La Brea Tar Pits - August 1969
I've had today's scans on my computer for a long time. It's high time I used them! One of Los Angeles's more unusual features is the La Brea Tarpits. For one thing - they are tar pits. For another - they are right on Wilshire Boulevard, along the "Miracle Mile". Next door to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and (now) across the street from the Petersen Automotive Museum.
The tar pits (it's actually asphaltum) are located in a pretty parklike setting - there are larger pits (or pools) or tar that have been there for a long time, but sometimes you'll find a small seep oozing out of the ground. One time I saw a poor (and dead) squirrel trapped in one, just like the Smilodons (aka "sabertooth cats") of 15,000 years ago. In this view, the massive Park LaBrea apartments loom over the scene - one of my good friends used to live there, he had amazing views of the city from his windows.
Guides and smart-alecks love to tell you that "La Brea Tar Pits" translates to The Tar Tar Pits. You should see the looks on their faces when they drop that bomb on people! They are very pleased. Beyond this sign you can see the large "Lake Pit", and past that, the Museum of Art. With so much oily glop everywhere, it surprises me that some plants still seem to thrive.
There's the Lake Pit again, which is over 3,000 feet (1,000 meters) long. Inhale the heady methane fumes as large bubbles bloop to the surface. It's fun! I don't remember that "island" in the middle, but I would like to build a home there. The tall buildings are across Wilshire Blvd. I would assume that measures need to be taken whenever construction takes place in that vicinity in order to deal with asphaltum in the ground.
Some people have claimed that this is the most interesting and exciting photo to ever appear in the Internet. Far be it from me to argue with them.
I don't remember ever seeing this sculpture of a mama smilodon and two cubs before, though it's possible it was there when I was a child. I'm pretty sure this is long-gone now.
Still present today is this sculpture of a Columbian Mammoth (from the Pleistocene era), caught in the sticky goo. It's not going to end well. I've mentioned it before, but this mammoth actually floats on a submerged "raft", and it will drift around in the wind.
I hope you have enjoyed your visit to The Tar Tar Pits!
12 comments:
Major-
"I don't remember that "island" in the middle, but I would like to build a home there."
You know, that's exactly what Walt said when first thinking about a location for the House of the Future. (I haven't the vaguest idea why he settled on a spot in Tomorrowland, instead-!)
Thanks, Major.
I'm guessing that the air reeks of tar? The odor must be intense! Like a hundred street crews paving a hundred roads all at the same time! I wouldn't want to live anywhere near there.
One good thing about building your home on that island, surrounded by tar-stuff: It'll keep the neighborhood kids and their dogs away. Carl Sagan said that we're all made of tar-stuff... or something like that.
Mama smilodon looks awfully thin, but the two cubs look fat and healthy. They must've sucked her dry!
I think it's great that the mammoth statue drifts around in the wind, it makes it look like it's struggling to free itself. Oh, the anguish! Oh, the pathos! (More bang for yer buck!) It's a really good statue; somebody with talent knew what they were doing.
Today, tar pits. Next Saturday, Vogon poetry! Thanks for the school field trip, Major... Now where did Timmy disappear to?
There is just something cool about the La Brea Tar Pits and how they exist right in the middle of a developed metropolis.
That white building in the first pic is "The Observation Pit," which is still there today, but I'm not sure if it will be staying. There are current plans to redo the park. Maybe they will take a cue from Disney and remove/fill-in the pits for a couple thrill rides.
The L.A. County Art museum peeps have recently torn down all of the wonderful mid-century William Pereira designed buildings. Why? Because just like Disney, Los Angeles ruins everything and has no regard for it's own history. They are currently constructing a building which will expand over Wilshire Blvd., to the other side. I hope they have allowed for clearance of very tall trucks and other high profile vehicles.
In addition to the Peterson Automotive Museum across the street (as Major mentioned) the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened about 5 years ago, in the historic 1939 streamline modern May Company building, which sits on the same block of property as the Tar Pits and the LA County Art Museum.
That close-up photo looks like it was focusing in on those little circular ripples on the surface of the tar pit. Those are caused by gas escaping from deep below. And as far as things "escaping," like Major said, tar sometimes oozes up in the middle of the grass. Usually when you see this, it will contain a gazillion broken off twigs stuck in it. I guess people just can't help "poking" the substance. But just remember what happened to the old guy at the beginning of The Blob, when he took a stick and poked at something soft and gooey. Another thing I think I have seen every time I've visited the Tar Pits, is footprints of tar left on the concrete pathways, from somebody who just had to step on top of one of those "oozing" spots.
Thanks for the vintage Tar Tar Pits pics, Major! Say that quickly three times!
ooohh, the Tar Pits AND the Observation Pit. our class in early grade school really did take a field trip to The Tar Tar Pits, and standing with my classmates on the stairs of the observation pit, while some adult gave a talk, is seared into my memory (and occasionally dreams).
oh, no, did they really tear down some of the great original mid century art museum buildings? as a teen, I would like to drive there sometimes -- it was free! once I even felt I had enough money to get something at the cafe. throw in a stroll around the fenced off smelly pit of tar, and it was like a budget trip to Disneyland.
thanks for all these pics of Rancho La Brea ("Ranch The Tar"), Major
Always loved visiting the La Brea Tar Pits and like TokyoMagic! I'm just fascinated that it's in the middle of this big metropolis.
That "most interesting and exciting photo to ever appear in the Internet" is actually quite wonderful. It reminds me of how I used stare into the pools and look at the ripples and use my imagination to think of what was going on below.
Today's photos are extra wonderful just for the memories they bring up of my aunt from Culver City taking us to the Tar Pits once in a while and afterwards having Carnation Ice Cream at one of their locations. Thanks, Major.
I remember being fascinated by photos of this place in my grandmother’s encyclopedia on visits to her house in Ohio. Kicking myself (which is getting harder to do the older I get) we never went here (or LACMA) in the two years we lived in the LA area, but in my defense, we lived on the east side of San Bernardino, and LA was all the way over there, and why don’t we just go to Disneyland because we have annual passes and free parking?
Tar Tar Pits is probably my least favorite Star Wars character.
Can’t wait for next Saturday and the third worst poetry in the Universe!
Nanook, Walt wanted to put tar pits in Disneyland, but Joe Fowler talked him out of it. But it is intriguing to think of what could have been…
JB, you can smell a petroleum aroma at times, but I don’t ever remember it being overwhelming. I think it depends on how hot is is, and if the Lake Pit is really belching up methane bubbles. I think Carl Sagan said that thing about “tar stuff” when he was drunk. Mama smilodon is thin, but sadly it’s because she smokes. We all know that exercise and a healthy diet are the best way to keep slim. I remember years ago they restored the mammoth statue, which had become quite faded and weathered over the years. It must have been quite a chore to pull it from that tar! Vogon poetry is so bad that they can even rhyme with “orange”.
TokyoMagic!, it really is so crazy that those tar pits are right in the middle of some of the most valuable real estate. It worries me that you said that there are “plans to redo the park”. Sounds bad. I feel like they’ve been encroaching on the tar pits little by little for decades, reducing the area by quite a bit. You can watch videos on YouTube with previews of the new building that crosses Wilshire. I truly miss the old William Pereira buildings, which I loved, but admit that the new building is striking. Will it work as a good museum space? To be determined. It is neat to see people standing above Wilshire, watching the cars go by. I think it will officially open some time this year? The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is neat, but it really can depend on what special exhibits they have; I went once and it was amazing. Then I took some out-of-town friends another time, and I think they were a little disappointed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those seeps with lots of little twigs sticking out of it, but would probably have to get a little stick of my own!
LTL, ah, the days of school field trips. I remember going to a dairy (and getting a little cup of ice cream - with a wooden spoon - afterwards) and to the Museum of Science and Industry. Those were always exciting. YES, they tore down those original buildings, it was painful to look at. I feel as if somebody decided the museum needed some architecture that would really put it on the map, no matter that the new building reduces exhibit space by a TON.
K. Martinez, I’m sure most kids loved to watch that lake of tar and wait for a big bubble to break the surface! After rains, it looks like a regular pond, until the water eventually evaporates off. Culver City is not that far from the Tar Pits, I’m sure that was a fun day trip. And I think the Carnation corporate headquarters was on Wilshire.
Chuck, I admit that I would have probably chosen Disneyland over the Tar Pits too, even if I didn’t live in San Bernardino. I can’t feel too sorry for you! Plus you can still visit the La Brea Tar Pits, maybe you can take your wife there for a big anniversary.
I love this post Major! We visited the Tar Pits about this same time, all this looks very familiar, including the animal figures.
It’s a shame losing the museum building, Pereira buildings seem to get no love in spite of the mid-century craze. People are silly.
Chuck, Tar Tar is ZaSu’s cousin.
Major, you are absolutely correct in your surmise of construction problems in the tar. LA has serious soil issues in some areas that require use of special gas-proof membranes under buildings to prevent (explosive) methane from entering the construction. The natural petroleum pollution also precludes use of certain waterproofing materials that interact with the oil and fail. My company did some consulting on the natural history museum at this site, the museum waterproofing was failing partly due to age, and partly because the materials of the 1960’s weren’t up to the challenge, which is kind of the same thing.
Very interesting post, thank you so much!
JG
JG, we commented at the same time! The new building is cool in its way, but I hate that they sacrificed the original Pereira buildings, which I’d been to so many times. In face I would note the wear to the elevators and wood paneling (elsewhere), and in retrospect I feel like they didn’t spruce those buildings up because they could have an excuse to tear them down. I’m sure it would have cost a tiny fraction to give them a classy upgrade. Another thing I’ve heard is that the art in the new building will put a Warhol next to a Renaissance Madonna and Child painting (for example) - no “putting things in order for context”. Which sounds awful to me. Interesting about the challenges of dealing with the petroleum, I’ve always wondered how they dealt with it.
I live like 4 miles west of the Tar Pits and ride my bike past it on my way to The Grove. In the 8 years of where I now live, I've never been to them. Should fix that soon (as well as visit the Academy Museum).
Trivium: An early episode of Disney's Zorro involved a couple of lancers ordered to haul tar from some shallow tar pits for roof repair. They forced some peasants to neglect their own crops and do the hard labor for them. Of course the masked avenger set things right, ending with a chase and somebody's uniform ruined.
I agree with Chuck about the Tar Tar Pits character. Tar Tar Pits put tar tar sauce on his steak tar tar, "Meesa gonna likea dis!"
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