Social History Archives - Page 2 of 2

#135: Rockhaven Sanitarium (Montrose)

January 24, 2023

At a time when public asylums could be very dangerous places for women, Rockhaven Sanitarium in La Crescenta Valley offered an alternative: a private mental health institution on beautiful grounds, run for women and by women.

#129: The Lummis House/”El Alisal” (Highland Park)

December 9, 2022

Architecture

The Lummis House (aka El Alisal) in Highland Park is a playful castle-like structure of stone, cement and telephone poles (!), hand-built by one of the most colorful figures in LA history, Charles Lummis. You can appreciate it for its architectural uniqueness, or as a 3D manifestation of Lummis's philosophy. Either way, it's one of my favorite LA landmarks.

#116: Fire Station No. 14 (South LA)

September 12, 2022

Government & Politics

As the home of the LA Fire Department's second all-Black engine company, Fire Station No. 14 was a symbol of both pride and pain for LA's Black community before LAFD was integrated in 1956. The current station was built in 1949, a time of great change as LA reckoned with its segregated past.

#53: Bolton Hall (Tujunga)

December 25, 2021

Pioneers & Settlers

The community center of the defunct, WWI-era utopian Little Landers society is now a museum dedicated to its history.

#40: Little Tokyo Historic District (Downtown)

November 15, 2021

Asians

Once the center of social and commercial life for LA’s huge Japanese community before the internment camps of WWII, Little Tokyo is now a business hub and tourist destination grappling with its difficult history.