Los Angeles as boom town

From 1870-1970, the city of Los Angeles grew from a village of approximately 6,000 people to a city of 2.8 million residents. Inexpensive land, high levels of immigration, a culture of open-shop labor, and strategic investments by business leaders in water acquisition and real estate contributed to an extraordinarily rapid period of urban development over the course of the 20th century. The manufacturing industry flourished after the Second World War, particularly in the areas of aircraft and ship construction, creating millions of jobs in metropolitan Los Angeles, and ushering in an era of unprecedented economic prosperity in Southern California.

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Henry discusses funding options with Southern California's first aircraft manufacturer, Donald Douglas, who secured a loan from Times publisher Harry Chandler to move his company from Ohio. Henry met Douglas while he was managing air shows at the Cleveland Buffalo air fields from 1919-1920.

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An aerial view of the Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, circa 1921-1922. After moving to Clover Field (Santa Monica Airport), and increasing production throughout the 1930s, Douglas Aircraft transformed Santa Monica from a small beach community to a blue-collar manufacturing center.

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The completion of the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1921 and the hosting of the 1932 Olympic Games symbolized LA’s identity as a modern American city. Here is an aerial view of the housing complex built for the male athletes of the 1932 Olympic Games, located near Crenshaw and Vernon Avenues.

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Henry served as the sports technical director of the 1932 Olympic Games, as well as master of ceremonies for events held in the Coliseum. Here, he inspects rule booklets with translator Julia C. Mayer in 1932.