Past, Present, Future: The LA Retrofuture Series

I found a set of 15-minute USGS maps of Los Angeles from the 1920s…gorgeous, and perfect as a base for Retrofuture Series maps.

Showing the north shore of the Bay of LA after all the ice sheets melt, these six maps align perfectly in a row, from Pacific Palisades to Whittier, going through Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Downtown LA, and East LA.

Looking at these old maps, I’m reminded of a couple of period-piece movies set in LA–Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Chinatown. Each of these fictional movies contain the thread of real crimes–the destruction of the streetcars, and the creation of the LA water system. These maps show the results of a much larger crime–the denial and delay that have created the climate crisis.

ComboLAPolyptych
LA Retrofuture Series Mosaic

LA Retrofuture Series Map Gallery

The series as individual maps, available in the shop

The Retrofuture Series is a time machine–the maps combine elements of the past, the present and the future.

The base maps are rooted in the past–vintage and antique maps that show places very different from our current world.

The hillshade effects are contemporary, and the modern world can be seen shadowing the old maps–freeway embankments, dams and reservoirs, and a variety of earthworks.

The 218′ of sea level rise is the future. When all the world’s ice sheets have melted, this is what our world will look like–flooded coastal cities, valleys, and plains. This is a world thousands of years in the future, that none of us will live to experience.

All sea level rise depicted in these maps is based on estimates by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.