🌟 Editor's Note
To be honest, these past few heat waves have made this not the most fun time of year to be exploring SoCal. In the California Naturalist class I took last year I learned that animals do a thing called aestivation, which is basically like hibernation but for the heat. I’ve been trying to do the same but I was still able to find you a historic tree to visit in Paramount, as well as a few other outings.
My map of obscure landmarks I’ve visited or would like to visit.
Thank you to everyone who came to my Obscure Landmark talks at the Philosophical Research Society and San Fernando Valley Historical Society last month. I never thought I’d get to incorporate Glenn Danzig’s house into an informative lecture, but the people need to know. I have another one focusing on the Universal City area at Campo De Caheunga on October 4th which is free. Hopefully next month’s newsletter will be ready in time to remind you.
Obscure Viewing: The Paley Archive for Media at the Beverly Hills Library
The programs in the Paley Archive can only be viewed in-person at the library.
The Paley Archive for Media preserves and makes accessible historic television and radio broadcasts from throughout the twentieth century and beyond. They operated out of a museum on Little Santa Monica for years but reopened at the Beverly Hills Library this past March. A real gem for LA heads is their archive of KTLA news programs. Marty at the front desk is very helpful and within minutes helped me find a show called “City at Night” and their 1963 special about Bunker Hill’s redevelopment. My favorite part was the POV ride up Angels Flight before it was relocated. After that I watched a Byrds performance on Playboy After Dark from 1969.
Obscure Deal: Meet Me at The Mary
The Queen Mary’s Observation Bar
The Queen Mary isn’t exactly obscure, but the fact that it usually costs money just to get on board means I had never actually been there until recently. A few weeks ago my girlfriend surprised me with a date night (afternoon) aboard the ship and a visit to its restored art deco Observation Bar. The greatest surprise for me, however, was when she informed me that our admission to the ship was free. On Tuesdays they have a promotion called Meet Me at The Mary which allows you to visit the ship gratis providing you pay for parking and order something from the bar. After we finished our drinks we were pretty much able to wonder the entire vessel without interruption. It’s definitely haunted. The only drawback is that most of The Queen Mary is not air conditioned, a reminder that things just didn’t used to be so hot.
Obscure Tree: The Hay Tree
Beautiful Downtown Paramount’s Hay Tree
Prior to being incorporated into the city of Paramount in 1948, the towns of Hynes and Clearwater were known as the “Hay Capital of World”. Each morning farmers from around the area would gather under the historic camphor tree to determine the day’s hay price for the region’s many commercial dairy farms. That price was then quoted and used to set the price of hay in markets around the world. By the 60’s and 70’s the farmers moved out and suburbanites moved in. Today the cows are gone, Hynes and Clearwater are gone, but the mighty tree remains.
Obscure Photos: Adam’s Hollywood
The opening reception will be Sunday September 7, with additional events on September 28 and October 19 TBD.
It happened to Papa Cristo, it happened to Genghis Cohen, and now it’s happening to me. After seven years of enjoying very reasonable rent on an office space at Hollywood Boulevard’s Artisan’s Patio, the rent is doubling and it’s time to move on. The story of greedy property owners squeezing small businesses is nothing new, but it’s still a bummer to be on the receiving end of the squeeze. As a means of saying farewell I’ve staged a photo exhibition of photo’s I’ve taken while working in the neighborhood. It’s mostly street photography and portraiture- slice of life kind of stuff.
The opening reception is this coming Sunday, September 7th from 3pm-6pm and I’ll be giving a free mini-walking tour around 4:30pm. There will be additional events on September 28th and October 19th TBD so keep an eye on my instagram for updates. The show is also open by appointment to email me here if you’d like to set one up.
Obscure Disaster: The Sylmar Tunnel Explosion
The sealed off tunnel located near Maclay Street and Fenton Ave.
I was surprised more people at the SFVHS hadn’t heard of this, but in 1971 Sylmar saw one of the worst tunnel disasters in California history. The project was being built for the Metropolitan Water District by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company in order to bring water to parched Southern California. As a result of that year’s earthquake, methane gas began seeping into the tunnel at an increased rate. However, the contractor ignored warnings and failed to update the ventilation system. Finally on June 24th the whole thing exploded, killing 17 construction workers.
The disaster directly led to the creation of Cal-OSHA, increasing safety for all workers in California. The project was never completed and you can still view the sealed off tunnel on the edge of a residential neighborhood located near Maclay Street and Fenton Ave.
Precast tunnel segments from the uncompleted project, sitting abandoned fifty years later.
Buy The Book
It’s never too early to think about holiday shopping, and this book is a no brainier. It’s filled with factoids about both well known and obscure landmarks and even includes tips on where to park. You can get it from me directly here.
That’s all for now. If you’re a social media user feel free to follow me @adampapagan. And as always if you would not like to receive this newsletter simply unsubscribe.
