Photograph was edited for publication purposes. A wall of fire roared through a block of Venice Boulevard in the Venice area destroying businesses and apartments and leaving at least two dead and 26 injured. Large fireballs were hurled and thick black smoke billowed 300 feet into the air, when an excavation machine on a state street-widening project struck a buried Standard Oil Co. 8-inch pipeline. The gasoline, under 600 pounds of pressure per square inch, shot up like a fountain and formed a mist; then came the explosion. A full investigation was promised by Caltrans, which had contracted with a private construction firm for the street-widening work. Photograph caption dated June 17, 1976 reads, "Flameproof-suited firemen inspect gutted area along Venice Boulevard as flames die down. Snow-like matter on ground is foam used to battle the gas-fed fire."
Type
Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;24 x 35 cm. on sheet 29 x 36 cm. Photographic prints
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
