L.A. as Subject's latest contribution to KCET's SoCal Focus website looks at the historical routes that have connected Los Angeles to the rest of the North American continent:
Rugged mountains to the north, the vast Pacific Ocean to the west, and inhospitable desert to the east—natural barriers isolate Los Angeles from the rest of the continent on three sides. In an age before the transcontinental railroad and paved highways, not to mention air travel and the Internet, that inaccessibility presented a major challenge to the city's economic development.
Still, there were chinks in the barriers' armor. Ships could arrive by sea, of course, but mountain passes could also be traversed, and the deserts could be crossed by well-provisioned explorers. By the time California entered the Union in 1850, several routes, which come to life through the photographs and documents of Southern California's archives, provisionally connected Los Angeles to the rest of the state and the nation.
Keep reading the full post on KCET's website.