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No Enclave -- Greek Los Angeles

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Urban Rambles -- The Marketplace Ramble

I was recently contacted by Nicholas Guiang, an audio journalist and producer at the American Public Media radio program, Marketplace. He’d seen me on Rebecca Castillo‘s piece for LA Times 404 and wanted to accompany me on an urban ramble for a radio segment. You know Marketplace, it’s the show hosted by Kai Ryssdal… the one that interpolates, depending on the state of market, the songs “Stormy…

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Ask Silver Lake -- The Garbutt House

This article was written for the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council‘s “Ask Silver Lake.” “Ask Silver Lake” is dedicated to exploring the history and insights of our community. If you have questions or ideas you’d like us to consider, please drop a comment or send them to outreach@silverlakenc.org. This edition is about the Garbutt House, as suggested by a reader. The Garbutt House seen atop the…

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Nobody Drives in LA -- Metro's New Subway Cars Have Arrived in Los Angeles

This past Friday, I was invited, along with a pretty small group, to a sneak peak of Metro‘s new subway cars last Friday. Of course, I cleared my schedule. The event was scheduled for noon at Wilshire/Western Station. I had a bagel and too much coffee and then headed out the door. To get to the station, I crossed the street in front of my apartment, hopped on the 182, took it to Sunset/Vermont…

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Ask Silver Lake -- Silver Lake's Mass Transit History

Map depicting Metro routes (in orange) in Silver Lake (Neighborhood Council borders — Source: Pendersleigh & Sons Cartography) “Ask Silver Lake” is dedicated to exploring the history and insights of our community. If you have questions or ideas you’d like us to consider, please drop a comment or send them to outreach@silverlakenc.org. ❦❦❦ If you’re a loyal reader of “Ask Silver Lake,” you’ll…

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Nobody Drives in LA -- Silver Lake Walks

I’m leading a series of walks in Silver Lake called… “Silver Lake Walks.” The idea came from the Silver Lake Branch Library‘s Friends of the Silver Lake Library and the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council‘s Outreach Committee. I’ve created six walks that touch upon architecture, civil rights, film history, and more. Each of these walks is open to the public who, it is hoped, will provide helpful…

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Ask Silver Lake -- Silver Lake's Historic Film Studios

The following was first published by the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council as part of it’s “Ask Silver Lake” column. “Ask Silver Lake” is dedicated to exploring the history of our community. If you have questions or ideas you’d like us to consider, please send them to outreach@silverlakenc.org. Selig Polyscope in Edendale, 1910 We’ve received a few “Ask Silver Lake” inquiries about Silver Lake’s…

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Ask Silver Lake -- What Becomes of a Decommissioned Reservoir?

A reservoir is constructed in Silver Lake. After decades of service, the city determines that the water in it isn’t fit to drink and that reservoir is obsolete. It is decommissioned. The city decides to turn it into a park. Not everyone is happy with this plan. Sound familiar? Perhaps, then, you already know the history of the Bellevue Reservoir. Feel free to read on if you need a…

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Ask Silver Lake -- Music Box Steps Day and Silver Lake's Stair Stars of the Silver Screen

Thanks, in large part, to its proximity to many early film studios – Silver Lake has been home to numerous film stars since at least the 1910s. Not all of those stars were human. There was, for example, Tom Mix’s horse, Old Blue, who is rumored to be buried underneath the parking lot in front of the East West Bank on Glendale Boulevard. There was also the Descanso-Vendome Stairs, a public stair…

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Nobody Drives in LA -- A Car Free Los Angeles Podcast

The podcast is finally here! The only podcast about the pressures, perils, and yes, pleasures of car-free and car-lite living in pathologically car-brained Los Angeles. Co-hosts Kyle Rebar and Eric Brightwell chat with guests about their transit journeys and where they are now. I’ll post new episodes here with links as we publish them. Follow on Spotify Follow on Apple Podcasts Episode No. 1…

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No Enclave – Catalan Los Angeles

11 September is the national day of Catalonia, or “La Diada.” Catalonia (Catalan: Catalunya) is a stateless Mediterranean nation split between Spain, where it is an autonomous community, and France, where the borders of  its Roussillon region correspond  roughly with those of the department of Pyrénées-Orientales. Its capital and most populous city, Barcelona, is the core of – by most measures –…

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Ask Silver Lake — LAFD Station No. 56

The following article was written for the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council‘s “Ask Silver Lake” series — ‘Ask Silver Lake’ is dedicated to exploring the history and insights of our community. If you have questions or ideas you’d like us to consider, please drop a comment or send them to outreach@silverlakenc.org.’ For the sake of full disclosure, this month’s “Ask Silver Lake” resulted not from a…

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Conan Needs a Map

If you, like me, are a regular listener to the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast — especially the Summer S’mores series — you have no doubt heard Conan joke, um, more than once, about the vast distances and difficulties he has to overcome in order to get from his Westside home to Sona‘s in remote Altadena. Conan would have the listener believe that the not insignificant journey of just over 30…

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The Legend of the Clandestine Order of Illuminated Gentlepersons

Proof, if needed, that the internet isn’t all bad. Two months ago, on the LosAngeles subreddit, user suprunkn0wn asked, “What’s that one spot in L.A. that you missed where it used to be? The new Amoeba is cool, but the most typical L.A. shit is the fact it’s under apartments and that will always piss me off. I will always miss the OG location, miss seeing it on the corner.“ I’m not sure what’s…

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Ask Silver Lake -- Silver Lake's Bungalow Courts

The following article was written for the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council‘s “Ask Silver Lake” series — ‘Ask Silver Lake’ is dedicated to exploring the history and insights of our community. If you have questions or ideas you’d like us to consider, please drop a comment or send them to outreach@silverlakenc.org.’ This month’s “Ask Silver Lake” is about bungalow courts, which several readers…

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Ask Silver Lake -- The Mattachine Steps and... the Julian Eltinge Steps

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California Fool's Gold -- Exploring Mentryville

INTRODUCTION  The other day I found myself in Santa Clarita with a couple of hours to kill. I Googled “best restaurants in Santa Clarita” — knowing full well that Google has been a mostly garbage search engine for years — completely corrupted as it is by paid advertisements and SEO. I’m sure that there are better restaurants in Santa Clarita, but Google pointed me in the direction of pub chains…