The Ford Theatre is the unsung little cousin to the Hollywood Bowl... 1,200 cozy seats in a hillside. Built for the Pilgrimage Play in 1920, it was rebuilt after a '29 fire. Seeing X there in 1990, friends with no tickets experienced the show from the hiking trail to the east.

One reason I love LA is being able to walk -- and sit -- in the company of luminary ghosts. At a recent Dan Tana's visit, we sat in the "Joni Mitchell" booth. The booth next to it graces the photo of Art Garfunkel's "Breakaway" (1975). Helena Kallianiotes (Five Easy Pieces) is the gal with the cig.

This Spinal Tap pic at Sherman Oaks' old Moby Disc in 1983 hits hard. Loved this place. In 1984, I was listening to an LP at the front counter and, 2 feet from me, witnessed an armed robber holding up the store. I spoke to cops after. Dude was robbing record stores along Ventura!

GEO-QUIZ Answer: Many folks pinned the area where this is: The huge hedge is part of the "Great Wall of Bezos" -- nickname for the 20-foot privacy hedge that lines Jeff Bezos' estate on Angelo Drive. Reports are that he simply pays hefty monthly fines to Beverly Hills to maintain its height.

GEO-QUIZ: Where in the Greater LA area is this?

UNREMARKABLE POSTCARD SERIES, No. 113. Sunland, Calif. 1960s. *Shopping Bag market became Vons

This 2016 NPS map shows the ranges of then-known mountain lions in LA/Ventura Counties. Red circle on right was P-22's tiny domain. Elongated blue is Verdugo Mtns., where pumas also range. Santa Monica is at the bottom. Its recent puma was relocated to the westerly Santa Monica Mtns.

The Bay Theatre in Seal Beach (est. 1946) was an early SoCal theater to offer revivals & art flicks. Spielberg was a "frequent attendee" while at CSU Long Beach. Just saw "The Graduate" there and was enamored by elevated angled single seats along the walls. Quirky & ingenious!

June Gloom (after a solid May Gray) delivered today. To those who grumble they want sunshine every day: You better hope overcast conditions persist this time every year. As oceans warm, atmospheric conditions will lead to no cooling marine layers. Without it, our city is Phoenix.

The first LA Erewhon (in 1969) was near the current one on Beverly Blvd. during the organic/macrobiotic foods movement. Founded by Michio & Aveline Kushi, it included many Japanese staples. After bankruptcies & ownership changes, it became the unlikely luxury empire it is today.

It's been a busy spring for squirrel couplings in Griffith Park. Little critters all up and down the trail along Zoo Drive.

Posting a 1964 decree from CA civil engineers on urban planning: "Autos enable housewives to hop in the car and drive to the market instead of trudging a couple blocks to the corner store... allowing for longer city blocks and wider streets." And you wonder how we got here.

Not enough folks talk about Colombo's in Eagle Rock. Sure, there's better Italian-American fare in LA, but the prices and drinks are great and you can feel the family touch in its warm setting. Founded by Sam & Ann Colombo in 1954, now run by their nephew Vic. Live jazz too.

A top Dodger minor-league player was injured avoiding a "bat dog" running onto the field. Remember the 2002 World Series when manager Dusty Baker made his 3-year-old son a bat boy? JT Snow grabbed him during a live play to avoid being crushed. Love kids & dogs but not for baseball!

Nice to see this updated blue sign on San Francisquito Cyn. Rd. marking the 450+ dead from the collapse of the St. Francis Dam in 1928. The sign acknowledges designer Mulholland visited the dam earlier that day... then blew off its leaks. A more visible memorial is in the works.

When I worked at the E! Building one block from the La Brea Tar Pits, tar seeped thru the walls of the parking garage, closing off spaces. It was barreled up & hauled off. Wilshire continues to have random seepage, and leave it to LA for someone make sidewalk art out of the goo.

One thing I love about "ET" is how it time-freezes the last gasp of subdivisions in LA's hills & Valley. I related to riding bikes with friends over graded terraces for homes, making jumps out of plywood. This intersection is at Beaufait & Darby in Porter Ranch (1982 vs. 2022).

I found this in an old wallet. What do I do with it? Keep it, toss it, or introduce it to my old Student IDs, Nautilus gym pass, and Radio Shack Free-Battery-of-the-Month Club card?

In 2013, my family stayed at the resorts in Primm, NV. It was weirdly dead. The Desperado roller coaster reached 80 mph yet was so rickety, we had headaches all afternoon. The monorail later broke down too. Glad I experienced it, but it seemed even then its days were numbered.

A huge thanks to the gang at the San Marino Historical Society for hosting the stellar turnout last night for my "Inventing Paradise" talk. Much of my research for the book was at The Huntington, so it was cool to bring it full circle in what was once literally Henry's backyard.

"You have arrived!" The phrase greeted tourists on Rodeo Drive in the '90s/2000s. The "ambassador" donning a top hat & red jacket was Gregg Donovan, a one-time valet for Bob Hope. He lost his job in 2011 when the Beverly Hills Visitors Bureau said it could no longer afford him.

The D Line extension under Wilshire Blvd. is a nice antidote to Wilshire's origin as a cars-only haven that shunned railways. Dept. stores built entryways from their parking lots and Wilshire was the first US street to have dedicated left turn lanes and timed traffic signals.

One of my favorite interactive maps is this one by TreePeople, which tracks tree canopies by zip code in LA County. 19.94% of the county is covered by trees. US Forest Service sets 30% as an ideal baseline for equitable nature access and the environment. treepeople.org/los-angeles-...

Before Warner Bros. characters took over the park, Magic Mountain had its own trolls: Bloop, Bleep, King Blop & The Wizard. 18-year-old Debra Winger's first "acting job" was as a troll. But she fell off a park truck, resulting in temporary paralysis and 10 mos. of blindness.

Magic Mountain used to have a whole Chinese-themed hilltop: Samurai Summit, Magic Pagoda, and a funicular called The Dragon, which transported guests up & down the hill. When the Ninja roller coaster was built, part of Dragon's infrastructure was integrated into the line queue.

This morning, I went for walk with a coyote and a goose. Just another day in LA.

Hey LA, remember whimsy? Burbank does. First time at Broken Compass Tiki and -- avast! -- the fish 'n' chips and "grog" alone are on par with the decor. This place rocks.

My next book event for "Inventing Paradise" is May 18, Monday, 7 pm, San Marino Historical Society (1800 Huntington Dr.). Henry Huntington & other early LA titans will be discussed & books shall be signed. Free. RSVPs not necessary but encouraged at: [email protected]

American Cinematheque has a VERY LA pre-movie card. There are references to 35mm and 70mm movie formats, AC's three movie venues, Z Channel (LA's '70s/'80s pioneering movie channel with similar fare to AC), and the movie we were about to watch. Well done, @amcinematheque.bsky.social

Wild turkeys went extinct in California 10,000 years ago. Fish & Game tried reintroducing them in the 1900s. Breeding worked in central & northern Calif. (turkeys are hardcore!) Here in LA, they never took, but Elysian Park once hosted captive turkey shoots at its Revolver Club.

In August 1969, LA feted the Apollo 11 astronauts at the Century Plaza Hotel. Activists marched outside to protest that Americans getting killed in Vietnam was a far bigger story. It was mostly orderly, though several hippies went for a dip in the fountain on Ave. of the Stars.

Of the Griffith Park landmarks of my youth that are either shuttered or gone (merry-go-round, Pony Rides, Mulholland Fountain, pool), it's nice that some of the original, charming LA Zoo parking lot signs still exist in their weathered glory... though half of them are now MIA.

During the Cold War Era, the iconic tower at Farmers Market featured Civil Defense air raid sirens. Thru the mid-'70s, LA still tested its citywide sirens with deafening wails at 10 am, last Friday of each month, forcing us WeHo Elementary kids to clench our hands to our ears.

We are almost 2 years out from the Olympics, and still no mascot yet. 🤔 Whatever it ends up being (cougar, bear, etc.), LA28 should create a map like this Thomas Guide one from 1984, where Sam the Eagle competes in every event! (He was created, BTW, by Disney artist Bob Moore.)

The Shell station at 1638 N. San Fernando Rd. in Burbank. Is it just me, or is this sign a little heavy on the flex?

One day I'd love to host semi-regular "LA Rooftop Concerts" at my house. For now, it's just me. 😏 This is a punky tribute to my late, no-BS Pops -- born this month in 1925. I tried to capture some of his trademark truisms and habits. His name was Jack. This is “Son of Jack.”

I've cracked the code on Courage Bagels... These guys open at 7 am... great for this early riser. There were a few folks waiting for them to open today, but even by 7:30 am, when I finished my delicious Burnt-Everything Bagel brekkie, there was NO LINE.

When it opened in 1972, the Century Plitt had a roped-off cocktail section (novel at the time) and massive airy lobby. Along w/the 2,000-seat auditorium, it was ideal for premieres & Filmex film festival. All the reds & oranges were Kubrick-esque. Makes me miss Cinerama Dome even more.

I'm late to the game, but I just tried my first Rico Tejuino at a roadside vendor in the Valley. I love horchatas, but the fermented corn (instead of rice) opened up a whole new world to my taste buds. Where has this been my whole life?

"I'm still standing": The 10 cities in LA County incorporated in the 19th Century. 1. Pasadena (1886) 2. Santa Monica (1886) 3. Monrovia (1887) 4. Pomona (1888) 5. Long Beach (1888) 6. South Pas (1888) 7. Compton (1888) 8. Redondo Beach (1892) 9. Whittier (1898) 10. Azusa (1898)

The craggy landscape of the western Santa Monica Mountains are like real-life backdrops of Disneyland's Big Thunder Mtn. Railroad. Just off the Backbone Trail, Balanced Rock overlooks the Echo Cliffs, accessible through Split Rock.

The salvage yard in the '70s sitcom "Sanford and Son" was fictionally set at 9114 South Central Avenue. Its real-life location (a junk store) was 10659 W. Magnolia Blvd. in North Hollywood. It was torn down & replaced in 1989. I can't NOT hear the theme music seeing the 1st pic.

As one still mourning the closure of the Reel Inn, it's nice to know Malibu Seafood is still around, virtually unchanged from the early '70s. For gray days like this, their expansive patio is a good excuse to indulge in some clam chowder and fish & chips and watch the surf.

I've always thought one of the coolest stretches of freeway is the 134 West thru Eagle Rock, with views of DTLA, the ocean, and Griffith Observatory on clear days. Just north of the freeway, Scholl Canyon Trail in Glendale is a higher perch of the view with a bit more quietude.

Palms is not just one of the oldest hoods on the Westside, it's also the birthplace of BMX, aka Bicycle Moto-Cross, which took off in 1969. That year, Rec & Parks' Ron Mackler organized youth dirt bike racing at Palms Park and gave out awards. Today BMX is a $500M+ industry.

Happy Earth Day! It's hard to overstate how big the first one was in 1970. 20 million Americans demonstrated (10% of the population), which is still a record for the largest single-day protest in US history. Smog-choked LA had some of the biggest turnouts from schools & colleges.

1916 southerly view of Inceville, named after silent movie mogul Thomas Ince. Its 18K-acres of sets & stages sat at the nexus of today's Sunset & PCH. In an omen of the future, fires often ravaged the studio, selling it to William S. Hart, who renamed it Hartville & also sold it.

Raise a hand if you remember racy airline ads on TV and periodicals. In an era before frequent flier rewards, stewardesses were the '70s version of loyalty programs.

UNREMARKABLE POSTCARD SERIES, No. 189. Malibu, Calif. 1960s.

Pick a book... any book... What a blast. Great weather, great turnout for this year's LA Times Festival of Books. Thank you to all followers who came by to rap with this LA Dork! 🙏