1983 Andrade Pictorial Map of Los Angeles for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games

This is a 1983 David Andrade pictorial map of Los Angeles celebrating the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Andrade's map highlights event venues, cultural attractions, and businesses across Los Angeles and the surrounding area. Even with the piece's evident charm, Andrade's work was an 'unofficial' map of the Games, meaning it would not have been sold at official Olympic kiosks and venues.

A Closer Look

Olympic venues, such as Dodger Stadium, the Rose Bowl, the Anaheim Convention Center, and the Long Beach Convention Center immediately draw the viewer's attention as they all feature larger-than-life athletes participating in their events. The Hollywood Sign also draws the eye, along with Griffith Observatory and Disneyland. Green road signs mark L.A.'s freeways and interstates (almost all clogged with bumper-to-bumper traffic). More signs mark The Valley and point the way to Palm Springs. Intermingled among the featured locations are stores, shopping malls, and restaurants. Also, not to be forgotten, L.A.'s beaches are identified by name.

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics took place in Los Angeles, California, from July 28 to August 12, 1984, and were officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad. 14 Eastern Bloc countries, including the Soviet Union and East Germany, boycotted the Los Angeles games in response to the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Nonetheless, 140 nations took part, a record at the time. The games included 221 events in 21 sports and took place in Los Angeles and around Southern California. Sites that hosted events included the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Dodger Stadium, and the Rose Bowl. The region's universities, including UCLA, USC, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, California State University Los Angeles, and California State University Fullerton, also provided their facilities. The United States led the medal count, followed by Romania (the only Eastern Bloc country not to boycott the Games) and West Germany. The 1984 Games are considered the most financially successful in the modern Olympics, generating a $250 million profit due to low construction costs thanks to existing infrastructure and private corporate funding.

Publication History and Census

This map was 'designed and cartooned' by David Otilio Andrade and published by West Coast Ventures in 1983. This piece is not cataloged in OCLC, and we have found only a handful of instances when surviving examples have appeared on the private market.