You Can't Eat The Sunshine--Esotouric's Weekly Podcast

Join us this week as we talk with Mona Leirich at the Villa Aurora, about the far reaching legacy of the literary lion Lion Feuchtwanger, who escaped the Nazis to come live in exile in the Pacific Palisades. We’ll also visit with Marcia Harris, who portrays Long Beach’s own firebrand activist, Fanny Bixby Spencer, as a living history docent at Rancho Los Cerritos. We’ll also discuss the closure of L.A.‘s oldest book shop (104 years in San Pedro), Metro playing the eminent domain card in Little Tokyo, the aesthetic ramifications of the pending Broadway Streetscape Plan work, and a look forward to a rare Pershing Square Advisory Board meeting this week. All this and more, as Kim & Richard usher in the week of July 8th, 2013. PHOTO CREDIT: Lion Feuchtwanger at Les Milles Internment Camp in Southern France, 1940. Photo courtesy of Feuchtwanger Memorial Library, USC.

Join us this week as we talk with Elaine, caretaker for evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson’s 1920s Moorish castle in Lake Elsinore, about the building’s history, design and role as Sister Aimee’s cherished retreat from the limelight. We’ll also visit with Donald Spivack, longtime CRA/LA urban planner, to discuss the public policies and development projects that spearheaded the rebirth of Downtown LA’s historic core, and the challenges facing this fast-changing, mixed-use community. We’ll also discuss the 100 day milestone of Program 50 in Skid Row, how Claud Beelman’s archival work came to be included in the Getty’s new L.A. architecture exhibition, Richard’s interview with Charles Bukowski’s muse Linda King, a new home for the San Gabriel Mission’s mill race, a lost Einar Petersen mural from the Rosslyn Hotel found on eBay, and Stephen Gee’s new book on architect John Parkinson. All this and more, as Kim & Richard usher in the week of July 1st, 2013. PHOTO: Sister's prayer room in her Lake Elsinore Castle.

Join us this week as we talk with Philip Estes, Regional Planner for the County of Los Angeles, about his work developing a new historic preservation ordinance. We’ll also sit down with community advocate and gallery director Jonathan Jerald and former CRA/LA urban planner Donald Spivack to discuss the unusual origins of downtown L.A.‘s Arts District, the challenges that come with its growing popularity, and the human threads that are keeping it all together. Plus musings on the pending demolition of the First Street Store, the national trend of privatizing public parks comes to a head as a non-profit seeks to take control of NYC’s Washington Square Park, L.A.‘s plans for a new park at First and Spring Streets, remembering Henry Hope Reed, dogs vs. children and public humiliation at the new Spring Street Park, and a sad West Adams Bishop’s Mansion update. All this and more, as Kim & Richard usher in the week of June 24th, 2013. photo credit: Pickle Works Building, circa 1980. Carlton Davis

Tune in to Episode 22 of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with Southern California tile expert Brian Kaiser about the German exile culture that flourished amidst the lovely tiles of the Villa Aurora in Pacific Palisades. We’ll also visit with retired National Guard Lt. Col. Tom Lasser, to learn about the Joint Forces airbase in Los Alamitos and the influential role it played in Southern California’s aerospace legacy. Plus discussion of how Welton Beckett’s Santa Monica Civic Auditorium has been saved from the wrecking ball, big news for Pasadena’s long-derelict Julia Morgan YWCA, and a glaring shortcoming in a pilot project for sidewalk dining and beautification in Downtown L.A.‘s historic core. All this and more, as Kim & Richard usher in the week of June 17th, 2013.

Tune in to Episode 21 of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with Peggy Ronning, curator of the Antelope Valley Indian Museum, about the museum’s fascinating origins as a Hollywood set decorator’s fantasy getaway, his controversial collecting methods, and how the State Parks Service is bringing the building and collection into the 21st century. We’ll also visit with artist and filmmaker Stephen Seemayer to get the story behind his Arts District documentary “Young Turks” and “Red Zone” downtown happenings of the early 1990s. Plus we’ll discuss the Historic Cultural Monument applications for the Alexandria Hotel and Johnie’s Coffee Shop, Councilman Jose Huizar’s motion to permit more sidewalk dining downtown, thoughts on the V.A.‘s circa 1900 Wadsworth Chapel and Street Car Depot, and the historic tile installation planned for the Monrovia Gold Line Station. All this and more, as Kim & Richard usher in the week of June 10, 2013. PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by nikontraveler

Tune in to Episode Twenty of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with Phyllis Comstock about Tomo-Kahni near Tehachapi, the historic winter home of the Kawaiisu tribe and one of the most remarkable parks in the California State Park system. We’ll also visit with artist Jori Johnson to discuss the “Sacred Streets” installation on downtown’s Skid Row, and its role in bringing the transformative power of art to this troubled neighborhood. Plus we’ll discuss some good news and bad at the north end of Echo Park Lake, the title and artwork revealed for John Banville’s new Philip Marlowe novel, the “Jesus Saves” replica neon installed in BIOLA’s parking structure, Esotouric and 1947project folks featured in an ode to Angels Flight, historic preservation gets a boost in unincorporated L.A. County, an F. Scott Fitzgerald walking tour of West Hollywood, and a Jazz Age Los Angeles LAVA Sunday Salon. All this and more, as Kim & Richard usher in the week of June 3rd, 2013.

Tune in to Episode Nineteen of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with Dave Peters, Professor of Political Science at BIOLA University and board member the of La Mirada Historical Preservation Advisory Council, for the story of the school’s rich history, from its roots a hundred years ago in downtown Los Angeles to its present home in the foothills of La Mirada. We’ll also visit with Rev. Andy Bales of the Union Rescue Mission, which has been on downtown’s Skid Row for 122 years, to talk about the public policy crisis facing the neighborhood, and his vision for how the County and Federal government can help solve the problems facing the city’s most vulnerable population. We’ll also discuss the changes underway at the Grand Central Market, A Googie Style supermarket in Highland Park getting a nomination nudge, the Union Rescue Mission’s longtime Main Street site up for sale, the Brick People documentary screens at Commerce Public Library, and an 18th Century London ironmonger in peril. All this and more, as Kim & Richard usher in the week of May 27th, 2013.

Tune in to Episode Eighteen of the Esotouric podcast as we sit down with two artists about their site-specific artwork in downtown Los Angeles’ Arts District. Photographer Irving Greines has spent the past ten years documenting the layers and transformations of the poster-covered east wall of the American Hotel. And Carlton Davis was the curator and creator of the seminal 1980s drive-in gallery The Art Dock, located on a loading dock of the endangered 1888 Pickle Works Building. We’ll also have a discussion of the court ruling shuttering the Arts District Business Improvement District, the poorly-understood rules governing BID creation, concerns about the privatization of public space and the community’s creative response to the urban challenge of a BID disbanded. All this and more, as Kim & Richard usher in the week of May 20th, 2013. PHOTO CREDIT: Irving Greines

Tune in to Episode Seventeen of the Esotouric podcast as we visit with John Maljevic, manager of nightclubs in West Hollywood’s wild and golden age. We’ll also talk with Mickey Gallivan, Executive Director of the Historical Society of Pomona Valley, about the architectural gems in her organization’s care. All this, plus cultural musings on the remodel of the Pershing Hotel at 5th and Main, the May 2013 Pershing Square Advisory Board meeting, Spring Street’s new park, and the imminent closure of the Palms bar, West Hollywood’s last lesbian nightspot, as Kim & Richard usher in the week of May 13th, 2013.

Tune in to Episode Sixteen of the Esotouric podcast as we sit down with historian Marc Chevalier to debunk myths about the Oviatt Building and its influence on the American Art Deco style. We’ll also talk with Professor Don Johnson of Cal State L.A.‘s Criminalistics Department, for a guided tour of his apprenticeships in mortuary and forensic science. All this, plus cultural musings on LAVA’s 2013 Visionary of the Year Dwain Carlo Crum’s 100th day at sea, endangered Caltrans-owned houses in Pasadena’s Markham Place District added to the National Register, Irving Gill’s Torrance railroad bridge getting a revamp, the City of Los Angeles’ tentative deal to purchase a long-derelict Civic Center plot for a park, Santa Monica’s beloved Bay Cities Guaranty Building purchase by preservation-friendly Sorgente Group of America, Urban Outfitters move into the Rialto Theater, Metro releases four possible plans for a Union Station redesign, and Supervisor Gloria Molina pledge to help save East L.A.‘s giant tamale in peril, as Kim & Richard usher in the week of May 6th, 2013. PHOTO CREDIT: Oviatt Ceiling Tile, Marc Chevalier

Tune in to Episode Fifteen of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with Jenny Watts, curator of photographs at the Huntington Library, about the accession and digitization of 70,000 negatives from the archives of Southern California Edison, documenting electricity in the southland from the late 19th century through the 1960s. We also sit down with Ken Bernstein, head of Historic Resources for the City of Los Angeles, to discuss the challenges facing the preservation of the city’s nearly 30,000 historically-designated structures, and the tools available for keeping them around for future generations. All this, plus cultural musings on the latest Battle on Bunker Hill (HOA versus renters), new palm trees for Elysian Park, the community benefits of trailer park living, and East L.A.‘s giant tamale in peril, as Kim & Richard usher in the week of April 29th, 2013. Photo Credit: G. Haven Bishop, Long Beach-Lighthipe-Laguna Bell Transmission Line - Tall crossing towers at Long Beach - complete towers with reflection in water, 1932. Photo courtesy of the Huntington Library.

Tune in to Episode Fourteen of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with Jessica Holada, curator for the current Occidental College Library book arts exhibit, Where Bohemians Gathered, about early 20th century literary culture in North East Los Angeles. Then we’ll visit with our dear friend and distinguished thespian, Jerry Taft, about his decades tending bar at the Riviera Country Club and the fascinating friendships he forged while shaking martinis. All this, plus cultural musings on Barlow Hospital’s too-grand development plan, Echo Park Lake lotus bed putting out leaves, Bishop’s Mansion in West Adams at peril, the city’s seeking clarity on the Skid Row sidewalk ruling, beginning to steward CRA/LA properties, and the possible disqualification of AEG as a candidate to run the Convention Center. Plus thoughts on the upcoming LAVA Literary Salon celebrating Dashiell Hammett, as Kim & Richard usher in the week of April 22nd, 2013. PHOTO CREDIT The Abbey Fantasy: An Idyl of San Encino’s Making by Clyde Browne. Los Angeles: Abbey Handset Press and Bindery, 1929. Images courtesy of Occidental College Library Special Collections. Photos by Helena de Lemos.

Tune in to Episode Thirteen of the Esotouric podcast as we talk with filmmaker Alina Skrzeszewska about her work capturing a vanishing neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row. Well also visit with the much beloved Ruth Ann Dome, dispatcher for the bus company we work with, and learn about her competing passions for fast cars and well-trained cowboys. All this, plus cultural musings on a new play about Billy Wilder’s and Raymond Chandler’s invention of Film Noir, troubling news of Graumann’s Chinese maybe going IMAX, attempts by the City of Los Angeles to re-invent a Community Redevelopment Agency, our ongoing saga trying to attend meetings of the Pershing Square Advisory Board, and the upcoming LAVA Literary Salon celebrating Dashiell Hammett as Kim & Richard usher in the week of April 15th, 2013.

Tune in to Episode Twelve of the Esotouric podcast as we visit, yet again, with Julie Rivett, Dashiell Hammett's granddaughter, about the Flintcraft Parable in the Maltese Falcon, a piercing mediation on the sublime and the banal which co-exist at the core of human nature. We’ll also visit with Kevin Bash, architectural historian and council member for the City of Norco, about the rise, fall and strange fate of the astonishing Norconian Supreme Resort, Southern California's forgotten jewel of the Jazz Age. All this, plus cultural musings on the Clark Hotel’s proposed summer re-opening, the Welsh Congregational Church returned to Sinai Temple, Southern California Edison’s online photo collection at The Huntington and our upcoming Literary Salon on Dashiell Hammett as Kim & Richard usher in the week of April 8th, 2013.

Tune in to Episode Eleven of the Esotouric podcast as we visit with Vince Lugo, direct lineal descent of Don Antonio Maria Lugo, whose 19th century Spanish Land Grant helped define Southern California. Vince talks about his family and his father’s pride and joy, San Gabriel’s beloved–-and recently landmarked-–Monster Park. We’ll also talk with Darrell Kunitomi of the Los Angeles Times about the Chandler family’s legacy and how it is manifested and continues to evolve at the newspaper’s headquarters at 1st & Spring. All this, plus cultural musings on the Hollywood Millenium and USC Village redevelopment plans, Mount Zion Cemetery in East Los Angeles, and our upcoming Literary Salon on Dashiell Hammett as Kim & Richard usher in the week of April 1st, 2013.