Play in Pacoima as repairs erase scars of disaster
Alternative Title
Valley Times Photo Collection;
Contributor
This project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian Made accessible through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation and Photo Friends
On January 31, 1957, a Douglas DC-7B transport plane crashed into the school yard of Pacoima Junior High School, 9919 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, after colliding with a Northrop F-89J Scorpion jet trainer plane. Debris was also strewn across the grounds of Terra Bella Elementary School, adjacent to the junior high, and Pacoima Congregational Church, next door to the school. Three students and five airmen died and many more students were injured. The radarman aboard the jet was the only airman who survived. See images 00147086 through 00147092 for all photos in this series. Photograph caption dated March 19, 1957 reads "Children play on restored grounds. Today, torn-up holes in Pacoima Junior High School yard have been filled in, fence has been mended and physical scars have been repaired. Only in minds and hearts of community does memory of tragic event remain fresh." See image 00147107 for additional photo in this series.
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