Lawndale, California is located in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County, southwest of the city of L.A., near Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and Torrance. In the late 1940s, when this album was been compiled, the high demand for housing for veterans returning from World War II and the construction of the Harbor Freeway (the 110) brought major growth to Lawndale, transforming it from a sleepy rural area into a populous bedroom community. The album's owner -- home builder, contractor, real estate developer, and civic booster Axel Niska (1886-1930) -- was one of the major figures involved in driving that transformation. By the early 1950s, Niska had become a well-known figure in Lawndale, active in the Chamber of Commerce and serving as President of the Optimist Club and Chairman of the community's annual Pirate Days celebration, among other activities.

The album contains 11 photographs of Niska with family members and other businessmen. The other 45 images show commercial and residential properties -- most or all of which he was involved in constructing or developing. Two photographs dated 1936 show properties he built in Burbank; the rest show locations in or near Lawndale. Most show small, inexpensive single-family homes of the sort typically association with the postwar housing boom. Many are identified by address, and date of construction or sale -- often with the sale price and down payment recorded on the back of the photo.

The other images show commercial properties including. including Niska's own office and several restaurants and car dealerships that he presumably had a role in constructing or selling. These photos are a highlight of the album, typologically documenting a postwar-urban sprawl reminiscent of the work of Ed Ruscha and later Stephen Shore.