I’m a big fan of “new history” sites, a term I just made up. Basically, they are places in our modern landscape that reach back into the not-too-distant, but often forgotten, past. I was reminded of one of these places at this site, which has pictures of the Old LA Zoo.

It’s very interesting for me to see, and visit, places that were a part of recent history, but have now been all but forgotten. Every place has them, you just have to dig around and look. You end up learning quite a lot about the place you live. For example, I was wondering why a big swath of land near Shoal Creek here in Austin was empty. In my research I found out that there was a huge flood in 1981 that wiped out homes and businesses in that area. (We live about 2 blocks east of Shoal Creek.) You can read more about the floods in Austin here.