Bunker Hill is gone! There's nothing left at all... or is there?
Gentle reader,
Greetings from your friendly historic Los Angeles sightseeing tour company, now offering digital programming until we can again organize groups to gather and explore the city we love.
We got a call this week from our old pal Nathan Marsak, author of the definitive guide to the lost Victorian neighborhood of Bunker Hill. He was short of breath and popping like a corn kernel as he blurted out some thrilling news about a brand new discovery in the field of Bunker Hill-iana.
You might think, fifty-some years after the whole neighborhood was bulldozed, that there wouldn’t be anything new to find out. And yet surprises continue to rise to the surface, and even an expert like Nathan can still be happily astonished.
For years, when asked if anything survives of old Bunker Hill, we have only been able to point to Angels Flight Railway, a doorknob, a few relics in private hands, and a much abused retaining wall. Come to find out, something very significant does survive from old Bunker Hill, and it’s been hiding in plain sight. On Saturday afternoon, Nathan planned to spill the beans.
We were so giddy to hear Nathan’s news that we suggested he join us for a cameo appearance on this Saturday’s Storybook webinar, in advance of publishing a blog post about his Bunker Hill discovery. So if you too just can’t wait to learn what’s left of our greatest lost neighborhood, join us on Saturday during the noon webinar, when Nathan will share his discovery, with a most illuminating slideshow. Or you can find the tale posted later Saturday afternoon on his Bunker Hill Los Angeles blog.
But there is so much more than Bunker Hill on the agenda. Saturday’s webinar is The Stories of Los Angeles Storybook Architecture, an exploration of some of the Southland’s most whimsical structures. Although they look like they should be inhabited by witches, hobbits, sprites and goblins, these Storybook gems were more likely to attract visionaries and oddballs, and we’ll get to know these fascinating characters and the charms of the places in this immersive webinar. And yes, there is some vintage true crime in the mix! For more info or to reserve your spot, click here.
On March 6, we’re presenting The Birth of Noir with James M. Cain & Raymond Chandler, a literary and film-themed webinar, tracking the fascinating intersections between Southern California landmarks and the writing of Cain, who mined a rich vein of crime and curiosity in his adopted home, and inspired some fantastic and influential films. From roadside attractions to sprawling cemeteries, Skid Row bars to the railyard produce yards, Cain’s world is still here—if you know where to look. Get the skinny on this one here.
And just added for Saturday, March 13 is Saving South Los Angeles Landmarks: Googie, Gill & Governor Gage. This webinar takes off from our South Los Angeles Road Trip tour to explore some of the remarkable historic buildings in lesser traveled parts of County, ranging from Spanish era adobe ranchos to neon-drenched kar kulture drive-in diners to innovative homegrown modernism that leaves the Europeans in the dust. For more info, click here.
Stay tuned as we roll out a new webinar program each Saturday. And remember if you can’t watch live or need to leave mid-stream, you can watch the recording for one full week. There’s still time to see The Dark Side of the West Side through Saturday night.
These webinars are now available as On-Demand recordings: In The Shadow of the Hotel Cecil • L.A. Historic Preservation, 1900s-1980s • Touring Southern California’s Architecture of Death • Crawford’s Markets • John Bengtson’s Silent Film Locations • George Mann’s Vintage L.A. • Pershing Square 1866-2020 • Cafeterias of Old L.A. • Programmatic Architecture • Angels Flight • Grand Central Market • Ohio River Valley • Bunker Hill • Charles Bukowski • Raymond Chandler • Black Dahlia • Dutch Chocolate Shop • Bradbury Building • Tunnels • L.A. Times Bombing and 13 Uncanny Crimes & Mysteries.
And we’d love to see you tomorrow at noon for The Stories of Los Angeles Storybook Architecture.
yours for Los Angeles,
Kim & Richard
Esotouric
Subscribe! In the latest subscriber's edition of this newsletter—$10/month, cheap!—A Hidden Victorian Elevator Cage With A Bloodthirsty Past—we peer into a hotel broom closet that is as beautiful as it is terrifying.
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AND WHAT'S THE NEXT TOUR? WHO KNOWS?!
We're dark until public health officials determine that groups can gather safely. But in addition to weekly webinar programs, we've got 138 episodes of the podcast You Can't Eat The Sunshine free to download for armchair explorers, and videos of the Downtown L.A. LAVA walking tours, plus Cranky Preservationist videos.
AND FINALLY, LINKS
Whoa—that is quite a list of politicians under scrutiny: District Attorney Investigating Metro CEO Washington and Other Top Executives, Search Warrants Issued.
Our Kim Cooper talked to Town & Country about the real Cecil Hotel crime, LA's leaders. “They could potentially take all the hotel rooms and put people who are living on the street in them under Project Room Key. And FEMA has said that they will pay 100%.”
The Newport Harbor Nautical Museum is selling the Balboa Fun Zone (established 1936), and we despair that its old school charm may be lost.
Max Englander's home (1880) takes the air before being stitched into a new multi-family housing development in San Francisco. The San Francisco Historical Society has been documenting the project.
New on RIP Los Angeles, the feel-bad blog this city deserves: a deep dive into the demolition threat facing S. Tilden Norton's 1923 B’nai B’rith lodge hall, and a modest proposal for how Catholic Charities can do right by history and by L.A. kids in need.
March 4 at the Cultural Heritage Commission: update on Tokio Florist project, which now has High Line designer James Corner Field Operations attached—AFTER the ancient bamboo grove was illegally destroyed. Plus new development on Wilshire Town House site. (PDF link.)
Poor Cerro Gordo, purchased on a lark by someone with no understanding of basic historic preservation standards. The National Register-eligible site has suffered a major fire, and now its artifacts are being plucked out of their mining-era context.
A closer look at the adaptive reuse of the landmarked Firestone automotive building in mid-Wilshire, transformed into a neon-striped brew pub and taqueria. That huge open bay seems made for these pandemic times.
Petition asks MIA (former) senior housing nonprofit Keiro to step in and advocate for the terrified elderly residents whose Boyle Heights home has been sold out from under them to a heartless developer. Do the right thing!
The best part of the behind-the-scenes Hotel Cecil landmarking tour five years ago were the Main Street views. Hello griffin!
Do you love and worry about an independent restaurant operating out of an historic building? The National Trust for Historic Preservation is giving grants to help these neighborhood gems survive. Nominate your favorite spot.
The delicate work of keeping Little Tokyo authentic and community-focused, as corporate landlords evict small businesses.