2022 Year in Photos

In 2022 Angelenos finally began to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Construction projects restarted, and people began to go out to work and play.
It was also a year of hardship, as gas prices and inflation made life here tougher for many.
A Los Angeles City Hall scandal revealed racism and sordid backroom politics on the City Council. Homelessness continued to grow.
Some of the high points of this year included the opening of the new 6th Street bridge, the rising power of L.A.’s Oaxacan community, and the strong local defense of women’s right to choose. At year’s end came one more moment of change: the swearing-in ceremony of Karen Bass as the new mayor of Los Angeles.

Here are some of my photos of 2022.

The city builds up

While many Angelenos stayed at home during the pandemic, construction projects of all sizes continued to be built. One such project, the $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Exposition Park, delayed its opening from 2023 to 2025 due to supply chain issues.

Package thefts from Union Pacific rail lines

Thieves robbed cargo containers on idled freight trains in the Union Pacific train yard on the Eastside of Los Angeles. Thousands of packages were opened and their remains  discarded along the tracks, leaving a mile-long debris path.

Acts of violence

A street memorial was held in January for Brianna Kupfer, a UCLA grad student who was brutally slain inside the Croft House furniture store on La Brea Avenue.

Also in January, LAC+USC Medical Center emergency department nurses and frontline workers held a candlelight vigil for nurse Sandra Shells, who was randomly assaulted at a bus stop in downtown L.A. Shells died from injuries at the hospital where she had worked for 38 years.

Mystery rocks appear in Koreatown

Large boulders materialized at the site of a former homeless encampment, placed to thwart further attempts to raise tents In the area. The boulders, blocking a residential sidewalk, were eventually removed by the city.

Gas prices soar

A gas station on the corner of Beverly Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard.

6th Street bridge opens

The new 6th Street Bridge opened in July. The $588 million viaduct, designed by architect Michael Maltzan, was quickly taken over by car enthusiasts who turned the bridge into something of a carnival featuring lowriders, hotrodders and a quirky bike lane. The police shut down the bridge several times to stop the takeovers. Tire marks and car wrecks marked the first month after the bridge’s opening.

Thirty-year anniversary of L.A. Riots

April 29 marked the 30th anniversary of the 1992 riots. Some things have changed; much has not. Before and after images taken in 1992 and 2022 with the same camera, lens and film type.

Roe v. Wade overturned

Angelenos angry about the Supreme Court’s decision undoing Roe v. Wade took to the streets in June. In November, California voters enshrined abortion rights in the state Constitution.

Vin Scully dies

Longtime L.A. Dodgers radio announcer Vin Scully died in August, having called games for the team for 67 years. Angelenos left flowers and gifts at the front gates of Dodger Stadium in his memory.

L.A. City Councilmembers recording scandal

A secretly recorded conversation among three city councilmembers and a union official revealed racist comments directed at L.A.’s Oaxacan community. The Oaxacan community organized protests and in the process asserted itself as an emerging political power.

Los Angeles mayor’s race

The L.A. mayor’s race can sometimes be like a citywide open house, offering those who follow candidates around town an insider’s tour of the city. I followed both candidates, Karen Bass and Rick Caruso. I tracked Caruso from Skid Row to the Grove. I also followed Karen Bass, the eventual winner, as she visited Koreatown and the Pico Union district.

All Photos by Ted Soqui
Copyright Capital & Main 2022