Night time of the Orpheum marquee, a multi-colored neon sign with a LED screen advertising the LA Conservancy event. Above is a long blade style sign also reading Orpheum.

Behind the Curtain of LA’s Century Old Orpheum Theatre

June 10, 2026, Leave a Comment on Behind the Curtain of LA’s Century Old Orpheum Theatre

Downtown Los Angeles was once home to dozens of theatres, often grand movie palaces that look like they are right out of a fairy tale. As the decades went on, these once glittering monuments to the silver screen fell by the wayside, abandoned, bulldozed, or converted into stores. Today a handful cling to life, typically…

Portion of the exterior, featuring a pyramid tower and statues over the doorway.

Exploring LA’s 100 Year Old Central Library

June 3, 2026, 3 Comments

Located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles is a true beacon for Angelenos, the Los Angeles Central Library. This year, the iconic Art Deco buildings turns 100. Filled with not just books, but galleries, murals, and unique artifacts, one can learn about its history through free docent led tours, which Patrick and I did…

Angled view of Johnie's Coffee Shop, a blue and stripe butterfly roof hangs low, with red letters reading "Johnie's Coffee Shop and Restaurant"

Step Inside the Googie Masterpiece Johnie’s Coffee Shop Thanks to Artist Gary Baseman

May 21, 2026, 2 Comments

Every time I would visit the Petersen Automotive Museum or the Academy Museum I would gaze longingly at Johnie’s Coffee Shop. The red, white, and blue Googie masterpiece has sat empty since 2000, and I longed to step inside. Well, I finally got that chance, thanks to artist Gary Baseman. Baseman was born in LA…

Myself wearing an American flag inspired jacket and vintage bicentennial tee featuring Washing crossing the Delaware, and red corduroy pants.

Muzeo Reflects on America’s Bicentennial & Anaheim’s Skateboarding History

May 19, 2026, Leave a Comment on Muzeo Reflects on America’s Bicentennial & Anaheim’s Skateboarding History

This year marks America’s semiquincentennial, or to put it plainly, 250th anniversary. Anaheim’s local museum, the Muzeo, put together a small exhibit showing off the American pride we had back in 1976, when it was the bicentennial. As a lover of the kitsch that resulted from that, I was eager to check it out and…

Straight on view of the Victorian, a large, three story Victorian style building, painted a pale green with white trim, with bay windows and turrets on each side, a large square bay window above the door, and a small cupola at the top in the middle.

Risen From the Dead: The Victorian Mansion Frankenstein’ed from Bunker Hill Homes and a Catholic Poor House

May 6, 2026, Leave a Comment on Risen From the Dead: The Victorian Mansion Frankenstein’ed from Bunker Hill Homes and a Catholic Poor House

The other day Patrick and I were driving in an area of the Valley we don’t often find ourselves in, and we stumbled upon the most bizarre Victorian monstrosity. A quick turn around and we stood beneath a towering building simply dubbed The Victorian. My brain was boggled, because while elements certainly seemed genuine from…

The Jolly Trolley, a red and yellow trolley rides the tracks of Toontown.

Travel Back to Disneyland in the 90s

April 22, 2026, Leave a Comment on Travel Back to Disneyland in the 90s

Being a millennial means my childhood, and a fair amount of my teenage years were captured on film. Recently I stumbled across a collection of photos from visits to Disneyland made in the early 1990s. Awhile ago I shared photos of a visit to Universal in 1997, and I thought let’s do that again, but…

Full exterior view of Idle Hour, in the center is a large barrel with smaller buildings attached at either side.

Idle Hour: Eat Inside a Giant Hidden Dog at California’s Last Barrel Restaurant

April 15, 2026, Leave a Comment on Idle Hour: Eat Inside a Giant Hidden Dog at California’s Last Barrel Restaurant

As many of you know I’m an architecture junkie, and one of my favorite forms of architecture is programmatic, or fondly known as “California Crazy” that is to say, buildings that are constructed to look like something, which California was wildly known for. Sadly, there are very few examples left, but at Idle Hour you…

Straight on view as seen from a grassy hill next to the pool, a two story Spanish Revival style building with red tile roof sits in the middle, and is flanked by arched arcades on either side with the long empty pool in front.

Griffith Park’s Abandoned 1920s Pool Waits in the Wings for a Second Act

April 8, 2026, 1 Comment

Spanning five square miles, there is something for everyone at Griffith Park. Visitors can hike the miles of trails, visit multiple museums, learn about the stars at the observatory, get up close and personal with animals at the zoo, and enjoy the variety of recreation facilities. But in 2020 it lost something, the Griffith Park…

Myself, seated at the counter with a mural of a beach with surfboards sticking up in the sand is behind me.

Chili John’s: The 80 Year Old Diner Beloved by Food Critics and Hollywood Alike

April 1, 2026, Leave a Comment on Chili John’s: The 80 Year Old Diner Beloved by Food Critics and Hollywood Alike

I’m not quite sure how to put into words what walking into Chili John’s is like…except it’s somehow magical. There are few places that feel as honest, warm, yet also bit like the Twilight Zone. Chili John’s is one of those places. From its massive murals to its well worn linoleum to its cracked orange…

Inside Greystone Mansion: Money, Murder, and the Movies

March 25, 2026, 2 Comments

Looming over the luxurious city of Beverly Hills sits Greystone Mansion, a sprawling estate built by Los Angeles’ first oil tycoon family, the Dohenys. It is also home to one of Beverly Hills’ earliest scandals. Typically Greystone keeps its doors closed, with only a handful of exceptions. Thankfully my friend, Kristen, was able to secure…