Los Angeles Before the Freeways 1850 - 1950 Presented by Nathan Marsak

April 23 at 7:00 p.m. - at the Andres Pico Adobe

Can you even imagine Los Angeles before freeways? Join us for a fascinating evening with historian Nathan Marsak, one of the most insightful interpreters of Los Angeles’ architectural and cultural past. He will share stories from his newest book, “Los Angeles Before the Freeways 1850-1950” revealing forgotten histories that shaped Los Angeles before the freeways changed us forever. Nathan will take us on a photographic tour of a Los Angeles that no longer exists—one of elegant office buildings and stately mansions that were razed in the name of “progress.” He will offer a glimpse of what the city used to be before architectural treasures were torn down for the newer, more modern city that would soon follow. 

Nathan Marsak is a Los Angeles historian and preservation advocate. He studied under the eminent historian of Los Angeles, Reyner Banham, at University of California, Santa Cruz, and completed his graduate work at University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has worked for the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art and served as historian for the LAPD Museum archives. He is also the author of “Bunker Hill Los Angeles” and “Los Angeles Neon.” If he looks familiar, Nathan presented his interesting program about Bunker Hill for us via zoom during the pandemic.