Vintage LAPD Crime Scene Photos

Morton, Blackman, and Thomas, along with Tim B. Wride, associate curator of photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and co-curator of the Fototeka show, were given unprecedented access to this immense archive of photographs. Along the way, they found themselves in the position to preserve an important piece of Los Angeles history. When it was discovered that some of the boxes contained decomposing cellulose nitrate negatives, a serious fire hazard, the Fire Department recommended that all the negatives be destroyed. The team lobbied for the archive to be only selectively destroyed and their efforts paid off; some boxes of images were determined to be unsalvageable and destroyed, while the remaining images were sent to a cold storage facility where they reside today.

(053) Lenny Bruce, Overdose Scene
Date: 08-03-66
Photographer: Unknown
Print Size: 11x14