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! 🙏

Buddy of mine in San Francisco boarding BART or whatever sent me this. Note the baseball cap and blue decor of this fare-dodger. So it's not enough to hate on Dodger fans up there. We're also criminals.🤨

Anyone attending the LA Times Festival of Books this weekend (Apr. 18-19) at USC? Great fun, and this will be my second visit selling my books. If you're there on Sunday (12 pm-5pm), I'll be at Booth 166 (Gold) in the Black Rose publishing booth. C'mon by and say hi!

Encino Velodrome, est. 1961, hosted the Olympic Trials in '68 but is graded subpar for Olympic events. Still, great memories seeing my cousins win bicycling championships there in the '70s. Dirt parking lot, rickety bleachers, nearby LA River for troublemaking was a teen's dream.

In Feb. 1978, rains caused a landslide at Verdugo Hills Cemetery, unearthing 100+ caskets. Some broke open, flooding Tujunga with corpses, one lodged into the entrance of a Von's. Spielberg later shot "E.T." here, then created the story for 1982's "Poltergeist"... just sayin'!

Built in 1965, the John Ferraro (DWP) Building is one of those LA buildings that still excites my imagination (and director Nolan's in "Inception"). Its floating fountains & cantilevered floors look different by the hour, from an era when DTLA civic projects could still inspire.

In 1972, city planners' vision "by 1990" included a people mover that would extend from Union Station to DTLA to South Park & keep going south to the Coliseum. Only a few elevated pedways got built, but the rapid transit lines foretold the A, B and D light rail lines of today.

In 1932, Tujunga was the last sizable territory (8.7 square miles) to merge with LA, but only after voting to reject annexation in 1930 and 1931. Even in '32, some Tujungians sued, claiming voting "irregularities." That & other dramas, part of my next book event this Sat., 1 pm.

So my 48 hr. ticket window just closed. Deets: -Gymnastics all sold out -Most womens sports 50%+ cheaper vs. mens -Higher-capacity venues = greater availability -Cheaper tix gone; had to settle for mid-tier -Spent $785 total on 4 tix (qualifying events in basketball & equestrian)

When I die and go to movie heaven, the entry will resemble Arclight Hollywood's erstwhile lobby with time for a dry martini in the upstairs lounge before the show and all the caramel corn/popcorn I can eat without gaining a pound (a la Defending Your life).

Is it a ghost snake? Nah, just 5-foot (!!)-long shedded snake skin I came across along the LA River in Glendale. Snake probably slithered out of the brush at North Atwater Park. Something this size, maybe a gopher or rattlesnake? (Rattlesnakes don't shed their rattles.)

Chatsworth Reservoir was a main water source for the Valley from 1920-1950. After the 1971 Sylmar Quake, the dam was considered not up to snuff & it was drained, leaving behind a small lake, part of an enclosed ecological preserve. It's open once a year by DWP: on Earth Day.

The National Women's Football League (full-tackle rules) ran from 1974 to 1988. The L.A. Dandelions, a founding team, played 'til '78 with home games often in Long Beach. Though players were barely paid, the WNBA and other women's pro sports often cite the NWFL as a trailblazer.

Brent’s Deli Northridge. Matzo chicken noodle soup with bagel crisps. Package of their rye bread to go. With each closing of iconic LA eateries, I'm doubling down on the ones I love.

1969 vs. 2026 photos show how vital it was that beloved Franklin Canyon was saved from development & a proposed highway thru it (its longer, lower reservoir, upper left, is now covered). Meanwhile, the canyon to the right was illegally bulldozed for today's Beverly Park estates.

GEO-QUIZ answer: Cabrillo Beach Pier (and seawall). One nice thing about the pier, which faces inland... no fishing license required. This gentleman reeled in a halibut just as I passed by (released in short order, with birds at the ready for their own claim).

GEO-QUIZ: Where in LA is LA Dork today?

It warmed my heart to hear Charley Steiner calling play by play with Rick Monday at the beginning of tonight's Dodger radio broadcast. Charley's been battling health problems for a couple years and is probably not up for the "full 9" yet, but he sounded energetic and sharp. 👏👊

LIFE magazine archives has some great photo spreads, like this one from 1969 showing high school fashions in LA, and elsewhere. These kids are so groovy, I feel like I've walked onto the campus of "Room 222," which was shot at LA schools (look it up, kids).

In 1927, Mack Sennett established his studio at today's Radford Studio Center, leading to the name Studio City for the Valley's latest suburb. Known for his Bathing Beauties, Sennett put 'em to work hawking lots from a kiosk next to his studio. These gals would crush selfies.

Stop Vine. Tracy & Monon. Los Feliz, CA.

When Edward Kienholz's "Back Seat Dodge '38" debuted at LACMA in 1966 as a comment on puritanical views of sex, it was considered so offensive, museum funding was threatened. LACMA agreed to open the car door to "peek in" only during specific times... adding, natch, to its allure.

A common site these days: Encountering others playing music out of portable bluetooth speakers while hiking in Griffith Park and on hillside trails. How we feeling about this?

Dodger Stadium, May 25, 1960, less than 2 years before its opening as tractors finish excavating a massive earth amphitheatre to start layering in tiers of stands.

Sunset Strip 1977, my after-shool hang from WeHo Elementary. Sun Bee Liquor, Licorice Pizza (pre-Ahhs), PowerBurger. I recall Filthy McNasty's (pre-Viper Room) had a pic of Filthy flipping you off, Tower Video still a nude club and a movie billboard later advertising "The Bitch."

S. Charles Lee designed some of LA's most iconic Art Deco theatres, but don't sleep on his Fox Wilshire, currently the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. Built in 1930, it opened with 2,296 seats and included glittery silver & black decor and a majestic proscenium/wide-screen.

Headed to Pedro last night at sundown via the 710 south. If you can stand all the trucks, casino signs, and lawyer billboards, you're rewarded with two gems as you drive over the Long Beach International Gateway and Vincent Thomas bridges before exiting Harbor Blvd. 👏

$40 million and 3 years to redo the Griffith Park pool... In the early 1920s, LA Memorial Coliseum was built in 2 years for $1 million ($19 million today). www.latimes.com/travel/story...

UNREMARKABLE POSTCARD SERIES, No. 111. Wilmington, Calif. 1960.

Kudos to the owners of High-Land dispensary on Highland Avenue in Hollywood. Anytime you can get your street to market your product, it's a win. How long before someone opens a pot shop on Stoner Ave. in West LA?

I've often wondered if tiny Paramount Drive in the Hollywood Hills was related to the studio. Well, it is, per LA Street Names' blog. It was named during a 1922 contest, the winning bid submitted by... a Paramount exec living nearby. Wonder what they'll call it if the merger goes thru.

Memo to Timothee Chalamet: I encourage him (and anyone else) to check out "Balanchine" this month at DTLA's B of A Plaza. Super-intimate theatre... the "worst" seat is like 12 feet away from the ballet dancers, allowing you to truly appreciate their skill & athleticism up close.

Great find by @martinturnbull.bsky.social of a Hollywood Bowl shuttle bus at 1628 N. El Centro. The googie bowling alley here (now LA Fitness) was unique. When you walked in, the floor went straight down the middle. There was a row of lanes on the left, another row of lanes on the right!

Opened in 1908, Silver Lake & Ivanhoe Reservoirs were like today's Franklin Cyn Reservoir -- unfenced, dirt shoreline, reeds. You could swim or fish for bass, and the city hosted fishing tournaments. The fence went up by WWII, owing to security concerns & cars often careening in.

The Sunset Strip Riots - 60 years ago - heralded an increasing generational gulf. An LAPD captain spoke for the Establishment when he called the protestors, "A thousand hoodlums living like bums in Hollywood, advocating such things as free love, legalized marijuana and abortion."

Regarding LA transit, one reason LA is so car-oriented is the feds. Under the Highway Act of 1956, the US supplied 90% of costs for interstates. States were incentivized to build freeways before the money went away. The 10 & 405 were rushed thru, displacing many in the process.

Well before the Noma scandal, the Paramour housed oil scion Daisy Canfield & screen star Antonio Moreno. Their marriage deteriorated (rumors were Moreno was gay). In 1933, Canfield and a young beau drove up to Mulholland at night. The car plummeted off a cliff and she died at 48.

In 1954, Post had the original trio of bears of Sugar Crisp cereal to drive around the Valley to promote it. They were named Dandy ("it's dandy!"), Handy ("also handy for a snack!"), and Candy ("or, eat it like candy!"). They melded into one bear -- Sugar Bear -- in the '60s.

Per Bam's 83 points, the greatest individual accomplishment I ever saw in person: On 12/20/05 at Staples, Kobe scored 62 points in 3 qtrs, outscoring the entire Mavs team! With a big lead, he sat for the 4th qtr. (His "81" game came later.) Greatest feat you've seen in person, any sport?

Remember when Phillips acquired Union 76? 76 was cherished in SoCal (esp. Dodger fans) but the corporate overlords demo'd 76 Ball signs and changed the color scheme from orange to unsettling blood-red -- company colors. After an outcry, by 2020 the old look was mostly restored.

2026 is America's 250th Birthday, but how many even know that? "Semiquincentennial" is a mouthful compared to "Bicentennial," and 200 is a nice round number, but in 1976, the Bicentennial spirit permeated everyday life beyond July 4th in a nation trying to shed its '70s malaise.

The L.A. Marathon ends at Ave. of the Stars in Century City but the street lacks the allure of yesteryear, when premieres & drive-up to ABC Entertainment Center (incl. Plitt & Shubert theaters) really did leave you starry-eyed. Century City's soul was razed along with it in 2004.

The LA Marathon at 9:15 am at Hollywood & Hillhurst. In possibly related news, Woodsy Owl was seen hitting the 'hoooch' in the Sunset Vons parking lot.

Belvedere Park (originally Soledad Park) in East L.A. dates to 1942 and was bifurcated by the Pomona Fwy in the 1960s but remains a gem. Grab yourself a burrito from La Azteca Tortilleria, eat it on the outdoor seating of the "floating" amphitheatre, and you can't have a bad day.