CHS Events in SoCal

June 1st is Nick Gabaldon Day in Santa Monica. Free surf lessons for all!

I'm not making that up.

The Black Surfers Collective will be at the Santa Monica beach from noon to midnight on June 1st, along with Heal the Bay and other groups. At the Inkwell, free surf lessons from 10 am to 1 pm (you must reserve in advance!)

Other activities are planned in the area and at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium to celebrate the life and legacy of the man considered to be the first African American surfer, Nick Gabaldon.

He died in 1951, but before that was a fixture of Santa Monica's Inkwell--the only area of beach open to African Americans back then.

Gabaldon went to SMHS and was killed while surfing--while doing what he loved, iow. He was 24 years old.

Here's an earlier post about him and the Inkwell.

Also--there'll be a screening of a new documentary on Gabaldan that day.

I was beginning to think that the California Historical Society had abandoned the Southland, deciding that real California History could not exist south of San Francisco. Fortunately, this is not the case.

Other events for next month:

• A preview of Western Art at the Autry Museum, all day on June 14th. Members of the Autry or the CHS get to see "Art of the West" before it opens to the public.

• A special performance on the life of Chief Justice David S. Terry, June 25 at 5:30, at the Reagan State Office Building, 300 S. Spring. More details here.

David Terry was California's Chief Justice in the late 1850s. While holding that position, he stabbed one Sterling Hopkins in the neck with a bowie knife. Hopkins lived and Terry was acquitted of charges. He later killed a State Senator in a duel outside of San Francisco--I think he was still a judge then too. He left California to fight on the side of the Confederacy in the Civil War.

Should be an interesting evening.

Boiler in a Craftsman Home

Just a quickie:

When a new owner took over a beautiful Victoria Park (West Adams) Craftsman less than ten years ago, there were five ancient boilers in the basement.

The new owner replaced them with this (obviously) strapped water heater, but I find myself wondering--as most Los Angeles area homeowners would, because we knew the changes we've had to make as earthquake safety regulations are passed--five ancient boilers standing on their wrought iron legs on the cement floor?

Were they original? (the house was built in 1911)

Were they ever strapped and secured? Did anyone ever check?

Since the house was bought and sold several times over the years, and since it was only given historical landmark status very recently, this puzzles me. But in a good way, because obviously nothing bad happened due to the boilers, and they do present an interesting piece of history.

I'll write more on this house later, when I've had a chance to look up more facts about the original owner.

Friendship Park Mosaic

It's actually the Friendship Pond mosaic, but it's at Friendship Park in San Pedro. On Mother's Day, this place had the best views and the most welcome breezes in town.

So it's not too arty, but it was an unexpected little surprise, just outside the Nature Center in the park--where you can see snakes, toads, tarantulas, lizards, and more (oh, joy!) as well as skeletons and a stuffed owl and raccoon.

The only tricky part of visiting this place is that the access road (just off 9th Street, just west of Western Avenue) is closed off at sunset each night.

Deane Dana was the County Supervisor when the Nature Center was built, and when this mosaic was installed--hence the dedication in the right lower corner. This is actually the Deane Dana Friendship Park and Nature Center.

And the views--of the entire Port of Los Angeles, north to the San Gabriels, and of Rancho Palos Verdes, are beautiful. We watched bunnies and ground squirrels, circling hawks, and noisy finches and crows. Plus saw a lot of couples dancing without music.

My Poor, Neglected Blog...

Running down stories and events about Los Angeles history used to be a nice respite from other activities--but lately, I've been planted in front of the computer doing research all day, so more research no longer qualifies as a break.

Instead, today my break was a walk at Peck Park with the dog, where I listened to a few lonely crows (at least, they sounded lonely), took pictures of lizards that didn't turn out, and one of the port that did.

I can, however, point to some new accomplishments:

• Best review ever (well, the sort I dream of) from the Historical Novel Society for my novel, Death Speaker

• A new Chicken Soup book with one of my stories, coming out May 21: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writers: 101 Motivational Stories for Writers - Budding or Bestselling - from Books to Blogs

• Entering the design / layout / feverishly-rewrite-and-fill-in-gaps phase of my new book, The Boomers Book of Christmas Memories. That is what's keeping me glued to the internet, running down facts and dates and looking for pictures. 

The release date for the Boomer Book will be in September. And if anyone has a pictures of their bicycle from the 1950s or 1960s--with or without you in it, as long as the pictures is yours to control--I will give you a free book if you let me use it (with thanks and attribution, of course!)

If you're interested in Boomer trivia, check out my newish blog at Boomer Book of Christmas.

USC Tile Mural / Mosaic

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books was last weekend! And a fat lot of good that announcement does if you missed it. But it explains, at least, why I was at USC on Sunday, where I was able to take this picture.

I'd heard there was a mosaic by Jean Goodwin Ames titled "Youth and Science" in Zumberge Hall, right on Trousdale. And so there is, though I think I'm stretching the definition a bit to call it a mosaic.

But what the heck. It is tile, and it is signed "Jean Goodwin 1937" at the bottom.

If you'd like to know more about Jean Goodwin Ames and her husband, Arthur Ames, who worked on commissions for New Deal agencies during the Depression, and later with Millard Sheets, and who left lots of public art both in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, and other areas, the Smithsonian interviewed them for their Archives of American Art. The transcription is here.

Jean Goodwin Ames was born in Santa Ana, went to UCLA and USC, and taught at Claremont Graduate School and Scripps College from the 1940s. Total California girl! This tile mosaic at Zumberge Hall was her master's thesis.

In the Smithsonian interview, she says that the couple's first mosaic project--two mosaics--was in Santa Ana at Newport Harbor Union High School, before 1936. The school was just six years old then; here's a history.

The two mosaics--one for girls, by Jean, and one for boys, by Arthur--were installed around the Inner Quad. They were removed and reinstalled in a new building a few years ago.

I just went looking for pictures of the high school mosaics and found them at Adam Arenson's site--a familiar name if you follow this blog, or mosaics in Los Angeles. I'm posting only one small picture--the one done by Jean. To see the larger version or the second mosaic, titled "Three Fishermen," visit Adam Arenson's page.

His post about the Ames is very interesting. A particular picture of an outdoor church mosaic was so familiar--and I realized I used to walk by it almost every day when I lived in Claremont.

Parking Garage Mosaics, DPSS

The three mosaic panels on the parking garage of the Department of Public Social Services Building at 813 E. 4th Place represents a community effort. Daniel Dodd, the designer, chief mosaicist, and  the director of Art Share LA (a gallery and artistic space right across the street), worked with students from Roosevelt High School and other volunteers in the area. They created the first mural, shown at left, in 2002.

All these pictures come from the LA County Arts website. So did the following description: 

"Their first mural depicts the City’s diversity by setting the skyline of Los Angeles above an image of the globe which is crisscrossed by LA’s freeways.  Below the globe are the faces of four children, all of different ethnicities."

The second mosaic  is inspired by a Buddhist mandala. The third--below--looks like an Aztec calendar. Both the second and third artworks are nine feet across.

The same group is working on a fourth mosaic based on Japanese designs.

Art Share LA donates time and expertise, and the high school students get involved by studying the design concepts and making choices about how the mosaic will be made and what materials will be used--and Art Share LA donates those as well.

Other examples of Dodd's artwork are the mosaic tile palm trees and other figures on the pillars supporting the pedestrian overpass over Long Beach Blvd. at 53rd Street.

All of the above is just a regurgitation of the data presented on the LA County Art page, but I cannot find out more! Daniel Dodd seems to be the only artist around who does not have his own web page . . or facebook page . . .(actually, there are dozens of Daniel Dodds on FB, but none in California), and there are no mentions of him in the Los Angeles Times.

So this is all I got, but at least it is posted while there are still 40 minutes left on Mosaic Monday!

Vintage Paperback Book Sale!

This Sunday, April 7, from 9 am to 5:30 pm--

At the Valley Inn in Mission Hills--

The 34th Annual Vintage Paperback Book Sale will take place.

And all day long, authors will take turns signing their work. Authors like Larry Niven, Harry Turtledove, James C. Glass, Earl Hamner, James Blaylock, and dozens more--check the website for times and names.

And it all costs a big five dollars.

This image comes from the Idaho Falls Public Library Friends of the Library Book Sale Page.

Finches in Torrance

My question:

Are these purple finches or house finches?

And how do you tell?

Former Home S&L in Compton

Did Millard Sheets create the ten mosaic panels on the facade of what was once the Home Savings and Loan building on Long Beach Blvd. in Compton? I thought so, but...

Wrong!  Artist Tom Van Sant lists these panels, titled "Sources of Knowledge," on his resume.

The Pacific Coast Architecture Database confirms that Millard Sheets worked with David Underwood to design and oversee the building which was finished in 1962. But it credits Mr. Van Sant with the mosaics.

Adam Arenson and Lillian Sizemore are working on this, and Prof. A has blogged about the building here, dating it to 1958. As he points out in his post, the mosaics are in sad shape.

Two of the panels are shown at right. To see a very good shot of the entire mosaic, go to Adam Arenson's blog post.

The exact address is 1801 N. Long Beach Blvd, north of Rosecrans. THEE Sound Shop is there now. Not sure if they own the building; Loopnet (where this picture is from) says the property is off the market.
Mr. Van Sant has created over 60 public murals, mosaics, and sculptures, according to the LA County Arts Commission. I've blogged about the Bell Library mosaic here, and included a picture of a vibrant, striking mosaic done for the Otis Art Institute in that post--it's very different from his library and Home Savings work. I think he's best known for the soaring, graceful lines of his sculpture.

And of course, "The Earth From Space," which is also a mosaic made of more than 2000 photos, and which took around four years to construct in the 1980s. It's part of the Geosphere Project.

20th Century Los Angeles on Display at the Getty

The Getty is opening two new exhibits on our fair city, one called Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future, and the second on the photography of Ed Ruscha.

Starts April 9, as you can see from the graphic. Here's a paragraph from the description:

"This groundbreaking exhibition provides an engaging view of the region's diverse urban landscape, including its ambitious freeway network, sleek corporate towers, whimsical coffee shops, popular shopping malls, refined steel-and-glass residences, and eclectic cultural institutions. Drawings, photographs, models, films, animations, oral histories, and ephemera illustrate the complex dimensions of L.A.'s rich and often underappreciated built environment, revealing this metropolis's global impact."

Man, why do museums have to talk that way--like they're writing a thesis?

I think that all means there will be huge, wall-mounted pictures, as well as videos and scaled-down models of buildings and/or neighborhoods, and other things...maybe posters, ads, souvenirs, etc., all showing us how fast and furiously Los Angeles grew over fifty years. Big big buildings and Googie-style funky places. Fun, cool, exciting stuff.

If you're like me and you remember when the Westin Bonaventure cylinders went up, or the Library Tower, or even when the Music Center was built, you'll probably really love this.

The Ed Ruscha photography is called In Focus, and it also starts April 9 and runs through September. Mid-century gas stations, apartment buildings, the Sunset Strip and Pacific Coast Highway--again, for us Boomers, this is cool. Check the site; there are some special Wednesday afternoon "Curator's Talks" scheduled.

It's all a part of Pacific Standard Time Presents Modern Architecture in L.A., which has exhibits in several other museums as well, including the County Museum of Art, the Hammer, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and several others.