Depression-era landmarks in Southern California

How bad could a Depression be, with fresh boysenberrries, an Assyrian castle, Shakespeare under the stars and a nudist queen named Zorine?

These, it turns out, are just a few of the wonders that Southern California gained between 1929 and 1941, when so many Americans were losing so much. We came upon them after Travel readers suggested a more localized follow-up to the San Francisco survey we did ("Exploring the Depression's artistic legacy in San Francisco").

That sounded right to us. So we’ve consulted a few historical societies and called a few experts, including Los Angeles architect Brenda Levin and Orange County historian Phil Brigandi.

The result is this list, just as rigorously unscientific as the San Francisco list. Eleven landmarks, no waiting.

— Christopher Reynolds, L.A. Times staff writer