Long before the brights lights of Hollywood or the sparking majesty of the Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles was a much smaller place. This engaging collection of documents from the Los Angeles City Archives offers some insights into the city from 1836 to 1872. The collection was digitized as part of the USC Digital Library,and it contains original land grants, maps, and early city ordinances. Visitors can look at the items individually or look into the specific collections. As one might imagine, many of the documents are in Spanish, but they do include English translations. Persons with a penchant for handwriting and signatures will want to look at the dramatic flourishes of Bacilio Valdez, Guillermo Chard, and other men of property who signed off a range of documents during this tumultuous period of growth.