Nothing Googie Can Stay edition
The view from our lucky perch aboard the still-shuttered Angels Flight Railway, during a test ride this week. From @esotouric on Instagram.
This is a longer newsletter that some email providers will have trouble displaying. Click "View this email" at upper right for a complete reading experience.
Gentle reader...
It's sometimes hard to believe, in such a sprawling metropolis as Los Angeles, but we're in the grips of a land rush. Rents soar higher each year, especially in buzz-worthy neighborhoods, and even run-down buildings can change hands at startling sums.
As preservationists, we watch this expanding bubble in a state of barely contained anxiety. For it's not just vacant lots, disused factories and 1980s strip malls on the block, but too often modest structures that are architecturally significant, but which in no way reflect the "highest and best use" (in developer speak) of a particular parcel.
And so lovely community landmarks like the Bartlett House and the Art Deco Mole-Richardson shop are unceremoniously destroyed, leaving a loss that has an emotional impact that no Environmental Impact Report can predict.
The source of this intense response is Affective Ownership, a relatively new concept developed by preservationist Ned Kaufman. Dr. Kaufman values the personal attachment that members of a community have to landmarks both grand and modest, official and unofficial, and believes that any plan for a beloved structure needs to take this unquantifiable Affective Ownership into account.
Many landlords, of course, would disagree. But we think there's a moral requirement to steward community landmarks. If a developer doesn't want to take that responsibility on, or navigate a heartbroken community, there is always something else they can buy instead.
Dr. Kaufman's ideas are on our mind as we watch the slow motion car crash that is the redevelopment plan for the flagship Googie-style Norms restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard.
While the building itself appears to be a shoo-in to receive Historic Cultural Monument status and be preserved, property owner Jason Illoulian yearns to control a miniature mall of upscale boutiques in the parking lot and perhaps the diner itself. And project architect Craig Hodgetts is blatantly contemptuous of the many thousands of people who have come forward to proclaim their love for the functional, beautiful and egalitarian building.
Norms, we fear, is doomed. The structure may remain, but the soul cannot survive a transplant this extreme. And while we expect the community to put up a wonderful fight, in the end it will come down to the landlord's choices. Will he preserve and protect this gem of Los Angeles dining culture, or wreck it in pursuit of "authenticity," something that cannot, by definition, be "curated."
If we had the ear of the Jason Illoulians of this town, we'd say this: "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." And also, "Look closer and rejoice, for you already have every cool, authentic thing you seek."
We're back on the bus on Saturday with a Weird West Adams crime bus, packed with terrible secrets and lovely buildings. Join us, do!
COMING SOON
WEIRD WEST ADAMS - SAT. 3/7... 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.)
PASADENA CONFIDENTIAL WITH CRIMEBO THE CLOWN - SAT. 3/21... 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, Satanists and all manner of maniac in a delightful little tour you WON'T find recommended by the better class of people! From celebrated cases like the RFK assassination (with a visit to Sirhan Sirhan's folks' house), Eraserhead star Jack Nance's strange end, black magician/rocket scientist Jack Parsons' death-by-misadventure and the 1926 Rose Parade grand stand collapse, to fascinating obscurities, the tour's dozens of murders, arsons, kidnappings, robberies, suicides, auto wrecks and oddball happening sites provide a alternate history of Pasadena that's as fascinating as it is creepy. Passengers will tour the old Millionaire's Row on Orange Grove, thrill to the shocking Sphinx Murder on the steps of the downtown Masonic Hall and discover why people named Judd should think twice before moving to Pasadena. (Buy tickets here.)
HOLLYWOOD! - SAT. 3/28... A brand new bus adventure! Climb aboard the Esotouric crime bus and discover the unwritten history of the sleepy suburb that birthed the American dream factory. From literary lions to criminal masterminds, terror plots to teenage thrill seekers, music mavens to abiding mysteries, the neighborhood is packed to the rim with with fascinating lore and architectural marvels. You won’t see the stars’ homes or hear about their latest real estate deals, but we’ll show you where some colorful characters breathed their last, got into trouble that defined the rest of their lives and came up with ideas that the world is still talking about. So for unforgettable stories you won’t hear on anyone else’s Hollywood tour, climb aboard and discover the secret heart of the city we love. Tour stops include Crossroads of the World (Robert V. Derrah, 1936), the Château Élysée (Arthur E. Harvey, 1927) and the sites of the legendary Garden of Allah hotel and Schwab’s Drugstore. (Buy tickets here.)
HOTEL HORRORS & MAIN STREET VICE - SAT. 4/11... From the founding of the city through the 1940s, downtown was the true center of Los Angeles, a lively, densely populated, exciting and sometimes dangerous place. After many quiet decades, downtown is making an incredible return. 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. (Buy tickets here.)
THE REAL BLACK DAHLIA - SAT. 4/18... 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 do not delay. (Buy tickets here.)
ECHO PARK BOOK OF THE DEAD - SAT. 4/25... New from the deranged minds of Esotouric, an historical crime bus tour meant to honor the lost souls who wander the hills and byways of the "streetcar suburbs" (Echo Park, Silver Lake, Elysian Park, Angeleno Heights) that hug Sunset Boulevard. Climb aboard to 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. Featured cases include Edward Hickman's kidnapping of little Marion Parker and the bizarre "Man in the Attic" love nest slaying, plus dozens of incredible, forgotten tales of Angelenoes in peril. Guests will also see some of the most beautiful historic architecture in Los Angeles, including a visit to Sister Aimee Semple McPherson's exquisite Parsonage, her one-time home, now a museum. (Buy tickets here.)
CHARLES BUKOWSKI'S LOS ANGELES - SAT. 5/2... Come explore Charles Bukowski's lost Los Angeles and the fascinating contradictions that make this great local writer such a hoot to explore. Haunts of a Dirty Old Man is a raucous day out celebrating liquor, ladies, pimps and poets. The tour includes a visit to Buk's DeLongpre bungalow, where you'll see the Cultural-Historic Monument sign that we helped to get approved, and a mid-tour provisions stop at Pink Elephant Liquor. (Buy tickets here.)
RAYMOND CHANDLER'S LOS ANGELES - SAT. 5/9... Join us for a journey from the downtown of Chandler's pre-literary youth (but which always lingered at the fore of his imagination) to the Hollywood of his greatest success, with a stop along the way at Tai Kim's Scoops for unexpected gelato creations inspired by the author. We'll start the tour following in the young Chandler's footsteps, as he roamed the blocks near the downtown oil company office where he worked. See sites from The Lady in the Lake and The Little Sister, discover the real Philip Marlowe (the inspiration for Kim's novel The Kept Girl) 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. (Buy tickets here.)
SPECIAL EVENT: CRAWLING DOWN CAHUENGA: TOM WAITS' L.A. - SAT. 5/16... In our very occasional guest tour series, a delightful excursion that only comes around once a year, the Tom Waits bus adventure hosted by acclaimed rock critic David Smay (Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth, Swordfishtrombones). This voyage through the city that shaped one of our most eclectic musical visionaries starts in Skid Row and rolls through Hollywood and Echo Park, spotlighting the sites where Waits was transformed through the redemptive powers of love and other lures: the Tropicana Motel, Francis Coppola's Zoetrope Studios, the raunchy Ivar Theatre and so much more. Join us for a great day out in 1970s Los Angeles celebrating the music, the culture and the passions of Tom Waits. (Buy tickets here.)
AND FINALLY, LINKS
A favorite stop on our Weird West Adams tour, wee Powers Place.
Farewell, old friend.
Hello again, older friend.
Falcons Car Club, San Fernando Valley, 1950s (photos by Brad Smith, whose dad was also no slouch at capturing Southern California at a magic moment).
After The Anarchist Cookbook, or: it is always a tragedy when a writer signs away their copyright.
Hard times for the unstable on Skid Row, and a cry for change.
If you love the L.A. Public Library, tell somebody.
This sad refrain is L.A.'s gain.
Far too little information about the marvelous Mr. Crump.
Whatever happened to Miss Annie May Taylor?
Jungleland lives!… at least in graphic form.
yrs,
Kim and Richard
Esotouric
RECOMMENDED READING
Just out from our 1947project crime blogging colleague Mary McCoy, a different kind of young adult novel, steeped in vintage Los Angeles noir. We think it's just the thing for the morbid kid in your life.
A novel set in 1929 Los Angeles, starring the young Raymond Chandler, his devoted secretary and the real-life Philip Marlowe in pursuit of a murderous cult of angel worshippers. Available on all Esotouric tours, or direct from Esotouric Ink, from Amazon and for the Kindle.
A collaboration between illustrator Paul Rogers and our own Kim Cooper, featuring 50 iconic noir locations and packed with surprising lore and gorgeous artwork inspired by the vintage Dell Mapback mysteries of the 1940s. Available from Kim or Amazon, and on our tours. (Looking for Aaron Blake's out-of-print 1985 map? Click here.)
FORENSIC SCIENCE SEMINARS
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. Your $36.50 ticket to the Hot Lead and Hot Leads presentation benefits graduate level Criminalistics research. Join us on Sunday, March 15. For more info, or to reserve, click here.
FROM THE VIDEO VAULT
Now on the Esotouric blog, a virtual visit to Clifton's Cafeteria, circa 2010. Click here to see.
In the latest edition of You Can't Eat the Sunshine, our focus is the Art Deco Lafayette Hotel in Long Beach, including tile expert Brian Kaiser's rediscovery and restoration of a lost dance floor mural. Click here to tune in.
Help bring an L.A. icon back from the dead. Join the campaign to restore John Parkinson's 1910 design for our greatest lost park.
The LAVA Sunday Salon is our monthly cultural clearing house of new ideas presented by LAVA Visionaries, the most fascinating folks in town. Back from hiatus, the Sunday Salon returns on March 29 with LAVA Visionary of the Year for 2015 Nathan Marsak on L.A.'s lost Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. Free, reservations required.
We discovered Raymond Chandler's most delightful literary secret. Now we need your help to stage his comic operetta in Los Angeles!
Need an L.A.-centric gift in a hurry? Visit The Esotouric Emporium of L.A. Lore, our curated guide to the best in regional books, films and artifacts. How about a gift certificate for a bus adventure into the secret heart of Los Angeles, a solo 6-Pack or shareable 12-Pack? We also carry vintage photos of lost Bunker Hill as well as earlier scenes, Charles Bukowski-inspired fine art prints, Raymond Chandler maps (vintage) or (contemporary) and 76 ball antenna toppers.
TOUR CALENDAR
Weird West Adams (3/7)
New Tour: Hollywood! (3/28)
The Real Black Dahlia (4/18)
Echo Park Book of the Dead (4/25)
Charles Bukowski's L.A. (5/2)
Raymond Chandler's L.A. (5/9)
Special Event: Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' L.A. (5/16)
Eastside Babylon (5/30)
Blood & Dumplings (6/20)
Weird West Adams (6/27)
The Real Black Dahlia (7/18)
Charles Bukowski's L.A. (7/25)
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. Your contributions are never obligatory, but always appreciated.