Up Next
Back to Show
Lost LA
Outposts of Unreality
Sam Gennawey, urban planner and theme park historian, talks to us about the cross-pollination of inspiration that happened in Los Angeles’ built environment. Set designers working on bombastic backdrops for Hollywood would also find themselves the architects of homes for celebrities and vice versa. In this city of dreamers and big ideas, themed restaurants such as Tam O’Shanter, Pig N Whistle or Clifton’s could exist, as well as the Babylonian themed archways in the City of Commerce, Disneyland and Universal Studios.
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.