Not Again!?!

Bel Air Fire, Stone Canyon Road, 1961. Photo by Jon Woods for the Valley Times.

One of the worst fires in my memory was the Bel Air fire of November, 1961. The Santa Ana winds were blowing, fanning the flames. So many homes were lost. My Aunt and Uncle owned a home in Bel Air and I remember my Uncle telling me that he was up on the roof with the home's Caretaker, both wielding garden houses to wet down the wood shingle roof and keep the sparks from igniting. It worked! Marvin and Louis save the house when so many structures all around them were damaged

LAFD, near the Bel Air Fire, 1961. Photo by Alan Hyde for The Valley Times

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Click HERE to see KTLA-TV news coverage of the Bel Air fire.

As a direct result of the Bel Air fire, the City of Los Angeles initiated a series of laws and fire safety policies which included the banning of wood shingle roofs in new construction. There were also new laws about hillside brush clearance. Thankfully, these laws stand today. 

The high Santa Ana winds that we are experiencing now are REALLY fanning the flames in Southern California. We have numerous fires burning. Closest to us is the Skirball Fire in the Sepulveda Pass, threatening homes in Bel Air and surrounding areas once again! The 405 Freeway is closed in both directions. My office balcony has a view of the Getty Center, in the center of this fire. You can see all the smoke surrounding the white buildings on the hill.

Smoke and fire surrounding Getty Center, Bel Air. December 6, 2017

The air quality on the Westside of Los Angeles isn't great today. Stay safe. Proceed with caution.

Skirball Fire view from La Cienega/Jefferson Metro Platform. Decemeber 6, 2017

Clear the Brush!

Bel Air Fire, Stone Canyon Road, 1961. Photo by Jon Woods for the Valley Times.

It has been hot, hot, hot in Los Angeles for the past week. Driving to work this morning (from east to west), as soon as I crossed Sepulveda Blvd., there was a mist on my window. What? Light rain? It only lasted a few seconds, but at least this small bit of dampness will help with all the dry brush on our golden hills! 

Fire season has come early to Southern California. We are surrounded by fires in the San Gabriel Valley and nearby Santa Barbara. We've had a very dry year and there will be more fires to come, I'm sure.

One of the worst fires in my memory was the Bel Air fire of November, 1961. The Santa Ana winds were blowing, fanning the flames. So many homes were lost. My Aunt and Uncle owned a home in Bel Air and I remember my Uncle telling me that he was up on the roof with the home's Caretaker, both wielding garden houses to wet down the wood shingle roof and keep the sparks from igniting. It worked! Marvin and Louis save the house when so many structures all around them were damaged.

LAFD, near the Bel Air Fire, 1961. Photo by Alan Hyde for The Valley Times

Click HERE to see KTLA-TV news coverage of the Bel Air fire.

As a direct result of the Bel Air fire, the City of Los Angeles initiated a series of laws and fire safety policies which included the banning of wood shingle roofs in new construction. There were also new laws about hillside brush clearance. Thankfully, these laws stand today. 

Clear the brush around your home! Now!

Photos from the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Archives.

Fire Season

Griffith Park Fire - view from Santa Monica

Looks like we're going to have a bad fire season this spring and summer. We need rain!

Quoted from the L.A. Times website: "A fire broke out in Griffith Park today above the Greek Theater and fire officials were trying to determine its size and source. Large amounts of smoke were reported below the Observatory about 1 p.m. Authorities said the fire had burned 15 acres east of the Greek Theater near the Hollywood sign. Scores of firefighters from the L.A. City and County fire departments were fighting the blaze from the ground and air. No homes were threatened. "

Please be careful. If you live in the hills, clear the brush around your house; be careful when you barbecue or smoke. I love Los Angeles and I don't want to see it burn.

Fire Season

"Animals don't start fires. Smokey the Bear, part of the U.S. Forest Service exhibit in the Sportsmen's Show at the Pan Pacific, warns 2 1/2-year-old Crystal Mae Mitchell about dangers of fires."

Photo by Hal Jensen, 1962 from LAPL Archives

Who says we don't have seasons here in Southern California? It just so happens to be Fire Season right now. Ugh! It is horrible. People have been forced to evacuate their homes. Our air quality is awful....there's smoke and ash all over the Los Angeles basin. We're a burnin' Hell here, folks!!!

First, there's the Station Fire in the Angeles Crest National Forest, the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains; then, there's the Palos Verdes Penninsula Fire in Portuguese Bend area and now I just heard that there's a fire near Hemet, in Riverside County. All of these fires are due to dry brush and hot temperatures. If your grounds are part of a hillside, please remember to clear the brush! I know it's expensive, but if you don't take on the responsibility, then the County will do it for you and charge a lot!

More vintage photos here.

Classic Dining

Larry and I have been obsessed with the what is known as the "red leather booth" classic dining establishments.  Recently, our ModCom friend, Pete Moruzzi published a book called "Classic Dining:  Discovering America's Finest Mid-Century Restaurants." 

Ellen, inside Taylor's...check out the fine artwork!

We wanted to experience a bit of classic dining after all the hub-bub of Christmas.  Last night we drove to Taylor's Steakhouse in the West Adams area of Los Angeles for dinner.  We had mushroom soup, Caesar salad, steak, ribs, spinach and baked potato.  Everything, including the martinis were perfectly delicious and reasonable compared to today's restaurant prices.  The portions were so huge that we have dinner for tonight too!

Steak dinner @ Taylor's

Today, on a field trip to Hobby Lobby in Rancho Cucamonga, I remembered that there was this fantastic looking restaurant on Foothill Blvd. in Upland.  We cruised out to the Pomona Valley and came across the Magic Lamp Inn.   Opened in 1959, the storybook style brick building is magnificent inside and out!  

We'd already eaten lunch, so we just toured the interior.  The bar is huge, with a dance floor.  Those beautiful red leather booths are in perfect condition.  

Magic Lamp Inn

See the magic lamp in the center of the window?

There is some fine woodwork and glorious stained glass windows.  The standout feature was the copper hood over the circular fire pit!  Restaurants are not custom-designed like they were in the old days.  It's so wonderful to sit in a beautiful restaurant with wood paneling, carpets and muted SOUND while dining on a delightfully prepared and served dinner.

Fire Pit @ Magic Lamp

Wow!  I'd like to sip a martini gazing into that fire.  I looked at the menu and the lunch choices were excellent.  We must return.

An added plus and insurance that the new owners of the Magic Lamp Inn know they have a gem of a classic restaurant was that we saw Pete Moruzzi's book in the display case near the entrance!  Yes!  Fine dining does still exist in Southern California!

 

Have you been to any red leather booth, white table cloth restaurants lately?

Malibou Lake

View from Linda's and Craig's deck

Today we took a drive out to see my cousin's home at Malibou Lake. Linda and Craig live in a really beautiful home overlooking the lake and the woods.  During the recent Woolsey Fires, they had to evacuate their home. They were one of the lucky families. There are 33 houses in their area. Their home is one of four still standing. The fires came within inches of their garage and out-buildings. They lost a lot of vegetation, but their house survived, although there was smoke damage. Craig sent me a few photos of his neighbor's home...totally destroyed!

The Neighbor's home. Photo by Craig Talmy

We picked up a few sub-sandwiches at Bay Cities Italian Deli and headed up the Pacific Coast Highway. Once we turned off onto Mulholland, we could see some of the burn damage. Thankfully, there were also plenty of green zones.

We passed the crews from AT & T restoring service to the area, as well as electrical workers.

We climbed up the hill to the house and were greeted by Linda and Craig. After a tour of their Craftsman-style home, we ate lunch and had a fine time discussing our families, the recent fires, FEMA and more. I'm so glad that their home was alright during the fires. They have done an amazing job over the last 20 years of remodeling and improving their home. It really is beautiful and in a serene setting (until the next fire).

Linda baked "Camp Fire/Smores" cupcakes for dessert in honor of Larry's parents' lost home in Paradise

Thank you, Cousins, for a lovely afternoon! We hope to get together again soon.

Craig and Linda, Owl Lodge, Malibou Lake

Vintage Photo Friday

Los Angeles, 1962. Co-ed modeling college back to school fashion,m plaid skirt, turtleneck sweater and boots. UCLA Photo Library Archives

Back to School.

This is the official last weekend of summer. Summer weather, however, will last way into October here in Los Angeles. We've had a really mild summer, only a few hot, hot days.

I do remember going back to school, wanting to wear my new fall clothes purchased at various department stores around town (May Co., Ohrbachs, Broadway and that divine little boutique in Beverly Hills, Pixie Town). It was always too hot to wear the wool plaid skirts and scratchy sweaters until late in October. That's how we invented layering, I'm sure.

Two co-eds, modeling high-collared corduroy pea jacket and skirts, Los Angeles, 1962. UCLA Photo Library Archives

How appropriate that these models are standing in front of a fire engine. This is fire season in Los Angeles! Have a safe and wonderful Labor Day Weekend, everyone.

Vintage Photo Friday - Pan Pacific

Pan Pacific Auditorium, 1939

Staycation this week. We live near Pan Pacific Park in the center of Los Angeles. I remember the original streamline-moderne Pan Pacific Auditorium. We saw the auto show, the boat show and even the Ice-Capades here. It was a huge venue. I've read that this was the place Elvis Presley had his Los Angeles concert debut. The Auditorium was built in 1935, designed by Plummer, Wurderman and Becket. The building was demolished in 1992 after a 1989 fire.

Just Before the Fire,

Today, the Pan Pacific Recreation Center stands in the center of Pan Pacific Park in the same location as the original auditorium. This park also serves as a flood basin for the area. The entirely new Pan Pacific Recreation Center was designed by architect, Jeffrey Kalban. At least Kalban referenced the original auditorium in his design. Photographer, Larry Underhill documented the building for Kalban. You can see more photos here.

Pan Pacific Recreation Center

I'll be next door to Pan Pacific Park tomorrow morning from 10am to noon at the Original Farmer Market. We'll be stitchin' and bitchin' in the upstairs dining area. Won't you join us?

Our L.A. Central Library

Los Angeles Central Library

Guy and Alice

On Sunday, Larry and I took our house guests, Alice and Guy, downtown to the L.A. Central Library. Alice and Guy are both architects and whenever they visit L.A., we like to take them on some sort of architectural tour of our fair City. Since Larry and I are totally into the history of L.A., we know quite a bit about the different architectural styles represented here.

The Maguire Garden at the Library

Of course, I've been to our Library downtown many times since its resurrection after a devastating 1986 fire. The restoration and addition of a new building is one of the main reasons that the Los Angeles Conservancy came into being. Some City leaders wanted to tear down the Library. Early founders of the Conservancy helped save the existing building, built in 1926.

Murals in the Library's Great Rotunda,

depicting the history of California

Ellen and Larry
Atrium Chandeliers, Thurman Statum, artist

There is a wealth of beautiful artwork and architectural details in the Library. You can read a bit about them here. On Sunday we had a guided tour with a docent of ALL of these features, as well as hearing about the many programs the Library has to offer to the public. There are two galleries at the Library. We viewed a photo exhibit by Yousuf Karsh, the sketches and drawings by architect Richard Neutra and a permanent exhibit called Treasures of Los Angeles, featuring movie posters. Our visit to the Los Angeles map files was highly entertaining. I enjoyed surveying a map of my neighborhood from the 1950's. Even in our older area, there was a lot of open space 60 years ago. I was amazed!

The Neutra exhibit was most interesting for our guests. Richard Neutra was one of the most important of the modernist architects in Los Angeles. We saw drawings for my Uncle's former home, the Goodson House, in Laurel Canyon. I remember Uncle Marvin telling us that Richard Neutra was quite a difficult person to work with.

Drawing of the Goodson House (1948)

destroyed by fire 1979

The Central Library also has a wonderful bookstore and gift shop, in addition to a few food concession stands. It really is a great place to visit, even if you don't crack open a book!

Touring the Library

After a quick fruit smoothie at the Library concession stand, we headed over to Angelino Heights, one of the oldest suburbs of downtown L.A. and the first Historic Preservation Overlay Zone. The houses on Carroll Avenue are the jewels in the center of the neighborhood with the most fully restored Victorian homes. The L.A. Conservancy conducts docent led tours of the Angelino Heights area on the first Saturday of the month. You get to tour the inside of a few of the homes as well as the surrounding neighborhood.We got there just as the sun was setting through the mature palm trees. It was a beautiful sight.

We zoomed over to our fave Zankou Chicken in Hollywood for an early dinner and called it a day. What a grand day it was!

Then and Now

I drive through downtown Culver City all the time. During rush hour, the area is a traffic nightmare. The configuration of the streets and how they cross each other, sometimes diagonally, can make for many a traffic headache. This is one challenged "grid." You may think that you're heading west on Washington Boulevard, then all of a sudden you're on Culver Boulevard. The traffic signals are confusing too. During non-traffic times, you can wheel around the lanes and correct your direction. This area is way more conducive to walking than driving.

When I drive past the Meralta Office Plaza on Culver Boulevard, I'm reminded of the old Meralta Theater that once stood there. In my day, the Meralta was a smaller movie theater that showed second-run movies, often for a budget price. I remember going there a lot in the 1970s and 80s.

Meralta Theater, 1971

The original Meralta was built in 1924 at 9632 Culver Blvd. by two ladies, Pearl Merrill and Laura Peralta. Their combined last names formed the name of the theater. Earlier, they had owned the Meralta Theater in Downey. Pearl sold real estate and later insurance in Culver City. Laura was a seamstress at the movie studios. A fire during World War II forced the theater to be closed until it could be rebuilt. Pearl and Laura lived in a apartment above the theater. They had a room in their apartment with a large one-way mirror plate glass window that looked straight at the movie screen.

Laura Peralta and Pearl Merrill, after the Meralta Theater had been rebuilt

I'm not sure when Laura and Pearl sold the theater, but it continued into the 1980s under other management. In 1983 the entire building, including the theater and businesses on either side of the theater was torn down. This was the beginning of the revitalization of downtown Culver City.

The Meralta Theater, 1928

The last days of The Meralta, 1983

In the late 1980s I went to an income tax service in the Meralta Office Plaza. The updated, 1980's Spanish Revival architectural style of the Plaza was never a favorite of mine. The Plaza is still there, now part of the very successful DTCC area.

Meralta Office Plaza, 2017

I am glad that the City of Culver City has preserved and restored many of it's historic downtown buildings. All is not lost.