Episode #122: Bunker Hill & The French Village: Two Lost Los Angeles Neighborhoods Taken By Eminent Domain

You Can't Eat the Sunshine

6655 Alta Loma Terrace. 1923. Ray G. Smith, architect.

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Join us this month as we talk with Gordon Pattison, Bunker Hill native son, about the reopening of Angels Flight Railway and other ways in which his lost Victorian neighborhood survives. We’ll also visit with Elona Anthony, to hear about how her late husband Steven took on the Los Angeles establishment in a one-man battle against the eminent domain seizure that threatened his beloved storybook cottage. Hollywood museums, land grabs, ideological zealots, police surveillance, historic preservation: The Siege of Fort Anthony is a complex and powerful story that is as relevant today as it was in 1964.

We’ll also talk about the L.A. Weekly’s 2017 Best of L.A. selection of this show as “Best Podcast About L.A. History” (yay!), concerns raised about the proposed Crossroads of the World mega-project, tenants complain of alterations to Rudolph Schindler’s landmarked Sachs Apartments, Craig Sauer’s new 3-D scan of Lloyd Wright’s Sowden House, how the interior of John C. Austin’s 1902 Hiram Higgins house was ruined, Ports O’ Call shopkeepers suing over redevelopment evictions, public outcry against rezoning threat in Burbank’s sleepy Rancho District, a modest proposal to do something more public with the 1870 Merced Theater, CBS Television City is the newest Pereira in peril and the historic 1920s El Cid facade is partially demolished. Plus two exciting new videos from The Cranky Preservationist, who is cranky about Parker Center’s pending demolition, and the loss of public access to Kay Martin’s Bunker Hill paintings.

Closely watched trains:

L.A. Weekly 2017 Best of L.A. – Best Podcast About L.A. History is our own You Can’t Eat the Sunshine

Preservationists and Cultural Heritage Commission express concerns about proposed Crossroads of the World mega-project.

Tenants raise the alarm over alterations to Rudolph Schindler’s Sachs Apartments, a city landmark.

Explore an L.A. landmark in 3-D #6: Lloyd Wright’s Sowden House, Mayan Art Deco marvel or Black Dahlia crime scene?

If you ever wondered why Los Angeles needs an interior landmarking ordinance, the ruin of John C. Austin’s 1902 Hiram Higgins house tells the tale.

In the face of redevelopment, the historic Ports O’ Call shopkeepers are fighting, and suing, to protect their livelihoods. The Port of L.A. can afford to help these little fish.

Burbank’s sleepy Rancho District under rezoning threat as longtime Pickwick Bowl / Viva Cantina owners seek to cash out. Petition link.

Since funding has stalled for the plan to turn the 1870 Merced Theater into a modern TV studio, why not aim for a more public use. Restaurant? Hostel? More on the theater here.

File under: (yet another) Pereira in Peril. CBS Television City to be redeveloped?

Eater LA picked up on our scoop on the demolition of a third of El Cid’s historic facade, got a quote.

The Cranky Preservationist, who loves Los Angeles and HATES what you’re doing to it, returns! Episode 10: Have You Hugged Your Parker Center Today Blues (on Facebook or YouTube). Episode 11: Kay Martin’s Lost Bunker Hill Paintings Blues (Facebook, YouTube).

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