THE EAGLE
ROCK ASSOCIATION
TERA
August 7. 2003
In this issue:
HAPPY 49th ANNIVERSARY TO COLOMBO'S (#3)
INSIDE VAN DE KAMP'S BAKERY (#8)
MORE ON THAT BIG BUILDING GOING UP
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY RAMPS AT 134 AND THE 2 ("We've
Got Mail," #9)
Table of Contents:
1. A MESSAGE FROM TERA
PRESIDENT HILARY NORTON OROZCO
2. VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED FOR THIS YEAR'S ECLECTIC EAGLE ROCK
HOME TOUR
3. COLOMBO'S 49th ANNIVERSARY -- THURSDAY, AUGUST 7 -- TONIGHT!
4. SUMMER SWING FEST SUMMER CONCERT -- AUGUST 10
5. OIGA: VISUAL ART AND LATIN MUSIC AT AVE 50 GALLERY -- AUGUST 16
6. SUMMER SALON AT GALLERY OPHELIA -- EXTENDED THROUGH AUGUST
7. "GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE TENORS" FIND SEATS THAT ARE
JUST RIGHT AT OXY -- THROUGH AUGUST 23
8. INSIDE MR. VAN DE KAMP'S VAULT, AND OTHER SECRETS OF THE REALLY
BIG BAKERY
9. WE'VE GOT MAIL
10. QUOTE OF THE WEEK --
W.C. FIELDS
1. A MESSAGE FROM TERA PRESIDENT HILARY NORTON
OROZCO
I have been asked lately why I am choosing to highlight Eagle Rock
restaurants in TERA e.letters. "Isn't it
just free publicity?" they say.
Absolutely. The same kind of free publicity we give to numerous
businesses and other fine endeavors in Eagle Rock. Frankly, I am just
starting with restaurants, and plan to heap praise on numerous other types of
businesses as the weeks progress.
The reason is simple. TERA supports good businesses, and a healthy
business climate is a prosperous Eagle Rock. We are so blessed with the
number of fine establishments here that I think it is worth blowing Eagle
Rock's horn, one business at a time.
We TERA members have long histories of investing in Eagle Rock businesses,
because we know that our loyalty keeps our eclectic commercial district on an
upward trajectory. So, I'll keep writing about how great our
businesses are in hopes that our loyalty encourages new businesses to invest in
Eagle Rock, too.
--Hilary Norton Orozco
2. VOLUNTEERS STILL
NEEDED FOR THIS YEAR'S ECLECTIC EAGLE ROCK HOME TOUR
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 Womenıs 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 ³self-improvement along social and intellectual
lines.²
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, ³L.A.ıs
Hometown,² 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. COLOMBO'S 49th ANNIVERSARY -- THURSDAY,
AUGUST 7 -- TONIGHT
Happy 49th to
Colombo's!
Tonight, Thursday, August 7th, Colombo's restaurant, located at
the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Hermosa Avenue, celebrates its 49th
Anniversary!
If you have not yet been to Colombo's, you are missing a real treat.
Not only is the food fabulous (the spaghetti and meatballs are
phenomenal), but Colombo's has been a community mainstay for generations of Eagle
Rockers. With Mrs. Noguiera and numerous other musicians and
singers providing live entertainment, Colombo's offers a unique blend
of culture and cuisine.
Come enjoy great food, music and fun! Thank you, Colombo's,
for being such a rich part of Eagle Rock's charm.
Congratulations!
--Hilary Norton Orozco
4. SUMMER SWING
FEST SUMMER CONCERT -- AUGUST 10
The Eagle Rock Summer Concert Series continues this Sunday with:
Sponsored by The Eagle Rock
Neighborhood Council
Swing dancing lessons, contests, prize drawings and free dinner to the first
200 attendees
Sunday, August 10
6 - 8 pm
Join your neighbors for a little midsummer fun in this season's third
outdoor concert, A Summer Swing Fest, sponsored by The Eagle Rock Neighborhood
Council. 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.
The series winds down on on August 24th with a Nostalgic Big Band
Show and the gala closing night festivities. Mark your calendars.
5. OIGA: VISUAL ART
AND LATIN MUSIC AT AVE 50 GALLERY -- AUGUST 16
Emerging voices
from L.A.ıs 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
6. 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
7. "GOLDILOCKS
AND THE THREE TENORS" FIND SEATS THAT ARE JUST RIGHT AT OXY -- THROUGH
AUGUST 23
The critically acclaimed Occidental College Children's Theater continues
this summer's "Goldilocks and the Three Tenors," an original tale,
plus three unique adaptions 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. INSIDE MR. VAN DE KAMP'S VAULT, AND OTHER
SECRETS OF THE REALLY BIG BAKERY
Editor's note: It wasn't long ago that the historic Van de Kamp's Bakery
building at the intersection of Fletcher Avenue and San Fernando was slated for
the wrecker's ball. But, largely through the efforts of
preservation-minded citizens in Northeast LA (and beyond) the structure was
spared that ignominious fate and today stands poised to undergo a multi-million
dollar restoration and repurposing as a City College campus.
According to Jeff Obana at LA City College, groundbreaking for that
rejuvenation is about to begin. Here's Jeff's full report, including his
heart-stopping account of a treasure hunt that ended in Theodore J. Van de
Kamp's vault.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
In a May election, the people of Los Angeles expressed their feelings about
their community colleges. By an almost two-thirds vote, they passed Prop
AA which will enable the nine-college district to finish the rebuilding of its
neglected infrastructure. As part of the proposition, the District
included two satellite campuses: one was East Los Angeles College's South Gate
facility and the other was our Northeast Campus at the historic Van de
Kamp's Bakery.
What does this mean for our bakery turned college? Well, first it means
that we will be able to retire the $27 million debt that we had assumed. That
money, along with a $1.425 million EDA grant and a state of California award of
$3 million, would have enabled us to rehabilitate the 30,000 square foot bakery
office building. It also would have enabled us to add an additional
45,000 square foot building to house a library, bookstore, café, offices, and
classrooms. Unfortunately, we knew that our previous budget would not be
enough to fully "build out" the campus as had been envisioned in our
facilities master plan. So we phased the project, hoping that someday we
would find or raise enough money to finish the campus. Or maybe a small
miracle would happen.
The miracle arrived in the form of Prop AA. The college will
receive a total of $50 million to complete the campus. In addition to
debt retirement, it will allow us to do three things. First, it will
allow us to upgrade some of the materials that were "budgeted out" of
Phase I and Phase II. Second, it will enable us to build Phase III, which
includes a wellness complex, a community theatre, and additional classrooms.
Finally, we will be able to construct an outdoor recreation facility that
will include both tennis and basketball courts.
While miracles do happen, we will continue the hard work of pursuing
additional grants and private fund-raising. These funds will be used to
enhance the campus -- to turn a good facility into a great one. We have
big plans for "The Bakery."
DEMOLITION TO BEGIN IN OCTOBER
The bulldozers are coming! The bulldozers are coming! Not to
destroy the beloved Van de Kamp's Bakery, but to save it. Removal of the
rear portion of this local historic monument is scheduled to begin in
mid-September of 2003, leaving the original building, all 30,000 square feet
built in 1930, intact. In doing so the stage will be set for the
long-awaited start of this truly unique adaptive reuse project. Federal
funds from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) in the amount of
$1.425 million will fund the demolition, which will take approximately three
months.
Since October of 2002 Los Angeles City College, in conjunction with Steven
Ehrlich Architects, Roschen Van Cleve Architects, KPFF, and Nabih Youseff &
Associates, have been working together to prepare the demolition documents.
It has been a painstaking process that has required a significant
amount of testing and extensive documentation of the existing structure.
The Division of the State Architect has also been very supportive of the
project, meeting with the design team to review documents and discuss important
issues every step of the way.
LOST TREASURES FOUND
Remember Geraldo Rivera and the Vault of Al Capone? America
followed Geraldo through mysterious rooms, numerous corridors, down rusted
stairs, and into the basement that led to the vault of Al Capone. At the
conclusion of the multi-hour hunt he found nothing in the old abandoned vault.
On March 27, 2003 -- with no Geraldo in sight -- Marcus Eriksen, Tony Peck, and
Jeff Obana felt good about entering the abandoned bakery building to
remove any visible historic materials that remained inside the bakery building.
Tony Peck, owner of Peck Media, filmed Marcus and Jeff as they took signs
down and carefully placed them into boxes. Tony followed Marcus and Jeff
deeper into the building as they moved closer to the mysterious and long
abandoned bakery vault.
Located on the second floor, the vault contained piles of unwanted accounting
documents and microfiche left behind by the previous owner. When the team
of excavators began, they were convinced that very little would be recovered
from the abandoned vault, which appeared to have been ransacked long ago.
Nevertheless, the curious team dug through the enormous piles of paper to see what
would turn up. What they found was beyond their greatest hopes and
expectations. The team found a folder of numerous historic photographs
of old Van de Kamp's bakery buildings located throughout Southern
California as well as photos of past banquets and company events that were in
excellent condition.
The real prize, however, was the original accounting ledger, handwritten
and signed by Theodore J. Van de Kamp and Lawrence L. Frank on January 1, 1915.
The ledger contains the accounting records of the entrepreneurial
activities of the infamous partnership between Frank and Van de Kamp as they
began the
"Van de Kamp's Saratoga Chips" originally located at 236 South Spring
Street with a total of $200. It is a fascinating book that accounts the
meticulous detail and business acumen of these gentlemen who earned just
eight dollars in the month of January.
If you or anyone you know has historic artifacts from Van de Kamp's and
would like to donate them to our public display, please contact a member of the
development team at Los Angeles City College.
"OUTSIDE IN..."
"It's not what the college wants to teach, but what the community needs to
learn."
The Los Angeles City College is building its new Northeast Campus on the above
slogan. Taking its cues from the community members for whom the campus is
being built, LACC staff assigned to the Northeast Campus project is working
hard to ensure that the satellite's courses and program offerings meet the
needs of the local community -- its residents, organizations, institutions, and
businesses. LACC is putting the "community" back into
"community college" through the "outside in" approach.
The "outside in" approach seeks to empower community residents and
leaders by engaging in an outreach strategy that facilitates collaboration and
generates feedback between the college and the local community. A Van de
Kamp's Steering Committee, composed of community residents and leaders, and
LACC faculty and staff, is also an intricate part of the "outside in"
strategy, as its purpose is to translate the community's needs into a
formalized curriculum of courses and certificate programs. In short, the
"outside in" approach has been critical for developing the most
relevant mix of educational materials that will support lifelong learners
who will shepherd the economic growth and progress of northeast Los Angeles.
Los Angeles City College is currently in the process of contacting local
stakeholders, scheduling meetings and information interviews to gather more
information. If your organization or business has not yet been contacted
and you would like to participate please contact a member of the Northeast
Campus development team. We want to hear from you.
--Jeff D. Obana
For more info, contact Jeff at: Obanajd@lacitycollege.edu
9. WE'VE GOT MAIL
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following letter is a response to a note we ran last
week about the Los Angeles Regional Transportation Management Center, the new
Caltrans building that's under construction near the interchange of the 2 and
134 freeways.
"Before everyone gets upset over the Los Angeles Regional
Transportation Management Center going in down by the freeway, you
were not completely informed. This building will also house a 24-hour
dispatch for the California Highway Patrol. At a Neighborhood Watch Block
Captains Meeting two years ago, we were told that although [the CHP] will not
be making arrests in the city, they will be using our freeway ramps at both
ends of town as well as Colorado Boulevard. This is a good
thing! Just having a 24-hour law enforcement presence on our
streets may prove a useful deterrent to the graffiti and street racing that
goes on after hours. It will also provide several
jobs. Not all of us think of this project as an "ugly"
monster.
"Also, I would like to invite anyone interested in learning more, or
starting a neighborhood watch on their own block to come to one of our
Neighborhood Watch Block Captains Meetings, which are held the third Thursday
of each month at Eagle Rock City Hall, from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. All it takes
is one representative from each block to help with crime prevention in our
community. I am not just a resident, I am a member of the American
Society for Law Enforcement Trainers and the National McGruff House,
'taking a bite out of crime.'"
--Terrye Munday, Eagle Rock
* * *
"Could you tell Sean Mitchell that I truly wish that I had
written his recent Op-Ed letter ("Post Demolition Accountability"
-- July 24 e.letter.) It was well spoken, well written --
couldn't have said it better myself."
--Sharon Miro, Eagle Rock, TERA Member
* * *
"I run a concert and event organization called High Octane,
producers of the popular Bowl-A-Rama shows and, until recently, the well
regarded Rock'n'Bowl shows at Eagle Rock's All Star Lanes.
I noticed in your recent listings that All Star Lanes has announced
a new series of Rock'n'Bowl shows with a group called Rock Inc. For the
record, I just wanted it known that High Octane and Bowl-A-Rama have no
connection whatsoever with the current Rock'n'Bowl series at the All Star
Lanes. Thanks!"
--Carlos Alvarado, Hollywood
* * *
"First, I wanted to congratulate Hilary Norton Orozco on her
new position as President of TERA. I have known Hilary for many
years and you will not find a harder worker, champion for all things good
or detail maestro. She is always mindful of the thoughts and hopes of
others and will be an excellent leader for the group.
"Hilary's experience working in City government and now as a public
affairs advocate will benefit Eagle Rock greatly. She is also an
excellent recruiter for Eagle Rock. All of our friends know that if you
are looking for a home, you had better stop in Eagle Rock first before you look
anywhere else!
"My wife and children and I recently visited the Eagle Rock Farmers Market
and had dinner at Colombo's. We had a great time and those Colombo's
meatballs! Wow! As former residents of Pasadena and now residents
of Whittier, we can appreciate the hard work and civic pride of
the residents of Eagle Rock. Keep up the good work.
Besos and Saludos,"
--Victor Franco, Jr. , formerly of Pasadena, now in Whittier
10. QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I never vote for anyone. I always
vote against."
--W.C. Fields
(18791946)
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