In 1932–33, the German geologist and urban geographer Anton Wagner conducted a “geographical investigation” of Los Angeles. Wagner had become interested in Los Angeles in 1925–26, when a visit provided a firsthand view of the city’s rapid development following World War I. Now, on this second trip, he would conduct “my own thorough observation of Los Angeles” to explain the area’s phenomenal growth and how “the cultural forces of the far West manifest themselves in this urban landscape.”