Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Los Angeles History

If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know that I love delving into Los Angeles history, especially the architectural aspects of this great City. Last night, Larry and I drove up to the Sunset Strip to attend a book signing at Book Soup. Our friend, Jim Dawson wrote a book called "Los Angeles's Bunker Hill: Pulp Fiction's Mean Streets and Film Noir's Ground Zero!"

Larry at Book Soup on the Strip

WOW! This book is chock full of fantastic photos about the history, demise and rebuilding of Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles. Jim highlighted a few details from the book, especially where some of our favorite movies and television shows were filmed. I cannot wait to start reading it!

Jim Dawson @ Book Soup

My only memories of Bunker Hill were from when I was a small girl. My Dad took the family Downtown one Saturday and we rode up and down the original Angel's Flight funicular. We didn't stay up on The Hill for long. We took the little train right back down and went to the Grand Central Market for lunch. Years later, when I was a student at USC, I remember seeing a documentary film made in 1956 by Kent Mackenzie, with some excellent footage of Bunker Hill and it's decaying rooming houses and former mansions. 30 years later, Larry and I viewed Mckenzie's film, "The Exiles" at an American Cinematheque screening at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. Both of these films give us a wonderful window into how Bunker Hill looked and the mood of the area during the late 1950's.Go out NOW and buy Jim Dawson's "Bunker Hill!"

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4 Comments:

At 1:30 PM PDT, Anonymous Suze said...

I've said it before and I'll say it again -- you guys know EVERYONE!!! P.S. Really cute pic of you Ellen.

 
At 7:43 PM PDT, Anonymous Richard Henderson said...

Really enjoyed meeting Jim in your company at Tom's & Claire's b'day bash, a lovely guy obviously chock full o'local lore. Hoping his new book does well.

 
At 8:46 PM PDT, Blogger Ellen Bloom said...

Thanks for the comment, Richard! Yes! It is true! Jim is a font of information.

 
At 11:02 PM PDT, Blogger Patricia said...

Wonderful post, Ellen. You have introduced me to so many aspects of Los Angeles that never hit my radar before. You have a rich and life-long connection to our "fair" city!

 

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