The Giant Donut Capital of the World

It's the first Friday of June, which means it's time to wish you all a Happy National Donut Day!

Of course, though this might seem like one of those hashtaggable "#National[Food Name Here]Day memes that get bounced on Twitter to provide the social media peer pressure of supporting a manufactured capitalist holiday meant to drive up sales of the said food item, National Donut (or Doughnut) Day has apparently been around since the 1930s.

The Militant noticed something while traveling around the South Los Angeles/South Bay area recently -- there's an awful lot of donut establishments with giant donuts on the roof. In fact, some 80 percent of America's giant donut establishments are right here in Southern California. We are the Giant Donut Capital of the World, and don't you forget it! The world-famous Randy's Donuts is the best-known example, located near LAX, and having the distinction of being the only giant donut establishment in the world to have a Space Shuttle pass by outside its doors.

But there are others, too; namely Kindle's Donuts on Century Boulevard and Normandie Avenue (where The Militant enjoyed a rather large Texas Twist donut with a cup of coffee), and Donut King II on Marine and Western avenues in Gardena.

Why the large concentration of giant donuts?

It just so happens there's a connection. In 1950, a local chain called "Big Do-Nut Drive-In" (believe the hyphens) opened 10 locations across Southern California. It was started by an entrepreneur named Russell C. Wendell, who sold donut making machines. With the rise in popularity at the time of drive-thru burger joints (like this one we all know and love), he felt the same could apply to donuts (or do-nuts). Most of his locations, designed by architect Henry J. Goodwin, had a 32-foot-diameter gunnite donut atop the building, angled towards the intersection. He opened the first location in Westmont (now Kindle's Donuts), followed by one in Inglewood (now Randy's Donuts), Gardena (now Donut King II), Culver City, Compton (now Dale's Donuts), North Hollywood, a second Inglewood location, Bellflower (now Bellflower Bagels), Van Nuys and Reseda. Five of the locations that are not currently in operation under another name have met the wrecking ball.

The Big Do-Nut Drive-Ins lasted a little over 25 years, as Wendell sold the stores to individual owners in the 1970s who continued their use as a donut shop. Wendell continued on in the drive thru restaurant business with another now-gone icon: Pup 'N Taco, which lasted from 1965 until Wendell sold the chain to Taco Bell in 1984.

These are the locations of the 10 Big Do-Nut Drive-Ins:

1. Big Do-Nut Westmont (Kindle's Donuts)
1950
10003 S. Normandie Ave
Purchased by Gary Kindle in 1977. Note the hyphenated "Do-Nuts" still remaining in the name, a vestige of the original Big Do-Nut name.

2. Big Do-Nut Inglewood - Manchester (Randy's Donuts)
1953
805 W. Manchester Blvd
Total So Cal icon. Purchased by Robert Eskow in 1976, named it "Randy's Donuts" after his son. In 1978 Eskow sold the shop to his cousins Ron and Larry Weintraub, who still own it today. Open 24 hours.

3. Big Do-Nut Gardena (Donut King II)
1954
15032 S. Western Ave
Open 24 hours.

4. Big Do-Nut Culver City (DEMOLISHED)
4101 Sepulveda Blvd
The site is currently a Goodwill donation center and bookstore.

5. Big Do-Nut Compton (Dale's Donuts)
15904 S. Atlantic Ave

6. Big Do-Nut North Hollywood (DEMOLISHED)
Magnolia Blvd and Laurel Canyon Blvd, SW Corner
This site is currently a parking lot for the neighboring Jons Market.

7. Big Do-Nut Inglewood - Imperial (DEMOLISHED)
Imperial Highway and Hawthorne Blvd

8. Big Do-Nut Bellflower (Bellflower Bagels)
17025 Bellflower Blvd
This location had the smaller, 23-foot-diameter donut. It is the only surviving Big Do-Nut Drive-In that is not operating as a donut shop per se -- although donuts are sold here.

9. Big Do-Nut Van Nuys (DEMOLISHED)
1959
7149 N. Kester Ave
This site is currently a car wash.

10. Big Do-Nut Reseda (DEMOLISHED)
1960
7208 Reseda Blvd
This location, the last to open in the Big Do-Nut chain, also had the smaller, 23-foot donut, mounted on a pole. The site is now a 76 gas station.

Mrs. Chapman's Angel Food Donuts
1950s
Various Locations, Long Beach

But Big Do-Nut wasn't the only giant donut game in town...There was also Angel Food Donuts which also started in the early 1950s. They boasted over twice as many stores as Big Do-Nut (21), but not all of them featured a giant donut, though most had much smaller donuts than Big Do-Nut. Fortunately,three of the giant donut locations still survive today, with the big-ass donuts intact:

Mrs. Chapman's Angel Food Donuts
3657 Santa Fe Avenue

Angel Food Donuts
3860 Long Beach Boulevard

Dunkin' Donuts (You gotta give credit to an East Coast transplant's effort to assimilate...though it was quite a struggle at first)
5590 East 7th Street

The Donut Hole
1958
15300 Amar Rd, La Puente

And while Big Do-Nut was the first drive-thru donut shop, this combo breaker outside of the South Bay area -- in the San Gabriel Valley, of all places, featured a donut shop that you can literally drive through. It was part of a small chain of The Donut Holes in the area, though this one on Amar Road was the only one with a giant donut, which appeared partially buried into the ground, and was a chocolate donut. Anyways, you can still come to this one anytime -- it's open 24 hours.

So for National Donut Day, don't waste your time at just any donut joint, go big! Go grab your donuts at one of Southern California's unique giant donut establishments. And if you do, Tweet a selfie from one (or more) of them with the hashtag #GiantDonut !

The Militant's Epic Militant CicLAvia Tour 10.0!!!!!!!!!

  Interactive Map! Click on green points to view hotspots, or click on entire map for larger view.

It's now time for the second CicLAvia of 2015, which means it's time to start posting again (He may or may not rename this blog, "Epic CicLAvia Tour Guides" eventually).

When The Militant first learned about the minuscule 3.5-mile route for the 13th-ever CicLAvia (and the 10th unique routing, hence the version number), he was kinda bummed. But after doing some Militant research, he found out that Pasadena has lots to offer in terms of history and interesting locations. The last CicLAvia tour only had 20 locations, yet was twice as long!

This is also the first-ever CicLAvia located entirely outside of the City of Los Angeles. The Militant initially decided to defer this to The Militant Pasadenan, but he recently learned that ol' MP moved to Sonoma County in 2009, and no one else has taken up the title since. So, according to Militancy Code, The Militant Angeleno would have to assume MP's duties by default (Ugh, so much responsibilities...). Which reminds The Militant that Long Beach's Beach Streets ciclovia event happens next Sunday. The Militant Long Beacher hasn't returned any of The Militant Angeleno's emails or texts. F'ing flake. Come on, man.

(As consistent with previous Epic Militant CicLAvia Tour maps, this routing starts from the east and works its way westward). Without further delay, let's go!

1. Pasadena City College
1570 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena
1924

What does actor Nick Nolte, director John Singleton, Worf from Star Trek, the original Superman and Jimmy Olson, math teacher con ganas Jaime Escalante, singer Kenny Loggins, all of the original members of Van Halen, the late Coach Jerry Tarkanian, the great Jackie Robinson (who later transferred to UCLA) and Lakers great Michael Cooper have in common?

They all attended Pasadena City College. This school, established in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College, later shared the campus with the original Pasadena High School from 1928 to 1960. In 1954, the college merged with nearby John Muir College and formally changed its name to its current moniker.

The college markets itself as the "#1 Associate Degree for Transfer," meaning, you probably won't stay long here anyway. But they sure have a pretty campus though.

Despite its long list of noble alumni, the school has also produced some dark characters, such as Robert F. Kennedy's assassin Sirhan Sirhan and Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps.

2. Old Highway Marker
1320 Colorado Blvd, Pasadena
1906

On the grass parkway in front of the McDonald's drive thru on Colorado and Hill stands a cryptic stone marker which reads:

(11)
220\222
F.B

It may or may not be a tombstone. Which makes it look even creepy. What do the numbers mean? What does "FB" mean? Did they predict Facebook or something?

Actually, it was the gravesite of the a laborer identified as #11, and he was the 220th of 222 people to die while constructing Colorado Boulevard. The "FB" may to may not be his initials...

...Okay, just kidding. It was actually a stone highway marker placed near there by Los Angeles County in 1906 -- before the road was paved. It turns out in those days, highway signs were made of stone instead of sheet metal. The "11" meant that it was 11 miles until the next highway marker, which was at the old Los Angeles County Courthouse (where Grand Park now stands in front of Los Angeles City Hall). The "220\222" were the block numbers as designated by the county's road surveying system. And the "F.B" stood for "Foothill Boulevard," which the street was originally named. In 1926, that route was designated as part of US Route 66. It is the oldest stone marker in Pasadena, and the sole surviving one of three such markers. The marker was originally placed 25 feet to the west -- where the driveway is, and was moved to the present location in 1994.

For some bonus added history, check out the faded lettering of the wall facing the McD's parking lot. It's from the old Foothill Motors Lincoln-Mercury dealership that existed from 1947 to the late 1980s.

Tweet a selfie with the marker during CicLAvia with the hashtag #EpicCicLAviaTour!

3. Howard Motor Company Building
1285 E. Colorado Blvd
1927

Located in what was considered Pasadena's automobile dealership row (see the Foothill Motors faded wall across the street), Conveniently located along Route 66, this Spanish Colonial Revival building with cherry churro Churrigueresque (like North Hollywood's St. Charles Borromeo church from the last CicLAvia) ornamentation was an attractive showroom for the Howard Motor Company, and later Bush-Morgan Motors from the 1930s to the 1950s. It is currently vacant (want to open a Churrigueresque Churro shop?), but was last used as an auto showroom as recently as the 1990s.

4. Crown City Bank Entrance
1176 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena
1906

The same year the mysterious highway marker was placed down the street, Crown City Bank opened up its main branch here on what is now the Pasadena Coin and Stamp Company. If you're into philately or numismatics, you'll probably be into what's inside. But if not, do observe the 109 year-old tile mosaic entrance. Over the years the building has also hosted a car dealership, a glass and mirror shop, a refrigerator store, and a men's clothing store. Yet the "Crown City Bank" entrance has remained untouched.

What is "Crown City" exactly? Why, it's Pasadena's official nickname.

And while you're here, drop by across the street to the Militant-Approved Book Alley bookstore! A great selection of local history titles!

5. Pashgian Bros. Oriental Rugs
993 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena
1903

Underneath this faded, old school-looking billboard is one of the longest-running businesses in Pasadena. Established in 1889 -- as old as the Tournament of Roses Parade -- this oriental rug store founded by John and Moses Pashgian has been a Pasadena institution for over one and a quarter centuries. Moses Pashgian was even the Grand Marshal of the 1915 Rose Parade, and the brothers are considered the founders of Pasadena's Armenian American community. The Pashgian family still makes its presence in the city. John Pashgian's son, the late Aram Pashgian, was a member of the Tournament of Roses Association, and Aram's daughter, Helen Pashgian, is a renowned visual artist whose work has been displayed at LACMA.

6. Horton & Converse Entryway/Brown & Wein Pharmacy
937 E. Green St, Pasadena
1952

You might be familiar with the Horton & Converse Pharmacy chain in the Westside. But did you know the 98 year-old Southern California-based company once had more stores in the area? Including one here in Pasadena, which was open 24 hours. Today, the Brown & Wein Pharmacy takes its place, but the original Horton & Converse design in the store's threshold still remains.

7. Burlington Arcade
380 South Lake Ave, Pasadena
1980

The first of three "arcades" you'll come across on the CicLAvia route was built in 1980 by controversial Pasadena developer Stanley S. Sirotin, who made this building a mini-replica of the 19th century skylighted mall in London, which is the reason why you'll see an old-school red British telephone box (booth) inside. The 14 stores of this building are rather unique: A chocolatier, a kimono store, a gourmet sandwich shop, among others.

Tweet a selfie in front of the red telephone booth during CicLAvia with the hashtag #EpicCicLAviaTour!

8. Bullock's Pasadena/Macy's
401 S. Lake Ave, Pasadena
1944

Chances are, if there's a CicLAvia, you're going to be passing by an iconic former Bullock's department store building. You saw them on 7th Street in Downtown Los Angeles, and you saw them on Wilshire Boulevard. This Pasadena Bullock's (now a Macy's) was designed by well known local architects Welton Becket and Walter Wurdeman in Streamline Moderne Art Deco stylee. The famed Tea Room was a local institution, and even though the building is over 70 years old, it still carries a contemporary look to it. The building was so influential, it transformed the formerly-residential South Lake Avenue into an upscale commercial shopping district, which continues on today. Do Mind The Bullock's.

9. Pie 'N Burger
913 E California Blvd, Pasadena
1963

Dude. It's Pie 'N Burger. Does it really need an introduction?

The Jonathan Gold Himself once said that if he had to move out of Los Angeles, his last meal would be here. Enough said.

That said, there's gonna be some long-ass lines here on Sunday, so you might as well come back some other time.

10. Vroman's Bookstore
695 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena
1894

Established during the Grover Cleveland administration (though the present location dates back to 1929), this is the oldest and largest independent bookstore in Southern California. Founded by Adam Clark Vroman at its original location on 60 E. Colorado Blvd, the store also sold photographic supplies as well as books.

In addition to an awesome bookstore, try to chillax at the beautiful landscaped courtyard int the back. 

Tweet a selfie at the Vroman's Courtyard with the hashtag #EpicCicLAviaTour!

11. Arcade Lane
696 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena
1927

Across the street from Vroman's, and having stood there two years before the bookstore moved into the block, is the second "arcade" building on the CicLAvia route.

This picturesque building, an award-winning design by Pasadena architects Sylvanus Marston and Garrett Van Pelt, was built as a replica of a marketplace in Budapest, Hungary. It once was the location of the second-ever Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf store. The picture on the left depicts the building in the 1930s.

12. Pasadena Presbyterian Church
585 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena
1908/1976

Despite Pasadena's ethnic-kinda-sounding name (we went over its origin before), it was pretty much founded by a bunch of WASP-folk from Indiana, and the influence of Midwestern American culture still looms large, from the Tournament of Roses organization to the general vibe of the city.

From the city's founding in the 1880s to the 1920s was when the city's large Protestant churches were built along the Colorado Boulevard corridor. The Pasadena Presbyterian Church, whose congregation dates back to 1875 when it was located on Orange Grove and California street, had built two houses of worship before this one was built in 1908.

The church (as in the organization) was also heavily influential in the city's culture: It broadcasted its KPPC (hence the call letters) AM and FM radio stations from 1924 to 1971 which featured religious programming as well as more secular news, talk and music shows (including the first radio home of The Dr. Demento Show (!) in 1970).

The main sanctuary building was damaged in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake (the other original church buildings on the campus still remain), and a new one was built in 1976. It features an Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ which was rescued from the original 1908 sanctuary.

13. First United Methodist Church of Pasadena
500 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena
1923

This congregation dates back to the original 1872 settlers from Indiana, who originally built the church in two previous locations (the second of which was damaged in a tornado (!) in December 1891). After outgrowing its previous buildings, the church moved to its present location in 1923 and built its current English Gothic-style sanctuary, which was designed by architect Thomas P. Barber. It also includes a 1930 Skinner pipe organ.

14. Site of KROQ Broadcast Studio
117 S. Los Robles Ave, Pasadena
1976

Remember KROQ? No, not that lame ass station that's on right now, the good KROQ. As in The ROQ of the '80s? Dude...Rodney on the ROQ? Jed The Fish? The Poorman? Richard MF'in Blade?!

If you do, then...dude, you're old!

The station once broadcasted here, in Pasadena (the station still says "Pasadena/Los Angeles" due to how it's FCC license is registered). But KROQ was, like, totally Pasadena. The station itself had its origins in the old KPPC (remember, the Presbyterian Church down on Colorado?) FM, which broadcasted on the 106.7 frequency. In 1969, KPPC FM moved out of the church (literally and figuratively) due to a change in ownership and in 1973 after another ownership transfer, it became KROQ-FM - "The ROQ of Los Angeles."

KROQ moved to this Los Robles location in 1976, which coincided with the emerging sound of punk rock and new wave music bubbling out of the local underground. Deejay Rodney Bingenheimer broke many local acts such as The Runaways and The Go-Gos, as well as East Coast acts like The Ramones, Blondie and The Talking Heads. KROQ was the tastemaker of the 1980s, and many of the decade's stars came down to the Los Robles studios for interviews. A local venue called Perkin's Palace on Raymond Avenue (more on this later) also hosted many punk and new wave acts, and Pasadena became the totally happening place.

KROQ moved to Burbank in 1987, and after new wave's last hurrah in Pasadena (Depeche Mode's 101 Concert at The Rose Bowl on June 18, 1988), the city was never quite the same again.

15. Pasadena Civic Auditorium
330 E. Green St, Pasadena
1931

Just south of the CicLAvia route, across from Paseo Colorado (formerly the Plaza Pasadena mall) is this stately hall designed by architects George Edwin Bergstrom, Cyril Bennett and Fitch Haskell, this 3,029-seat venue was the home of the Emmy Awards from 1977 to 1997. The 1983 NBC Motown 25 special, was taped here, which means, yes, Michael Jackson's moonwalk was performed to a worldwide audience in this here building.

16. Pasadena City Hall
100 N. Garfield Ave, Pasadena
1927

Fans of the TV show Parks & Recreation will easily recognize this building for some reason...

Built a year before Los Angeles' iconic city hall, this second-most iconic city hall building in Southern California was largely inspired by the 1915 San Francisco City Hall. In fact, the city government wanted one similar to that, so they hired SF city hall architects Arthur Brown, Jr. and John Bakewell, Jr. to design one for the Crown City, this time with Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival elements.

17. Jackie and Mack Robinson Memorial
Holly St. and Garfield Ave, Pasadena
1997

Legendary Brooklyn Dodger and UCLA Bruin Jackie Robinson and his brother, Olympic medalist Mack Robinson, were both raised right here in Pasadena, in a small house (no longer standing) at 121 Pepper Street, off of North Fair Oaks.

This memorial sculpture, designed by artist Ralph Helmick, features, nine-foot, 2700-pound likenesses of the Robinson brothers' heads. It was dedicated in 1997, the 50th anniversary year of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier.

18. Pasadena Public Library Ruins
Raymond Ave and Walnut St, Pasadena
1890

Located at the northwest corner of Pasadena's Memorial Park (It is not, The Militant repeats, not a cemetery, it's quite literally a park that contains various memorial statues and plaques to war veterans and historic individuals) is this freestanding arched structure that looks like some old rich person's tomb (again, Memorial Park is not a cemetery...).

The structure was the entrance to the original Pasadena Public Library (prior to the 1930s, the park was known as the not-macabre-at-all "Library Park"), which operated here from 1890 to 1927. It was damaged in the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake and demolished in 1954 (man, the speed of city bureaucracy...). In 1955 the city of Pasadena decided to keep the arched entrance intact and dedicate it as another memorial in this park, this time to the city's founders.

19. Raymond Theatre/Perkins Palace
129 N. Raymond Ave, Pasadena
1921

Originally built as Jensen's Raymond Theatre (if you know your Los Angeles history, it's the same Jensen's that opened the bowling alley in Echo Park and the former silent movie theatre on Melrose in East Hollywood (now the Ukrainian Culture Center - which was one of the stops in the first few Epic CicLAvia Tours), it was an early venue for vaudeville and silent movie screenings.

In the 1940s, it was sold to Crown Holding Corporation and re-named the Crown Theatre (because, as you know by now, Pasadena is "The Crown City" - and don't you forget it), showing movies until the 1960s. In the early 1970s, one of the theatre's owners was a local ophthalmologist named Dr. Nathan Roth (whose son, David Lee, was attending Pasadena City College at the time and met these guys named Michael, Alex and Eddie).

In the late '70s, the venue was owned by local businessman Mark Perkins who re-named it Perkins Palace, which became the legendary stage for local, national and international rock, pop, punk and new wave acts, from Fleetwood Mac to The Go-Gos to New Order to Oingo Boingo to, yes, Van Halen.

Today, the building remains as part of a new condo/retail complex.

20. Neon Retro Arcade
28 S. Raymond Ave, Pasadena
2015

The third "arcade" on the CicLAvia route is this one -- a video arcade, that opened earlier this year, and specializes in retro (as in 1980s and 1990s, you know, the good stuff) video games, as well as pinball machines for the older school set. If you lovingly remembered the uber-legendary Pak Mann Arcade on 1775 Colorado Blvd back in the day, this is somewhat of a consolation. Anyone wanna play some Tempest or Street Fighter?

Note: If the arcade is closed, come by after 12 noon on Sunday when it opens. After then it will, quite literally, be on like Donkey Kong.

21. Hotel Green/Castle Green
99 S. Raymond Ave, Pasadena
1893

One of Pasadena's most iconic structures, this Moorish-Mediterranean Revival luxury hotel, which was designed by local architect Frederick Roehrig, was built to serve the Santa Fe Railway station across the street (more on this later). Prior to its opening, it was purchased by civil war veteran and snake oil salesman George G. Green (hence Green Street). The hotel was once home to the Tournament of Roses Association and the Valley Hunt Club, which us 99-percenters only really hear about during the Tournament of Roses Parade.

22. Stats Floral Supply
120 S. Raymond Ave, Pasadena
1962

Greek immigrant Dan Stathatos, Sr. once opened a flower shop on 4th and Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles and sold violets. His sons Dan, Jr. and Jerry took over the family business after his father's death in 1941 and in 1962 opened a floral supply, craft arts and outdoor furniture store here on Raymond Avenue in Pasadena.

The real draw of this store is from September to January, where the store becomes this massive, epic Christmas Holiday wonderland: Christmas trees, snowmen, reindeer, elves, angels, nutcrackers, Santas... it's...just...so...over...the...top.

Even if you drop by this Sunday, it won't be in Christmas mode, but it's still a unique store, sort of like a Moskatel's on steroids. If Huell hasn't been here, he should have.

23. Pasadena Santa Fe Depot
230 S. Raymond Ave, Pasadena
1935

Before The Metro Gold Line opened in 2003, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was the rail line that cut through town. The railroad first came to town in 1885, a line built by the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad, which changed hands over the years and was bought by the ATSF Railway in 1906. The line served trains that came as far as Chicago.

The Mission Revival railroad depot was built in 1935 -- four years before Union Station was built in Downtown Los Angeles, and was popular with Hollywood celebrities, who disembarked here, rather than at Union Station, due to the Pasadena station's proximity to Hollywood and the various studios in the San Fernando Valley.

In 1971, Amtrak took over passenger service from the nation's railways and used this station until 1994, when parts of the line leading to Pasadena were condemned following the Northridge Earthquake. In the late 1990s, construction of the much-anticipated light rail line from Pasadena to Downtown Los Angeles was commenced, and the original Pasadena Santa Fe depot was moved several yards to its current location, which is now adaptively reused as the La Grande Orange Cafe restaurant, located adjacent to the Del Mar Metro Gold Line station.

24. The Owl Drug Co. (J. Crew)
3 W. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena
1916

J. Crew? Huh? The Militant shops there? As if! Naw, seriously, look down at the entryway for this J. Crew in Old Town Pasadena and you'll see "The Owl Drug Co." It was a San Francisco-based national chain drugstore and soda fountain (yeah, total old school) that opened its first Pasadena location here almost a century ago. It operated until the 1940s when it was purchased by Rexall Drug Store. It changed hands over the years, weathering the neighborhood's decline and eventual revitalization towards the end of the 20th century.

25. Site of Clune's Pasadena Theatre
61 W. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena
1911

If you're into faded building signs, you're in for a treat. The north and east walls of this building still bear the weather-beaten signage for "Clune's Pasadena Theatre," a vaudeville and silent movie theatre built 104 years ago. John Philip Sousa once performed there with his orchestra,

It became part of the Fox Theatres chain in the 1920s, screening Fox, and later 20th Century Fox films until the 1950s. Today, a Crate & Barrel and a Gap store operate in the former theatre space.

Stay Militant and Happy CiclaDENA on Sunday! Don't forget to blast some Van Halen and wear your crowns!

The Militant's Epic Militant CicLAvia Tour 9.0!!!!!!!!!

Interactive Map! Click on green points to view hotspots, or click on entire map for larger view.

Wow, its it really CicLAvia time again? It was just three and a half months since the last one, and The Militant can still remember that like it was yesterday. Now it's 2015 and we're in for -- count em -- four CicLAvia events this year: The Valley (March 22); Pasadena (May 31); Culver City/Venice (August 9) and the classic Heart of Los Angeles route (TBD October).

For The Militant, this not only means fun for an entire Sunday, but a lot of Militant Research and hard work preparing another one of his Epic Militant CicLAvia Tour guide posts. With three all-new tour guides to research and compose this year, he's got his work cut out for him,

This time around, we get to explore the 818 for the very first time in car-free mode, going along the Lankershim and Ventura boulevard corridors, with the Metro Red Line Universal City/Studio City (ugh, redundant and slashy) station's park-and-ride lot as a junction point and an activity hub.

Now, The Militant did not grow up in the Valley per se, but he did have countless experiences in the SFV, and when it came to composing this guide, he just sat down, looked at a map, and pointed out some places that either meant something historically or personally. Eventually, he came up with 20 of them. It only took one on-site route visit to confirm things, and without any further a due, The Militant Angeleno presents you his Militant guide to the XIIth CicLAvia, or the 9th unique routing. ENJOY!

(As consistent with previous Epic Militant CicLAvia Tour maps, this routing starts from the east and works its way westward).

1. Historic Lankershim Depot
1893
5351 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood

Metro Orange Line riders might wonder exactly what is this mysterious wooden building shrouded behind a fence and banners. Alas, it's one of the oldest surviving buildings in the San Fernando Valley. Built in 1893 as the Toluca Depot by the Southern Pacific Railroad along what was then the railway line from San Francisco to Los Angeles, it fielded both passengers and freight -- namely San Fernando Valley produce, such as peaches and oranges -- for a number of years. In 1911, the building was moved 50 feet to make room for the new Pacific Electric Railway, and the station served both the Southern Pacific and Pacific Electric until the last Red Car ran in 1952. Six years later, the Southern Pacific passenger trains stopped using the tracks and the station was repurposed as a lumber company's loading dock for freight cars. The line was abandoned in 1993, but soon after the new Los Angeles county Metropolitan Transportation Authority (a.k.a. MTA, now Metro), purchased the property as part of a construction staging area for the North Hollywood subway station. When the station opened in 2000, the transit agency announced a commitment to eventually restore the station, already a Los Angeles City Historic-Cultural Monument. Last October, Metro completed a $3.6 million renovation of the building, and even repainted it with the original colors the Southern Pacific built it with. The exact use of the station has yet to be decided, but it may or may not become a multi-use cafe, community space and Metro Customer Service Center.

2. Firefighter Thomas G. Taylor Monument
2001
5300 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood

In the early morning hours of January 28, 1981, a fire broke out at what was then Cugee's Coffee Shop. While members of Los Angeles Fire Department Truck No. 60 were cutting a hole in the roof of the building, it collapsed, killing Apparatus Operator Thomas G. Taylor, a seven-year veteran of the LAFD.

The fire was later discovered to be an arson fire, planned by the restaurant's owners to collect insurance, and paid Van Nuys barber Mario Catanio $2,500 to burn their restaurant down. The owners were each given 10-year prison sentences but Catanio was sentenced to 25 years to life. He was denied parole in 2012.

When the current building was erected in 2001, a bronze memorial plaque for Taylor was placed on the corner of the building where Lankershim intersects with Weddington St. It was covered by The Militant in a blog post on North Hollywood in 2010.

3. Weddington House 

1891

11025 Weddington St, North Hollywood

This dilapidated clapboard bungalow, considered "The Mother House of North Hollywood," on Weddington Street, nearly a block east of the CicLAvia route, has a long and storied history.

In 1889, a farmer from Storm Lake, Iowa named Wilson Weddington visited his sister, who lived in the San Fernando Valley, and fell in love with the place. So much, that he not only moved his own family here, but he dismantled his house and had it shipped by train to what was then known as Toluca.

Weddington, considered one of the founders of North Hollywood, had the house re-assembled in 1891 adjacent to a barley field. It was renovated in 1904, and later moved to make room for the El Portal Theatre. The building was moved three times down the same street, eventually resting in its current location, where it has been standing since 1924.

The building, a Los Angeles City Historic-Cultural Monument, is in a state of limbo. There are plans to eventually restore it, but the question is where. There have been offers to move it to Highland Park's Heritage Square, but many North Hollywood residents, including one of Weddington's descendants, want to see it remain in the neighborhood.

4. El Portal Theatre
1926
11206 Weddington St, North Hollywood

Before there was a "NoHo Arts District," there was the El Portal. 

Opened October 5, 1926 as a 1.346-seat Vaudeville venue and silent movie cinema run by Fox West Coast Theatres, and later, as part of the National General and Mann cinema companies, featured those moving pictures that talk. The theatre and its iconic (well, for NoHo folks, at least) Art Deco facade was designed by architect Lewis A. Smith, who also fashioned the Vista Theatre in East Hollywood and Highland Park's Highland Theatre. It screened films until closing in the 1980s. In 1994, it was a victim of the Northridge Earthquake and was rehabbed in the late 1990s, re-opening in 2000 as part of a re-development renaissance along Lankershim created with the opening of the Metro Red Line station, which in turn sparked the neighborhood's re-branding as the "No-Ho Arts District." What comes around, goes around.

Today it operates as three theaters featuring mostly independent plays, dance productions and musicals, and it was also the recipient of the carpeting from its organ donor, the late Schubert Theatre in Century City.

5. Amelia Earhart Statue
1971
Magnolia Blvd & Tujunga Ave, North Hollywood

The twentieth-century female aviation pioneer and feminist icon had several ties to the North Hollywood (and adjacent) area: In 1935 Earheart moved to a house in nearby Toluca Lake -- her last residence (or at least, her last known residence...). A number of the planes she flew in her famed flights were designed and built by Lockheed in nearby Burbank. 

In 1971, a steel and fiberglass statue, sculpted by Ernest Shelton, was placed on this corner of Magnolia and Tujunga at the edge of North Hollywood Recreation Center. Just a few yards north on Tujunga, the Los Angeles Public Library's North Hollywood Regional Branch was renamed the "North Hollywood Amelia M Earhart Regional Branch Library" in 1981. In 2002, the statue was temporarily removed for renovation, and it returned in 2003, this time rebuilt in bronze.

6. NoHo Gateway
2009
Lankershim Blvd & Huston St

Love it or hate it, it's there, and it welcomes all to the NoHo Arts District. A project of the now-defunct Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles, the quirky, $800,000 NoHo Gateway was built in July 2009 and designed by artist Peter Shire, known for his equally-quirky-but-not-nearly-as-controversial art sculptures in the landscaped (former Pacific Electric) median of Santa Monica Boulevard in WeHo. This was also covered by The Militant in his 2010 blog post on NoHo. 

What does the Militant think of it? Well it's, um, you know...but people will get used to it eventually (a Facebook page called "Tear Down the NoHo Gateway" has not had any activity for the past three years, so maybe it's a sign that people are warming up to this thing...). Such is art.

7. Pacific Electric Right of Way
1911 (abandoned 1952)
Vineland Ave between the 101 Freeway and Chandler Blvd

The CicLAvia route cuts through the bewildering six-way intersection of Lankershim Blvd, Vineland Ave and Camarillo St. But look down through Vineland -- see that landscaped median? If you know your Los Angeles history, you know what that means. Like Leimert Blvd from the last CicLAvia, this, too, is an abandoned streetcar right-of-way. Vineland Avenue carried Pacific Electric Red Cars between the SFV and Downtown Los Angeles. From the other side of the hill, the Red Cars cut through the Cahuenga Pass (now the 101 freeway) and turned north on Vineland, where they once went all the way to San Fernando, Canoga Park or Van Nuys, all except the Van Nuys line closed down in 1938, with the final line closing in 1952. Just south of Chandler Blvd, the line through Vineland curved west (the diagonal wall at the Big Lots store on Vineland and Chandler is a vestigial remnant of this line) to join Chandler, where trains passed through the historic Lankershim Depot.

8. Pacific Electric Substation
1911
Vineland Ave & Riverside Drive

This white building which bears the signage, "The Howard Colonial" is also a vestigial remnant of the Pacific Electric's San Fernando Valley line through Vineland Ave. It served as one of the PE's electric power substations (Number 30 to be exact) that supplied power to the overhead lines that gave juice to the Red Cars that ran past it.

9. St. Charles Borromeo Church
1937 (old building)/ 1959 (current building)
10800 Moorpark St, North Hollywood

This Spanish Colonial-style church designed by Alhambra-based architect J. Earl Trudeau, who also designed Roman Catholic parishes in Culver City, South Los Angeles and Alhambra, has attracted famous parishioners such as actor Bob Hope -- who lived in nearby Toluca Lake and had his funeral here in 2003 (the corner of Lankershim and Moorpark was designated by the City as "Bob and Dolores Hope Square"). Directly west of the main church is the parish hall, which was built in 1937 and previously served as the original church structure. The architecture of the old church was based on the parish's namesake, the 1771 Mission San Carlos Borroméo del río Carmelo in Carmel.

10. Los Angeles River Access
c. 1940s
near Lankershim Blvd & the Los Angeles River

Have you ever seen service trucks drive on the Los Angeles River? How did they do that? Did they really drive all the way from Downtown? Well, no. from this bridge over the River, you can spot access ramps on both the north and south sides of the river; the one on the north side is accessible via a gated lot at the end of Agua Vista Street. Of course, anyone caught doing a RiverLAvia on Sunday , or any day, would be fined $1000.

On that note, how many of you are willing to bail out The Militant? (YOLO...)

11. New NBC Studios
2014
Lankershim Blvd and Muddy Waters Drive, Universal City

Though NBC and Burbank have become inseparable, their corporate relationship with Universal (and Later Comcast) has moved them west, and onto the Universal backlot. In February 2014, TV station KNBC 4 , KVEA Telemundo 52 and the NBC News West Coast Bureau moved into a new state-of-the-art digital facility along the Los Angeles River. The old NBC studios in Burbank is now an independent rental studio facility called The Burbank Studios. This is also a big year for its Universal parent/partner; Universal City celebrated its 100th birthday this past Sunday. Give Fritz Coleman a bi ol' shout-out if you see him this Sunday.

12. Campo de Cahuenga
1847
3919 Lankershim Blvd, Studio City

Yes, this adobe abode was the location where Lt. Col John C. Fremont and General Andres Pico signed the Treaty of Cahuenga in 1847, formally ending the frequent skirmishes between the U.S. and Mexico, and eventually paving the way for California to become an independent nation, and eventually a U.S. state. It all began here, people. Those northern Cali folks beta recognize! You'll have to go inside to experience more of the history, and if you want more, go to the Metro Red Line platform at the Universal City/Studio City station next door and read the art that adorns the station. Also, the actual table where the treaty was signed is on display at the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park as part of their Becoming Los Angeles exhibit, which The Militant wrote about in 2013.

13. "The Oasis" Native Plant Garden
2009
Ventura Blvd between Eureka and Arch drives, Studio City

This pleasant California native plant garden was a streetscape and pocket park project by the Studio City Beautification Association done in 2009. Located literally where the Santa Monica Mountains meet Ventura Boulevard, it gives pedestrians a chance to connect with the natural indigenous habitat of the mountain range. With a dirt "hiking" path subbing for the sidewalk here, one can see California Golden Poppies, Matilija Poppies, Purple Sage, California Lilac and purple Verbenas. And since we've experienced an early Spring this year, many of them are already in bloom.

14. Brady Bunch House
1959
11222 Dilling St, Studio City

Here's the story
Of a house named Brady
It's just a few blocks from the CicLAvia route
Go up Tujunga, turn right on Dilling
And see what it's all about...

No doubt you've seen this house numerous times on TV Land or in local syndication or (if you're old enough) on primetime on ABC from 1969 to 1974. It was selected by "The Brady Bunch" creator Sherwood Schwartz in 1969 to represent "California living," "a place that an architect would live in" and "not too affluent, but not too blue-collar either."

But though the television show had that famous iconic staircase, the real house on 11222 Dilling Street is only a single-story, split-level abode. The show's crew placed a fake window under the facade's A-frame during location shooting to depict a second level.

Here's an interesting tidbit about the Brady Bunch house: You already know about the history of the Weddington House. But did you know there's a direct connection between the two famous Valley houses? The Brady Bunch house was designed and built by Luther B. Carson (who, like Mike Brady was an architect) in 1959 on a then-empty lot after the construction of the Ventura Freeway forced them to move from their previous home nearby. He was already deceased by the time the house was selected by Schwartz for the TV show. His widow, Louise Weddington Carson (who died in 1994) was Wilson Weddington's great-granddaughter.

15. VETura Boulevard
Ventura Blvd between Colfax and Radford avenues

Did you know that this two-block stretch of Ventura Boulevard has the highest concentration of veterinary hospitals/clinics in the entire City of Los Angeles? Well, neither did The Militant until he recently surveyed the CicLAvia route. In this section of Ventura between Colfax and Radford avenues alone, there are five veterinary facilities: Parker Pet Hosptial, Veterinary Medical Center, Animal Emergency Centre, Studio City Animal Hospital and Tully & LaBounty Pet Clinic.

The Militant used to take his beloved K-9 unit (may his or her soul rest in peace) to one of those hospitals. Like Sunset Blvd's Guitar Row or Wilshire Blvd's Hair District, it's one of the many unofficial specialty retail districts of Los Angeles that makes this city so unique. And because there's so many pet health care facilities on this block, The Militant has thusly given this part of the street the moniker, "VETura Boulevard" (come to think of it, a famous cinematic pet detective had the name "Ace Ventura." Coincidence?).

16. Mack Senett Studio Site/CBS Studio Center
1928
4024 Radford Ave, Studio City

Do you know why Studio City is called "Studio City?" Because it's close to Universal Studios, right?
BZZZZT! WRONG! (That's Universal City...) It's because of this place.

Back in the '90s (er, the 1890s, that is), this area was called Laurelwood. With farming wrapping up by the end of the 19th century, it became a hotspot for real estate at the turn of the 20th. Mack Sennett, who already built Los Angeles' first movie studio in what is now Echo Park in 1912, decided to build a second, 20-acre studio on the banks of the Los Angeles River in this location in 1928. He sold the studio due to bankruptcy in 1933 to Mascot Pictures, changing hands over the decades to Monogram Pictures and Republic Pictures until the latter's demise in 1958. Then CBS started leasing, and later purchased the facility, and in the early 1960s it became the location where the network's own produced series were filmed. The classic TV shows "Gilligan's Island," "Gunsmoke," "My Three Sons" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" were all filmed on that lot. In fact, the large parking garage on the right before Radford meets the Los Angeles River was the site of the Gilligan's Island lagoon. Today, the studio is also the home of local television stations KCBS 2 and KCAL 9.

17. Los Angeles River Greenway Park
2004
Los Angeles River between Whitsett and Radford avenues

Yeah, so the Los Angeles River in the Valley isn't as scenic and green as what you see down by Griffith Park and Frogtown (except for this section, which is a few more miles upstream). But at least this picturesque greenbelt and walking path, which opened in 2004, is still much more pleasant and scenic than the other Los Angeles River crossing by Lankershim. If CicLAvia gets too crowded, you might want to use this route as an alternate. If you can't get enough of the river, you can re-join the greenbelt west of Coldwater Canyon, where a similar path runs west to Fulton Avenue. In the near future, a linkage path will connect the two linear river parks between Coldwater Canyon and Whitsett.

18. LAFD Fire Station 78
1943/2008
4041 Whitsett Ave, Studio City

Gentrification and hipsterization might be causing more segregation in our communities, but there was a time in our City' history when segregation in certain City institutions was the law.

Remember the story of the African American Firefighter Museum on Central Avenue from previous CicLAvias? Well, here's the sequel to the story.

For much of LAFD's history, only two fire stations, No. 14 and No. 30 (now the museum), were the only fire stations that allowed African American firefighters. a series of events in the 1950s raised issues of racial integration in the LAFD and in 1955, two black firefighters and six white firefighters (who supported integration) were re-assigned to replace the all-white staff at this fire station on Whitsett Avenue, and it became the very first racially integrated fire station in the LAFD. It was not without controversy, of course -- many community members protested and used the new firefighters' unfamiliarity with the local streets and topography (they came from other parts of the city) as one reason for opposing the re-assignment. Eventually, in September 1956, all Los Angeles Fire Department stations were racially integrated.

Although, this was not the original building of LAFD Fire Station No. 78; this was a new facility that was built in 2008. But you can still visit the original location along the CicLAvia route (adjacent to the Sportsmen's Lodge), which was on 4230 Coldwater Canyon Ave, just north of the 76 gas station.

19. Original Jerry’s Famous Deli
1978
12655 Ventura Blvd, Studio City

This was the very location where Jerry Seidman and business partner Isaac Starkman started their deli-food empire of celebrity clientele, 700-item menus and very mediocre, overpriced food. It's been said that an already-famous Andy Kaufman worked here as a busboy in the late '70s. In 2001, a fire damaged the restaurant, which was closed until it reopened to its currently-remodeled format in 2003. But if you want the Militant's advice, if you're hungry for a pastrami sandwich or cheese blintzes during CicLAvia, skip the long waits at this overrated joint and head a few blocks east to Art's Delicatessen on 12224 Ventura instead.

20. Sportsmen’s Lodge

1885
12825 Ventura Blvd, Studio City

Originally built as a place where Valley residents and visitors can experience the rapidly-vanishing rural lifestyle of the San Fernando Valley of the 19th Century, in the 20th century it became popular for its stocked fishing ponds, and a celebrity hang due to its proximity to the aforementioned studios on Radford Avenue, In recent history, its events center has become a venue for countless Angeleno wedding receptions, bar/bat mitzvahs, proms, quinceañeras, and other events. The Militant even had one of his high school reunions here.

As you may or may not have heard earlier this week, this place will soon be undergoing some changes. Gone will be the beloved events center and scenic grounds, to be replaced by some outdoor retail mall type thingie. The hotel will stay though. The Militant doesn't know what to think of all this (as if The Valley really needs another Crate and Barrel), but in the meantime, come check out this unique Valley institution while it lasts.

So there it is, take it. Happy CicLAvia this Sunday, and if you see The Militant on the streets, raise your fist for him!

26.2 Points Of Light

If you squint, you can see some of the illumination columns from the Los Angeles Marathon lights (Taken from atop the La Cienega Metro Expo Line station parking garage).

So yeah, The Militant is a sucker for epic things in Los Angeles: Epic sunsets, epic space shuttle parades, epic CicLAvia tours, you know the deal. Naturally, when he found out earlier in the week that Asics America would be sponsoring a special by-the-mile illumination of the 2015 Los Angeles Marathon route on Friday night to celebrate its 30th Anniversary, he was down like James Brown for this, and even almost forgave Fr*nk McC**rt for running the Marathon (...almost).

We haven't seen anything quite like this. Not even for New Year's Eve, not even for the '84 Olympics. So this was pretty epic indeed.

The Militant instinctively knew that the usual vantage points -- Griffith Observatory, Runyon Canyon, the Getty Center, etc. would be crowded as hell, not to mention the usual parking snafus you'd expect from such a gathering. So being near the Crenshaw area at the time, he made a dash to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook...where a Culver City police car was blocking the entrance.

Okay then. Plan B. Head to the Metro Expo Line's La Cienega park & ride station, and view the lights from the roof of the parking garage. So here goes:

Okay, that was subtle. It didn't quite look like this:

But we sure fell for it, huh? Actually, the rendering looks like each block was being illuminated, rather than each mile, and the actual time the lights went on was an hour or so after dusk.

But if he looked real hard, he could make out the lights, shooting up straight into the partly-cloudy nighttime summer winter sky. It just didn't turn out so well on his Militant Spyphone.

He wanted to see these lights up close so he headed east on the 10 towards Downtown, and made his way though Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park. The next light column was at Sunset and Silver Lake Boulevard, easily visible along the road ahead:

It wasn't a single Klieg light, but a quartet of Syncrolite SXL 7,000-watt Xenon skylight fixtures at each mile marker, plus the start and end of the Marathon route.

The Militant headed west along Sunset and then Hollywood Boulevard, but was shocked to find the nearest light turned off. He asked the attendant what was up, and he told The Militant, "They're doing something..."

Oookay.

But a few patient minutes later, four blue-white columns of light beamed up from atop the rented Enterprise flatbed truck, several thousand feet into the sky, where spots of light dotted the sky like an impromptu constellation above the City of Angels. The lights were so bright from the ground that dust and flying insects were automatically illuminated directly above the truck. The Militant was solo tempted to make shadow puppets.

It was incidental macro-sized public art (eat your heart out, Christo). Though it wasn't as impressive as the rendering -- admittedly more light into an already light-polluted environment isn't really going to be that outstanding -- it held a beauty on its own. You can trace the Marathon route in the sky, somewhat. From a distance, you can see what a mile looks like. For those who were attracted to the lights, it was a moment of community, of a shared experience, of beauty.

It might be cool to do this again. Maybe with brighter LEDs. Maybe with a more sustainable means of power than 27 diesel power generators. Maybe Metro can do this on the night of July 14 with light columns emanating from all 80 Metro Rail stations to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our modern rail transit system (no, maybe they should do this).

[Hey yo, Militant, not bad for your first blog post in three months...that didn't hurt, did it? Now let's try this again sometime soon, okay?]