A lot has changed since then. Here's a snapshot of what was going on in the City of Angels.
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Gas was less than a buck
Though average monthly gas surpassed $1/gallon just two years earlier, in that year they stayed in the cents range, dipping as low as got as low as $.84 and averaging $.91 for the year, according to the Los Angeles Almanac.
Rain Man and Naked Gun hit theaters
Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise's portrayal of brothers traveling cross-country to Los Angeles together earned Rain Man the top spot in the box office that year, according to Box Office Mojo numbers. Several other top 10 movies from the year can be nostalgia-inducing for Los Angelenos, including Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Twins, Die Hard and The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Construction finished on the Pavilion for Japanese Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art completed its Pavilion for Japanese Art in this year. The original design has been compared to "a Shinto temple, an ancient samurai helmet, or even a building in Disney's Tomorrowland," according to the Los Angeles Conservancy.
The "America Sings" show closes at Disneyland
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Speaking of Tomorrowland, one of its classic shows closed in this year. In the family-friendly musical comedy "America Sings," Sam the Eagle led 110 animatronic animals in singing folk music and campfire songs. Some of the characters from the closed show were recast in Splash Mountain, which opened the following year, and can be heard singing "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah."
The Lakers won another championship
The Lakers were hot, taking home their sixth championship since the team moved to Los Angeles. It was also the third in four years for the Pat Riley-led team. NBA Finals MVP James Worthy pulled off a triple-double in Game 7 to lead the team, which included Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to yet another victory.
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The Rams lost the NFC wildcard game
The Rams, led by coach John Robinson, finished with a 10-6 record, qualifying for the playoffs. Their time in the playoffs did not last, however, as they lost to Minnesota in the NFC wildcard game.
Kirk Gibson hit it out of the park
Kirk Gibson's homer was a defining moment in the 1988 World Series and has gone down as one of the greatest moments in L.A. sports history. With 3 balls and 2 strikes at the bottom of the ninth, the outfielder hit a walk-off home run to claim Game 1 of the series. The drama of the moment was made even greater by the image of Gibson, who had injuries in both knees, circling the bases with his hands in the air before hobbling off of home plate to meet his teammates. The Dodgers would go on to win the series 4-1.
Click here for full coverage on the World Series.
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