A powerful photo project became a love letter to the workers who built L.A. Metro's D Line

In 1985, erstwhile the L.A. Metro strategy was successful its astir nascent stage, Ken Karagozian — past an amateur lensman successful an Owens Valley, Calif., store — recovered his mode underground to papers the subterranean matrimony betwixt downtown L.A. and Westlake done Metro’s Red Line, present called the B Line.

From that came a diagnostic successful Life magazine, but much importantly, a driving principle: Karagozian believed that the operation workers, engineers and electricians who were taxable to the whims of a metropolis indecisive connected the subway task were deserving of intimate documentation. The invisible galore who built the pyramids and New York’s skyline ne'er got that chance, helium said, but the radical who contributed to the historically arguable Metro D Line from Koreatown to Westwood would, if helium had a say.

“When I did instrumentality photography workshops, they ever said, ‘Do a task adjacent to your home,’” Karagozian said connected a telephone from his Agoura Hills residence. “I wrote a missive to [L.A. Metro], which said, ‘How tin I get support to photograph?’”

Days earlier the fires ravaged L.A. successful 2025, Altadena-based historiographer and writer India Mandelkern had a telephone telephone with Karagozian, who was funny successful collaborating connected a task astir the D Line. After publishing a publication connected the creation and authorities of thoroughfare lighting successful Los Angeles, Mandelkern worked connected the L.A. Metro blog, soliciting interviews from Angelenos who seemed hopeless for a enactment to the Westside.

A Karagozian photograph shows a radical of workers during the Section 2 breakthrough during the underground operation of the Metro D Line.

(Ken Karagozian)

A photograph by Karagozian shows sunlight filtering underground into the Wilshire/Fairfax tract during construction.

(Ken Karagozian)

After Mandelkern connected with Karagozian, their task had coagulated form: a photograph book, titled “Wilshire Subway: The Making of the D Line Subway Extension,” astir the history, struggle and radical down the scenes and underground up of the May 8 opening of the subway enlargement on Wilshire Boulevard. (New stations volition beryllium added astatine Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Cienega. In the future, stations successful Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood volition open.)

A related photograph exhibition, “Wilshire Subway: Photographed by Ken Karagozian,” is connected presumption done May 14 astatine the 1301PE creation assemblage connected Wilshire Boulevard.

This week, we chatted much with Karagozian and Mandelkern astir their project.

After penning a publication astir the societal past of street lighting, what brought you underground?

Mandelkern: Well, a mates antithetic reasons. First, I was precise funny successful Metro conscionable due to the fact that I had worked determination arsenic the blog editor, and successful that role, I got to research truthful galore antithetic stories. I thought Wilshire Boulevard was 1 of the astir absorbing places, the stories of this rail-building ambition that persisted for truthful galore antithetic years, and what that says astir Angelenos. Second, I deliberation that we speech astir L.A. arsenic a horizontal city, and that’s surely true. If you spell determination similar Tokyo, you instantly spot that this is what a vertical metropolis is, but I wanted to bring a small spot of that to L.A. There is truthful overmuch past buried beneath the crushed that we look to forget, and erstwhile you commencement tunneling, you recognize that it’s ever been determination and it hasn’t disappeared. It’s conscionable pushed beneath us.

In enactment of their caller project, writer India Mendelkern, left, and lensman Ken Karagozian look astatine the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books successful April.

(Ken Karagozian)

Of each the radical you spoke to for this book, which 1 astir influenced the mode you understood what the D Line could supply for the city?

Karagozian: This was a associated task betwixt 3 contractors, and they each had their specialty. It was Skanska, Traylor [Bros.] and Shea. With Traylor, they were brothers and they were doing the tunneling. Richard McLane [chief mechanical technologist of Traylor Bros.] was precise adjuvant successful telling maine a small spot astir the past of Wilshire Boulevard and facts of tunneling. … All these antithetic contractors impacted the task successful immoderate way.

Mandelkern: I ever accidental Ken is 1 of the champion operation photographers retired there, but his specialty is truly people. When I interviewed immoderate of these idiosyncratic workers, a full antithetic communicative came to light, and I realized that galore of these workers came to L.A., started astatine the bottommost of the totem pole, and done moving connected the subway person risen done the ranks, gotten promotions, go leaders, and their kids present enactment successful construction. … It’s conscionable truthful astonishing that truthful galore of these individuals are doing each this enactment down the scenes that creates infrastructure that connects each of us.

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1. Carpenter Jenna Dorough poses for a representation by Karagozian during the underground operation of the Metro D Line. 2. A factual supervisor photographed by Karagozian astatine the La Cienega Boulevard station. (Ken Karagozian)

There are galore portraits successful the publication of the builders who created the D Line. India referred to the abbreviated lifespans of the workers compared to the marvelous structures they craft: Was it intentional that you documented astir of the D Line’s ocular past done the radical who built it?

Karagozian: When I spell down underground and aft the stations are completed, to me, it’s the radical that built it that should archer the story. I didn’t conscionable privation to get a changeable of them from behind. I truly similar to photograph their faces. … When I photographed the workers from the Red Line, immoderate of these workers from the mediate ’90s are inactive moving connected the Purple Line. I’ve known them for years, and present their children are moving successful construction; it becomes a household issue. … Going down and photographing the tunnels with that lighting successful that perspective, it’s ever been truthful interesting.

Mandelkern: That conscionable reminded maine of 1 of the quotes successful the publication from John Yen, who is the VP of operations astatine Skanska. He said, “In construction, we enactment ourselves retired of a job.” I ever recovered it truly absorbing that, arsenic we build, the full constituent is to benignant of disappear. It reminded maine of 1 of my favourite quotes successful the essay, erstwhile James [Rojas] writes [that] erstwhile the stations are open, they’ll beryllium shiny and new, but that volition benignant of erase each the memories and each the enactment of the radical who’ve been doing this for each this time. This publication truly became a mode to benignant of retrieve each of these antithetic radical that person been moving connected these projects for decades and decades, adjacent if they’re not truly remembered successful the authoritative record.

As the D Line prepares to open, does it someway consciousness similar the extremity of a journey?

Mandelkern: This conscionable [started] truthful galore different things for me. Afterwards, I decided I truly privation to larn astir the geology of L.A., and I recovered an involvement successful paleontology, too. I anticipation with immoderate publication that it conscionable gets radical curious, and it gets them to commencement asking questions. I deliberation that “Wilshire Subway” does execute that. L.A. is conscionable this vessel with each these antithetic crockery layers, and arsenic we penetrate down, we larn much and much astir our history.

Karagozian: It does a small bit. With May 8 being the expansive opening, and arsenic the stations are implicit and they’re investigating the trains underground, it astir feels similar it’s graduation time. Time to observe the travel of going done precocious school, college, whatever. I americium inactive continuing to photograph the [Purple Line extension], which is Rodeo oregon Beverly [Hills] presumption … Now it’s conscionable the accomplishment of celebrating each the enactment that I’ve enactment into this task and going down astir erstwhile a week and photographing the process for truthful galore years.