10 'Rare' Ansel Adams Photos of Los Angeles in 1940
Ansel Adams is best known for his iconic and bucolic large-format shots of Yosemite National Park, but in 1940 he also covered L.A.'s aviation industry for Fortune magazine. The California native and vanguard photographer snapped more than 200 images of Los Angeles in the midst of a rainstorm, capturing the metropolis in all its post-Depression, prewar, film-noir glory.
Photo of Ansel Adams by J. Malcolm Greany, ca 1950
Beginning Saturday, Feb. 18, Downtown's drkrm Gallery is showing new silver-gelatin prints made from the original black-and-white negatives, which have remained mostly unseen until now. While these photos have been touted as "rare," that label is suspect, considering they've been available for browsing since Adams donated them to the Los Angeles Public Library back in the early '60s. "The weather was bad over a rather long period and none of the pictures were very good," Adams wrote. "At any event, I do not want them back." The library then estimated the total value of the pictures at around $150.
So, has this newly rediscovered body of work by Ansel Adams gained any value? Here are 10 photos to help us decide.
Ansel Adams Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library and drkrm Gallery
10. Pee, oh, pee
Ocean Front Promenade, Santa Monica
In 1958, Ocean Park Pier in Santa Monica officially became Pacific Ocean Park (it was located at Pier Avenue in the Ocean Park neighborhood, south of the current pier). "Pee oh pee," as it semi-affectionately came to be known, was an amusement park designed to compete with Disneyland, but it closed just nine years later, eventually turning into the Dogtown skate park in the 1970s.
Ansel Adams Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library and drkrm Gallery
9. Dirty laundry
Olympic Trailer Court, West Los Angeles
The Olympic Trailer Court was located at 2121 Bundy Drive in West L.A., where, according to Zillow, houses now are selling between $640,000 and $1.2 million.
Ansel Adams Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library and drkrm Gallery
8. Striking it rich
Oil rig on La Cienega, near Beverly Boulevard
What happened to the oil derrick on La Cienega Boulevard, near Beverly? It became the Beverly Center, where the only black gold merchants now accept is Amex.
Ansel Adams Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library and drkrm Gallery
7. Hat trick
Brown Derby on Wilshire Boulevard
One of several "Derby" restaurants (but the only one in the shape of a hat), the Brown Derby at 3377 Wilshire Blvd. was sold in 1975, eventually becoming the Brown Derby Plaza strip mall. Nowadays it's a Korean shopping center, part of which still vaguely resembles a bowler hat.
Ansel Adams Courtesy Los Angeles Public Library and drkrm Gallery
6. Send in the clowns
Santa's Circus, Wilshire Boulevard
Benefiting the British War Relief Association of Southern California, Santa's Circus on Wilshire Boulevard featured attractions such as a riding act, seals, wire-walking clowns, and a dog-and-pony show. In other words, not much has changed.
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