Our History
From ocean floor to urban core
23 – 5.3 Million Years Ago
The Deep Ocean Floor
Long before it was a city, the Historic Core was at the bottom of a deep ocean. During the Miocene, the Los Angeles Basin was a rapidly sinking marine depression. The ground where the Bradbury Building now stands was covered by thousands of feet of seawater, teeming with prehistoric whales, giant sharks (Megalodon), and deep-sea fish. The oil that fueled LA's 1890s boom was formed during this era from decaying marine life.
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