It's no exaggeration that Los Angeles is a great big freeway and a six-lane road jammed in both directions is just a way of life there. If you're from LA, it's hard to believe it when your grandparents reminisce about a time without the Hollywood Freeway or miles and miles of pavement.
Imagine no longer, thanks to these fantastic photos of the major LA roads before they were all grown up and paved, dug up by KCET. They show what the city looked like before everything was paved and widened and it's pretty fascinating for someone who grew up with things like Wilshire near Ocean in Santa Monica being paved and covered in cars at pretty much any given time. But here, cars are racing down a dirt road. That's awesome!
This is where the Hollywood Freeway would go in the early 1950s, but in 1905, this is what the Cahuenga Pass looked like.
Then there's PCH, which is still a fairly thin strip of road firm against the water and the mountains. This photo is from 1905, but this isn't too far from what it looks like following a big rock slide.
This is so far removed from what Hollywood and Sunset looks like today, but in 1904, there were trees and just one car driving by.
Head over to KCET and see more of the great photos.