Gentle reader,
Next Saturday, we are resuming a favorite Esotouric tradition: Richard’s birthday bus adventure with an all-new tour called Leo Politi Loves Los Angeles.
For many years, up until the lights went out, we’d spend half the year planning a special all-day bus tour around Thanksgiving time and take a crew of eager explorers out on the type of outing we like to plan for ourselves, with a stop along the way to cut Richard’s birthday cake.
We’ve had much more than six months to think about this one! In fact, its origins are in one of the subscriber-only newsletter posts that we published in September 2021, a day trip to visit all the pretty houses that Leo Politi painted for his book Redlands Impressions.
Well, we just checked our birthday bus tour manifest and find that we’re running a little lighter than expected one week out, and we sure would like to know if you plan to attend. Please click on over to book your spot, tell a friend, email to let us know you hope to come, and otherwise help make this a day to remember, while ensuring we don’t order too small of a birthday cake or too few sandwiches! Those tasty things are all included in the ticket price, and we’d really like to have a nearly accurate headcount by Friday morning.
And to help entice you to join us on this special outing, we’re making that 2021 subscriber post Visiting time capsule mansions of Redlands, in the footsteps of Leo Politi free for all to read. Leo loved to explore the southland, but Los Angeles was his home and there are so many magical places right in the heart of the city where his spirit can be felt… including his pretty landmarked home on Angeleno Heights, with the original painted street numbers hidden among the vines that you spy in the video above!
And we’ve got room for you on tomorrow’s walking tour, a rather infrequent offering that’s a favorite of readers, writers and fans of lit culture, Downtown L.A. is for Book Lovers. Join us, do!
yours for Los Angeles,
Kim & Richard
Esotouric
Psst… 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. 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
• Downtown L.A. is for Book Lovers Walking Tour (Sat. 11/11) • Special Event: Leo Politi Loves Los Angeles Bus Tour (11/18) • Alvarado Terrace & South Bonnie Brae Walking Tour (Sat. 11/25) • Know Your Downtown L.A.: Tunnels To Towers To The Dutch Chocolate Shop Walking Tour (Sat. 12/2) • Highland Park Arroyo Walking Tour (Sat. 12/9) • Miracle Mile Marvels & Madness Walking Tour (Sun. 12/17) • Human Sacrifice: The Black Dahlia, Elisa Lam, Heidi Planck & Skid Row Slasher Walking Tour (Tues. 12/26)
CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS
A follow up to our plea that the giant Victorian L.A. Chamber of Commerce guest register on eBay find a home in an archive—it has! Cheers to Professor Eileen Wallis at Cal Poly Pomona and the civic minder seller for making a book lovers' dream come true.
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Whoa! Expedia Group submits a sharply worded email to L.A. City Council, suggesting City Planning has a bias in favor of Airbnb over HomeAway/Vrbo, despite the rampant 20+% illegal listings by Airbnb. It's almost like there's corruption around land use...
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All year, concerned citizen Nicole Arbusto has begged LA to make Jamison secure its vacant, landmark Wilshire Professional Building. The Artery's dronescape shocked us. On 11/16, the Cultural Heritage Commission hears from their reps. Call in & call 'em out!
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In response to Film The Police LA’s scoop, Empty Los Angeles calls out the city’s Inside Safe policy error of letting RSO hotel owners who illegally host tourists help "solve" the homeless crisis they helped create. It is LA's affordable housing & Angelenos need it back!
RIP to Ralph Primo, the westside's donut master since 1956.
Visionary artist Leo Politi's magical Los Angeles is all around us... come and see!