Photos of Smog-Filled Living from 1970s Los Angeles
During the 1970s, Los Angeles lived under a blanket of smog. These images capture moments of a city immersed in a gray haze that covered buildings, freeways, and streets. The polluted air, a product of industrial growth and traffic, transformed the Californian sky into a landscape very different from what exists today.
The following photos show everyday scenes such as cars driving on highways, buildings shrouded in polluted air, and people walking around wearing masks.
Daily activities continued despite the smog, and these pictures show the problem it created in Los Angeles in the 1970s before the protests for new environmental regulations began.
Motorist in LA
Air pollution affects daily life in Los Angeles, 1970s.
Smog Alert
Snapshot of LA with low visibility.
Smog Problem
Los Angeles smog problem in the 1970s.
Suspected Gas Attack
When LA smog was so bad people suspected a gas attack.
Air Pollution
This was the air pollution in 1970s Los Angeles.
Smoggy Los Angeles
Downtown exit in smoggy Los Angeles circa 1970s.
Pollution In LA
“One thing I don't miss about the '70s was the pollution in LA.”
Smog In LA, '70s
Los Angeles under Smog, 1970s.
Vanishing LA
1970s photos capture a vanishing LA.
Los Angeles, 1972
Streets of Los Angeles, 1972.
Los Angeles, 1973
Los Angeles is still a polluted city, but it is much better than it was in 1973.
LA, 1970s
Los Angeles circa 1972.
LA, 1974
Los Angeles, 1974.
Air Pollution in LA
Air pollution in LA, 1970s.
Broadway and 7th Street, LA
Broadway and 7th Street, Los Angeles, 1977.
Air Not Pure
A time when the air was not pure.
Smog Problem
Los Angeles smog problem in the 1970s.
LA in the 1970s
LA during the air pollution crisis of the 1970s.
LA, 1976
Los Angeles, 1976.
Smog
The persistent smog in Los Angeles during the 1970s.
