Legends of Lakewood brought to life by Web, video
On Friday, April 16, 2004 the City of Lakewood celebrated the date of its 50th anniversary with a banquet honoring the founders of the community and residents who have made significant achievements throughout the city’s history. Lakewood has worked hard to bring that history to life on the Web, on cable television, in an upcoming book and through live events. Learn about many of "The Legends of Lakewood" and city history
Long-time residents may remember, and even have lived through, the heady days of Lakewood's incorporation and the “Lakewood Plan” that made it possible. Newer residents may find the stories of their city to be surprising. An extensive special 50th Anniversary section on Lakewood Online and a new, three-part history series on CityTV Channel 31 tell the stories of Lakewood’s history, traditions, and enduring values. Lakewood Online
Special 50th Anniversary Section Lakewood's 50th anniversary has ignited new interest in the people, events, and stories that connect the city’s history to its traditions and values. To bring our stories to life, Lakewood Online has added new features and expanded existing collections, including never-before-published historical photographs, student and community member essays from The Write Stuff and Take Your Place in History projects, and actual documents that propelled the incorporation movement in 1953-1954. We've also added background information on the groundbreaking "Lakewood Plan" that made the city possible. This series is broken into three sections: - Lakewood Plan (part 1 of 3): Lakewood city government breaks new ground
- Lakewood Plan (part 2 of 3): Contracting needed good relationships
- Lakewood Plan (part 3 of 3): Skeptics predicted failure for plan to contract for city services.
Expanded image archives  Expanded image archives and special document collections help illustrate 50 years of Lakewood’s history. You can click your way through a gallery of historic photographs including Lakewood's parks and recreation programs and the builders of Lakewood, founders S. Mark Taper, Ben Weingart, and Louis Boyar, who combined their vision and business skills to build the new community of Lakewood.
Lakewood's beginnings, from fields to booming suburb, are captured in “New City Born." These photos illustrate Lakewood from 1950 to 1954. Another photo gallery features photos of the Sky Knight helicopter patrol program. Click here to view images of the chopper’s early years. Since 1996, Sky Knight has proven itself daily as one of the most effective multi-jurisdictional aerial law enforcement units in the nation. Book: The Lakewood Story: History, Traditions, Values  LBook: The Lakewood Story: History, Traditions, Values akewood's early boast of “The City as New as Tomorrow" came with all the optimism that thousands of young men and women, weary of the war years and the Great Depression, could summon. Beginning in 1950, they moved to the largest planned housing development in America, put down roots, and built a flourishing community where there had been fields the year before.
That history is brought to life and linked to the present in "The Lakewood Story: History, Traditions, Values."
Against all the odds, young and optimistic Lakewood residents made their neighborhoods into California’s newest city, founded on new principles of local government, and made their way into the future that lay ahead. The Lakewood Story: History, Traditions, Values" explores a pivotal moment in American history and looks at the reasons why Lakewood has answered the aspirations of so many of its residents, then and now. Its release is expected on May 11, 2004, and it will be available at city hall (one copy per family) and online at the Club Lakewood eStore, /club-lakewood.
“Lakewood Legends" streaming on the Web
/streaming Streaming video:
John S. Todd, father of the 'Lakewood Plan'  John S. Todd, father of "The Lakewood Plan" - John Todd’s vision of contracting city services as a cost-effective and flexible form of municipal government would become known as “The Lakewood Plan.” The experiment was so successful that it was copied by almost every new city in Los Angeles County for the next 50 years.
Streaming video:
Lakewood's first City Council and City Attorney  Lakewood is known as "Tomorrow’s City Today," ecause the first City Council implemented a highly innovative Contract Plan. Municipal contracting is a unique concept of providing basic public services while keeping both taxes and city expenses low through a series of contracts with county agencies and private enterprise.
Streaming video:
S. Mark Taper, Lakewood's visionary developer
S. Mark Taper was a partner with Ben Weingart and Louis Boyar in the development of Lakewood. He also built homes in the Long Beach and Norwalk areas.
Streaming video:
Louis Boyar, planner of a new kind of city
Louis Boyar was named president of the development corporation. He was in charge of overseeing all of the construction. He was also a homebuilder in the Los Angeles area before World War ll. 
Streaming video:
Ben Weingart and the building of Lakewood Ben Weingart, the third founder of Lakewood, secured the millions of dollars needed to build the new community. His long association with and affection for the city can be seen today in many public facilities made possible by the Weingart Foundation:The Centre at Sycamore Plaza, the William Burns community services center, the Weingart-Lakewood Family YMCA, and the Weingart senior center. 
Some of “The Legends of Lakewood” honored during the city’s 50th anniversary include: City Attorney John S. Todd who, as a young lawyer already involved in civic matters before the building of Lakewood, shocked the staid world of local government in 1954 with a new way for cities to govern themselves.
The three developers of Lakewood - S. Mark Taper, Ben Weingart, and Louis Boyar - who faced skepticism about their dream of a new city.
Former Mayor Jacqueline Rynerson who (with her husband) joined hundreds of other young mothers and fathers in the long political battle to prevent annexation by Long Beach and secure incorporation in 1954.
 Donald Rochlen, who brought residents like the Rynersons into a surprisingly effective pro-Lakewood incorporation campaign and who shared with them his energy, enthusiasm, and skill in community organizing. Dr. Walter Montano and Jess Solter, residents of Lakewood Village, who decided to perpetuate the ideals of Pan-Americanism with the creation of Lakewood’s Pan American Festival in 1948. The first members of the Lakewood City Council - Angelo Iacoboni, Gene Nebeker, Robert Baker, William Burns, and George Nye, Jr. - who took John Todd’s untested “contract plan” for city government and made it work.
 The elected leaders and staff members of Los Angeles County, then and now, who are Lakewood’s partners in providing world-class municipal services.
Lakewood's rich history and optimistic future profiled in CityTV documentaries
/citytv  CityTV Channel 31 is currently cablecasting insightful looks at Lakewood's past, present, and future in a special documentary series: The City as New as Tomorrow. The series blends historical photography, film and video footage, and interviews with Lakewood residents.
The City as new as Tomorrow is a three-part program on the history of Lakewood. "Chapter One: The Early Years," profiles the transformation of farmland into the nation's largest post-WWII planned community, the birth of tomorrow's city, and the development of the innovative Lakewood Plan of contracting for services. Chapter Two covers growth and change of Lakewood through the end of the 20th century. The final chapter is about the enduring values and traditions of Lakewood.
CityTV issues special 50th anniversary DVDs and cablecasts historic programs Lakewood’s rich history can be explored in a series of CityTV documentaries, complete with historical photographs, film and video footage, and interviews with Lakewood residents. The City as New as Tomorrow is a three-part series on the history of Lakewood. Part I "Early Years" highlights the city’s first decade from 1949 to 1959 and is now available on DVD for purchase online at the Club Lakewood eStore. The full three-part series including Part 2 "Growth and Change" and Part 3 "Traditions and Values" is in final production and will be available on DVD starting April 19 at /club-lakewood for $20.00. CityTV on Lakewood today Viewers can also see today's Lakewood up close by watching "Economic Forecast" coverage of the recent Business Forecast 2004: Economic Forecast and Opportunities Luncheon. The event featured keynote speakers like Jack Kyser, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist: Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), and Joseph P. Magaddino, Chairman and Professor of Economics: California State University, Long Beach, Director of the Office of Economic Research. Lakewood city council meeting coverage, the Community Digest newsmagazine, and "Preserving our Neighborhoods" round out current program offerings. See the CityTV program schedule:
/citytv More than dusty history: Lakewood's Anniversary Essay Projects/essays  "Take Your Place in History" and "Write Stuff" student essays tell of Lakewood’s past and present. Residents – new and old – have wonderful stories to tell about their life in our community . . . stories about moving to Lakewood when the neighborhoods were new . . . stories about the achievements that came with a maturing city . . . stories about the men and women, boys and girls, and grandparents who struggled to make a new community without a guidebook.
With the generous help of the Macerich Company (owners of Lakewood Center), we collected many of these stories during the city’s “49 and Counting” pre-anniversary celebrations in 2003. The authors of these essays come from all walks of life. Some are original homeowners. Some only recently moved to Lakewood. Some are kids in school. We hope that sharing their unedited, heartfelt stories will remind you of the reasons why Lakewood is your hometown. You can find them online at:
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