The Los Angeles New Year’s Flood of 1934
Ninety years ago, on New Years Eve, a powerful thunderstorm swept through the San Gabriel Mountains. It unleashed a violent flood of water, rocks, and mud that roared down the canyons, uprooted trees, destroyed homes, swept away cars, and resulted in nearly a hundred deaths. Five years later Woody Guthrie wrote a song about the flood and performed it on his radio show on KFVD. I rearranged and recorded the song for my album, Radio Songs: Woody Guthrie in Los Angeles, while doing research for my book on Woody Guthrie. My work was aided by the Seaver Center for Western ... [Read More]
LARB Review: L.A. and the Birth of Car Culture
The driving force of car consumption was much more than just an American “natural” love of automobility (or even their promotion, via massive advertising). The vanguard of the new consumer culture was the car, and its leading edge was arguably the car dealer. And Driving Force argues that Los Angeles was home to some of the most important retail innovations.
Video: Society of Architectural Historians Interview ‘Driving Force’ Authors
Video: Society of Architectural Historians Interview Darryl Holter and Stephen Gee Co-Authors of "Driving Force: Automobiles and the New American City, 1900–1930". The Society of Architectural Historians is a nonprofit membership organization that serves an international network of institutions and individuals who, by profession or interest, focus on the history of the built environment and its role in shaping contemporary life.
Video: Los Angeles World Affairs Council and Town Hall
Video: Author and CEO of The Shammas Group, Darryl Holter, discusses the early auto industry, how it shaped LA, and how LA changed the industry. The conversation is moderated by Corporate Archivist at the Automobile Club of Southern California, Morgan Yates.
Darryl Holter and Stephen Gee Interview on KPCC/LAist 89.3 FM
Listen as Darryl Holter and Stephen Gee guest on AirTalk with Larry Mantle / KPCC/LAist 89.3 FM - talking about their new book Driving Force: Automobiles and The New American City, 1900–1930, The First Major History of Car Dealers at Work.
A Book to Check Out – The H.H. Franklin Club
Thanks to Roger Moffat, the ACN has been introduced to a newly published book that has some distinct Franklin connec- tions: specifically Ralph Hamlin. Following is a synopsis of the book and a few photos and quotes from the book. Released on May 9, 2023, Driving Force: Automobiles and the New American City, 1900–1930 (Angel City Press) reveals how the city’s passion for automobiles was ignited by an unlikely mix of entrepreneurs and risk-takers.
LA traffic (and car culture) gets a fresh understanding in ‘Driving Force’
In “Driving Force: Automobiles and the New American City, 1900-1930,” out this month from Angel City Press, Darryl Holter and Stephen Gee explore that question, diving deep into the rise of automobiles in Southern California. Jay Leno provides the book’s introduction, writing that he thought he’d known the whole story of the rise of the automobile, “But like everything else in America, the real story is a lot more complicated than that.”
Driving Force Author Darryl Holter Interview on KPFK Radio
In this first major history of dealers at work—and one of the first books to chronicle the early history of cars in Los Angeles—authors Darryl Holter and Stephen Gee share the untold story of pioneering auto dealers who seized the chance to join a start-up industry that reinvented an American city. Listen to Darryl Holter's Interview on KPFK...
Car And Driver: New Book Uncovers How Car Dealers Shaped Los Angeles and the Auto Industry
Los Angeles is known as a global capital of automotive culture, a germinating point for trends set amid ubiquitous superhighways and their crushing smog and traffic. But how and why did L.A. become a city of cars? A deeply researched and richly illustrated new book, Driving Force: Automobiles and the New American City 1900–1930 (Angel City Press, $50) by Darryl Holter and Stephen Gee seeks to answer these questions.
New Book By Darryl Holter: Driving Force: Automobiles and the New American City, 1900–1930
New Book Reveals L.A.’s Incredible Impact on the Early Auto Industry Click Here for all Driving Force Events and News Driving Force: Automobiles and the New American City, 1900–1930 is the First Major History of Car Dealers at Work LOS ANGELES —Have you ever wondered how and why Los Angeles became so obsessed with cars? While historians and sociologists have provided numerous explanations, little or no credit has been given to the dealers, who ventured into unknown territory to sell a product regarded by nearly all banks and most businesses as a fad at best. Released on May 9, 2023, ... [Read More]
Darryl Holter grew up playing the guitar and singing country and rock and roll songs in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His current brand of Americana music draws from country, blues and folk traditions and often tells stories about people, places and events.