Etan Does LA - Page 5 of 13 - Exploring Los Angeles history, one landmark at a time

#140: The Lanterman House (La Cañada Flintridge)

#140: The Lanterman House (La Cañada Flintridge)

March 2, 2023

The unique kinda-sorta craftsman home was one of the first houses in Los Angeles made of reinforced concrete. It was the home of Roy and Emily Lanterman, scions of La Cañada Flintridge's first family. One of their two sons, Frank Lanterman, would establish a legendary career in the California State Assembly.

LA Times: 10 Los Angeles Landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places You Can’t Miss (as curated by me!)

LA Times: 10 Los Angeles Landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places You Can’t Miss (as curated by me!)

February 21, 2023

Well hey now, the Los Angeles Times asked me to put together a list of 10 Los Angeles landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places that you need to see! Check out the article for a breezy overview, and click through to my own Etan Does LA deep dives.

#139: Lincoln Heights Branch Library (Lincoln Heights)

#139: Lincoln Heights Branch Library (Lincoln Heights)

February 19, 2023

The Lincoln Heights Branch library is one of six branches of the Los Angeles Public Library system funded by a grant from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Built in 1916, its growth has paralleled that of the neighborhood surrounding it.

#138: Greystone Mansion/Doheny Estate (Beverly Hills)

#138: Greystone Mansion/Doheny Estate (Beverly Hills)

February 16, 2023

This 55-room mansion in Beverly Hills was designed by Gordon Kaufmann for oil heir Ned Doheny and his family. Over the years it has been a residence and a public park; a popular place to get married or hold a fashion shoot; the site of a still-controversial murder-suicide case; a film school where David Lynch and Paul Schrader honed their chops; and the location of Beverly Hills' largest reservoir.

#137: William N. Monroe House (“The Oaks” – Monrovia)

#137: William N. Monroe House (“The Oaks” – Monrovia)

February 9, 2023

The Oaks is a lovely Queen Anne Victorian built in 1885 for the co-founder and first mayor of Monrovia, railroad contractor William N. Monroe. It was just the second house built in Monrovia, which wouldn't be incorporated as a city until two years later.

#136: Villa Francesca (Palos Verdes)

#136: Villa Francesca (Palos Verdes)

January 31, 2023

This lovely Mediterranean revival compound in Rancho Palos Verdes was the longtime home of Harry E. Benedict, one of the peninsula's early developers. Though the Great Depression prevented the completion of a planned mansion, the gate lodge and farmstead still stand as fine examples of renowned architect Gordon Kaufmann's work.

#134: Venice of America House (Venice)

#134: Venice of America House (Venice)

January 9, 2023

This quirky Victorian home in Venice is one of the last residential vestiges of Venice of America: a planned resort community designed by Abbot Kinney in the early 1900s.

#133: Exposition Park Rose Garden

#133: Exposition Park Rose Garden

January 3, 2023

With over 19,000 rosebushes in hundreds of varietals, the Exposition Park Rose Garden is one of the largest public rose gardens in the United States. It's been open since 1928, and looks pretty much the same today as it did back then.

#132: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Millard House (Pasadena)

#132: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Millard House (Pasadena)

December 28, 2022

The Millard House (aka "La Miniatura") was the first of Frank Lloyd Wright's four textile block homes in Los Angeles. It marked a radical new phase in Wright's architecture, an attempt to democratize housing by ennobling the humble concrete block as a building material. It was also a remarkable integration of site and building that still stuns a century later.

#131: Petitfils-Boos Residence (Hancock Park/Windsor Square)

#131: Petitfils-Boos Residence (Hancock Park/Windsor Square)

December 23, 2022

The Petitfils-Boos Residence is a killer (and somewhat rare) example of the refined Italian renaissance revival style applied to a single-family home. It's also got a peculiar history involving the first proper cafeteria in LA, an abandoned chocolate shop covered in exquisite brown tiles, and a case of mansion-swapping among old friends.

#130: Jennie A. Reeve House (Greene & Greene – Long Beach)

#130: Jennie A. Reeve House (Greene & Greene – Long Beach)

December 15, 2022

This 1904 commission in Long Beach was a significant one for architects Charles & Henry Greene, because it integrated so many of the creative features that they had experimented with but never harmonized into a single building. Their approach here pointed the way to later masterpieces like the Gamble House, Blacker House and Thorsen House.

Five Historic Houses That Even Your Kids Will Love

Five Historic Houses That Even Your Kids Will Love

December 12, 2022

LA is full of cool-ass old buildings that offer plenty for both architecture buffs and the young' uns. Here's my "trail" guide to historic LA houses kids will love.

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

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

December 9, 2022

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.

#128: Prince Hall Masonic Temple (South LA)

#128: Prince Hall Masonic Temple (South LA)

November 30, 2022

Much of the early history of this brick-faced building in South LA is a mystery. What we do know is that since 1926, this Masonic temple has been a regular meeting place for Black fraternal societies in LA, primarily the Masons of the Prince Hall order - America’s oldest and largest Black fraternal organization.