What did L.A. used to be like???? (Los Angeles, Highland: apartments, crime)

[BRinSM]

I remember LA of the late 80s as a kid who would come up from OC. For those who think LA is a ****hole now, you should have seen it back then! Tagging was way worse, drugs were much more prevalent, and i definitely remember more homeless people. maybe the valley was nicer, but the city proper was definitely not.

[PeppermintChapstick]

This is a great thread. I wish more folks would post their memories of growing up in LA. Pictures are fantastic too. Seems like a couple years ago I found that Sunset Strip website mentioned earlier. It was fascinating and I spent hours reading it. I bookmarked it so I could finish it later and then it was gone. I know the LA library website is a wealth of information, but I enjoy hearing personal stories.

[disgruntled la native]

BRinsm, that was already the late 80s. I remember that time well, and remember that the late 80s and early 90s were a time of decline in LA. Probably the beginning of the end. Most of these posters are remembering the 70s and before. Which was, undoubtedly, a golden age in southern California. Now it's all gone to hell

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Gurbie

You don't read much Raymond Chandler, do you?

I doubt "disgruntled LA native" has.
Not to mention Culver City's still very safe.... admittedly its cops weren't exactly nice back then and aren't exactly nice now. OTOH it used to be affordable and full of families rather than old people and yuppies, and it used to have dive bars rather than pseudohipster joints....it still has a few (amongst the westside's last) but most are long gone.
In defense of my final SoCal hometown to date it still does SOMEWHAT feel like the old westside - the rest of the westside's changed irreversably.
And if they think cops were seriously nice in the old days, they obviously have never heard of Bill Parker, Daryl Gates, and know nothing about what went down in L.A. in the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s. Or earlier....

[BluSpark]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

BRinsm, that was already the late 80s. I remember that time well, and remember that the late 80s and early 90s were a time of decline in LA. Probably the beginning of the end. Most of these posters are remembering the 70s and before. Which was, undoubtedly, a golden age in southern California. Now it's all gone to hell

It has NOT all gone to hell.

1) Remember that from 1950 through at least the 1970's the air quality was TERRIBLE compared to today. Even through the end of the 1980's the air quality was worse than today. To some extent we are prisoners of our unique geography but the improvements made to date are very POSITIVE.

2) Homicides on a per capita basis were much higher, even in the 1970's (as compared to today). The 1980's and early 1990's were a virtual killing field by today's standards.

The City of Los Angeles had ONLY 315 homicides in 2009 (despite the economic downturn). The averge in the 1970's was about 550 murders per year (1970 through 1979) and we had FEWER people here then.

The 1980's was an average of 849 murders per year. And from 1990 through 1995 the average was: 977 homicides per year.

In some ways THIS is the GOLDEN age....

[disgruntled la native]

You are right about the air quality. That's the one major point I'll concede.

Murders... well in the 1950s and 1960s it was safer than today. I understand in the 70s thru the early 90s there were more murders. But what does murder rate have to do with quality of life? It's not like Brentwood or Encino was filled with murders back then. Now we have more theft and other concerns.

In any case those are only two examples.

I repeat:
-People were friendlier and more relaxed back then
-Alcohol and tobacco were far more socially accepted (see above)
-Much much less traffic
-More beautiful landscapes not ruined by overcrowding and drought
-More industry and excitement (see Westwood circa 1987 vs the Westwood of today)
-Less harassment from cops to ordinary citizens - I am not referring to white officers harassing blacks in south central - that's how it was back then, now they spend their time harassing upscale people in the westside and hollywood and leave the ghetto alone.
-Cleaner beaches
-Nicer public places. No cesspools like the current 3rd st promeande or commercialized headaches like the grove. there was farmer's market. the old santa monica. relaxed and easy.
-less government regulation up your ass 24/7... too many laws now
-Safer in the sense you never locked your doors you could play outside parents trusted

[majoun]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

You are right about the air quality. That's the one major point I'll concede.

Murders... well in the 1950s and 1960s it was safer than today.

True

I understand in the 70s thru the early 90s there were more murders. But what does murder rate have to do with quality of life?

A lot. The murder rate reflects the overall crime rate.

It's not like Brentwood or Encino was filled with murders back then.

Try telling that to Roman Polanski or the Tate family.
(The Manson murders could be considered the "end of the golden age" for those who were old enough to have been grown up in the '60s, or "the beginning of the end of the golden age" for others. That's when stars began to self-segregate themselves from the rest of L.A.)

Now we have more theft and other concerns.

Car break ins became an issue at the beginning of the '80s - not coincidentally right when the homeless problem started getting bad.

And while Atwater Village and Brentwood have a similar crime rate today, Atwater Village in the '80s and most of the '90s had far more crime and open drug activity than it does today.

Would someone who lived in Atwater or Echo Park say the '80s were better than today? Would someone who lived in central Hollywood?

The Go-Go's Notebook: 1970's Hollywood Wasteland

-People were friendlier and more relaxed back then
-Alcohol and tobacco were far more socially accepted (see above)
-Much much less traffic
-More beautiful landscapes not ruined by overcrowding and drought

OK, I'll give you these, although if you don't think alcohol's socially accepted you're not hanging out in the right parts of L.A. I visit family and friends in L.A. about once every couple months (which is as often as I can afford to) and alcohol's (fortunately) still pretty socially acceptable. L.A. does not have the bar culture it used to have but that's a different issue.
L.A. certainly is more uptight now than back then.

-More industry and excitement (see Westwood circa 1987 vs the Westwood of today)

You mean when that woman got shot?
1987 was the most dangerous Westwood ever was. It took the shooting to drive the gangs away.
Westwood's problems today are of a whole different nature - I don't think those who live there WANT Westwood to return to what it was. Unfortunately the poor economy's prevented Westwood from reinventing itself as neighborhood oriented. The locals want something more on the Larchmont or Los Feliz model

-Less harassment from cops to ordinary citizens - I am not referring to white officers harassing blacks in south central - that's how it was back then, now they spend their time harassing upscale people in the westside and hollywood and leave the ghetto alone.

It wasn't just blacks in South Central who got hassled.
If you were young, you got hassled. I remember those days well.

-less government regulation up your ass 24/7... too many laws now

True

-Safer in the sense you never locked your doors you could play outside parents trusted

The days of unlocked doors came to an end in the '70s...BECAUSE of the rapid increase in crime....

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by disgruntled la native

You could get from Santa Monica to downtown in 15 minutes ALWAYS (this was actually until the 80s). There was minimal traffic.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

[Jay100]

Originally Posted by BluSpark

It has NOT all gone to hell.

1) Remember that from 1950 through at least the 1970's the air quality was TERRIBLE compared to today. Even through the end of the 1980's the air quality was worse than today. To some extent we are prisoners of our unique geography but the improvements made to date are very POSITIVE.

2) Homicides on a per capita basis were much higher, even in the 1970's (as compared to today). The 1980's and early 1990's were a virtual killing field by today's standards.

The City of Los Angeles had ONLY 315 homicides in 2009 (despite the economic downturn). The averge in the 1970's was about 550 murders per year (1970 through 1979) and we had FEWER people here then.

The 1980's was an average of 849 murders per year. And from 1990 through 1995 the average was: 977 homicides per year.

In some ways THIS is the GOLDEN age....

So according to you BANKRUPT=GOLDEN AGE?


Did you live through the 60's, 70's, and 80s? Yes, the murder rate was higher but criminals preyed on each other and stayed in their areas. Today, they're everywhere, even the nicer areas. That is the difference. If you go to chill at the beach, there's probably a thug right around the corner. If you want to go to one of the malls, it's crawling with thugs. If you want to day trip to Magic Mountain or Knott's, it's probably 80% filled with lowlifes too. You can spew all of the stats you want but the fact is that the state is in crisis--and that's the reason^.

[Twinkle Toes]

I miss Laserium!