Hadley Meares
Hadley Meares is a writer, historian, and singer who traded one Southland (her home state of North Carolina) for another. She is a frequent contributor to Curbed and Atlas Obscura, and leads historical tours all around Los Angeles for Obscura Society LA. Her debut novel, "Absolutely," is now available on Amazon.
The year was 1932. Los Angeles was firmly in the grip of the Great Depression. A new French-Italian restaurant opened its doors at 3927 Wilshire Boulevard. From the beginning, it was different.
The history of the famous sign almost seems to confirm all the crazy reveries that suggests Hollywood is the promised land.
Frank A. Garbutt was a boxer, automobilist, duck hunter, pioneer yachtsman and aviator; he was a man whose code of honor eventually turned him into a concrete man, unable to bend with the changing times.
A large apartment development takes up much of what was once the Toluca Yard -- initially the domain of trolleys and tracks, later of taggers and pelota tarasca players.
In Norse mythology Valhalla is the "hall of the slain," an enormous gallery in heaven filled with valiant warriors and gods; the real story of this Valhalla is strictly earthbound, a dirty tale of greed, corruption and remarkable stupidity.
"I drove down to headquarters. That's the way a lot of us think about Schwab's. Kind of a combination office, coffee klatch and waiting room. Waiting, waiting for the gravy train."
At this former YWCA, if you really squint, you can almost see the trailblazing business women of the past century making long distance calls at the telephone counter, swimming laps in the clear pool, or conducting political meetings in the lobby.
"She loved not only beluga caviar and champagne but American fare like cheeseburgers, French fries, and of course, chili from Chasen's." Her obsession with Chasen's chili knew no bounds, and she had it flown to her all over the world, most famously to ...
From 1945-1974, children growing up in Los Angeles had their own mini-fair year round. Beverly Park operated on less than an acre, on the corner of Beverly Blvd. and La Cienega, the present home of the Beverly Center Mall.
At Westwood Village Memorial Park, the spirits of those who have left are celebrated in an elegant and graceful way.
Unlike most of our stories, this one starts not with a beginning but with an ending: William Mulholland, the "father of the Los Angeles water system," died in 1935 after half a century of service to the city.
Walt Disney's favorite meal was a can of Gebhardt's chili mixed with a can of Dennison's chili, which he often ate at his desk. But he was known to go to a few local restaurants -- some that still exist, too.