One Golden Moment

In the late 1970s, the Olympic Movement was in deep trouble. When the International Olympic Committee called for candidates to host the 1984 Summer Olympics, only two cities expressed interest: Tehran and Los Angeles. And, after Tehran dropped out of the bidding process, L. A. was left to carry the flickering Olympic torch. Naysayers predicted disaster: the traffic would be snarled and the smog suffocating; the Games would bankrupt the city of L. A. and terrorists would harm innocent people. But L. A. proved everyone wrong. The weather cooperated, and the traffic was smooth sailing. An ambitious Arts Festival drew appreciative crowds, and pin trading became an unofficial Olympic event. And, who could not be thrilled by the record-setting performances of Carl Lewis, Evelyn Ashford, Edwin Moses, Joan Benoit, Daley Thompson, Mary Lou Retton, Greg Louganis, and Cheryl Miller?This book chronicles the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics through the extraordinary photographs taken by the staff at the Herald Examiner newspaper, a collection now held at the Los Angeles Central Library: from the preparations before the Games to the Opening Ceremony to the wondrous athletic performances to the Closing Ceremony. The 1984 Olympics were a golden moment in these photographers' careers as well as for the city of Los Angeles.