#239: Judson Studios (Highland Park)
November 9, 2024
In this quirky 1911 building, Judson Studios crafted the stained glass in most of your favorite old buildings in LA. And they're still at it.
#238: Grand Central Air Terminal (Glendale)
October 12, 2024
Glendale's Grand Central Air Terminal was the first commercial airport in Los Angeles. While it’s been closed to air traffic since 1959, GCAT’s beautiful terminal building – restored by Disney to its near-original condition – is one of the best-preserved emblems of the birth of commercial aviation in Los Angeles.
#234-237: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 5 (Pasadena)
October 7, 2024
These four bungalow courts officially complete my survey of the 30 Pasadena bungalow courts on the National Register of Historic Places. They’re great examples of how architects and developers played around with the bungalow court form, given the constraints of the lots that they were working with.
#233: Highland Park Masonic Temple
September 13, 2024
Built in 1923, this handsome brick and terracotta building witnessed 60 years of ritual and fraternity as the Highland Park Masonic Temple. Since 2017, it's housed the music venue the Lodge Room and an adjoining restaurant, Checker Hall. All the original Masonic symbols are still intact, and EVERYWHERE.
#232: Fire Station No. 30 (Downtown)
September 1, 2024
Fire Station No. 30 once housed one of LA's two all-Black units during an era when Black and White firefighters were segregated. After a restoration in the 1990s, the old station building was reopened as the African-American Firefighter Museum, dedicated to preserving and retelling the story of Black firefighters in LA and beyond.
#231: Villa Carlotta (Altadena)
August 23, 2024
Villa Carlotta is a fine example of architect Myron Hunt's residential work, and one of Altadena's first homes designed for electricity from the get-go. It was built for Francis R. Welles, who oversaw European operations for Alexander Graham Bell's telephone company for over 30 years.
#230: Mariposa Street Bridge (Burbank)
August 18, 2024
Since 1939, Mariposa Street Bridge has connected the equestrian neighborhoods of Burbank & Glendale with the bridle trails of Griffith Park. It’s a reminder that, even though this is a car town, cowboy culture is still alive in LA.
#224-229: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 4 (Pasadena)
August 11, 2024
The bungalow court blossomed in Pasadena between 1910 & 1930. For part four of my tour of all 30 Pasadena courts on the National Register of Historic Places, we're focusing on six that are known only by their addresses. I call them: THE NAMELESS.
#223: Rancho Los Alamitos (Long Beach)
August 6, 2024
Rancho Los Alamitos compresses 150+ years of Los Angeles history into a single site. It went from Tongva village and sacred site, to Spanish land grant, to Yankee cattle and sheep ranch, to the center of a massive agricultural operation, and now a beautifully-preserved educational site, open to the public for free.
#222: LAX’s Hangar One (Inglewood)
July 23, 2024
Hangar One was the first building constructed for the LA Municipal Airport (now LAX), and the only one still standing from the airport’s earliest days.
#221: Michael White Adobe (San Marino)
July 11, 2024
Constructed ~1845, the Michael White Adobe is one of just 39 historic adobes left in LA County, and the second oldest building in San Marino. Its first owner was a sailor, shipbuilder and rancher who unwittingly took part in some of the most significant events in 19th century Los Angeles history.
#220: Winona Boulevard Mid-Century Modern Historic District (Los Feliz)
June 28, 2024
The Winona Boulevard Mid-Century Modern Historic District includes 13 apartment complexes in a grab bag of MCM styles, built from 1950-1964. Collectively they offer a snapshot of a neighborhood in transition during the post-WWII population boom.
#214-219: Whole Bunch o’ Bungalow Courts, pt. 3 (Pasadena)
June 22, 2024
The bungalow court flourished between 1910-1930, especially in Pasadena. For this third batch in our exploration of all 30 Pasadena courts on the National Register, we’re looking at six courts clustered around the historic section of South Marengo Avenue.
#213: Glendora Bougainvillea
June 15, 2024
The Glendora Bougainvillea is the largest planting of the vine in the US, and a living connection to the story of the citrus industry that helped to build LA around the turn of the 20th century.
#212: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House (East Hollywood)
June 8, 2024
Completed in 1921, Hollyhock House was Frank Lloyd Wright's first LA commission, and a departure from the prairie style that made him famous. This was one part of a planned theater complex for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall. And while their grand vision was never carried out, the house still stands as one of Wright's most significant buildings.