In 1932, the U.S. hosted the Olympics in L.A.—an affair that, according to facts dredged up by Curbed LA, was pulled together scrappily and last-minute. For example: during construction, the organizer couldn't even get an estimate on how many athletes were coming, and blowing money building too many houses for the athletes was not an option. "About all we could do was guess," the organizer once told the L.A. Times. Hey, at least L.A.'s old Olympic Village avoided the costly abandonment fate, which is more than many Olympic cities can say. [Curbed LA]
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