Landscapes of desire
Subtitle: Anglo mythologies of Los Angeles
By: William Alexander McClung.
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 2000
Place of publication: Berkeley
Language: eng
Number of pages: 277
Subjects: European Americans -- California -- Los Angeles Region -- Psychology; English language -- Social aspects -- California -- Los Angeles Region -- History; Landscape -- California -- Los Angeles Region -- Psychological aspects; Architecture -- California -- Los Angeles Region -- Psychological aspects; Los Angeles Region (Calif.) -- Civilization -- 19th century; Los Angeles Region (Calif.) -- Civilization -- 20th century; Los Angeles Region (Calif.) -- In literature; Los Angeles Region (Calif.) -- In art
Description: "To those of us who look at Los Angeles and see no sense at all, Landscapes of Desire offers a vivid account of the particular visions that drove the period of Anglo dominance in the Los Angeles region, from about 1850 to about 1985. William McClung's essay, supported at every point by illustrations, shows that Anglo settlers and developers wanted nothing more than to make sense of their surroundings, but that their two dominant paradigms were at war with each other.

Anglophone Los Angeles, McClung says, has tried strenuously to reconcile two competing mythologies of place and space: one of an acquired Arcadia - a found natural paradise - and the other of an invented Utopia - an empty space inviting development. Examining designed spaces, including buildings, parks, freeways, and whole neighborhoods and communities, McClung gives readers a strong sense of the contradictions, failures, and triumphs that continue to govern L.A.'s image of itself."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-265) and index.