The Fur Flies in Sacramento

Gentle reader...

Yesterday, in Sacramento, a coalition of low income housing advocates, preservationists and Los Angeles legislators put the nail in the coffin of SB50, a radical land use bill promoted by state senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco).

Up until the last moment, its proponents believed they had the votes. When it became clear that they didn't, the legislative clock was stopped "as a courtesy" (very unusual!) and heavy lobbying took place in the hallways, with big promises made to those senators who had hid in the bathroom to avoid casting a vote, or whose vote might yet be changed.

But when the roll was called, SB50 lacked the crucial support to move forward.

And just like that, the most divisive piece of California legislation in years went back into the file cabinet of history, taking with it a legacy of nasty online and real life skirmishes. SB50's biggest fans were just so certain that ceding land use control to Sacramento would solve all the state's housing problems, just as its opponents saw clearly that its passage would enrich developers while producing more demolitions, evictions and displacement.

The bill was, we think, fundamentally dishonest. California is enormous, and what's good for Oakland is anathema to Pico-Union. Tech companies want to control land use and transit and create digital "smart cities," and funneling control away from municipalities would be the first step. It's hard to have a real conversation about policy with people paid to get what their donors want at all costs. But yesterday, the good guys held back the flood. Now is a great time to make some real progressive policy that's good for citizens and for the preservation of landmarks, and we're looking forward to being part of that conversation.
WANT TO SUPPORT OUR WORK? If you enjoy all we do to celebrate and preserve Los Angeles history and would like to say thank you, please consider putting a little something into our digital tip jar. You can also click here before shopping on Amazon. Your contributions are never obligatory, but always appreciated. Or you can join us for a tour... & tell your friends.
AND WHAT'S THE NEXT TOUR? This Saturday, we're offering the occasional Literary Los Angeles tour The Birth of Noir, sleuthing out the time capsule locations that inspired and feature in James M. Cain's fiction and film adaptations, from Double Indemnity to Mildred Pierce to The Postman Always Rings Twice. Join us, do!

UPCOMING TOURS & SPECIAL EVENTS

THE BIRTH OF NOIR: JAMES M. CAIN'S SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NIGHTMARE - SAT. 2/1... This tour digs deep into the literature, film and real life vices that inform that most murderous genre, film noir, rolling through Hollywood, Glendale and old Skid Row, lost lion farms, murderous sopranos, fascist film censors, offbeat cemeteries—all in a quest to reveal the delicious, and deeply influential, nightmares that are author Cain's gift to the world. (Buy tickets here.)
BOYLE HEIGHTS & MONTEREY PARK: THE HIDDEN HISTORIES OF L.A.'S MELTING POTS - SAT. 2/15... Come on a century's social history tour through the transformation of neighborhoods, punctuated with immersive stops to sample the varied cultures that make our changing city so beguiling. Voter registration, citizenship classes, Chicano Moratorium, walkouts, blow-outs, anti-Semitism, adult education, racial covenants, boycotts, The City Beautiful, Exclusion Acts and Immigration Acts, property values, xenophobia, and delicious dumplings--all are themes which will be addressed on this lively excursion. This whirlwind social history tour will include: The Vladeck Center, Hollenbeck Park, Evergreen Cemetery, El Encanto, Divine's Furniture and Wing Hop Fung. (Buy tickets here.)

RAYMOND CHANDLER'S LOS ANGELES - SAT. 2/22... Follow in the young writer's footsteps near his downtown oil company offices to sites from The Lady in the Lake and The Little Sister, meet several real inspirations for the Philip Marlowe character and get the skinny on Chandler's secret comic operetta that we discovered in the Library of Congress nearly a century after it was written. Plus a visit to Larry Edmunds Bookshop, the last survivor of a once-great Hollywood literary district. (Buy tickets here.)

ROUTE 66 ROAD TRIP: ROADSIDE ARCHITECTURE, CITRUS, DRIVE-INS & CEMETERIES - SAT. 2/29... Back by popular demand, join us on a time travel trip due east along California's Mother Road to explore the building of its dream, from citrus ranches to oddball roadside attractions, sinister sisters, an ancient hidden graveyard recently surrounded by a suburb, and the many mysteries of the northern San Gabriel Valley. (Buy tickets here.)

FORENSIC SCIENCE SEMINAR - SUN. 3/8... Four times a year, we gather in the teaching crime labs of Cal State L.A. to explore the history and future of American forensic science. The Blonde Rattlesnake, The Black Dahlia & The Future of Forensic Science is a mix of historic storytelling and cutting edge lab innovations, with true crime author Julia Bricklin and Dr. David Raymond, with a cameo from our own Real Black Dahlia tour host, Kim Cooper. (Sold out with waiting list, more info here.)

WILSHIRE BOULEVARD DEATH TRIP - SAT. 3/14... Wilshire Boulevard is an iconic Los Angeles thoroughfare—from its prehistoric origins as a path forged by extinct megafauna to the spectacular Art Deco monuments of the Miracle Mile. It’s also ground zero for some deeply strange, only-in-Los Angeles crimes and oddities that played out against the backdrop of the boulevard. The deceptively simple route contains a multitude of horrors and mysteries. Join us for a dark day’s out among the city’s most glittering architectural gems. (Buy tickets here.)

MANSONLAND - SAT. 3/21... A journey through the 1960s counterculture, organized crime and Hollywood hustlers, with author Brad Schreiber illuminating the mysteries and connections informing the crimes of Charles Manson's family and our Kim Cooper revealing a neighboring 1950s cult whose myths and tactics were borrowed by Manson. (Buy tickets here.)
Additional upcoming tours: Blood & Dumplings (4/4), The Real Black Dahlia (4/11), John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill (4/18), Charles Bukowski's Los Angeles (4/25) and Tom Waits' Los Angeles (5/2).
MORE THAN SATURDAY AFTERNOON TOURS We offer private versions of most of our tours (up to 54 people), and Downtown L.A. walking tours for smaller groups. Does your L.A.-area library, club or historical society host guest speakers? Ask them to book us.

The Birth of Noir (2/1)
$64.00

Boyle Heights & Monterey Park (2/15)
$64.00

Route 66 Road Trip (2/29)
$64.00

Wilshire Boulevard Death Trip (3/14)
$64.00

AND FINALLY, LINKS

Recommended Reading: California Bungalow by Dr. Robert Winter. Find more L.A. book recommendations.

In LACMA News: Non-profit Announces Ballot Measure Effort. Don't be fooled by the deliberately misleading appearance of a wrecking crew, Angelenos, as abatement work sparks confusion. And a $50 million pledge moves stalled campaign forward as director Michael Govan accuses museum board insiders of lying. Save LACMA!

New Cranky Preservationist Videos: Join our natty anti-hero as he fights a one-man Battle of Normandie (Facebook, YouTube) and witnesses a horror in the heart of Pico-Union (Facebook, YouTube).

Lost street light sculpture Vermonica is coming back, and Take Two's got the story (segment starts at 41:00)

Downey doesn't know what it lost in Harold Tseklenis. Meanwhile, its magnificent National Register Rives Mansion can't catch a break.

Tune in to Jerry Sullivan for a refreshingly informed discussion about why the millions poured into L.A.’s homeless crisis won’t show results until City Hall’s culture of corruption is eradicated.

The Lions Club Log Cabin, a sacred space in the Los Angeles sobriety community, is slated for demolition. Can it be preserved?

Congratulations to the citizen preservationists honored for their Beverly Fairfax National Register listing. (Angelenos are turning to NR designation because Eric Garcetti won't allow any new HPOZs.)

Saddened to read that the heirs haven't landmarked the Vanderlip mansion, and are clearing out a century of artifacts before a sale.

Tom Bergin's appears to be selling off the 1951 Los Angeles Rams Championship Banner that was prominently displayed in the landmark tavern.

Remembering Phil Brigandi: Orange County Archivist. He saved so much, and Chris Jepsen watched him do it.

John Parkinson’s estate, now on the market for $20 Million, was subject of a wild preservation battle. It’s an amazing property.

The sad tale of Edinburgh Bungalow Court, which property owners Matt Jacobs (ex-Chair of the California Affordable Housing Board!) and Guy Penini have priced to be demolished, with tCity Council's okay.

Up in the rafters with the restoration team that's finally reversing decades of neglect of South Pasadena's Rialto Theatre.

Rick Prelinger's "Lost Landscapes of Los Angeles" found film anthologies aren't quite as fun without a rambunctious live audience of Bunker Hill nerds, but they're captivating all the same. (Part 1, Part 2.)

Our Richard Schave gives the Downtown News the skinny on the illicit booze racket run out of City Hall during Prohibition.

An update on the partially rediscovered Well of the Scribes at Central Library. See our unveiling report here.

The new $16 Million L.A. River bridge isn't even officially opened yet, and a young horse has already died in a freak incident suggesting the design is unsuitable equestrian use.

A powerful letter from the residents of Echo Park Lake to their Councilman Mitch O'Farrell, whose policies have contributed to the real estate speculation that put many of these Angelenos on the streets. Will he listen?

Wanted: someone with deep pockets to carefully erase decades of benevolent neglect at Richard Neutra’s Lovell House.

Video vault: Young Gene Sculatti became obsessed with L.A.'s infrastructure, mapping a fantasy Southland in scroll drawings on his bedroom floor. He tells the tale to Unheard LA.

Following a commission's unanimous yes vote for designating Alpine Village, it's up the Supervisors to make it a landmark.

In a city where greedy developers demolish first and don't even ask forgiveness later, City Council seeks a very small temporal concession to give our landmarks a fighting chance.

Los Angeles Magazine: These Offbeat L.A. Tours Aren’t Just for Tourists. Daniel Smith finds our Pasadena Confidential “an intensely dark and deeply researched experience.”

Video Vault: Spectrum News joined us for one of Detective Mike Digby's occasional tours about the 1910 Los Angeles Times bombing.

Have you signed our petition to Restore Pershing Square yet? The 1910 design is a proven winner and the original plans are available. Learn more about the campaign on our blog, and be wary of big public announcements from scandal-plagued politicians.

Palos Verdes Bowl to close Friday after 61 years as a Torrance landmark.

Eater LA's love letter to Burbank's enduring Pinocchio Restaurant and Monte Carlo Italian Deli.

Federal prosecutors say tapped calls show ‘corrupt dealings’ by Beverly Hills developer. “Tell no one. Don’t even trust your own shadow,” he said on the wiretapped call. Read the complaint here (PDF link).

L.A. preservation engineer Mel Green (friend of Watts Towers), just restored the Grand Canyon Airlines ticket office, which was also home to Boulder City's first black residents.

yrs for Los Angeles,
Kim and Richard
Esotouric