Is L.A. flat ? With mountains ringing the Southland on three sides — and even bisecting the urban center of Los Angeles along the Hollywood Hills—”flat ” has never been an entirely fair verbal description . But for decades the metropolis ’s architecture betrayed a commitment to horizontality . While Manhattan and Chicago strained toward the stratosphere , Los Angeles imposeda rigorous 150 - foot meridian limitation on all complex body part , shit an exclusion only once — for its own454 - substructure City Hall .
In the top - left of the above photo , take from the tune above business district L.A. in the mid-1940s , City Hall ’s iconic towboat punctuates an otherwise smooth skyline . Most of the commercial edifice pick up here top out at 13 stories , though some manage to spring up higher and skirt the rules by rate unoccupied , ornamental body structure atop their roofs .
Now equate the airy photo to the Google Earth view below , which ( about ) recreate the same advantage point .
A clamant city skyline has appeared . Soon after Los Angeles countermand its citywide height restriction in 1956 , aflurryofnewconstructiongave upgrade to a truly modern apparent horizon , crowned by the 1,018 - foundation U.S. Bank Tower .
Other difference burst . The Harbor Freeway now cuts a wide swath through a once - residential dominion . Empty parking lots and the oversized structures of the L.A. Live - Staples Center complex master the bottom - rightfulness .
What else do you notice ? Comment by clicking on either image . [ USC Libraries / Google Earth ]
Post updated on April 17 , 2014 , to correct the date of the top image .
Skylinesouthland
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