Sign In

Interesting map of Southern California, centered on Los Angeles and illustrating the strength of the signal for radio station KPAS, an early Pasadena based radio Station.

We have dated the map speculatively, based upon the age of its maker, A. Earl Cullum Jr., and the inclusion of several cities which would have disappeared from maps published after the 1930s.

The map illustrates the strength of signal of the radio station, which apparently could be heard in San Juan Capistrano, Claremont and Oxnard, based upon the lines shown on the map.

The map notes a number of early Los Angeles communities, including Zelzah (which would be re-named North Los Angeles in 1929 and Northridge in 1938), Wineville ( which would change its name to Mira Loma in 1930), and Declazville, which is defined in the on line Urban Dictionary as:

A village in California and a suburb of Riverside. A blighted wasteland of junkyards and trucking facilities believed by many to be a portal to hell, and in grave danger of being swallowed up by Fontucky. [Having grown up in Rialto, I found this quote highly entertaining].

Also shown is Los Nietos, near Whittier. This is the last signs of the former Rancho Los Nietos. Rancho Los Nietos was one of the first, and the largest, Spanish land concession in Alta California. Located in present day Los Angeles County and Orange County, California, Rancho Los Nietos was awarded to Manuel Nieto in 1784. The rancho remained intact until 1834, when Governor Jose Figueroa officially declared the Rancho Los Nietos grant under Mexican rule and ordered its partition into six smaller ranchos.

E. Earl Cullum Jr. (1909-1985) was a member of the National Academy of Engineers, and advertised his services as " Radio Consulting Engineer," and spent at least some of his professional life in Dallas, Texas.