Titled “Los Angeles,” this US Geological Survey topographical map was created in 1900 and issued with a 1904 imprint, capturing Southern California at a decisive threshold between rancho landscape and modern metropolis. At 1:62,500 scale, it presents Los Angeles and its environs with the quiet authority of federal scientific mapping: Pasadena to the northeast, Santa Monica on the coast, Belvedere to the east, and the early outlines of Beverly Hills and San Marino. The map records a region still legible as fields, foothills, arroyos, missions, roads, railways, and scattered settlements, just before the explosive growth that would redefine the basin. Its restrained palette of browns and tonal shading gives particular prominence to relief, drainage, and the structure of the land itself.

The USGS was then at the height of its formative topographic mission, systematically measuring and describing the American landscape for public works, settlement, resource study, and transportation. In fast-growing Southern California, such maps were far more than geographic references: they were instruments of planning, speculation, engineering, and civic ambition. Contour lines trace the folded terrain around Los Angeles with precision, revealing the hills, washes, and valleys that shaped early development long before freeways imposed a new order. The map’s scientific clarity is part of its beauty. It translates a dynamic urban frontier into measured lines and elevations, preserving a moment when the future city was still deeply governed by topography.

Los Angeles appears here before its later transformation into one of the world’s great urban agglomerations. The historic core, Fort Moore, Elysian Park, Lincoln Park, Los Feliz, and Mount Washington are set within a wider fabric of roads, trails, rail lines, and open land. The Arroyo Seco and Rio Hondo define natural corridors through the basin, while place names such as Rose de la Brea recall an older landscape of ranches, seeps, and Spanish-Mexican inheritance. To modern eyes, the map is striking for what is absent as much as what is present: the vast suburban expanse, dense street grids, and cinematic mythology of twentieth-century Los Angeles had not yet fully arrived.

To the northeast, Pasadena and San Marino occupy a landscape already associated with refinement, winter residences, gardens, and cultural aspiration. Pasadena’s rise as a resort city for wealthy Easterners is quietly suggested by its position amid foothills, orchards, and the dramatic approach to the San Gabriel Mountains. Nearby La Cañada, Tujunga, and the San Gabriel Timber Land Reserve point toward a rugged hinterland of canyons and mountain resources, where settlement met steep terrain. The contour work in this portion of the map is especially evocative, showing how the built environment pressed against natural barriers. It is a portrait of Southern California before urban continuity softened the distinction between city, suburb, and wilderness.

Westward, the map reaches toward Santa Monica and the Pacific, while northward it includes Encino, Mission San Fernando, and the San Fernando Valley, still largely rural in character. Beverly Hills, not yet the international emblem of luxury it would become, appears in its embryonic setting within a broad and lightly developed landscape. El Monte, San Antonio Padre, San Francisquito, Provo Grande, and other place names evoke layered histories of mission roads, ranchos, agricultural settlement, and early transportation routes. The resulting image is both technical document and historical revelation: a finely measured view of a region on the cusp of reinvention, where every contour and road hints at the immense city to come.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Los Angeles
• Pasadena
• Santa Monica
• Beverly Hills
• Belvedere
• San Marino
• Encino
• San Fernando Valley
• San Gabriel Timber Land Reserve
• Mission San Fernando
• El Monte
• San Antonio Padre
• San Franciscquito
• La Canada
• Tujunga
• Los Feliz
• Provo Grande
• Fort Moore
• Arroyo Seco
• Rio Hondo
• Elysian Park
• Lincoln Park
• Mount Washington
• San Jose
• Rose de la Brea
• Varied neighborhoods of Los Angeles
• Various roads, trails, and railways depicted across the landscape

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:62,500 topographical map of the Los Angeles area, dated 1900 with a 1904 imprint.
• Created in 1900 and published in 1904.
• Published by the US Geological Survey, an agency of the U.S. government responsible for mapping and studying the country’s natural resources.
• USGS topographic maps were important tools for land use planning, development, resource study, and recreation.
• In the early 1900s, Los Angeles was experiencing rapid growth, transitioning from a smaller settlement into a major urban center.
• Pasadena was associated with wealthy residents and cultural institutions, while Beverly Hills was emerging as a significant residential area.
• The map uses a simple brown-toned color scheme to show elevation and terrain, characteristic of early 20th-century cartography.
• Contour lines emphasize changes in elevation and reveal the hilly terrain surrounding Los Angeles.
• The map captures the region before later suburban expansion, major land-use changes, and the dramatic growth of modern Los Angeles.

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 36x24in (90x60cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.