Esotouric's Secret Los Angeles
@esotouric.bsky.social
Just a couple of lifers looking out for Los Angeles. Join us for architecture, crime, literature & history tours, preservation battles. Newsletter: http://esotouric.substack.com
Pinned
Los Angeles is confounding, by design, but it is not unknowable. These folks are telling real L.A. stories if you want to listen.
go.bsky.app/zi1abc
go.bsky.app/zi1abc
One tragic Hollywood block reveals how City policy fosters vacancy blight, fires and PTSD for the neighbors. Hernandez House was gorgeous, and the work done here to aid Angelenos living with AIDS shows how old houses can serve new needs. esotouric.substack.com/metalshutters
youtu.be/_N6wjJhvLxs
youtu.be/_N6wjJhvLxs
November 10, 2025 at 6:55 PM
One tragic Hollywood block reveals how City policy fosters vacancy blight, fires and PTSD for the neighbors. Hernandez House was gorgeous, and the work done here to aid Angelenos living with AIDS shows how old houses can serve new needs. esotouric.substack.com/metalshutters
youtu.be/_N6wjJhvLxs
youtu.be/_N6wjJhvLxs
When Gil Cedillo and Eunisses Hernandez refused to fight for the RSO tenants of Stires Staircase Bungalow Court, preservationists warned it could be demolished for nothing. Now the weedy lot is a $2.5M flip--no new housing, 10 units lost. esotouric.substack.com/metalshutters
youtu.be/6LV9lqFZl3U
youtu.be/6LV9lqFZl3U
When Will City Hall Act to Protect the Vacant, Arson-Threatened Hollywood Center Motel's 1901 Queen Anne Cottage and Surrounding Buildings?
We've got a suggestion, as seen at the well-secured former Off Vine Restaurant / Beryl Wallace Residence a few blocks east
esotouric.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:30 AM
When Gil Cedillo and Eunisses Hernandez refused to fight for the RSO tenants of Stires Staircase Bungalow Court, preservationists warned it could be demolished for nothing. Now the weedy lot is a $2.5M flip--no new housing, 10 units lost. esotouric.substack.com/metalshutters
youtu.be/6LV9lqFZl3U
youtu.be/6LV9lqFZl3U
Tut-inspired Egyptomania hit Southern California multi-family development hard, then faded fast. A hundred years on, in the Golden Hour, Westlake on the Nile (1925) still looks like a million bucks.
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...?
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...?
November 10, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Tut-inspired Egyptomania hit Southern California multi-family development hard, then faded fast. A hundred years on, in the Golden Hour, Westlake on the Nile (1925) still looks like a million bucks.
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...?
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...?
On a special tour of the National Register Districts south of MacArthur Park, you'll thrill to the shenanigans of early Angelenos, and have a slice of Richard's birthday cake in a Gothic castle garden. Join us on a time travel trip! esotouric.com/event/richar...
November 10, 2025 at 12:19 AM
On a special tour of the National Register Districts south of MacArthur Park, you'll thrill to the shenanigans of early Angelenos, and have a slice of Richard's birthday cake in a Gothic castle garden. Join us on a time travel trip! esotouric.com/event/richar...
Burbank preservation pals: there's an opening on the Heritage Commission to serve through July 2026. www.burbankca.gov/newsroom/-/n... How refreshing to see an open call for an important position that is entirely the Mayor's purview in Los Angeles.
November 9, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Burbank preservation pals: there's an opening on the Heritage Commission to serve through July 2026. www.burbankca.gov/newsroom/-/n... How refreshing to see an open call for an important position that is entirely the Mayor's purview in Los Angeles.
Empty Los Angeles highlights vacant Franklin Village housing
www.emptylosangeles.com/p/three-conc...
The Carmen Ave. co-living pod with reported home-shares is across from illegal Airbnbs in RSO units from Robin Urevich's reporting. Where is the City Attorney? www.propublica.org/article/los-...
www.emptylosangeles.com/p/three-conc...
The Carmen Ave. co-living pod with reported home-shares is across from illegal Airbnbs in RSO units from Robin Urevich's reporting. Where is the City Attorney? www.propublica.org/article/los-...
November 9, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Empty Los Angeles highlights vacant Franklin Village housing
www.emptylosangeles.com/p/three-conc...
The Carmen Ave. co-living pod with reported home-shares is across from illegal Airbnbs in RSO units from Robin Urevich's reporting. Where is the City Attorney? www.propublica.org/article/los-...
www.emptylosangeles.com/p/three-conc...
The Carmen Ave. co-living pod with reported home-shares is across from illegal Airbnbs in RSO units from Robin Urevich's reporting. Where is the City Attorney? www.propublica.org/article/los-...
Walk ups are welcome for today's Highland Park Arroyo Time Travel Trip walking tour. We depart Lummis House at 10:30am to discover a rich vein of weird history and happy historic preservation stories--something we all can use right now. esotouric.com/event/arroyo...
HIGHLAND PARK ARROYO TIME TRAVEL TRIP WALKING TOUR
Visit the post for more.
esotouric.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Walk ups are welcome for today's Highland Park Arroyo Time Travel Trip walking tour. We depart Lummis House at 10:30am to discover a rich vein of weird history and happy historic preservation stories--something we all can use right now. esotouric.com/event/arroyo...
When Will City Hall Act to Protect the Vacant, Arson-Threatened Hollywood Center Motel's 1901 Queen Anne Cottage and Surrounding Buildings?
Featuring raw footage of the Wilton Place victims' testimony of how City of LA incompetence wrecked their block.
esotouric.substack.com/metalshutters
Featuring raw footage of the Wilton Place victims' testimony of how City of LA incompetence wrecked their block.
esotouric.substack.com/metalshutters
November 8, 2025 at 5:06 AM
When Will City Hall Act to Protect the Vacant, Arson-Threatened Hollywood Center Motel's 1901 Queen Anne Cottage and Surrounding Buildings?
Featuring raw footage of the Wilton Place victims' testimony of how City of LA incompetence wrecked their block.
esotouric.substack.com/metalshutters
Featuring raw footage of the Wilton Place victims' testimony of how City of LA incompetence wrecked their block.
esotouric.substack.com/metalshutters
In 2023, Friends of Griffith Park and the Griffith Trust sued to halt destruction of 16 acres of native California chaparral for new LA Zoo event space. friendsofgriffithpark.org/la-zoo-expan... They won--but at enormous cost. Why is the City so stubborn? cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkc...
November 8, 2025 at 3:05 AM
In 2023, Friends of Griffith Park and the Griffith Trust sued to halt destruction of 16 acres of native California chaparral for new LA Zoo event space. friendsofgriffithpark.org/la-zoo-expan... They won--but at enormous cost. Why is the City so stubborn? cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkc...
Bunker Hill historian (and Angels Flight operator) Nathan Marsak debunks the myth that Big Oil and GM killed L.A.'s streetcar. Maybe the real conspiracy is all the misinformation spewed by people who should have known better. bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2025/11/02/n...
November 8, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Bunker Hill historian (and Angels Flight operator) Nathan Marsak debunks the myth that Big Oil and GM killed L.A.'s streetcar. Maybe the real conspiracy is all the misinformation spewed by people who should have known better. bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2025/11/02/n...
Saturday: join us on the Highland Park Arroyo tour, featuring gorgeous landmark houses and the fascinating L.A. characters who built/saved them, plus weird tales of battling neighbors, salvaged signage, real estate hustles, abandoned mansions and more. esotouric.com/event/arroyo...
HIGHLAND PARK ARROYO TIME TRAVEL TRIP WALKING TOUR
Visit the post for more.
esotouric.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Saturday: join us on the Highland Park Arroyo tour, featuring gorgeous landmark houses and the fascinating L.A. characters who built/saved them, plus weird tales of battling neighbors, salvaged signage, real estate hustles, abandoned mansions and more. esotouric.com/event/arroyo...
Flashback: it wasn't long after we started giving tours that concerned City staff reached out for help. Our work fighting Antonio Villaraigosa's LAPL austerity plan helped armor the library against future cuts, and secured a safe space for all who need it. web.archive.org/web/20080919...
We Did It, We Saved LAPL! | Save The LA Public Library
web.archive.org
November 7, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Flashback: it wasn't long after we started giving tours that concerned City staff reached out for help. Our work fighting Antonio Villaraigosa's LAPL austerity plan helped armor the library against future cuts, and secured a safe space for all who need it. web.archive.org/web/20080919...
In front of Millard Sheets’ landmarked Hollywood Home Savings, Paul Manship's abducted Europa gazes on her modern sisters.
November 7, 2025 at 7:17 PM
In front of Millard Sheets’ landmarked Hollywood Home Savings, Paul Manship's abducted Europa gazes on her modern sisters.
A rare South LA bungalow court with its original built-ins just listed. These cozy early 1920s multi-family properties were built quickly and flipped as investments, and 100 years later they're still such nice places to live.
www.loopnet.com/Listing/1462...
www.loopnet.com/Listing/1462...
November 7, 2025 at 2:46 AM
A rare South LA bungalow court with its original built-ins just listed. These cozy early 1920s multi-family properties were built quickly and flipped as investments, and 100 years later they're still such nice places to live.
www.loopnet.com/Listing/1462...
www.loopnet.com/Listing/1462...
Big Hollywood restoration news: here's the Earl Carroll's newly painted facade which replicates the original 1938 color scheme of different shades of green meant to evoke speed when viewed from a moving vehicle. Coming soon: the neon face of Beryl Wallace! esotouric.substack.com/earlcarroll
November 6, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Big Hollywood restoration news: here's the Earl Carroll's newly painted facade which replicates the original 1938 color scheme of different shades of green meant to evoke speed when viewed from a moving vehicle. Coming soon: the neon face of Beryl Wallace! esotouric.substack.com/earlcarroll
At 10am, it's a Very Brady Cultural Heritage Commission Hearing, with consideration of the Brady Bunch house production set simulacrum interior remodel, plus King Taco #1 and the brutalist Sunkist Building. All owner nominated and likely to move forward.
ens.lacity.org/pln/heritage...
ens.lacity.org/pln/heritage...
November 6, 2025 at 5:06 PM
At 10am, it's a Very Brady Cultural Heritage Commission Hearing, with consideration of the Brady Bunch house production set simulacrum interior remodel, plus King Taco #1 and the brutalist Sunkist Building. All owner nominated and likely to move forward.
ens.lacity.org/pln/heritage...
ens.lacity.org/pln/heritage...
At 10am, it's a Very Brady Cultural Heritage Commission Hearing, with consideration of the Brady Bunch house production set simulacrum interior remodel, plus King Taco #1 and the brutalist Sunkist Building. All owner nominated and likely to move forward.
ens.lacity.org/pln/heritage...
ens.lacity.org/pln/heritage...
November 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
At 10am, it's a Very Brady Cultural Heritage Commission Hearing, with consideration of the Brady Bunch house production set simulacrum interior remodel, plus King Taco #1 and the brutalist Sunkist Building. All owner nominated and likely to move forward.
ens.lacity.org/pln/heritage...
ens.lacity.org/pln/heritage...
A year ago, the cost to the General Services Fund to symbolically illuminate Los Angeles City Hall for one night was $438. It is now $1462. What has changed? cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkc...
November 6, 2025 at 4:35 PM
A year ago, the cost to the General Services Fund to symbolically illuminate Los Angeles City Hall for one night was $438. It is now $1462. What has changed? cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkc...
Fascinating story from Joel Rosenblatt in the Gazetteer SF about Burlington Hotel owner Simone Shah’s efforts to remodel the Red Vic hotel on Haight Street and some insights into why she sued Lisa Kwon for her reporting in Los Angeles.
sf.gazetteer.co/resurrecting...
sf.gazetteer.co/resurrecting...
November 6, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Fascinating story from Joel Rosenblatt in the Gazetteer SF about Burlington Hotel owner Simone Shah’s efforts to remodel the Red Vic hotel on Haight Street and some insights into why she sued Lisa Kwon for her reporting in Los Angeles.
sf.gazetteer.co/resurrecting...
sf.gazetteer.co/resurrecting...
The most beautiful tire plant in the world is all tarted up like a gift for Los Angeles. Happy Citadel Outlets Decoration Season!
November 5, 2025 at 7:11 PM
The most beautiful tire plant in the world is all tarted up like a gift for Los Angeles. Happy Citadel Outlets Decoration Season!
The Yimby movement's pathological hatred of historic preservation has no place in municipal government. How much longer will Jesse Zwick's professional conflicts gum up Santa Monica's works? smdp.com/government-p...
smdp.com/opinion/recu...
smdp.com/opinion/recu...
November 5, 2025 at 2:48 AM
The Yimby movement's pathological hatred of historic preservation has no place in municipal government. How much longer will Jesse Zwick's professional conflicts gum up Santa Monica's works? smdp.com/government-p...
smdp.com/opinion/recu...
smdp.com/opinion/recu...
Saved from demolition! Plans filed to turn Route 66 Eagle Rock landmark Jay Risk Standard Oil Co. Service Station, one of the oldest in the nation (esotouric.com/standard), into a tiny office, with Office of Historic Resources to okay any new signage.
planning.lacity.gov/pdiscaseinfo...
planning.lacity.gov/pdiscaseinfo...
November 5, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Saved from demolition! Plans filed to turn Route 66 Eagle Rock landmark Jay Risk Standard Oil Co. Service Station, one of the oldest in the nation (esotouric.com/standard), into a tiny office, with Office of Historic Resources to okay any new signage.
planning.lacity.gov/pdiscaseinfo...
planning.lacity.gov/pdiscaseinfo...
SCOOP! Curren Price pre-trial hearing status report: large turnout waits in silence for two hours with no communication from judge Sean D. Coen, he calls counsel into chambers, bailiff tosses everyone out. Price's attorney tells us: we'll be back in the same courtroom on 12/11.
November 4, 2025 at 7:06 PM
SCOOP! Curren Price pre-trial hearing status report: large turnout waits in silence for two hours with no communication from judge Sean D. Coen, he calls counsel into chambers, bailiff tosses everyone out. Price's attorney tells us: we'll be back in the same courtroom on 12/11.
L.A.'s riff on the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus obscured.
November 4, 2025 at 3:43 PM
L.A.'s riff on the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus obscured.
Empty rent controlled units in Hollywood, vacated by councilmember Curren Price's wife Del Richardson to clear the way for the Crossroads of the World project. Price did not disclose financial interest, voted against landmarking.
November 4, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Empty rent controlled units in Hollywood, vacated by councilmember Curren Price's wife Del Richardson to clear the way for the Crossroads of the World project. Price did not disclose financial interest, voted against landmarking.