The Tenth Olympic Games Los Angeles California

Los Angeles hosts the 1932 Summer Olympic Games!

This beautiful bird’s eye view of the area around Los Angeles, California was illustrated by Mary Hall Atwood and issued by Union Oil in 1932 to coincide with the Summer Olympics held that year (L.A. was the only bid!). The region’s familiar urban density has been replaced by a unique projection that highlights the various venues at which different Olympic events took place. The Rose Bowl, L.A. Coliseum (temporarily renamed), Long Beach Harbor, Griffith Park, and even Will Rogers’ Ranch were all utilized to some extent. The only facility that was custom-built for the games, held in the midst of the Great Depression, was the swimming stadium.

The 1932 Olympics were the first in which the (male) athletes were housed in an official Olympic Village, seen in the center-left near Baldwin Hills. Female competitors lodged at the Chapman Park Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard. Strip maps on the left, right, and bottom show different routes throughout the region – local motor tourism was encouraged, with the hope the audience would choose Union Oil.

“If your visit to the West is limited to a short space of time, avail yourselves of the one, two, and three day motor, train, boat , and bus trips which extend in every direction from Los Angeles. Follow the highways identified on this pictorial map to sport and recreation.” [Text, upper left].

Blocks of text, a program of events, and large-scale views and maps of the primary venues can all be found on the verso.

Source: La Jolla Map Museum;