THE EAGLE
ROCK ASSOCIATION
TERA
August 14, 2003
In this issue:
ACT TODAY TO SAVE THE AMBASSADOR HOTEL (#3)
EAGLE ROCK SHAPES UP!
CURVES WOMEN'S FITNESS CENTER OPENS (#4)
"From the time I was three, I was regularly
paddled for running away to visit the bakers at Van de Kamp's."
--Art Snyder, Former 14th District
Councilmember ("We've Got Mail," #11)
Table of Contents:
1. A MESSAGE FROM TERA PRESIDENT HILARY NORTON OROZCO
2. MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THIS YEAR'S ECLECTIC EAGLE ROCK HOME
TOUR -- SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19
3. SAVE THE AMBASSADOR -- CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE BY
AUGUST 14 -- TODAY!
4. CURVES AHEAD! THE GRAND OPENING OF EAGLE ROCK'S FIRST WOMEN'S
FITNESS CENTER -- MONDAY, AUGUST 18
5. FOUR CENTURIES OF PUEBLO POTTERY AT SOUTHWEST MUSEUM
6. OIGA: VISUAL ART AND LATIN MUSIC AT AVE 50 GALLERY -- AUGUST 16
7. "GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE TENORS" FIND SEATS THAT ARE JUST
RIGHT AT OXY -- THROUGH AUGUST 23
8. STRIKE UP THE BIG BAND -- AUGUST 24
9. SUMMER SALON AT GALLERY OPHELIA -- EXTENDED THROUGH AUGUST
10. VISIT THE NEW ARROYO SECO LIBRARY AND TALK TO THE ARCHITECT WHO
DESIGNED IT -- MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
11. WE'VE GOT MAIL
12. QUOTE OF THE WEEK -- CHARLES TOBIAS
1. A MESSAGE FROM TERA PRESIDENT HILARY NORTON
OROZCO
It is on these beautiful summer nights that I truly appreciate the
delight of living in Eagle Rock. I was at Fatty's tonight and the place
was packed! Casa Bianca had its usual line -- and fantastic smell of
tomato sauce -- out the door. Colombo's was alive with music and
revelry. Our newest business, Dr. Music, was full of music
lovers. Panang was serving up great Thai food. Camilo's was
teeming with people, including our state Attorney General Bill Lockyer and
our LAUSD Board member David Tokofsky. And our corner coffee store, swork,
had its usual bevy of late night caffeine drinkers. I hope you all will
take advantage of this amazing weather and enjoy a late night stroll on
Colorado Boulevard. You'll be amazed at how much night life is
happening here!
On another note, if you have not yet seen all of the improvements made to the
interior of the 20th Century Women's Club, make sure that you buy a ticket for
the Eclectic Eagle Rock Home Tour on October 19th! I am a member of the
Women's Club and attended a recent Saturday afternoon tea, decorated by Sir
Michael's and the Women's Club. What a spectacular and lovely
resource!
On October 19th, join TERA and the 20th Century Women's
Club in celebrating a century of strong Eagle Rock women, and tour
some tremendous examples of the eclectic residential styles in Eagle
Rock. Better yet, be a home tour volunteer! See details below...
--Hilary Norton Orozco
2. MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THIS YEAR'S ECLECTIC
EAGLE ROCK HOME TOUR -- SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19
Don't forget to mark your calendars for:
The 4th Annual
Sunday, October
19, 2003
10:00 am4:00 pm
Tour some of the most lovely and interesting homes and gardens in this
historic community, starting with The Women's 20th Century Club Craftsman
building, constructed in 1913.
The club, now celebrating its 100 year anniversary, was formed by the
progressive women of Eagle Rock, which, at that time, was a small agricultural
village. Their purpose was "self-improvement along social and
intellectual lines."
TERA will also be hosting an exhibit of plein air painting, an art form which
celebrates the natural beauty of the outdoors and has historic roots in the
community.
Tour goers will also have the opportunity to visit homes built over the course
of the last century in the variety of styles which make Eagle Rock,
"L.A.'s Hometown," so unique.
Volunteers and docents are still
needed to help organize this event, as well as to help out on the weekend of
the tour. Your participation earns you an invitation to the Eclectic
Home Tour wrap party, a highlight of Eagle Rock's social calendar.
If you'd like to volunteer to help make this event a
success, send an e-mail reply to this e.letter with the subject heading, "Home
tour volunteer." Be sure your e-mail includes your name and
phone number.
3. SAVE THE AMBASSADOR -- CONTACT YOUR
REPRESENTATIVE BY AUGUST 14 -- TODAY!
Catherine Barrier, a preservationist with the Los Angeles Conservancy, reminds
us that today is the deadline to contact your representative regarding the
future of the historic Ambassador Hotel:
As you may know, the Los Angeles Conservancy has been working hard for a
long time to make sure that the Los Angeles Unified School District
preserves the Ambassador Hotel. We believe the site
can make a great school, and that its rehabilitation would provide a point of
pride for its neighborhood and students. This week, fate of the hotel may
well be decided at a high level meeting attended by Senator Gilbert Cedillo,
California, State Assembly member Mark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles City
Councilmember Martin Ludlow and LAUSD Board of Education President Jose Huizar.
The State legislators are requesting funding for the Ambassador from Proposition
40, the State Park Bond measure, which has $128 million available for the
preservation of historic resources in California. Please let the State
legislators know that you support their request!
We need these officials to hear that preservation of this resource is important
to you as individuals and to the groups you serve on and represent.
If you represent HPOZs, neighborhood organizations, block clubs, or
community non-profits and can submit an opinion on behalf of your group, that
would be invaluable. We hope you'll tell them that the so-called
"partial preservation" options for the Ambassador are simply
unacceptable to you. One option on the table calls for the demolition of
everything but the Cocoanut Grove while somehow reconstructing the Embassy
Ballroom after demolition; another proposal would demolish all but the
north tower of the hotel (destroying two-thirds of the main building as well as
all other site features.) These alternatives would leave only fragments
of the hotel standing, dishonoring the unique history of the site. It is
LAUSD's so-called "maximum reuse" alternative, which would
actually involve significant demolition, that represents the true
"compromise" position on the Ambassador issue.
If you live or work in the district of one of these officials, please send an
email to the following officials or call them no later than today,
Thursday, August 14th.
California State Senator Gilbert Cedillo
E-Mail: senator.cedillo@sen.ca.gov
State Capitol, Rm. 313
Sacramento, CA 95814
213.623.9566
California State Assembly member Mark Ridley-Thomas
E-Mail: Assemblymember.Ridley-Thomas@asm.ca.gov
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0048
213.745.6656
Los Angeles City Councilmember Martin Ludlow
E-Mail: ludlow@council.lacity.org
City Hall
200 N. Spring St., Rm. 430
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213.485.3323
LAUSD Board of Education President Jose Huizar
E-Mail: jose.huizar@lausd.net
333 S. Beaudry Ave., 24th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213.241.6180
For more information on the Ambassador Hotel and its proposed reuse, check the
Los Angeles Conservancy website, http://www.laconservancy.org.
Thank you so much in advance for your help! Please feel
free to forward this message to any other groups or persons you think might be
interested.
Catherine Barrier
Preservation Advocate
Los Angeles Conservancy
(213) 430-4211
4. CURVES AHEAD! THE GRAND OPENING OF EAGLE
ROCK'S FIRST WOMEN'S FITNESS CENTER -- MONDAY, AUGUST 18
GRAND OPENING
EAGLE ROCK CURVES CENTER
Monday, August 18
4870 Eagle Rock Boulevard
(next to the Eagle Theatre)
Eagle Rock's newest fitness center for women is here!
On Monday, the mother/daughter team of Joyce and Lynda D'Angelo will host the
Grand Opening of the Eagle Rock Curves Center. Famous for their 30
minute Curves Workout program, the fitness center promises a comfortable,
welcoming place where real women work out. "Our facility is designed
so women can encourage and support one another while moving around the
circuit," says Lynda. "We look forward to helping women in this
community reach amazing results--both physical and emotional--through our
Curves Workout program and support network."
To celebrate the Grand Opening of the Eagle Rock Curves Center, Joyce
and Lynda will offer a 66% discount to the first 100 new members to
enroll.
Welcome to the neighborhood, Joyce and Lynda!
For more information, visit the Curves website at:
http://www.curveseaglerock.com
Or phone:
(323) 259-5800
5. FOUR CENTURIES OF PUEBLO POTTERY AT SOUTHWEST
MUSEUM
Four Centuries of Pueblo Pottery
Now through March, 2004
The Southwest Museum
From July 25 through March 2004, the Southwest Museum will present
"Four Centuries of Pueblo Pottery," featuring selected
highlights from the Museum's vast collection of Native American ceramics.
From July 25 through March 2004, the Southwest Museum will present
"Four Centuries of Pueblo Pottery," featuring selected highlights
from the Museum's vast collection of Native American ceramics.
Over 100 pieces of rare ceramics created by the Pueblo Indian people of New
Mexico and Arizona will be displayed in an exhibit designed to document the
dramatic changes and developments that transformed the Pueblo pottery tradition
in the era following the 16th century Spanish Colonization. While
presenting a comprehensive look at the Pueblo ceramic tradition, the exhibit
will explore aspects of Pueblo pottery-making that have rarely been addressed
in the context of a museum exhibition, including the identity and characteristic
styles of master potters and the role of men in Pueblo pottery-making. The
exhibit will occupy the century-old Museum's Sprague Hall.
For more information, call (323) 221-2164.
6. OIGA: VISUAL ART
AND LATIN MUSIC AT AVE 50 GALLERY -- AUGUST 16
Emerging voices
from L.A.'s visual art scene
Saturday, August 16
3:00-6:00 pm
6:00-9:00 pm
Avenue 50 Gallery
131 Avenue 50
Highland Park
The Avenue 50 Studio and the 4th Annual Latin Alternative Music
Conference team up to present Oiga, a celebration of youthful L.A. style that
features the quirky work of emerging visual artists Aaron Martinez, Ronald J.
Llanos, Brendan Monroe, and Robert Bellm, along with a free concert by East
L.A. Sabor Factory and Domingo Siete.
Exhibition dates: August 2 August 31. Jennifer Rowland, formerly of
Gallery Figueroa, has curated this show.
Gallery Hours: Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to noon; Saturday and
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For a complete schedule of the Latin Alternative Music Conference, go to:
http://www.LatinAlternative.com
7. "GOLDILOCKS
AND THE THREE TENORS" FIND SEATS THAT ARE JUST RIGHT AT OXY -- THROUGH
AUGUST 23
headline the season seven of
Occidental's Summer Children's Theater
The critically acclaimed Occidental College Children's Theater continues
this summer's "Goldilocks and the Three Tenors," an original tale,
plus three unique adaptations of traditional folktales for a seven-week outdoor
run ending on August 23, 2003. Performances are presented in the Remsen
Bird Hillside Theater on the Occidental campus.
In just over an hour, a cast of six Occidental students, alumni and
professional actors perform the show without props, sets, or costumes, relying
only on their acting and physical skills. "This dynamic company of
talented actors ... is as fresh and entertaining as ever," the Los Angeles
Times says.
"Goldilocks and the Three Tenors" will be performed outdoors in the
Hillside Theater every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m. through Aug.
23. All seats are shaded from the sun. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5
for children aged 12 and under. Group rates are available.
For ticket information, call the Occidental Box Office at (323) 259-2922.
Occidental College is located at 1600 Campus Road in the Eagle Rock section of
Los Angeles. For a campus map and directions to the college, please visit http://www.oxy.edu/oxy/welcome/directions.
8. STRIKE UP THE
BIG BAND -- AUGUST 24
The Eagle Rock Summer Concert Series concludes on Sunday, August 24, with:
and gala closing
night festivities
Sunday, August 24
6 - 8 pm
Join your neighbors for the final event in this season's outdoor concert
series, A Nostalgic Big Band Show. The Eagle Rock Summer Concerts
in the Park, a program of local businesses and the Eagle Rock Chamber of
Commerce, take place on selected Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in
the area behind the Eagle Rock Park Recreation Center, at 1100 Eagle Vista,
just this side of Figueroa Boulevard. All are invited.
9. SUMMER SALON AT
GALLERY OPHELIA -- EXTENDED THROUGH AUGUST
A salon-style show
featuring works by local artists
July 9th-August 29th, 2003
2114 Colorado
Boulevard
Eagle Rock
Includes works by:
Katrina Alexy - collages
Miss Mindy -paintings
Linda Johnstone-Allen - paintings, handmade masks
Candace Jeanette - paintings and collages
Cynthia Paige Aaron -assemblages
Courtney Regli - collage
Kevin Hass -photography
Rebecca Johnson - photography
Jennifer Murphy - mixed media
Victor Moreno -photography
Kelly Reemsten - paintings
Clarissa Castillo - mixed media
Kimmy McCann - paintings
Wendy Lang - photographs
GALLERY HOURS:
Wednesday-Saturday, 12:00-6:00pm
For more information:
http://www.galleryophelia.com
or call (323) 982-9945
10. VISIT THE NEW
ARROYO SECO LIBRARY AND TALK TO THE ARCHITECT WHO DESIGNED IT -- MONDAY,
SEPTEMBER 6
talks about
designing the new
Arroyo Seco Regional Library
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Monday, September 8, 2003
Arroyo Seco Library Community Room
6145 North Figueroa Street
Highland Park
Highland Park Heritage Trust (HPHT) will host architect Tom Michali
of M2A in Hollywood, the designer of the Highland Park's newly opened
Arroyo Seco Regional Branch Library. Come learn how the Mr. Michali
and his colleagues created this new gateway project in Highland Park with input
from the community and local preservationists. The historic Arroyo
Seco Regional Library began serving the community in 1894, when 22 local women
created a subscription library in a rented store at the corner of Avenue 64 and
Eagle Rock Avenue in Garvanza. The library moved to its present
site in 1914.
11. WE'VE GOT MAIL
EDITOR'S NOTE: Our piece in last week's e.letter on the soon to be refurbished
Van de Kamp's Bakery drew the greatest number of reader replies this week,
including this evocative reminiscence from former 14th District Councilmember
Art Snyder:
"During the period 1933-1938 (when I was 1 through 6 years old,)
my parents and I lived in one of the old Southern Pacific section hand
houses at 3039 Casitas Avenue, just off Fletcher Drive. Reduced
business for the railroad encouraged [the Southern Pacific] to rent to WPA
workers for $2.00 per month. And, since my father was on WPA (my mother did
housework for the "rich folks" in the Silverlake district), we got
one of them. The house backed up to the Southern Pacific Main Line, and
was immediately across from the Van de Kamp's Bakery building.
"From the time I was three, I was regularly paddled for running away to
visit the bakers at Van de Kamp's. The bakers welcomed this redheaded,
freckle-faced tike royally, and fed him all the broken cookies he could
hold. We became close friends, and when I turned six, the bakers got
together and baked a cake as big as a wash tub and brought it across the tracks
to our little house. We invited all of the kids from the neighborhood and
from my kindergarten class at Atwater school to eat it up. Even the bakers
themselves came at the end of their shift. I still have a picture
from that day of me with my huge cake.
"Of course, the years passed with many other adventures. I left
Atwater for Pacoima and Lincoln Heights; left San Fernando High School and went
directly to Los Angeles City College, from which I graduated in 1951.
Then a BA from Pepperdine, 2 years in the U. S. Marine Corps in the
Korean War, a JD from USC Law School, and, in 1967, I was elected the Member of
the Los Angeles City Council from the 14th District, which included (at
that time) my childhood home and the Van de Kamp's Bakery, and where I served
for 20 years.
"So much has taken place in my life, but one of the truly pleasant
memories still is the friendship of those jolly bakers at Van de Kamp's."
--Art Snyder, Eagle Rock resident for the last 43 years, Los Angeles
City College, Class of 1951
* * *
"I enjoyed the recent item on the historic Van de Kamp's Bakery.
The other day, while driving down Figueroa just south of Colorado, I noticed
that the abandoned building to the north of the Vons appears to have very faded
and almost illegible Helms Bakery insignias. Do you know anything about
that building and what might become of it? It is quite an eyesore as it
exists now."
--Jean Rosenbluth, Eagle Rock
EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanks for asking, Jean. We forwarded your query to
Joanne Turner, our resident Eagle Rock expert, who offers this reply:
"The building at the southwest corner of La Loma and Figueroa was indeed a
Helms bakery distribution location. Eric Warren, Eagle Rock Valley
Historical Society president, knows more. As I recall, he, or someone,
was driving by the building years ago when he spotted a worker with an electric
sander trying to obliterate the historic bas-relief Helms Bakery medallions.
"Over the years, the building has been trashed--like so many others in
Eagle Rock have--because of a lack of knowledge of and appreciation for good,
well-designed, functional structures. If you look carefully beyond some
of the awful cosmetic changes that have been made to that building, it's yet
another good example of the Deco-era commercial architecture that was, and
continues to be, so important to Eagle Rock's history."
--Joanne Turner, President Emeritus, The Eagle Rock Association (TERA)
* * *
EDITOR'S NOTE: We're still hearing from readers with strong feelings
about the new Los Angeles Regional Transportation
Management Center that's going up in the triangle formed by the
134 and 3 freeway ramps on the west side of Eagle Rock, near the Glendale
border. As a reader pointed out in last week's e.letter, the Center
is scheduled to include a California Highway Patrol dispatch center.
"The Caltrans building under construction is esthetically
jarring and a blight on the skyline in 4 directions. It angers me
every time I pass by it; I think how selfish Cal Trans was to
'max out' their piece of ground at the community's expense. If
they had reduced its height by even one story it would have helped
significantly.
"Having a CHP dispatch center included does not save it: the problem
is not the purpose, it is the design.
"Thanks to those who fought the design; you saw the
problem coming. We can use the Cal Trans building as a striking
example of what to prevent in the future."
-- Bruce Mitchell, Eagle Rock
* * *
"Walking my dog the other day
I saw a 'river' of milky yellow water gushing down the gutter. So I
followed it, and sure enough, there was a crew of about five painters cleaning
up and letting the water go down the street into the storm drain.
I told them that they shouldn't put paint in the street, as
it goes to the ocean. They were, 'Oh, this is latex paint.' So I
said, 'No, you can't clean up that way with latex paint either,' that it had to
be done in the sink. The owners came out and were totally unaware of what
the painters were doing. At that point the painters starting denying what
they did--sort of ridiculous as the evidence was right at our feet. Maybe
they thought they were going to get reported. I am sure they knew it was
wrong by their reaction. Later, my husband said at the studios they don't
even allow latex paint into the drain, they have to use a special way to clean
it up.
"This notice is remind everyone to advise your painters or handymen to
clean up properly and to ask what is the allowed way to clean up latex paint.
Can you imagine throwing a bucket of paint into the ocean? I am sure this
is happening all day, every day...."
-- Cardie Molina, Eagle Rock resident, TERA member
12. QUOTE OF THE
WEEK
"Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer,
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer;
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer,
You`ll wish that summer could always be
here"
-- Charles Tobias (b. August
15, 1898, d. July 7, 1970)
from the song "Those
Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer," music by Hans Carste (1909-1971)
We welcome your comments. Please include your first
and last name, along with your city, street or neighborhood.
The TERA e.letter
A publication of The Eagle Rock Association (TERA)
Edited by Vince Waldron
e.letter@TERA90041.org