Considering the Photography of Leonard Nadel

In this photo essay, I bring to light the work of Leonard Nadel. As the sole photographer for the Los Angeles Housing Authority from approximately 1949 to 1952, Nadel captured images of abject poverty and substandard housing reminiscent of New York City's Lower East Side at the turn of century. Nadel may not, however, be included on the list of great social reformist photographers such as Jacob Riis, because his images, perhaps unwittingly, inspired slum clearance, the displacement of communities, and the bad policy that led to some of the worst housing stock and concentrated poverty in the nation. Nevertheless, students and scholars may find more to discuss in the juxtaposition of his images, using Nadel's pictures as visual data and a view of post-War housing upheavals and short-lived triumphs in Los Angeles.