L.A. Is My Beat: The Summer Olympics in Paris

Oooo! It's so exciting to watch the Opening Ceremonies to the Summer Olympic 2024 on TV. They are in Paris this year! The ceremonies are being held on the streets of Paris, not in a traditional stadium! WOW!

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 1932 Olympic Summer Games

Los Angeles was the host city in 1932 and then again in 1984. We will be hosting again in 2028. there's a LOT of work to do to get our City ready by then!

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 1984

It was a glorious 2-1/2 weeks in Los Angeles in 1984 when we hosted the Olympics. Many residents, fearing extra traffic and crowds left town for the duration of the games. People curbed their driving. There was no smog. The weather was perfect. I attended many events in person, which was a thrill. It was a wonderful time in Los Angeles.

Santa Monica Beach L.A. Public Library Photo Archives

My Dad attended many of the events during the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. I even have a printed program from the 1932 opening ceremonies at the Coliseum where my tween-aged Dad pasted newspaper clippings of his favorite Olympic swimming star, Johnny Weismuller! Mom and Dad both volunteered for the 1984 Olympics. It was a proud day for both of them, having experienced TWO Olympic times in their home town.

The Olympics makes a city do some wondrous things. For instance, the renaming of 10th Street in Los Angeles was renamed Olympic Boulevard for the 1932 Summer Olympics, as that was the occasion of the tenth modern event. Tenth Street School, at Olympic and Grattan, was founded in 1888 and has kept the original name. Parts of the old 10th Street exist as smaller streets near Hancock Park, in Westlake, and in the Central City East area southeast of Downtown. 10th Street stopped at the eastern edge of 20th Century Fox Studios. It picked up on the western side of the Studio as Country Club Drive. Below, see Shirley Temple at the 1939 bridge dedication at the Studio. Subsequently, this bridge was torn down, but another, structurally safe Olympic bridge exists, connecting to Century City.

The Olympic Boulevard bridge dedication, connecting the north and south portions of 20th Century Fox Studios, 1939. Shirley Temple, presiding

In 1932, Helms Bakeries became the official bread supplier for the Olympics. The company’s signature “Olympic Bread” was packaged in distinctive wrapping that sported the famous five-ringed Olympic symbol. The recently restored Helms Bakeries neon sign still proudly advertises that Olympic history.