Lost L.A. Archive
Lost L.A.: Southern California's social history as told through buildings that have been razed, burned or renovated into extinction.
October 17, 2009
LOST L.A.
Hollenbeck Home for the Aged in Boyle Heights in the 1890s
Growing old without money, not good. Growing old without money and in poor health, very bad. This is the future some of us face as 401(k)s dwindle and insurance doesn't cover all the medical bills.
June 13, 2009
LOST L.A.
A thorny history with the cactus
L.A. gardeners have been going native for more than a century. Around 1900, nurseryman and plant sleuth Theodore Payne pushed for West Coast flowers and shrubs. His word was gospel: "Be a good Californian: Be loyal to your own state and keep your landscape Californian." Payne was not alone. The Garden Club of America, founded in 1913, helped bring native plants to thousands of homes, and its female members replanted countrysides wrecked by industrial sprawl.
May 16, 2009
LOST L.A.
Alexis Smith, collage artist uprooted
The artist's studio is part factory, part chapel, part Merlin's cave, reliquary and museum. Some artists say it doesn't matter where they make art. Others claim their studio is their art. Some cities preserve studios, but L.A. does not. We worship artists; we trade real estate.
March 14, 2009
LOST L.A.
Robinsons-May Beverly Hills: A shopping icon that may drop
Lost L.A. unearths something that's buried in history. It tells stories of buildings that have been razed, burned or renovated into extinction. Developers often cause these wipeouts, explaining them away as the price of progress. Translation: the cost of greed.
February 14, 2009
LOST L.A.
Singleton Court in West Adams was the home of scandal
It's St. Valentine's Day, and somewhere love is for sale, though not on sale. For centuries the wealthy have lured the sexy and beautiful with jewels, cigars, fine wines and racing cars. Kate Spade bags, David Yurman rubies, Rolex watches or a Swiss bank account can work. But to close the deal, there's nothing like a well-furnished house.
January 10, 2009
LOST L.A.
Colony in Pacific Palisades nurtured top artists in 1950s, 1960s
When times are good, artists and writers get the support they need, enriching city life in unquantifiable ways. But when the economy heads south or the rich lose interest, artists are among the first to suffer. Today we're hearing predictions of fewer movies, fewer books and fewer plays. In the case of L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art, there will be fewer exhibitions to support new work just when we need creative thinking.
December 13, 2008
LOST L.A.
Greenacres tree kept Christmas spirit year-round
In our eco-challenged world of global warming and deforestation, the holiday tree is struggling to survive as a family tradition. What do we do? Buy the artificial tree that's not biodegradable? Support the sustainable -- but not local -- tree farm? Pick up a chemically fertilized cedar that's dead by next season? Give up altogether and string a few lights on the palm out back?
November 1, 2008
LOST L.A.
On L.A.'s Clara Street, working-class dreams met an anti-minority mind-set in the 1920s.
A home of your own -- it's an American dream. Good houses make stable lives, and stable lives make good citizens. Thomas Jefferson despaired at the nation's ramshackle shanties, and for more than a century, presidents pushed for change. Technology and innovation -- supported by government, encouraged by educators and praised by preachers -- made the dream a reality. From the kitchen table of the American home came the soldiers who fought our wars and the families who healed their wounds.
October 4, 2008
LOST L.A.
In Los Angeles, a 1900s White House for the not quite presidential
JOHN McCAIN doesn't know how many houses he owns, but he wants 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Ever since the "presidential palace" was completed in 1800, the White House has been the ultimate American address. For a century it was our largest house, more than double the size of Monticello and Mount Vernon combined.
LOST L.A.
It was Huntington's master plan
WHEN THE current mortgage crisis ends, someone is going to make big bucks. Probably developers. They'll buy up houses at bargain prices, tear them down, put in a subdivision and start hawking mortgages. The L.A. investor's rule: It's never about the house; it's about the land. Few knew this better than speculator Henry E. Huntington.
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
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