44 Candid Images Of Real Life In 1980S Los Angeles

There was no shortage of cheap thrills in the 80s — and if you wanted to find them, Los Angeles was the place to be.

Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:

1 of 45A punk girl sports liberty spikes at The Starwood.Gary Leonard/Corbis via Getty Images 2 of 45Punk rock singer Wendy O. Williams (in background), lead singer of the Plasmatics, and guitarist Wes Beech perform at the Whisky a Go Go.George Rose/Getty Images 3 of 45The all girl pop musical group, The Go-Gos playfully pose during a 1985 Hollywood portrait session.George Rose/Getty Images 4 of 45Three “wanna-be’s” of the Dodge City Crips/Second Street Mob in San Pedro.Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images 5 of 45Tourists in new wave fashions gawk at a Mohawk-wearing punk in full regalia near Hollywood Blvd.Ann Summa/Corbis via Getty Images 6 of 45Punk rock singer Wendy O. Williams, lead singer of the Plasmatics, performs at the Whisky a Go Go.George Rose/Getty Images 7 of 45Man crowd surfing at punk concert.Alison S. Braun/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images 8 of 45Punks stage diving at a club concert.Gary Leonard/Corbis via Getty Images 9 of 45A member of the Grape Street Crips poses with his purple bandana and flashes his affiliation with a double ‘C.‘Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images 10 of 45Gang members get arrested during an LAPD police sweep. Paul Harris/Getty Images 11 of 45A suspected gang member is apprehended by LAPD for a possible parole violation.Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images 12 of 45A man wears leather fetish clothing during the annual Gay Carnival in West Hollywood.Photo by Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Getty Images 13 of 45Elderly woman skateboarding at Venice Beach.Nathan Benn/Corbis via Getty Images 14 of 45Hip-hop artists Ice-T and Tone Loc pose at an event.Los Angeles Public Library 15 of 45Debbie Harry and other celebrities revel on Sunset Strip.Los Angeles Public Library 16 of 45A man poses with his car.Los Angeles Public Library 17 of 45A man stands in front of a D.A.R.E anti-drug billboard.Los Angeles Public Library 18 of 45A scene out of Koreatown.Los Angeles Public Library 19 of 45A woman is protesting income tax issues on the street.Los Angeles Public Library 20 of 45A peaceful protester camps out at the Mojave Desert.Los Angeles Public Library 21 of 45Audience members stand outside of a Merv Griffin Show taping. Los Angeles Public Library 22 of 45Revelers stand outside of a nightclub. Los Angeles Public Library 23 of 45A view of the downtown Los Angeles skyline.Los Angeles Public Library 24 of 45L.A. police officers serving on the highway.Los Angeles Public Library 25 of 45A couple of contestants entering a Madonna look-alike competition. Los Angeles Public Library 26 of 45A child stands outside of a mural featuring Che Guevara in Boyle Heights.Los Angeles Public Library 27 of 45Protesters stand outside of a theatre showing the movie ‘Maniac.‘Los Angeles Public Library 28 of 45Audience members slam dancing at a punk music show in the Hong Kong Cafe.Gary Leonard/Corbis via Getty Images 29 of 45A punk singer crowd surfing above the audience at a punk rock concert.Alison S. Braun/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images 30 of 45A skateboarder rides in a parking lot. Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images 31 of 45Two teenage members of the Crips street gang stand in front of a graffiti covered wall in Venice.Ken O’Brien Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images 32 of 45A protester demonstrating in front of a U.S. Navy recruiting center.Los Angeles Public Library 33 of 45Demonstrators participate in a candlelight walk against drunk driving. Los Angeles Public Library 34 of 45Skaters enjoying themselves at a roller rink. Los Angeles Public Library 35 of 45Punk rockers hang out outside of a concert. Los Angeles Public Library 36 of 45Peformer El Vez and his Elvettes at a performance. Los Angeles Public Library 37 of 45The scene outside the popular Whisky a Go Go club.Los Angeles Public Library 38 of 45OMNIA 39 of 45Los Angeles police search suspected members of the Rolling 60s gang.Getty Images 40 of 45 41 of 45Los Angeles Public Library 42 of 45A doorman managing the crowd outside a popular nightclub.Los Angeles Public Library 43 of 45Guitarist Slash (with Duff and Axl behind him) of the rock group ‘Guns n’ Roses’ performs onstage at the Roxy Theatre.Jack Lue/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 44 of 45A man gets into his Porsche outside of Tower Record on Sunset Boulevard.Janet Knott/The Boston Globe via Getty Images 45 of 45Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

44 Retro Images Of What Life Was Like In 1980s Los Angeles View Gallery

There’s no doubt that the 1980s in the United States were a decade of decadence and grandeur.

Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:

Flipboard

Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:

Flipboard

Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:

Flipboard

Share
Flipboard
Email

Flipboard

1 of 45A punk girl sports liberty spikes at The Starwood.Gary Leonard/Corbis via Getty Images

2 of 45Punk rock singer Wendy O. Williams (in background), lead singer of the Plasmatics, and guitarist Wes Beech perform at the Whisky a Go Go.George Rose/Getty Images

3 of 45The all girl pop musical group, The Go-Gos playfully pose during a 1985 Hollywood portrait session.George Rose/Getty Images

4 of 45Three “wanna-be’s” of the Dodge City Crips/Second Street Mob in San Pedro.Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images

5 of 45Tourists in new wave fashions gawk at a Mohawk-wearing punk in full regalia near Hollywood Blvd.Ann Summa/Corbis via Getty Images

6 of 45Punk rock singer Wendy O. Williams, lead singer of the Plasmatics, performs at the Whisky a Go Go.George Rose/Getty Images

7 of 45Man crowd surfing at punk concert.Alison S. Braun/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

8 of 45Punks stage diving at a club concert.Gary Leonard/Corbis via Getty Images

9 of 45A member of the Grape Street Crips poses with his purple bandana and flashes his affiliation with a double ‘C.‘Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images

10 of 45Gang members get arrested during an LAPD police sweep. Paul Harris/Getty Images

11 of 45A suspected gang member is apprehended by LAPD for a possible parole violation.Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images

12 of 45A man wears leather fetish clothing during the annual Gay Carnival in West Hollywood.Photo by Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Getty Images

13 of 45Elderly woman skateboarding at Venice Beach.Nathan Benn/Corbis via Getty Images

14 of 45Hip-hop artists Ice-T and Tone Loc pose at an event.Los Angeles Public Library

15 of 45Debbie Harry and other celebrities revel on Sunset Strip.Los Angeles Public Library

16 of 45A man poses with his car.Los Angeles Public Library

17 of 45A man stands in front of a D.A.R.E anti-drug billboard.Los Angeles Public Library

18 of 45A scene out of Koreatown.Los Angeles Public Library

19 of 45A woman is protesting income tax issues on the street.Los Angeles Public Library

20 of 45A peaceful protester camps out at the Mojave Desert.Los Angeles Public Library

21 of 45Audience members stand outside of a Merv Griffin Show taping. Los Angeles Public Library

22 of 45Revelers stand outside of a nightclub. Los Angeles Public Library

23 of 45A view of the downtown Los Angeles skyline.Los Angeles Public Library

24 of 45L.A. police officers serving on the highway.Los Angeles Public Library

25 of 45A couple of contestants entering a Madonna look-alike competition. Los Angeles Public Library

26 of 45A child stands outside of a mural featuring Che Guevara in Boyle Heights.Los Angeles Public Library

27 of 45Protesters stand outside of a theatre showing the movie ‘Maniac.‘Los Angeles Public Library

28 of 45Audience members slam dancing at a punk music show in the Hong Kong Cafe.Gary Leonard/Corbis via Getty Images

29 of 45A punk singer crowd surfing above the audience at a punk rock concert.Alison S. Braun/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

30 of 45A skateboarder rides in a parking lot. Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

31 of 45Two teenage members of the Crips street gang stand in front of a graffiti covered wall in Venice.Ken O’Brien Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

32 of 45A protester demonstrating in front of a U.S. Navy recruiting center.Los Angeles Public Library

33 of 45Demonstrators participate in a candlelight walk against drunk driving. Los Angeles Public Library

34 of 45Skaters enjoying themselves at a roller rink. Los Angeles Public Library

35 of 45Punk rockers hang out outside of a concert. Los Angeles Public Library

36 of 45Peformer El Vez and his Elvettes at a performance. Los Angeles Public Library

37 of 45The scene outside the popular Whisky a Go Go club.Los Angeles Public Library

38 of 45OMNIA

39 of 45Los Angeles police search suspected members of the Rolling 60s gang.Getty Images

40 of 45

41 of 45Los Angeles Public Library

42 of 45A doorman managing the crowd outside a popular nightclub.Los Angeles Public Library

43 of 45Guitarist Slash (with Duff and Axl behind him) of the rock group ‘Guns n’ Roses’ performs onstage at the Roxy Theatre.Jack Lue/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

44 of 45A man gets into his Porsche outside of Tower Record on Sunset Boulevard.Janet Knott/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

45 of 45Like this gallery?Share it:

Flipboard

44 Retro Images Of What Life Was Like In 1980s Los Angeles View Gallery

44 Retro Images Of What Life Was Like In 1980s Los Angeles

View Gallery

The 1970s served as a marker of a major cultural shift as the status-quo in terms of gender dynamics, sexuality, and race was questioned and tested which then created the overwhelming cultural boom of the 80s.

The 1980s brought outlandish subcultures to the mainstream like the drag scene, as well as the birth of over-the-top big business (think Wolf of Wall Street), and at the same time the decade was met with issues of poverty and violence.

Perhaps the best way to truly understand what the 1980s looked like and what the decade was all about is to examine it through the scope of a major urban American city — and one of the best cities to do just this is sunny Los Angeles. The West Coast city is one of the most diverse cities in the United States and as such can best represent what one major metropolis experienced.

Because Los Angeles is so spread out, it fostered a blossoming of different subcultures and movements, each with its own pocket within the metropolis.

For rock n’ roll musicians and fans, Sunset Boulevard was the place to be. Commonly referred to as the Sunset Strip, this stretch of street was filled with no shortage of popular nightclubs and performance venues that hosted some incredible rock bands.

Places like the Whisky a Go Go became world-renowned for their high-caliber lineups. The celebrities who went there to party were just as top-tier as the artists they went to see.

At the same time, the punk rock scene also found its way into the music nightlife scene in the City of Angels. Though the scene was not as expansive as it was in New York City at the same time, punk rockers still went out and made a statement with both their anti-establishment music and anti-establishment appearances.

Whether someone was more rock n’ roll or more punk, both of these music scenes made a huge splash in the 80s. The passion of that desire to be different and rebel was a common theme amongst all the different movements which came to dominate the decade.

Another subculture that became fully realized in the 80s was skateboarding. Surfing and California had already become synonymous and that sport found its place on land in the form of a skateboard.

Skateboarding is and of itself a rebellious act. A skateboarder risks bodily harm for the sake of doing something that’s seemingly impossible. Plus the sport was different and the very fact that it was so different turned the act into a full-blown lifestyle.

The desire to rebel and break free was also met with alcohol and drug abuse. In a city like Los Angeles, where one has to drive to get anywhere due to a lack of an effective public transportation system, this meant that the metropolis saw its share of drunk driving incidents.

Drug use also was rampant throughout the United States and was concentrated in major cities like L.A. In response to this increase in drug and alcohol abuse, programs were created to attempt to curb it.

One such program was the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program, also known as DARE. The program actually started in Los Angeles in the early 1980s and was spearheaded by the city’s police chief at the time, Daryl Gates.

Although the program wasn’t exactly an effective one, its presence was significant. It signaled that there was an opposition to the drug indulgence that was rampant in the 80s. But as is common with large cities, there’s not only cultural diversity but economic diversity as well. And sadly, due to the history of racism in the United States, those that lived in low-income communities and in poverty were more often than not minority groups.

The city was still recovering from the major change that was the civil rights movement and race relations were still incredibly tense at the time. That tension paved the way for violence, specifically gang violence, to become rampant in minority neighborhoods.

The two major rival gangs were the Bloods and the Crips. In the whole of the 80s, an estimated 30,000 Bloods and Crips called Los Angeles their home. These two rival gangs were very aggressive towards one another and their feuds resulted in police crackdowns that dominated the 80s in Los Angeles. Gang members were constantly arrested in an effort to curb the violence that they spurred.

Law enforcement became more aggressive as a result of this violence — and consequently, more aggressive towards minority groups. The police in Los Angeles truly became militant, which also hindered race relations that lasted well into the coming decades.

With all of these moving parts and so many more, life in Los Angeles in the 1980s was anything but boring and simple.

Next, read about how the gangster Mickey Cohn dominated Los Angeles. Then, check out the story of the Cecil Hotel — the most haunted hotel in the city of Los Angeles.

There was no shortage of cheap thrills in the 80s — and if you wanted to find them, Los Angeles was the place to be.#

There was no shortage of cheap thrills in the 80s — and if you wanted to find them, Los Angeles was the place to be.