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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe 1934 map of a supposed secret Lizard City beneath Los Angeles records an extraordinary claim—not a verified underground civilization. Engineer G. Warren Shufelt said a device he called a “radio X-ray” revealed passages and chambers below the city. A newspaper report described the lost-city explanation as legend, and the sources available today document the story’s circulation, not the existence of the city.
What the 1934 Los Angeles story claimed
In a report dated January 29, 1934, Los Angeles Times writer Jean Bosquet described engineer G. Warren Shufelt’s claim that his “radio X-ray” had located extensive underground passages beneath Los Angeles. The account and selected passages are reproduced in a 2010 retrospective by Gizmodo.
The newspaper did not present the lost city simply as an established archaeological discovery. It introduced the explanation as a legend Shufelt had been told. In the reproduced passage, Bosquet wrote: “According to the legend as imparted to Shufelt by Macklin, the radio X-ray has revealed the location of one of three lost cities on the Pacific Coast, the local one having been dug by the Lizzard People after the ‘great catastrophe’ which occurred about 5000 years ago.” This is the newspaper’s account of an attributed legend, not a scientific finding or independently verified history.
What the legend said about the Lizard People
As summarized in the 1934 report, the legend described a refuge built by “Lizzard People” after a great catastrophe. It said the city’s plan resembled a lizard and included tunnels, rooms, and supplies. Those details belong to the story as reported; they should not be treated as confirmed descriptions of a real settlement.
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The reported antiquity and catastrophe are likewise elements of the legend, not established dates or archaeological evidence. The spelling “Lizzard” appears in the reproduced newspaper passage; “Lizard City” is the more familiar shorthand for the story.
What the map can—and cannot—show
The map is evidence of how Shufelt represented his claim. By itself, it does not establish that the passages were detected accurately, that the depicted chambers existed, or that a prehistoric city and its inhabitants were real. The sources documenting the map and its retelling establish the history of the claim, not archaeological confirmation of a Lizard City.
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- Height: 13.75in / 35cm, Depth: 2in / 5cm, Width: 10.25in / 26cm
- By Kevin Starr
- Hardcover
- 572 pages
- Imprint: Taschen
A separate retrospective overview from the Original Farmers Market says Shufelt and aides drove a shaft 250 feet down near North Hill Street. That is a reported excavation detail, not proof that they reached a city or verified the map’s underground features. The Original Farmers Market’s historical overview describes the tunnels as alleged.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the story entered the newspaper record
The Lizard People story has a history in newspaper accounts as well as in later retellings. A 2025 Society for California Archaeology proceedings article, “On the Emergence of the Lizard People: Transference of Hopi Tradition,” examines press accounts from 1933 and 1934 and discusses how material presented as Hopi tradition was transformed in that coverage. The proceedings article is useful context for tracing the narrative’s transmission; it does not make the Los Angeles Times account a reliable ethnographic record, nor does one newspaper’s attribution represent Hopi belief as a whole.
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Rank #3
- Regularly updated, full-color maps
- Clearly labeled Interstate, U.S., state, and county highways
- Indications of parks, points of interest, airports, county boundaries, schools, shopping malls, downtown & vicinity maps
- Easy-to-use legend
- Detailed index & full street index
The documentary value of the map, then, lies in what it captures about a 1930s claim and its circulation: an engineer’s reported detection method, a newspaper’s account of a legend, and a story later remembered as Los Angeles folklore. The available sources do not establish the existence of the city itself.
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Best Value
- 43 x 29 inches. Laminated. Flat map, tubed for shipping.
- This detailed reference map combines two maps in one - a regional map of Los Angeles extending from Simi Valley and Santa Clarita to San Bernardino and San Clemente, plus a street-level inset map of downtown Los Angeles. The regional map depicts the area's cities and towns, highways and roads, parks, lakes, and rivers, and a variety of major points of interest. Included on the regional L.A. map are well-known tourist areas such as Anaheim, Pasadena, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica.
- The map is beautifully rendered with terrain relief. The inset map of central Los Angeles shows highways, streets, parks, landmarks, and other points of interest. Chinatown, Little Tokyo, the Arts District, South Park, and the Financial District are among the neighborhoods shown on this map. Also available in a large size of 14.50" high X 21.50" wide.
- Created by Globe Turner, one of the leading producers of map products in the USA.
Rank #4
- 21.5 x 14.5 inches. Laminated. Flat map, tubed for shipping.
- This detailed reference map combines two maps in one - a regional map of Los Angeles extending from Simi Valley and Santa Clarita to San Bernardino and San Clemente, plus a street-level inset map of downtown Los Angeles. The regional map depicts the area's cities and towns, highways and roads, parks, lakes, and rivers, and a variety of major points of interest. Included on the regional L.A. map are well-known tourist areas such as Anaheim, Pasadena, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica.
- The map is beautifully rendered with terrain relief. The inset map of central Los Angeles shows highways, streets, parks, landmarks, and other points of interest. Chinatown, Little Tokyo, the Arts District, South Park, and the Financial District are among the neighborhoods shown on this map. Also available in a large size of 29.00" high X 43.00" wide.
- Created by Globe Turner, one of the leading producers of map products in the USA.
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