At long last a proper book on Los Angeles is found

Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies
by Reyner Banham 1971

I can't count how many google and library searches I did trying to find a book just like this one. For whatever reason people just don't talk about it. Ok, so it is 38 years old and small portions of the literature no longer apply, but it is still an amazing book on Los Angeles.

I had long heard Adam Carolla complain about how all the street and neighborhood names in and around Los Angeles are of Spanish/Mexican influence and this book explains why. It is not as Carolla says, "to confuse the poor immigrants" but because many of the streets and neighborhoods are named after the Spanish or Mexican ranches they now occupy. I find this amazing!

Also, Banham talks about the modernist structures built in Los Angeles in the early 1900s before the modern movement even came!

I'm only just beginning the book and I already don't want it to end. If you want to learn about what Los Angeles is and why it's here I highly recommend checking out Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies.