#50: Los Angeles Plaza Historic District (Downtown)
December 14, 2021
The birthplace of Los Angeles and its one-time commercial/social hub, housing dozens of historic buildings and monuments to the founders of LA
Pioneers & Settlers
#47: The Old Mill/El Molino Viejo (San Marino)
November 30, 2021
The Old Mill is Southern California's oldest surviving commercial building. Its millstones once ground grain for the San Gabriel mission, and were later rediscovered by a famous WWII hero.[…]
#43: Mission San Gabriel Arcángel (San Gabriel)
November 20, 2021
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel is the grandaddy of LA historic sites. Legend has it that the 44 “pobladores” set out from here the day they founded Los Angeles in 1781. For three years, it was closed to visitors due to the pandemic and a devastating arson. On July 1, 2023, the Mission finally reopened, with a reimagined museum that tells the Mission's complex story of deracination and development.
#27: Christmas Tree Lane (Altadena)
November 4, 2021
A 100+ year holiday tradition that began with a handful of deodar cedar seeds from Altadena's founding family, the Woodburys Added to the National Register of Historic Places on September[…]
#19: Andrés Pico Adobe (Mission Hills)
October 27, 2021
One of the oldest extant homes in LA. Though it's rather misleadingly named. Added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 13, 1966 The Andrés Pico Adobe is[…]
#18: Lopez Adobe (San Fernando)
October 26, 2021
The retirement home of one of the San Fernando Valley's OG power couples Added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1971 The charming Lopez Adobe was[…]
#11: Mentryville (Newhall)
October 16, 2021
A boomtown turns to a ghost town on the site of the first successful oil well in California
#4 & 6-10: Historic Buildings in Van Nuys, Downey, Boyle Heights & Toluca Lake
October 12, 2021
Historic sites in Van Nuys, Downey, Boyle Heights & Toluca Lake: Case Study House No. 1, a library, a hotel for mariachi musicians and more.
#5: Heritage Park (Santa Fe Springs)
October 11, 2021
The remains of a 19th century adobe, garden, carriage barn, aviary, railroad exhibit and a replica Tongva village hint at an uneasy histor
#3: Catalina Verdugo Adobe (Glendale)
October 10, 2021
In which I visit the Catalina Verdugo Adobe, said to be the oldest extant house in Glendale. Situated on land that was once part of a massive Spanish rancho, this adobe was the site of an important 1847 parley that helped end the Mexican-American War in 1847.
#2: Rancho Los Encinos (Encino)
October 10, 2021
Throughout its long history, Rancho Los Encinos was inhabited by Native Americans, Californios, Americans and European immigrants – a true microcosm of the development of LA.