Does it seem like things are getting worse to you? Or is it simply a case of compounding rage being the inevitable result of being an engaged Angeleno?
For instance, we’re not all that unhappy about the thoughtless destruction of Pershing Square's master plan...
but compounded by LACMA's billionaire board's squandering of public resources...
and the heartbreaking homeless crisis...
and the illegal Airbnbs slurping up scarce affordable apartments with no public oversight...
and the FBI investigation casting a huge shadow over already mediocre politicians while the local media ignores the taint...
and Netflix execs undermining the American Cinematheque so the company can buy the Egyptian Theatre and throw lame parties...
well, all blended together like that, it really is too much to take without yelling something rude, possibly more than one thing.
Everything is broken and crummy, in this city that we love... well, except for the people and the great buildings and the libraries and gardens and beaches and dan dan noodles and banana leaf tamales and the way the light at end of day makes ordinary stucco gleam like Spanish treasure, and of course the amazing layers of history.
Our civic leaders are worthless. The billionaires are stoned and stupid. The infrastructure is teetering on the edge of complete collapse. The newspaper is owned by a self-dealing hustler. We know it, we pay attention, and so our rage is compounding by the hour.
But we’re in love with Los Angeles. You could burn her to the ground, flood her to the San Gabriels, send an 8.0 temblor radiating out from every fault, and we’ll still look at each other and say, “would we want to live anywhere else?”
So we're staying put and fighting for the things we love, using the tools we've honed and relationships we've cultivated to be able to spot solvable preservation crises and leap in with a solution so sensible, those in power would be crazy to ignore us. If they do, we shame them with stories more compelling than the cheap malarkey they peddle.
That's how beloved streetlight art installation Vermonica happens to be headed for a full restoration and fabulous street party, and why the Los Angeles Times is devoting serious real estate to questioning the "done deal" of LACMA demolition, and we think that's why Otis Chandler's Times Mirror HQ is still standing, too.
Rage is a powerful fuel for making change. As long as we can use it to fill our tank, we'll do all we can to make the city a little better tomorrow than it was today.
We're so glad you're part of the Los Angeles solution, too. And hope you don't let your very reasonable anger blind you to just how wonderful our little place in the sun really is. Cut yourself a little slack, and enjoy every tamale.
WANT TO 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. You can also click here before shopping on Amazon. Your contributions are never obligatory, but always appreciated. Or you can join us for a tour... & tell your friends.
AND WHAT'S THE NEXT TOUR?
This Saturday, we're touring Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles, which begins in the boom town Art Deco Downtown where he rose high in the oil business, then drops the mature detective novelist into the hot house environment of the Paramount writer's building, where he nearly lost his mind. Join us, do!
PLUS, the June forensic science seminar with arson and bomb expert Ed Nordskog was just posted. Snag your spot soon for Detective’s Casebook: Profiling Serial Bombers & Mothers’ Burning Rage, because it will sell out!
UPCOMING TOURS & SPECIAL EVENTS
RAYMOND CHANDLER'S LOS ANGELES - SAT. 2/22... Follow in the young writer's footsteps near his downtown oil company offices to sites from The Lady in the Lake and The Little Sister, meet several real inspirations for the Philip Marlowe character 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. Plus a visit to Larry Edmunds Bookshop, the last survivor of a once-great Hollywood literary district. (Buy tickets here.)
ROUTE 66 ROAD TRIP: ROADSIDE ARCHITECTURE, CITRUS, DRIVE-INS & CEMETERIES - SAT. 2/29... Back by popular demand, join us on a time travel trip due east along California's Mother Road to explore the building of its dream, from citrus ranches to oddball roadside attractions, sinister sisters, an ancient hidden graveyard recently surrounded by a suburb, and the many mysteries of the northern San Gabriel Valley. (One seat left! Buy tickets here.)
FORENSIC SCIENCE SEMINAR - SUN. 3/8... Four times a year, we gather in the teaching crime labs of Cal State L.A. to explore the history and future of American forensic science. The Blonde Rattlesnake, The Black Dahlia & The Future of Forensic Science is a mix of historic storytelling and cutting edge lab innovations, with true crime author Julia Bricklin and Dr. David Raymond, with a cameo from our own Real Black Dahlia tour host, Kim Cooper. (Sold out with waiting list, more info here.)
WILSHIRE BOULEVARD DEATH TRIP - SAT. 3/14... Wilshire Boulevard is an iconic Los Angeles thoroughfare—from its prehistoric origins as a path forged by extinct megafauna to the spectacular Art Deco monuments of the Miracle Mile. It’s also ground zero for some deeply strange, only-in-Los Angeles crimes and oddities that played out against the backdrop of the boulevard. The deceptively simple route contains a multitude of horrors and mysteries. Join us for a dark day’s out among the city’s most glittering architectural gems. (Buy tickets here.)
MANSONLAND - SAT. 3/21... A journey through the 1960s counterculture, organized crime and Hollywood hustlers, with author Brad Schreiber illuminating the mysteries and connections informing the crimes of Charles Manson's family and our Kim Cooper revealing a neighboring 1950s cult whose myths and tactics were borrowed by Manson. (Buy tickets here.)
FORENSIC SCIENCE SEMINAR - SUN. 6/7... Four times a year, we gather in the teaching crime labs of Cal State L.A. to explore the history and future of American forensic science. Detective’s Casebook: Profiling Serial Bombers & Mothers’ Burning Rage is a full day's immersion in the world of top arson and bomb detective Ed Nordskog. You won't want to miss it! (For tickets or more info, click here.)
We offer private versions of most of our tours (up to 54 people), and Downtown L.A. walking tours for smaller groups. Does your L.A.-area library, club or historical society host guest speakers? Ask them to book us.
In LACMA News: Save LACMA non-profit denies placing misleading, misspelled ads in major newspapers...The billionaire board isn't willing to pay for its plan to destroy the museum, so now they want taxpayers to cover the outrageous cost overruns.... Hyperallergic solves the weird newspaper ad mystery... and Larchmont Buzz and L.A. Magazine fill in the gaps... Art world is conflicted over LACMA’s redesign... L.A. Times Commentary: LACMA caught the teardown bug. The architectural cure isn’t a bulldozer. Plus, an examination of LACMA debt. Can the museum afford its Peter Zumthor-designed building? Save LACMA!
New Cranky Preservationist Videos: Our natty anti-hero cares about cool old buildings, and he loves soft little creatures. On a soon to be less charming block of Pico-Union, won’t anyone think of the squirrels? (Facebook, YouTube)
California Attorney General says Jose Huizar's Pershing Square Renew non-profit is delinquent. As Rec and Parks takes over, “redesign” moves forward, slowly and without funding. Restore!
Jaw-dropping read: L.A.’s most controversial developer on his doomed masterpiece - Mohamed Hadid, a Bel Air mansion and city corruption.
UNESCO World Heritage designation brings fresh resources. The Department of Cultural Affairs has put the city's archive of Frank Lloyd Wright's Barnsdall House documents online and they're fascinating.
American Cinematheque board member Ted Sarandos is in Variety, talking about the non-profit's Egyptian Theatre as if his employer Netflix has purchased it. A sale would be news to the film non-profit's members.
New on R.I.P. Los Angeles: Wiseman, L.A.'s worst landlord, made a fortune demolishing cute buildings & evicting Angelenos for Airbnbs, illegally, without consequence. But wait! Their latest victim could be landmarked!
Arrest warrant issued for scofflaw Chinatown business improvement district head after refusal to provide documents to citizens concerned about Skid Row displacement.
Kudos to Curbed for calling this foolishness out. Design competitions won’t solve your city’s problems.
It's a slippery slope when you start chipping away at an historic district, and Paul Koretz is sliding around like a madman. What the hell, man? Save South Carthay!
Jackpot for Patrick Soon-Shiong! After his L.A. Times promoted the scheme, the County is making a cash offer for St. Vincent's Hospital, bankrupted by the billionaire. Los Angeles is in so much trouble, it's sickening.
Cambria ‘Castle of Junk’ risks falling away to time. Memories of our 2010 visit to this magical place are still fresh. Won't someone step in to preserve Nitt Witt Ridge, the garbageman's Hearst Castle?
Property owner and Cultural Heritage Commission at odds over landmarking of Pico Chili Bowl as owner's rep threatens to move it to Palm Springs.
File under: unpleasant harmonies. Like LACMA, the Academy Museum has also gone wildly over budget, and has been misleading the public about the situation.
Preserve Orange County sounds the alarm: after much hype "saving" the original Taco Bell from demolition, the historic building has spent five years wrapped in plastic at the corporate HQ parking lot.
Silver Lake four-plex neighbors launch website to tell their story of decades of community, threatened by the Ellis Act / Tenants in Common scourge. Will they be able to stay in Los Angeles or become four more statistics in the displacement that’s ruining our lovely town?
Wondering where the Alpine Village owners fall on the whole historic designation thing? They're closing the restaurant and bar, firing all of the longtime employees, and leaving a big chunk of the soon-to-be landmark in the dark.
Big change at The Plaza: longtime General Manager Chris Espinosa has left, his position filled by Arturo Chavez from Councilman Gil Cedillo's office. It happened several days after a shocking NBC4 report on assault by homeless woman on Olvera Street vendors. We're hoping Chris lands on his feet. The Plaza was lucky to have him.
Jacob Chemla's tiles brought vibrant color and old world rhythms to the austere mansions of the Spanish Colonial Revival.
