Up Next
Back to Show
Lost LA
The Riots of Griffith Park
The Merry-Go-Round at Griffith Park is a popular recreational activity, especially for parents and their children. The idyllic place is also the venue where Walt Disney purportedly first saw the glimmers of a future Disneyland. But in 1961, the Merry-Go-Round wasn't so merry; it became the site of a race riot that challenged Griffith J. Griffith's vision of a park for the people.
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.