LACHS Blog

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

We’ve just added a bunch of new events to our calendar. RSVP details for each will be coming soon and posted here. So mark your calendars!

We have a special opportunity for an August event!

Friday, August 3, 2012 @ 8 PM (arrive by 7:30, there is only street parking).

RSVP right away to Kay Tornborg at (323)467-0287 or kxiaojie@att.net.

Tickets are $15 (which goes to the Panorama, not LACHS) and the theatre is small-ish. First come, first served. This presenter has some wonderful old equipment and a fascinating show. Refreshments following in the garden.

Event Description

Professor Huhtamo’s Daring Adventures illuminated with magic lantern

Place: Velaslavasay Panorama, 1122 W. 24th St., 90007

Date/Time: August 2 and August 3, 2012 at 8:00PM

Admission: $15 ($12 for VPES Members and Children)

By means of a magnificent Victorian biunial magic lantern that once belonged to his great-grandfather, Prof. Huhtamo tells the story of his forefather’s adventurous life. An optical scientist and amateur astronomer, the elder Professor Huhtamo had his share of rare experiences: he climbed the Mont Blanc, observed the transit of venus, and got stuck in ice for an entire winter as a member of a polar expedition.

Prof. Huhtamo will be assisted by his daughter Margareta, an aspiring magic lantern showwoman and talented lantern slide painter, and her husband Olof, an accomplished musician and distinguished sound effects artist.

All in attendance will be furnished with a Frozen Treat, pleasing to both old and young.

The City of Los Angeles and The Los Angeles City Historical Society introduce:

“The Los Angeles City Officials, 1850 to the Present Historical Database”

http://cityclerk.lacity.org/chronola

A Los Angeles City history project was initiated by the Works Project Administration in the 1930’s during the Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It sought to identify and record the terms of office of individuals who, over the years, served in the government of the City of Los Angeles. It includes all elected officials and all appointed commissioners who served on the various municipal boards.

This historical study of 1850-1965, was originally published in four volumes by the City of Los Angeles. In 2007, The Los Angeles City Historical Society applied for a grant to the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation to complete the project to the present date, ad infinitum. At that time it was decided to convert the already published information to a computer based program, thus completing the focus of the project to the present time.

Database Information

The purpose of this database program is to introduce and make available on the World Wide Web to people displaying an index of “Movers and Shakers” of Los Angeles City government. This City evolved from a one-horse town into the second largest city in the United States. The evolution and growth of this megalopolis progressed, good and bad, because of these individuals, who left their imprint on the sands of time.

Inclusions

Only individual names, dates and offices held election by election are found on this database. The names found are a polyglot composite of English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Jewish, Turkish and Armenian.

A User Guide, tutorial, will be found on the database. For further information about Los Angeles City government history see the References link also on the database.

Exclusions

This database program is not a narrative history. It is a compilation of individuals, both men and women, who held certain offices at certain time periods in Los Angeles City government from 1850 through to the present time, ad infinitum.

UPDATE: This event is now full.  If you wish to sign up for a future tour, please e-mail Kay Tornborg: kxiaojie@att.net, or telephone her at (323)467-0287 and put yourself on a new list for the next group.

Join your friends at LACHS for a docent-led walk through Fern Dell and see for yourself the rustic beauty of this peaceful site. We’ll assemble for coffee and then an hour-long walk through the historic pathways.

Meet on Saturday, July 21, 2012, at 9:00AM – next to Trails Cafe in Fern Dell. 

The tour is FREE and will be led by LACHS board member Kay Tornborg. Please call her at (323)467-0287 or e-mail her at kxiaojie@att.net to reserve your place.

More information: 

For nearly a century, Fern Dell has been an urban oasis. In its first sixty years, it was one of Griffith Park’s most celebrated features but more recent decades have not been so kind. Today it is in need of rehabilitation and, fortunately, help is on the horizon. Facilitated by generous funding from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s L.A. County Preservation Fund, the Griffith J. Griffith Charitable Trust and the Friends of Griffith Park are working with a professional team to lay the groundwork for Fern Dell’s revitalization.

Directions: 

Take Franklin Ave. to Western. North on Western, up the hill; road bears right and becomes Los Feliz Blvd. Stay in LEFT lane and turn left at first stoplight, Fern Dell Drive. Drive one minute, past stop sign at Black Oak Drive, look for Trails Cafe on the left and find street parking.

We’re working behind the scenes! Here are some of the events we’re hoping to bring you in the coming months:

• Tour of the new Japanese Garden at the Huntington Library
• Tour of the Griffith Observatory
• Visit to the LA Zoo
• Visit to Boyle Heights, including the Breed Street Shul, the Neighborhood Music School, Evergreen Cemetery, Hollenbeck Park and, nearby, Homeboy Industries
• Visit to the City Archives and Records Center
• Downtown walking tour
• Guided tour of Fern Dell in Griffith Park
• Tour and lunch at the Ebell Club and Theatre
• Visit to the Japanese Garden at the Donald C. Tillman Reclamation Plant in the Sepulveda Basin
• Visit to the Reagan Library
• Visit to the Nixon Library
• A visit/celebration at the Natural History Museum for “Becoming L.A.” opening in December 2012
• Overnight bus tour to the Owens Valley, Manzanar and other local sites along Route 395
• Tour of Hollywood Forever Cemetery
• Visit to the Bronson Caves

Stay tuned!

From the LA Conservancy:

The Conservancy needs your help to stop the demolition of the Moore House, a 1959 residence designed by Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The final environmental impact report (EIR) for the project that would demolish the Moore House was approved by the Palos Verdes Estates Planning Commission in December.

Despite the Conservancy’s prior comments and those of nearly 300 concerned individuals, the EIR did not not include a single bona fide preservation alternative that would retain the home’s eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The Conservancy has filed an appeal of the decision to certify the EIR.

Please support our efforts by attending the Palos Verdes Estates City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 24, where a decision on the appeal will be made.

If the Conservancy’s appeal is denied, the Moore House will be demolished.

If you can’t attend, please submit your comments in writing by Thursday, April 19 at 5 p.m. to citycouncil@pvestates.org and vkroneberger@pvestates.org. Please copy mvavala@laconservancy.org on emails so we can monitor the response.

Although it should be in your own words and reflect your own experience, to be most effective, your comments should address the following points:

• The Moore House is a rare and significant historic resource, designed by the nationally recognized architect Lloyd Wright (son of Frank Lloyd Wright), and is one of only two structures designed by him in the city of Palos Verdes Estates.
• The EIR failed to identify and evaluate a single reuse alternative that would maintain the Moore House’s eligibility as a historic resource. This is a clear problem, as the EIR must include at least one true preservation alternative.
• The Moore House can be modified and expanded in a sensitive way that would address preservation concerns as well as several of the owners’ stated project goals. Yet no such alternatives have been seriously considered.
• Please vote to uphold the Conservancy’s appeal and request that a new EIR be prepared that includes a true preservation alternative.

Visit the Conservancy’s website for more information about the Moore House and its proposed demolition. 

Thank you for your support!