Screencap: Men take a body out of the orange and blue Laff in the Dark building, covered in a white sheet.

Tracing the Journey of Mummified Outlaw Elmer McCurdy to the Long Beach Pike

June 26, 2019, 4 Comments

Last week I talked about the history of Long Beach’s infamous Pike, including the location being used in an episode of Charlie’s Angels and The Six Million Dollar Man. What I didn’t mention was that in the Charlie’s Angels episode, “To Kill an Angel,” a man’s body is found within the Pike’s Laff in the…

The Stunning Art Deco Theatre Hidden Inside Catalina’s Casino

June 5, 2019, 6 Comments

Our main reason for visiting Catalina was to attend Catalinaland, a presentation by Ambassador of Americana, and personal idol, Charles Phoenix. Phoenix was presenting his slideshow celebrating the island in the iconic Avalon Theatre, which is located within the Catalina Casino. When chewing gum king, William Wrigley Jr. opened his “Casino” on May 29, 1929,…

Exterior of the Catalina Island Museum, a small, cream stucco colored building.

Catalina Island: A Tale of Chewing Gum, Grave Robbing, and Movie Stars

June 3, 2019, 4 Comments

On Sunday, Patrick and I finally made it over to the little island of Catalina. If you aren’t familiar with California geography, Catalina is a small island, roughly 30 miles off the coast of Long Beach, accesible by ferry from a handful of ports on the mainland. At just under 75 square miles, about 4,000…

Myself standing in front of the old west medicine wagon sits in the middle of the parking lot. It is red and reads "Gower Gulch Medicinal Ointment" and has an image of an Indian wearing a headdress, wearing a black peasant top, and a green skirt with western images on it.

The Forgotten History of Gower Gulch, Hollywood’s Western Strip Mall

May 1, 2019, 9 Comments

Gower Gulch. Sounds like a small town in the deserts of Arizona, right? But you’d be wrong. It’s in fact a western themed small strip mall that sits at the corner of Gower and Sunset in the middle of Hollywood. But why a western theme? And just how did this corner get its name? The…

Me, standing in front of Pasadena City Hall, a tall, domed, Mediterranean style building, wearing a long pale green dress with small white flowers.

Stumbling Upon Pasadena’s Beautiful City Hall

March 26, 2019, 2 Comments

Last Sunday, Patrick and myself met up with some friends for tea at a tea room in Pasadena. Wanting to get out and wear my vintage Gunne Sax dresses more, I opted for one, and in walking from the parking structure to the tea room we stumbled upon the gorgeousness that is Pasadena’s City Hall,…

Myself standing outside the main doors, wearing a straw hat, a white peasant top, and maroon skirt that features gathering in an asymmetrical design.

The Outlet Mall Masquerading as an Assyrian Palace

February 5, 2019, 6 Comments

If you’ve ever driven along Interstate 5 through Commerce, just outside Los Angeles, you’ve likely spied a grand ancient looking palace and perhaps wondered “What on earth is that!?” Well, it’s an outlet mall actually. Yes, an outlet mall, known simply as The Citadel. But it wasn’t always that way. The building was actually built…

Exploring the Historic Santa Monica Pier

July 27, 2018, 2 Comments

Nothing quite says summer like a day at the beach, especially if that beach is lucky enough to have a pier filled with a carousel, roller coaster, games and more. Around the turn-of-the-century California’s coast was dotted with what was known at the time as “pleasure piers” a wooden boardwalk along the coast that offered…

The Packing House, a mission revival styling building with cream colored stucco and orange color domes. A large orange with "Sunkist" across it pops just slightly from the middle above the door.

The Food Hall Hiding Inside Anaheim’s Former Citrus Packing House

June 8, 2018, 9 Comments

Orange County. There is a reason it’s called that. It’s well known that the area that is now the Disneyland Resort was once orange groves, and well, that is what most of Anaheim was like. In the late 1800s and through the early part of the 20th century citrus was king here. And where did…

Fair Oaks Pharmacy neon sign, done in green, red, and white.

Sip Forgotten Soda Fountain Concoctions at Fair Oaks Pharmacy

May 2, 2018, 5 Comments

One of the new things to this version of Atomic Redhead is the addition of “Sleep & Eat” a section dedicated to the hotels and restaurants we visit. It should be noted that I am by no means a foodie, so these posts are not so much reviews, as they are going to be along…

Shields Date Garden

March 12, 2018, 5 Comments

Shields Date Garden has been on my radar for sometime, but there was always something else I wanted to do in and around Palm Springs more every time I was there! But this time I was hellbent on going and getting my hands on a famous date shake! Okay, so first, what is Shields Date…