On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Good Morning All,
This weekday feature is for Juicers who are are on the road, traveling, or just want to share a little bit of their world via stories and pictures. So many of us rise each morning, eager for something beautiful, inspiring, amazing, subtle, of note, and our community delivers – a view into their world, whether they’re far away or close to home – pictures with a story, with context, with meaning, sometimes just beauty. By concentrating travel updates and tips here, it’s easier for all of us to keep up or find them later.
So please, speak up and share some of your adventures and travel news here, and submit your pictures using our speedy, secure form. You can submit up to 7 pictures at a time, with an overall description and one for each picture.
You can, of course, send an email with pictures if the form gives you trouble, or if you are trying to submit something special, like a zipped archive or a movie. If your pictures are already hosted online, then please email the links with your descriptions.
For each picture, it’s best to provide your commenter screenname, description, where it was taken, and date. It’s tough to keep everyone’s email address and screenname straight, so don’t assume that I remember it “from last time”. More and more, the first photo before the fold will be from a commenter, so making it easy to locate the screenname when I’ve found a compelling photo is crucial.
Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
The form is wonky, but I hope to get that solved later this week. Thanks for your patience.
Today, pictures from valued commenter ?BillinGlendaleCA.
West Adams
Previously we looked at the eastern neighborhoods(Chester Place and St. James Square) of West Adams, today we’ll visit the western portion in the area around Adams Blvd. and Western Ave. Most of the residences here were built in the early 1900’s, which is about a decade later that the residences to the east. During the 20’s and 30’s many of the original residents either passed from this mortal coil or moved further west to Beverly Hills. They were replaced by African-Americans who couldn’t buy property in Beverly Hills and had the money to buy these large houses. The area was officially known as Arlington Heights but unofficially became known as “Sugar Hill”. The area is home to the First AME Church as well as UCLA’s William Andrews Clark Library(they are doing restoration work on the library and I wasn’t able to get any good pictures).
The impetus for this urban hike was to take pictures of the LA Sports Arena before they completely tore it down to build a soccer stadium(it just opened this month) and to see the pyramids at the Rosedale Cemetery.
Britt Mansion
Taken on 2016-09-08
West Adams, Los Angeles, CA
The Britt Mansion was built by Eugene Britt a Los Angeles attorney in 1910. It’s currently a sports memorabilia(the Helms collection) museum operated by LA84(a community foundation funded with the proceeds of the 1984 LA Olympics*).
*Both Olympic Games hosted in Los Angeles(1932 and 1984) have made money.
The Rigdge House
Taken on 2016-09-08
West Adams, Los Angeles, CA
This house was build by Frederick Hastings Rindge a Los Angeles Businessman in 1903. He owned Malibu, was a founder of Pacific Life, and Southern California Edison. He didn’t get to enjoy the home very long passing on in 1905 at the age of 48.
First AME(FAME) Church
Taken on 2016-09-08
West Adams, Los Angeles, CA
The First AME Church of Los Angeles was founded in 1872 and was located in Downtown Los Angeles for nearly 100 years. In 1968 the moved to this location across the street from the Rindge House in the building designed by Paul R. Williams.
Cochran House
Taken on 2016-09-08
West Adams, Los Angeles, CA
This house was built by George Ira Cochran, a partner in Pacific Life with Eugene Rindge, built this house next door to the Rindge house. George Cochran was also a good friend of Arthur Letts and cosigned a loan for $5,000 for Letts to start his department store which later became The Broadway and Bullock’s department stores. George also invested in the Rosedale Cemetery where he’s interred. This property for receptions and Sunday School by FAME.
The Shatto Pyramid
Taken on 2016-09-08
Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA
This is the final resting place of George Shatto who was a real estate invest in Los Angeles. This is in Rosedale Cemetery which George Cochran was an investor. The Shatto mansion was at the corner of Wilshire(then called Orange Street) Blvd. and Lucas Street. Good Samaritan Hospital now stands on it’s location. If you’re in LA, you can still see some remnants of the old Shatto mansion at the corner, it’s stone wall is still there.
This is not the only pyramid grave at Rosedale, there are either 3 or 4; there’s also a pyramid grave here in Glendale behind the Brand Library.
Elegant Manor
Taken on 2016-09-08
West Adams, Los Angeles, CA
This house is on Adams Blvd. and was built in 1906 for music store mogul James Fitzgerald. Needless to say, it needs some work.
The Beckett Residence
Taken on 2016-09-08
West Adams, Los Angeles, CA
The condition of this house makes me want to cry. This house was built in 1905 for Dr. Wesley Beckett, he was medical director for Pacific Life and a trustee at U$C and raised the money to start their Medical School.
Thank you so much ?BillinGlendaleCA, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email
Mary G
Love the Rindge house. Nice pictures, Bill.
rikyrah
Good pictures. The tomb was a little creepy. And, you got a Paul R. Williams structure?
p.a.
Nice stuff. Yeah, a chain link fence in front of an obviously upscale house like the last pic isn’t a good sign.
raven
@p.a.: It looks like the parade route on Orange Grove Ave in Pasadena!
Baud
Why hasn’t the Greater Los Angeles area are hired you as its official photographer yet?
MomSense
I enjoy these photos and local history. It’s too bad several of these houses are in disrepair.
OzarkHillbilly
I’d find a way into the Elegant Manor. Too cool.
satby
The pictures are great as always, and the condition of the last two houses makes me want to cry too. I hate when beautiful pieces of history are allowed to decay from neglect.
I received the two pictures I ordered from Bill’s website and they’re more spectacular in person than on the screen of a pc. Five stars for all the stars ?! Thanks Bill!
debbie
Love the Victorians!
arrieve
Wonderful as always. This is a side of LA I’d never seen.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mary G: I was looking at teh Google Maps when I put this post together, that house is huge.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@rikyrah: Thanks, I like pyramids. I didn’t know the church was designed by Williams, but looking at the picture when I was putting the post together, I suspected it was.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@p.a.: They’ve been using it for filming.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@raven: I think the lots here are smaller, the street certainly is.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@MomSense: Thanks, I guess those homes are like rescues and we hope they’ll find good owners.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@OzarkHillbilly: Heh.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@satby: Thanks, considering that when they’re listed for sale they’re well over a million they folk who buy them should have the cash to fix em up. The house next door the Beckett was undergoing renovation when I was taking these pics.
Thanks for ordering some pics! I’m really happy hear that the lab that does the printing does a good job.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@debbie:
@arrieve: Thanks, I’d never been to this part of town before.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: They don’t know what they’re missing.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@?BillinGlendaleCA: [shameless plug]
If you wish to purchase one of my photos, just click on my nym to get to my site. If you’ve seen a pic that you like that’s not there, send me an email(it’s the little envelope icon) and I’ll make putting up a gallery with that photo a priority.
[/shameless plug]
meander
KCRW’s DnA program had a special episode about architect Paul R. Williams after he was posthumously awarded a top award from the American Institute of Architects. He designed buildings all across Los Angeles, including the spider/spaceship in the center of LAX. An African-American practicing in the mid-20th century, he had to manage many difficult social situations involving his rich white clients because of his race: for example, supposedly “he learned to draw upside down, so he could sit across from his clients and still draw for them without needing to sit next to them.”
The episode can be streamed here: kcrw.com/news-culture/shows/design-and-architecture/african-american-architect-paul-revere-williams-…
You can probably download it from your favorite podcast software.
SoupCatcher
Great picts, BillinGlendaleCA!
Both my brother and I were born at Good Samaritan. But I rarely went to that neighborhood as I was growing up.
I’ve been greatly enjoying your series of pictures. Thanks!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@SoupCatcher: You’re welcome. It’s actually not uncommon for old walls to remain after new construction, but it’s pretty surprising in this case since the Shatto house was razed so many years ago.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@meander: I believe he also designed the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in DTLA.
Mnemosyne
@meander:
Bob Iger, the current chairman of the Mouse House, lives in a Williams house that was originally built for Walt Disney himself by Williams.
Elizabelle
Love your photos and sense of place with them, Bill.
Will think of them when reading early and mid-20th century mysteries, as settings for the wealthy clients.
I want to learn a lot more about Los Angeles history.
Mart
Great pics. The FAME Church’s skinny support pillars look like an earthquake collapse waiting to happen.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mart: I don’t think they’re load bearing, the church has survived the 1987 Whittier quake and the 1994 Northridge quake.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Elizabelle:
Thanks, and here’s some links:
noirish Los Angeles, a very long discussion thread but very complete.
Big Orange Landmarks, short pieces on individual buildings, I used this for some of the building on this post.
That should give you a good start, if you want more, let me know.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne: The Disney house in Holmby Hills was razed, is it the one in Los Feliz?
Elizabelle
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Thank you! Will check those out.
Warren Lorente
Bill,
Thanks for the photo of the Beckett House. I always wondered where this Chris Isaak music video was filmed. Sad to see what shape the house is still in.