Resistance, Persistence, Providence: The 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games in Perspective

The Los Angeles Olympic Games: Planning Legacies

“…California's demographics included many homeless and unemployed, thus creating necessary services like soup kitchens. This new poverty-stricken view of LA did not fit the "sunny Cali" imagery Los Angeles organizers were determined to broadcast (Barney 1996). In unity with California's spirit, its Governor at the time advertised LA as the city and state of frictionless racial unity and guaranteed that everyone was welcome regardless of race, color, and creed (Dyreson and Llewellyn 2008).…”

“…• The 1932 LA Games started the Olympic movement on the path to becoming an attractive commodity in the international entertainment industry (Dyreson and Llewellyn 2008). • The Olympic Village, housing male athletes together, exemplified Coubertin's Olympic vision by creating an atmosphere of friendship and sportsmanship (Barney 1996). • The world press corps and Olympic organizers in LA agreed that for future Olympics the Olympic Village and the Olympic cauldron monumental flame, would become permanent fixtures of future Games (Dyreson and Llewellyn 2008).…”

“…On 321 acres, the Olympic Village also was to feature a hospital for all athlete care, a fire department for emergencies, post and telegraph offices as communication centers, an amphitheater for entertainment, and a bank. The city covered the costs of constructing the Olympic Village and arranged discount fares for travel (Barney 1996). Above the Olympic Village, 36 flags representing equal opportunity and democratic unity among 36 countries represented LA's cosmopolitan lifestyle (Goldblatt 2016).…”

“…For example, Walt Disney featured Mickey Mouse at the Olympics and streamed the Barnyard Olympics in 1932. The media press box, located in the LA Memorial Coliseum, allowed prime access to cover the Games and news reporters could freely access other venues including the Olympic Village (Barney 1996). The Games boosters' goals to reshape LA's brand worked well (Dyreson and Llewellyn 2008;Wassong 2015).…”

Sociology, History, and Philosophy inThe Research Quarterly

“…In 1996, the RQ devoted nearly half an issue to a "special feature" on the history of the modern Olympic Games. That issue represented the single most extensive foray into historical research in the RQ's 75-year history, with more than 70 pages invested in the subject (Barney, 1996;Brown, 1996;Gissendanner, 1996;Jable & Wiggins, 1996;MacAloon, 1996;Wenn, 1996;Wilson, 1996).…”