LACHS Membership Events and Councilman Tom LaBonge bid you “ALL A-B-O-A-R-D!” for the Hollywood Sign and the Hollywood Heritage Museum.

THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2013

10AM: Bus departs from Hollywood Heritage Museum, east parking lot at Hollywood Bowl; enter from Odin Street, off Highland Ave. Free parking near Museum.

Councilman LaBonge will show us a breath-taking view of Hollywood and one of the most famous icons in the world, the Hollywood Sign! Take pix!! Wear comfortable shoes!!

On return, we’ll visit the Hollywood Heritage Museum in the Lasky-DeMille Barn, a State of California Historic Landmark which houses a world-class collection of silent–and–talkies–era movie memorabilia and architectural photos from Hollywood’s “Golden Era.” GENUINE articles…not wax, not photocopies. See DeMille’s desk, Chaplin’s camera, props from “Samson and Delilah.”

Bring a sandwich and we’ll picnic on the porch and lawn. Soft drinks available for purchase.

There will be a $5 charge for this event, payable in cash on June 13.

This is a 3-4 hour event; if you are unable to attend the entire time please state that upon registering.

CONTACT: Kay Tornborg, kxiaojie@att.net or (323)467-0287.

Space for this event will be limited and response should be made by June 1, 2013. Non-members’ reservations will be accepted ONLY if space remains after June 1st.

Download the event flyer [pdf].

Location

Lectures are held in the Mark Taper Auditorium on the first floor of the Central Library (640 W. 5th St., Los Angeles). The library is handicap accessible. Admittance is free and open to the public. The library is handicap accessible.

Parking

Friday, February 22, at 10:00 am

Itinerary

• Film and tour at the registered historic landmark Breed Street Shul with Executive Director Sherry Marks
• Driving tour of historic Evergreen Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Los Angeles
• Lunch at Cemitas Poblanas Elvirita
• Check out the recently restored Boyle Hotel (1899)
• Have a musical interlude at the Neighborhood Music School (founded in 1914 on Mozart Street!), now in its own Victorian house on Boyle near Fourth
• Drive-by Hollenbeck Park

Guides/Resources

Our guide will be Boyle Heights native Abraham Hoffman, Ph.D., who currently teaches history at Los Angeles Valley College. He is the author of Vision or Villainy: Origins of the Owens Valley-Los Angeles Water Controversy.

We will be welcomed at the Neighborhood Music School by Administrator Wendy Kikkert and her musical Office Manager, Bernard Leon, who has taken lessons there since he was 4.

RSVP

For any questions or to join the tour, please call Kay Tornborg at (323) 467-0287 or email her at kxiaojie@att.net by Friday, February 15.

Maps/directions to all sites will be provided. Please bring lunch money and wear comfortable shoes.

Download the original flyer here.

The 21st Annual Marie Northrop Lecture Series begins next month! This year, our  theme will be “Coping and Living in Los Angeles During World War II.” The full schedule is below. These events are free to the public and are always held at the beautiful Central Library in downtown L.A. We hope you will join us!

Schedule

Saturday, February 16 at 2:00 pm: The Hollywood Canteen. Speakers: Bruce Torrence and Lisa Mitchell

Saturday, April TBD at 2:00 pm: The Civilian Command Center and Everyday Life.

Saturday, June 8 at 2:00 pm: The Effect of the War on the Motion Picture Industry in Southern California. Speaker: Marc Wanamaker.

Location

Lectures are held in the Mark Taper Auditorium on the first floor of the Central Library (640 W. 5th St., Los Angeles). Admittance is free and open to the public. The library is handicap accessible.

Parking

The library garage is locate on the east side of Flower St. just south of 5th St. Flower St. is one-way, south. Parking is $1 after 1:00pm with a library card and validation.

This lecture series is co-sponsored by LACHS and the History Department of the Richard J. Riordan Central Library.

Download the event flyer [pdf].

The Los Angeles City Historical Society invites you to a tour of the Griffith Observatory on January 17, 2013 at 12:00 PM.

To join the tour, e-mail Kay Tornborg at kxiaojie@att.net or call her at (323) 467-0287 by Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013.

Schedule

12:00 – Arrive Observatory and go to Cafe (downstairs) for quick bite.

12:45 – We meet Isaac Burks, CD4, for a short tour of the building (you can re-visit any exhibit after the Planetarium Show).

1:30 – Meet Councilman Tom La Bonge at the front door. We are his guests for the Samuel Oschin Planetarium Show.

1:45 – Planetarium Show.

2:30 – Free time to revisit exhibits, bathrooms, Cafe, etc. Stay as late as you like. (Observatory closes at 10PM).

Following the Planetarium show you are free to wander (there’s plenty more to see!). Wear sensible shoes. Cell phone reception is poor at this site.

Additional Info

Address: 2800 East Observatory Road, LA 90027 (enter the Park at Fern Dell, Vermont Ave./Hillhurst Ave. then drive up the hill).

Parking: Free parking in the Observatory lot or on roadside (lot fills quickly).

I suggest you join us just before noon because you will have a better chance of getting a space in the parking lot at that hour. Otherwise, you may have to park on the road and walk uphill.

To download our event flyer, click here.

(photo credit: justin_vidamo on flickr, CC BY 2.0)

The 2012 LACHS Holiday Gala dinner will be held on Tuesday, December 11 at the Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Society’s Hollywood Museum (1355 N. Cahuenga Blvd). Cocktails will begin at 6:00 PM and dinner will follow at 7:00.

Steven J. Ross, USC Professor of History, will speak about his book, Hollywood Left and Right, and the Society will present its annual awards to Nick Curry, Anton Calleia, Arnett L. Hartsfield, Jr., Geraldine Knatz and the Huntington Library, and Jennifer A. Watts.

Reservations are $50 per person and should be made by December 7, 2012. To RSVP, please print and fill out this form [pdf] and mail it to the address indicated at the bottom of the last page.

Individuals and groups can also purchase a Silver Table (for 8) for $1,000 or a Gold Table (for 8) for $2,000.

For inquiries, please call Todd Gaydowski at (213) 473-8449 or email: tgaydowski@att.net

Photos from our tour of the Watts Towers on October 20 are up on the website! Check them out.

Aside from being a piece of L.A. history for the last century, the Barlow Respiratory Hospital holds a special place in the heart of LACHS members. Currently, it serves as the headquarters for all our Executive Board meetings!

This weekend, the Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre group will be performing “Catch Your Breath,” an event that “examines the intersection of art and learning through the fundamental act of breathing. A walking performance on the grounds of Barlow Respiratory Hospital, HDDT will highlight the stories of those whose lives have been changed at Barlow.”

Find out more information about the event and how to purchase tickets on the HDDT website.

Make a date with the Los Angeles City Historical Society on Saturday, October 20, 2012 to visit Simon Rodia’s Watts Towers … Nuestro Pueblo, “our town” at 1727 – 1765 E. 107th St., Los Angeles, CA 90002

General admission is $7; Seniors are $3

Parking is free. Driving instructions will be provided. Wear comfortable shoes.

After Watts Towers, we will buy our lunches at Phillips BBQ, 4307 Leimert Blvd., LA 90008 and eat them in Leimert Park (because Phillips is only take-out… but what take-out!).

Lunch selections range from $6 to about $14, exclusive of beverage and dessert.

To make a reservation for this tour please call Kay Tornborg at (323) 467-0287 or e-mail her at kxiaojie@att.net by Thursday, October 18th. 

Download the event flyer.

On September 21, 2012, LACHS will sponsor a tour of the LA Observatory! Courtesy of City Councilmember Tom LaBonge.

You can join us at 12:15 for a no-host lunch in the cafe or join us at 12:45 for the tour. We hope to have Tom LaBonge on hand to meet and greet at 2:00.

Download the event flyer for more info: Observatory Flyer 2012

Please RSVP by the 19th to Kay Tornborg at:

kxiaojie@att.net or (323) 467-0287