by the Sterling Press Litho.

The map is undated, but the date code “734-100” and its highway configuration provide useful dating clues. The absence of the Arroyo Seco Parkway, which opened in 1940, places the map before that major improvement, while the routing of U.S. 66 through Pasadena and the period-specific configuration of Los Angeles-area roads and aviation fields suggest a date in the mid-1930s. The evidence points most strongly toward c. 1934.