I started this website in 2011, while sitting in a sterile hospital room next to my dad, who was fighting to live but actually dying in bits. Of course, I did not know that at the time. But time was what I had a lot of back then, so many long hours spent waiting with…
Author: L1OTB
So Cal native & born-and-bred Angeleno, always on the hunt for interesting stories & photos showcasing our local or regional California history.
Mid-Century Summers: Hot Days Meet Cool Pools in Southern California
In the late 1950’s, 1960’s and 70’s, ranch homes and housing tracts were the rage. And so were backyard swimming pools. Private pools were an impressive neighborhood novelty, coveted by those who could afford one and a true measure of middle-class ascendance. Above-ground swimming pools, called Doughboys, were one popular, but more pedestrian, option. However,…
Woody Guthrie Once Sang About the Deadly New Year’s Day Flood of 1934
I recently came across this recording by American folk singer Woody Guthrie telling the tale of the Flood of 1934. In it, he talks about the local towns besieged, the lives lost, and some of what happened during the disaster. His unique voice and singing is/was a touching memorial to a devastating historical event that…
Musing on a Set of Secret Stairs and a Movie Studio in Los Feliz
L.A. is a city of neighborhoods. Like a giant patchwork quilt. You can live your whole life here and never see most of them. It’s just impossible. But each has its own history, personality, and, best of all, surprises. And those are everywhere. Like Hoover Walk and The Prospect Studios, tucked among a set of…
Have You Seen the Salton Sea?
Abert’s Towhee is a bright-eyed visitor to this accidental, man-made, and now essential resting spot for migratory birds traveling along the Pacific Flyway. How the Salton Sea was formed and its melancholy history—particularly as a short-lived, mid-century vacation resort—is worthy of note . . . and perhaps even a little road trip. The lake…