Back to Show
Lost LA
Joshua Tree Exists Because of Minerva Hamilton Hoyt
When Minerva Hamilton Hoyt moved to Southern California, she was taken with its desert landscape and went on a quest to protect it from increasing tourism and looming commercial interests. Park Ranger Joe Zarki tells how Hoyt, using a photo album that's referred to as a "pitch deck," lobbied the Roosevelt administration of the 1930s to preserve the land as a national monument. It's an enduring victory for not only land preservation but for enduring accomplishments in women's history.
Support Provided By
Season
27:05
Trace the devastation of the 1928 St. Francis Dam collapse and its deadly flood.
26:40
How Cold War vigilance and secrecy shaped Southern California culture.
26:39
The Space Shuttle Endeavour’s journey is traced from its origins.
26:40
Tiki culture isn’t a Polynesian import — it’s a Hollywood creation.
26:49
Archives reveal the “forgotten plague” that shaped Southern California: tuberculosis.
26:50
Visit Hollywood Forever, Evergreen and Forest Lawn, where L.A. reinvented the cemetery.
26:40
The hiker-activists who led Angelenos into their hills and onto the trails.
26:39
How Filipino Americans in Southern California are making their heritage more visible.
26:47
Iconic fast-food chains from McDonald’s to Taco Bell were born in SoCal.
26:37
After internment camps, Japanese Americans made L.A.'s Crenshaw neighborhood their home.
26:04
During WWII, L.A. became a sanctuary for Europe’s accomplished artists and intellectuals.
26:46
Dig deep into Southern California’s past to reveal lessons for our climate-changed future.