Smoky, steamy, seductive, lyrical... Poem Noir!
Gentle reader...
Los Angeles, city of contrasts. We are the eternally innocent Land of Sunshine, but flip the switch and the sun winks out, and a breath of smoke curls against a neon Film Noir flare. You can't have the light without the darkness. And that darkness can be such a thrill to explore.
This Sunday, for our LAVA Sunday Salon cultural lecture series, poet, educator and hardcore Angelena Suzanne Lummis will introduce us to a genre she created: Poem Noir. Once we've found the plot, Suzanne will lead us into the magnificent Bradbury Building for a curated program of readings and performances, from the hard boiled to the moodily magnificent. The program is free with RSVP.
We're back on the bus on Saturday with a nearly sold out Weird West Adams crime bus tour. Come discover the beauty and terror of one of the original streetcar suburbs, including a stroll through one of the city's oldest cemeteries, Rosedale. Join us, do!
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RECENTLY TOURED
In Lincoln Heights, where tenants are being tricked out of residence in a handsome historic building, this one is skeptical of lowball "cash for keys" offers.
LAVA'S FORENSIC SCIENCE SEMINAR - SUN. 4/23
Four times a year, we gather in the teaching crime labs of Cal State Los Angeles under the direction of Professor Donald Johnson to explore the history and future of American forensic science. On April 23, 2017, join us for From The Crime Lab To The Coroner's Office, an afternoon of historic murders and modern day investigation techniques. Your $36.50 ticket benefits graduate level Criminalistics research. Click here to reserve.
RECOMMENDED READING
Martin Turnbull isn't a native Angeleno, but his passion for our cultural history and built environment have earned him honorary status. Twisted Boulevard is #6 in his Garden of Allah novel series, tracking a trio of ambitious youngsters through the trenches of 20th century Hollywood success. Start at the beginning and get caught up in time for HUAC-themed Tinseltown Confidential in June.
COMING SOON
WEIRD WEST ADAMS - SAT. 2/25... On this guided tour through the Beverly Hills of the early 20th Century, Crime Bus passengers thrill as Jazz Age bootleggers run amok, marvel at the Krazy Kafitz family's litany of murder-suicides, attempted husband slayings, Byzantine estate battles and mad bombings, visit the shortest street in Los Angeles (15' long Powers Place, with its magnificent views of the mansions of Alvarado Terrace), discover which fabulous mansion was once transformed into a functioning whiskey factory using every room in the house, and stroll the haunted paths of Rosedale Cemetery, site of notable burials (May K. Rindge, the mother of Malibu) and odd graveside crimes. Featured players include the most famous dwarf in Hollywood, mass suicide ringleader Reverend Jim Jones, wacky millionaires who can't control their automobiles, human mole bank robbers, comically inept fumigators, kids trapped in tar pits, and dozens of other unusual and fascinating denizens of early Los Angeles. (Buy tickets here.)
THE LAVA SUNDAY SALON & BROADWAY ON MY MIND WALKING TOUR - SUN. 2/26... Our free cultural lecture series recently relaunched on the basement level of Grand Central Market with a walk to follow. Join poet Suzanne Lummis and friends for an afternoon of Poem Noir and hardboiled fiction readings and film noir monologues . Free, reservation required.
EASTSIDE BABYLON - SAT. 3/11... Go East, young ghoul, to Boyle Heights, where the Night Stalker was captured and to Evergreen, L.A.'s oldest cemetery. To East L.A., where a deranged radio shop employee made mince meat of his boss and bride in the shadow of the world's biggest tamale. To Commerce, where one small neighborhood's myriad crimes will shock and surprise. To Montebello, scene of a horrifying case of child murder. That's Eastside Babylon, our most unhinged crime bus tour. (Buy tickets here.)
PASADENA CONFIDENTIAL - SAT. 3/18... The Crown City masquerades as a calm and refined retreat, where well-bred ladies glide around their perfect bungalows and everyone knows what fork to use first. But don't be fooled by appearances. Dip into the confidential files of old Pasadena and meet assassins and oddballs, kidnappers and slashers, black magicians and all manner of maniac in a delightful little tour you won't find recommended by the better class of people. (Buy tickets here.)
HOTEL HORRORS & MAIN STREET VICE - SAT. 3/25... Through the 1940s, downtown was the true city center, a lively, densely populated, exciting and sometimes dangerous place. But while many of the historic buildings remain, their human context has been lost. This downtown double feature tour is meant to bring alive the old ghosts and memories that cling to the streets and structures of the historic core, and is especially recommended for downtown residents curious about their neighborhood's neglected history. (Sold out with waiting list. More info here.)
THE LAVA SUNDAY SALON & BROADWAY ON MY MIND WALKING TOUR - SUN. 3/26... Our free cultural lecture series recently relaunched on the basement level of Grand Central Market with a walk to follow. This month, our focus is the endangered architectural and cultural landmark Parker Center. Come explore this mid-century Welton Becker masterpiece while you still can! Free, reservation required.
ECHO PARK BOOK OF THE DEAD - SAT. 4/1... New on our calendar, a crime bus tour meant to honor the lost souls who wander the hills and byways of the "streetcar suburbs" that hug Sunset Boulevard. See seemingly ordinary houses, streets and commercial buildings revealed as the scenes of chilling crimes and mysteries, populated by some of the most fascinating people you'd never want to meet. Featuring the Hillside Strangler, the Bat Man's Love Nest and a visit to Sister Aimee Semple McPherson's exquisite Parsonage, now a museum. (Buy tickets here.)
PALOS VERDES: ANCIENT AND MODERN - SAT. 4/8... On this Special Event tour celebrating our 10th anniversary as a tour company, join us on a deep dive into coastal California lore. From the Spanish Colonial Revival romance of Malaga Cove to Paul R. Williams' jazzy 1960s SeaView tract homes, from Frank Lloyd Wright associate Aaron G. Green's organic architecture to evidence of ancient plantations, you can expect the unexpected and a delightful cast of guest speakers. Sorry, no discounts accepted on this Special Event tour. (Learn more and buy tickets here.)
THE REAL BLACK DAHLIA - SAT. 4/15... Join us on this iconic, unsolved Los Angeles murder mystery tour, from the throbbing boulevards of a postwar Downtown to the quiet suburban avenue where horror came calling. After multiple revisions, this is less a true crime tour than a social history of 1940s Hollywood female culture, mass media and madness, and we welcome you to join us for the ride. This tour always sells out, so don't wait to reserve. (Buy tickets here.)
FORENSIC SCIENCE SEMINAR AT CAL STATE LOS ANGELES - SUN. 4/23... Professor Donald Johnson hosts "From The Crime Lab To The Coroner's Office," featuring author Brad Schreiber's historic crime research and an introduction to crime scene investigations. Your $36.50 ticket benefits graduate level Criminalistics research. (Buy tickets here.)
Additional upcoming tours: Charles Bukowski's L.A. (4/22), Raymond Chandler's L.A. (4/29), Blood & Dumplings (5/6), Hollywood! (5/13), Weird West Adams (5/20), Special Event: Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits’ L.A. (6/3), Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice (6/10) and Special Event: Desert Visionaries: Llano del Rio, Antelope Valley Indian Museum & Aldous Huxley’s Pearblossom Ranch (6/17).
OUR HISTORIC L.A. PODCAST
Back from hiatus! In Episode #116: Miracle Mile and a Mid-Century Master, we talk with land use consultant Bill Christopher about Wilshire Boulevard and with architect-historian Alan Hess about Aaron G. Green's mid-century organic architecture. Click here to tune in. New: find stories on the map!
AND FINALLY, LINKS
Pity the American doughboy, returned from WWI to find his country dry. Now sing it!
Viva Mitchell Camera / The Factory, L.A.’s newest National Register landmark, an iconic space in cinema and LGBT history. PDF link.
More legal woes for the Frank Gehry project poised to demolish the newly-landmarked Lytton Savings.
Heartbreaking! Ted just died and now his Monterey Park drive-in liquor store is shutting down after 69 years with only 2 weeks notice.
Although the lobby’s recent faux finishes are unfortunate, we’re pretty sure, and pretty glad, the Hotel Cecil will be named a city landmark.
Video Vault: LAPD foot patrol training hijinx in postwar L.A. Don't miss the wildcat at 16:07.
yrs,
Kim and Richard
Esotouric