Linear City: Wilshire Boulevard
In 2004 and 2005, Lane Barden photographed three linear trajectories in the Los Angeles metropolitan landscape: The Los Angeles River, The Alameda Supply Corridor (the Trench) and Wilshire Boulevard. These images are samples from the 131 photographs that comprise this project.
All of the pictures were made at the same altitude and camera angle, with the camera on axis with the linear form in the landscape as it disappeared into the horizon. This kind of work can only be made from a low flying helicopter as it hovers, with the door removed to remove any obstruction. This method of typological sequencing of the images was employed to create a complete portrait of each linear formation in its context of the surrounding landscape.
The Los Angeles River stretches across 52 miles from the West San Fernando Valley to its mouth in Long Beach. It has become a rallying point for environmentalists and cultural activists. Themovement to restore it to a more authentic natural condition has created a community of interlinking stakeholders, players and volunteers that has had a significant impact on Los Angeles and how it now sees itself as a metropolis..
The Trench is an underground passage for the three rail lines that carry cargo from the Port of Los Angeles in Long Beach, to the BNSF container terminal yard in South Los Angeles. This was one of the largest infrastructure projects in the United States and the cargo that moves through it is a significant artery of global capitalism.
Wilshire Boulevard is an important historical and cultural corridor between Downtown Los Angeles, and the beach in Santa Monica. It was the first street that linked the downtown area of Los Angeles, to the beach. Arguably, Wilshire Boulevard is a linear city that serves as a kind of central anchor to the greater Los Angeles area in a way that Downtown never could because in L.A., Downtown is another just another place to go - like Santa Monica, Burbank, or Hollywood.
A print portfolio of all images in the Linear City project are in the archives of the Getty Research Institute available to the public for study, and have been shown at several exhibition venues in Los Angeles. All inquires about purchase or licensing should be directed to the photographer.
Looking east to Wilshire Boulevard over the beach in Santa Monica. The sand on the beach is not natural to California in these quantities, so it had to be imported from other locations. The development and construction of Wilshire Boulevard actually began at the opposite in Downtown Los Angeles and progressed west until it reached the beach, so perhaps this series would be more historically authentic if I had begun there and flown west, but then how would I have included this image? I could not have. So I shot the Wilshire series from the end, to the beginning.
Looking east to Wilshire Boulevard over the beach in Santa Monica. The cliff above Highway 1 and beneath Wilshire is astonishing from the air. The development and construction of Wilshire Boulevard actually began at the opposite in Downtown Los Angeles and progressed west until it reached the beach, so perhaps this series would be more historically authentic if I had begun there and flown west, but then how would I have included these images of the cliffs of Santa Monica? I could not have. So I shot the Wilshire series from the end, to the beginning.
The zoning and high rise luxury multi-family towers in Westwood are unique to Los Angeles, and it remarkable to notice from the air for the first time, that nearly all of them are white.
Wishire Boulevard twists through Westwood on its way to Beverly Hills. The zoning and high rise luxury multi-family towers in Westwood are unique in Los Angeles, and it was remarkable to notice from the air after seeing them countless times from the ground, that nearly all of them are white. I stayed in one of these buildings for one month after moving to Los Angeles in 1990.
By law, buildings of this size in Los Angeles are required to have helicopter landing pads on their rooftop to make it possible for medical rescue in the event of emergencies. Wishire Boulevard twists through Westwood on its way to Beverly Hills. The zoning and high rise luxury multi-family towers in Westwood are unique in Los Angeles, and it was remarkable to notice from the air after seeing them countless times from the ground, that nearly all of them are white. I stayed in one of these buildings for one month after moving to Los Angeles in 1990.
Wilshire Boulevard looking east over the Los Angeles Country Club golf course.
Wilshire Boulevard exits the Los Angeles Country Club as it approaches the Beverly Hills Hilton with helipad, and the intersection with Santa Monica Boulevard at the west end of Beverly Hills.
Wilshire, center, crosses Santa Monica Boulevard before it enters Beverly Hills and the Miracle Mile beyond.
San Vicente Boulevard crosses Wilshire and slices off into the haze of the southeastern portion of Wilshire Center. Park La Brea is visible in the deep left background.
L.A. County Museum of Art is visible lower left, and the Paige Museum is just beyond to the east.
Koreatown is the largest Korean community in the world outside Korea, and occupies some of the most historically significant sites on Wilshire Boulevard. The movie industry was centered here before the rise of Hollywood.
The Ambassador Hotel, once the meeting place of stars and celebrities, home of the Coconut Grove and no longer extant, is visible at center right. The Equitable tower at left, could be evidence that we were flying below the legal limit of 500 feet. If we were, you can't completely blame the pilot. I wanted these images to be more like landscape photographs than conventional aerials so I was constantly saying into my headset "Lower!, lower!!"
