Gentle reader,
This morning, we met Tom Carroll from the Los Angeles Times at the fire-damaged Pacific Dining Car to talk with him about what this cultural landmark means to Angelenos, the conflicting interests that have kept it shuttered since 2020, and what protections exist for a “protected” landmark that’s partially burned. (That video was published on 8/15/2024. For this and more updates on the status of this threatened landmark, scroll to the bottom of the original 8/4/2024 newsletter.)
To our dismay, we found the Dining Car in even worse shape than it had been on Sunday afternoon: the plywood has been pried off the main door, and a tagger has painted a stoned rat on the wood paneling and stained glass just inside.
It appears property owner Toby Idol has made no effort to secure the structure, even though she is obligated to maintain it in good condition under the provisions of the city’s preservation ordinance.
We’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she is out of town and unaware of the fire, or is overwhelmed and just doesn’t know what to do.
But the Pacific Dining Car is not going to last much longer if it is not properly secured. And the city has the resources to send a crew to do this work and that needs to happen right away.
If you love the Pacific Dining Car and still hold hope that it might one day be restored and revived, then please call or email Ken Bernstein of the Office of Historic resources and tell him you want the city to act swiftly to secure the landmark Pacific Dining Car at 1310 West 6th Street before it suffers any further demolition by neglect.
That’s Ken Bernstein • (213) 847-3652 • ken.bernstein@lacity.org
Oh Pacific Dining Car! We hope U know how loved UR!
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 this 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. You can share this post to win subscriber perks. And did you know we offer private versions of our walking and bus tours for groups big or small? Or just share this link with other people who care.
UPCOMING BUS & WALKING TOURS
• Know Your Downtown L.A.: Tunnels To Towers To The Dutch Chocolate Shop (Sat. 8/17) • Broadway: Downtown Los Angeles’ Beautiful, Magical Mess (Sun. 8/25) • Raymond Chandler’s Noir Downtown Los Angeles (Sat. 8/31)• Alvarado Terrace & South Bonnie Brae Tract (Sat. 9/7) • Highland Park Arroyo (Sat. 9/21) • The Real Black Dahlia (Sat. 9/29) • The Run: Gay Downtown L.A. History (Sun. 10/13) • Evergreen Cemetery, 1877 (Sun. 10/27) • Westlake Park Time Travel Trip (Sun. 11/3)
Share this post