In the 1960s, artist Ed Ruscha started taking images of the architecture along many of Los Angeles’ iconic streets, and over the years he keeps shooting, giving us a vision of what has changed, and not changed, over the lifetime of a city.
In this compilation piece, Ruscha puts the north side of Hollywood Boulevard on parade, comparing 1973 (above) with a 2002 vision below. Now 11 years later, the boulevard has seen some change, but remarkably, this section east of Highland, remains much the same in 2013 as it did back in the sixties.
Ruscha used a 35 mm camera mounted on a moving vehicle to shoot the north side of the boulevard. The Streets of Los Angeles Archive, now preserved at the Getty Research Institute, includes Ruscha’s comprehensive views of avenues throughout the region.
Video: Edward Ruscha Streets of Los Angeles Archive, Getty Research Institute, © Ed Ruscha.