Gentle reader,
If you’ve taken the Know Your Downtown Los Angeles tour, read our blog or tuned in to the webinar channel then you know all about the landmark Dutch Chocolate Shop.
But if not, then it’s a time capsule Arts & Crafts café and candy store just off Broadway in the heart of Downtown, tricked out by Pasadena tile maven Ernest Batchelder in 1914 and never remodeled—even as it changed uses to a health food store, popular cafeteria, retail bazaar and its current life as a filming location.
There are a lot of unique and beautiful buildings in Downtown Los Angeles, but there’s just something magical about this one. We never get tired of sharing it, or “reading” the tiled cartoon walls packed with quirky Dutch people, buildings and animals.
And now that its owner has let us know that it’s time to reluctantly turn the responsibility over to somebody new, we’re doing what we can to spread the word, certain that the right person will get the message, become the next owner, and write a fascinating new chapter for Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #137, a 19th century retail / office building encompassing the ground floor tile landmark, three bare loft style floors above, a full basement and flat roof with city views
Could that person be you? If you’re intrigued, and in the market for a building in Downtown Los Angeles, then drop us a line and we can fill you in and build a bridge.
Special thanks to our preservation pals who have been helping spread the word on social media, and putting their own unique spins on the story and the beauty of the Dutch Chocolate Shop, especially forgottenmadness_la and Merch Motel for coming down to see the room before creating their mini tours.
Like all great landmarks, it might have a legal owner, but truly the Dutch Chocolate Shop belongs to everyone who loves it, and it feels nice to pull together to bring this sweet little tiled ship into harbor, with Steve McQueen and all the other spirits within.
Changing gears, we’re thankful for everyone who has reached out, with shock, support and with welcome contributions to our legal defense fund, in response to the epic newsletter documenting what’s been happening with the Marilyn Monroe house landmark since the property owners went to court seeking to halt the vote and we got subpoenaed.
Now that the grind of document production is behind us, it’s is a relief to be able to resume our court house and City Hall reporting, and keep you informed about these newsworthy and concerning events.
In response to reader requests, we’ve created a set of bullet points highlighting the basic beats of the latest reporting, a sort of TLDR (too long, didn’t read) for busy folks who are interested in Marilyn’s house, but feel overwhelmed.
It is overwhelming!
You can click over to the full post for additional details and supplemental links at your leisure, but the short list below will fill you in on what you need to know leading up to the likely scheduling of a bench trial to determine if Marilyn’s house will lose its landmark status and again be threatened with demolition .
MARILYN MONROE HOUSE LANDMARKING STATUS REPORT OCTOBER 2024
● Private citizens, preservation non-profits, and (we believe) City staff were subpoenaed prior to the final landmark vote for Marilyn Monroe’s house, for a lawsuit filed by property owners Brinah Milstein and Roy Bank to halt / overturn the landmark designation initiated by councilmember Traci Park. We personally were served with a very broad subpoena demanding records and a deposition.
● Milstein-Bank changed attorneys before the vote, swapping preservation land use expert Bill Delvac for Peter C. Sheridan of Glaser Weil Fink Howard Jordan & Shapiro.
● In March 2024 the Brentwood Community Council (BCC), a private organization not subject to Neighborhood Council rules, opposed landmarking at Milstein-Bank’s request; we published the video. BCC’s chair, Carolyn Jordan, is a partner at Glaser Weil, and a major political donor to nominating councilmember Traci Park.
● Milstein-Bank proposed that Graceland operators Authentic Brands move the house to make it a tourist attraction, claimed this would be “impossible” if landmarked.
● Judge James C. Chalfant denied Milstein-Bank’s request for a preliminary injunction to halt the vote. Their legal strategy then shifted from civil conspiracy to a CEQA challenge, alleging the City failed to conduct an environmental review.
● Seeking evidence for the allegation that Linda Dishman of the Los Angeles Conservancy secured a City job for Heather Goers, who wrote the nomination, we filed a public records request and received Goers’ private emails and unredacted Hollywood Heritage board minutes, which the City apparently turned over for case discovery. This raises serious concerns about the City’s handling of sensitive documents.
● There have been three trial setting conferences as the case moves towards a bench trial, and we’ve reported from each of those hearings.
● And citizens can still seek to intervene in the case to have their voices heard!
Sunday’s tour is a stroll through the Victorian era Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights, for stories that feature a colorful blend of civic leaders and carnival workers, cult leaders and assassins, aviators and courtroom orators. And just in time for the holiday, you’ll learn how Dia De Los Muertos first came to Los Angeles and how Civil War veterans played a pivotal role. Join us, do!
Yours for Los Angeles,
Kim & Richard
Esotouric
Are you on social media? We’re on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, Substack Notes, TikTok and Reddit sharing preservation news as it happens.
Our work—leading tours and historic preservation and cultural landmark advocacy—is about building a bridge between Los Angeles' past and its future, and not allowing the corrupt, greedy, inept and misguided players who hold present power to destroy the city's soul and body. If you’d like to support our efforts to be the voice of places worth preserving, we have a tip jar and a subscriber edition of our main newsletter, vintage Los Angeles webinars available to stream, in-person tours and a souvenir shop you can browse in. We’ve also got recommended reading bookshelves on Amazon and the Bookshop indie bookstore site. And did you know we offer private versions of our walking tours for groups big or small? Or just share this link with other people who care.
UPCOMING BUS & WALKING TOURS
• Evergreen Cemetery, 1877 (Sun. 10/27) • Westlake Park Time Travel Trip (Sat. 11/2) • The 1910 Bombing of the Los Angeles Times Walking Tour with Detective Mike Digby (Sat. 11/9) • Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice Downtown L.A. (Sat. 11/16) • Charles Bukowski’s Westlake (Sat. 11/23) • Angelino Heights & Carroll Avenue (Sat. 12/7) • Raymond Chandler’s Noir Downtown Los Angeles (Sat. 12/14) • Miracle Mile Marvels & Madness (Sun. 12/22) • Human Sacrifice: The Black Dahlia, Elisa Lam, Heidi Planck & Skid Row Slasher (Thurs. 12/26)
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