The Brief

L.A. is known for a lot of unique things: Our people and communities, our food, our entertainment scenes, our beautiful hikes and access to nature.

But one thing we're not really that known for — or may know about — is our rich historical architecture.

Yes, we have a nice list of Victorian and Queen Anne homes in Angelino Heights, beautiful examples of art deco in downtown and craftsman homes in Mid City, but a lot of beautiful buildings have been knocked down and paved over, largely in the name of progress (i.e. 10 Freeway, L.A Civic Center).

But many of our earliest streetlights still stand; actually they may be the oldest thing in any neighborhood.

“When you're standing here and you're looking at an old streetlight from the 1920s, there's a really good chance that it's the oldest thing in your field of view,” says writer, historian and streetlamp enthusiast India Mandelkern. “It's older than the road, older than the buildings. They really do connect us to the past.”

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Mandelkern wrote a book centered about the city’s streetlights: Electric Moons: A Social History of Street Lighting in Los Angeles.

We have a special history and diversity of designs for our streetlights that go back to the late 1800s.

“There is something that's almost a little bit sacred about an old streetlight,” she says. “They're these modern totems that represented the collective aspirations of our communities.”

Exploring L.A.'s streetlights

Mandelkern began her journey into her “streetlight safari” — what she calls the exploration of streetlamps — during her time as a fellow at LACMA. She created a zine that highlighted Chris Burden’s “Urban Light” public art, which led her to more research about the city’s street lighting. She also credits the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting as helpful in all her history gathering.

In her book, before digging into the actual lamps and architecture, she notes that the Chumash and Tongva tribes have always looked to the lights of the sky — the sun and the stars — to guide them, already making the Los Angeles region a unique place.

As the region became more urbanized and more populated around the turn of the last century, there’d sometimes be no buildings or paved roads — but at least there’d be light.

“If you look at these early advertisements for various subdivisions around L.A., they'll often call out the fact that they have streetlights in addition to … concrete paved roads,” Mandelkern notes. “Streetlights were very much part of the advertisement as a modern residential neighborhood.”

Before lamps went electric, they were gas powered and unreliable. They had to be turned on manually and would blow out with gusts of wind.

The first electric lights hit the L.A. streets in 1882. The progress of electricity was “important in making L.A. a quintessentially modern and progressive city,” Mandelkern says.

And, of course, there was a shift in street lighting in L.A. as cars became the dominant mode of transportation. You might notice some lights point toward the road instead of centering the pedestrian experience on the sidewalk. Other lamps might have light in both directions.

MacArthur Park’s streetlights 

Just near MacArthur Park alone, there is variety in the streetlights. Mandelkern says wandering this area is “urban archaeology at its finest.”

The Wilshire Lantern in McArthur Park was installed throughout the city in 1928.

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Courtesy of Hat and Beard Press

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On the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Park View Street, there are at least four different types of streetlights. One iconic example is the “Wilshire Lantern.”

This particular streetlight from 1928 is a metal pole with a four-sided light box. Its fixture and decor is regal, with four topless women perched at each corner. (Mandelkern notes she doesn’t know whether they're supposed to be “classical Greek figures or flapper dancers.”) They were part of a project to improve Wilshire, to make it more similar to a Fifth Avenue or a Champs-Élysées.

“In order to make that believable, we needed to have really awesome street lights too, in addition to the landscaping and the paving and the road widening and all of these other improvements,” Mandelkern says.

These lanterns, at one point, lined the street all the way to Fairfax Avenue.

Why there's so much variety here

Mandelkern emphasizes that L.A. doesn’t have the most streetlights (there are 223,000 of them), but there are over 400 designs in the city — not counting other cities in the county like Pasadena, or Inglewood.

One industry factor that helped foster different designs was that a few manufacturers, like Marbelite, were L.A.-based companies. And those businesses specialized in different materials, such as concrete or metal. You might spot some of their names stamped on the side or bottom of the light fixtures, by the way.

Behind a decorative streetlight is the Koster House circa 1965, a Queen Anne-style residence at 507 W. Second St. on Bunker Hill. Various apartment buildings, parking lots, the Los Angeles Times building, and City Hall are seen in the distance on the right.

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Courtesy of the LA Public Library TESSA collection

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The way streetlights were set up in previous decades also tell us about the haves and have nots.

“Most of the [historic] streetlights that survive are often tend to be in whiter, wealthier neighborhoods, where there are more people who actually own homes instead of rent because paying for streetlights is the decision of the homeowner,” Mandelkern says.

Oftentimes, one block or group of homes would be illuminated while the next group would remain dark.

“It tells you who wanted to be seen, who wanted illumination, and who either couldn't afford it or … wanted to be left in the dark,” adds Mandelkern.

Maybe next time you’re out on a walk or on the way to work, check out the nearest streetlight and see what kind of story it might depict to you.

Streetlights “can mean progress. But they can also mean romance and nostalgia. They can mean policemen that you didn't really have to pay for. They can mean community, but they can also mean loneliness. And I think that it all depends on context and what we project onto these lamps,” Mandelkern says.

Producer Evan Jacoby contributed to this report.

Big surf from distant hurricanes in the Pacific could bring coastal flooding to Southern California starting this weekend.

Hurricanes Polo and Odalys are expected to cause coastal erosion, flooding and high surf along Southern California's already battered coastline. Swells from Polo are expect to arrive as early as late Sunday and peak Monday and Tuesday.

Bryan Lewis, National Weather Service meteorologist, told LAist that high tides could reach 7 feet. He said Long Beach and Avalon are among the more vulnerable areas for potential flooding and erosion.

Long Beach and Los Angeles warned residents to prepare for potential flooding and other effects through at least Wednesday.

In early September, Hurricane Marie brought coastal erosion and flooding that led homes being red- and yellow-tagged in L.A. and Orange counties.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Friends & Family Flea, a new market from the team behind Maum Market, will make its debut Saturday in Koreatown. 

For organizer Arnold Byun, the launch is something of a homecoming. 

Nearly five years ago, Byun and his co-founder, Kioh Park, were living in Koreatown and spending months at Document Coffee Bar dreaming up what would eventually become Maum Market, the Asian makers market they launched in January 2022. The market now has a regular presence at ROW DTLA, where it hosts pop-up markets on Dock Street several times a year.

“The genesis of Maum Market is actually really embedded in Koreatown,” Byun, 31, told The LA Local. “And we have a lot of affection and personal history with Koreatown, so it’s a very personal thing for us just to return to our roots.” 

Most of the 24 vendors participating in the first Friends & Family Flea have some connection to Koreatown, Byun said. Some grew up in the neighborhood, some still live there and others have moved away but retain ties to the area. The vendor list includes apparel brands, artists, jewelry makers, beauty and wellness businesses and food vendors. 

“We’ve been trying to be pretty intentional about curating from the community as much as possible,” Byun said.

There will be plenty of food and shopping, including “sogeum-bbang,” or salt bread, tea, handmade candles, soaps and vintage clothing, as well as flash tattoos and burgers and fries from Love Hour. The LA Hwatu-Hanafuda Club will teach visitors about hwatu, the Korean deck of playing cards with roots in Japan. The club will also offer $5 tarot card readings.

Friends & Family Flea, a new market from the team behind Maum Market, will make its debut Saturday in Koreatown.

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Courtesy Eena Cho

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Eena Cho, founder of the LA Hwatu-Hanafuda Club, was born and raised in Koreatown. She remembers living with her mother in an apartment on Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue and volunteering at the senior center near Seoul International Park, where she spent time with older Korean residents.

She also grew up playing go-stop with her grandparents during Korean holidays, like Chuseok and Seollal. 

“That was a big part of my childhood,” said Cho, 24. “Another part is that living in LA where there’s so many different groups of people together, I remember my best friend Maria growing up, she was Mexican, and we would be playmates because both of our parents were working overtime.”

For Cho, joining Friends & Family Flea felt like a natural fit.

“Koreatown is a beautiful diaspora of many different cultures,” Cho said. “And I think that makes Koreatown, Koreatown.”

Friends & Family Flea, a new market from the team behind Maum Market, will make its debut Saturday in Koreatown.

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Courtesy Eena Cho

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The local focus is a big part of what Byun hopes will distinguish Friends & Family from other flea markets and fairs. He said organizers wanted to create something that “intentionally celebrates a specific neighborhood,” in this case, Koreatown. 

For the Koreatown market, that also means highlighting small businesses beyond the restaurants that often get the most attention.

“It’s more about, you know, where do we get our dry cleaning, where do we get our shoes done, or these kinds of services that I think don’t get highlighted as often as maybe restaurants do, but are really core and essential parts of a community business,” Byun said.

Byun’s own history with Koreatown also makes the neighborhood an especially fitting place to start.

His family immigrated to the South Bay from Korea in 2002, when he was 6. He remembers coming to Koreatown with his parents on the weekends for Korean meals and grocery trips.

Byun still thinks of the neighborhood as a second home for Korean immigrants, while appreciating how its community has grown more diverse.

“I’m just really happy to see it become a really beloved neighborhood,” he said.

The market is also giving back locally. Hats sold at the event will benefit the Koreatown Youth and Community Center, Byun said.

And this may not be a one-time run. If Saturday goes well, organizers hope to bring Friends & Family Flea back to Koreatown on a monthly basis. They also plan to offer discounted vendor fees to Koreatown residents.

“I feel like there was so much opportunity for us to really hone in and create something more hyperlocal and also really embed ourselves in the community as well,” Byun said.

When I lived in the UK, I worked on a BBC television show about birding. It was a strange experience as I couldn’t exactly book guests — “Hello Mr. Sparrow, could you be on location for an interview at 2 p.m.?”

So instead I spent a lot of time with the crew climbing up mountains with a large tripod on my shoulder. Did you know there’s a bird in the Scottish Highlands whose plumage turns white in winter to blend in with the snow? (It’s called a ptarmigan. Don’t pronounce the p.)

But it did mean I was attuned to British bird calls. I could hear something and pronounce solemnly: “Ah yes, that’s a lark. And that one's a chaffinch."

Moving to LA meant learning a new set of bird calls

When I moved to the U.S., however, it was a whole other story. I really didn’t recognize any of the bird calls. They were all so different. I just shrugged and figured they were part of the backdrop. But one day recently, a woman told me about a free app and said it was life-changing. "Hmm, I’ll see about that," I thought.

Merlin bird app

It’s called Merlin, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and it’s kind of like Shazam for bird calls. As in, you click it, and it tells you what bird song you can hear around you. When I opened it in my backyard for the first time, a whole orchestra of bird sounds opened up around me. I admit: it was kind of life-changing.

Of course it first picked up a crow, which I know only too well, given its loud, raucous sound. But then it identified a house finch. Huh. Who knew they were in my backyard? And as I listened closely, I realized … I knew that sound! It’s the first thing I hear when I wake up at dawn, lovely and melodic.

The house finch, awakening the day.

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Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library

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So now when I open my eyes in the morning, I say, "Good morning, house finch, communing with fellow beings alive on a vibrant California morning!" It kicks off my day, although I guess I’ve been reading too much Mary Oliver.

The backyard birds you're probably hearing right now

But then other birds I didn’t know would pop up on my phone during the day, with names as intriguing as their calls: the spotted towhee, the orange-crowned warbler, or Cassin’s kingbird.

I mean, they do realize they’re in a backyard in Los Angeles, not some estate in Georgian England? My favorite for a while was the dark-eyed junco. Now we’re talking romantic heroes. Imagine him slyly popping across the apple tree limbs to call to you. Dark-Eyed Junco, at your service.

Dark-eyed junco, at your service.

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Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library

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Meet Swinhoe's white-eye, a non-native bird spreading across SoCal

And then there’s Swinhoe’s white-eye. Which sounds a little like an eye ailment, but there you go. It’s a tiny bright yellow bird with a white ring around each eye. So cute! I first noticed them when there were a bazillion of them in a tree outside my house. It was such an unusual sight that I mentioned it to a woman walking her dog, and we stood there, oohing and aahing, until we both realized we’d oohed a little too much, and it was time to go.

Swinhoe's white-eyes are not native to SoCal, but are thriving.

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Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library

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When I researched them, I was surprised to find they’re not native to SoCal. They’re actually pretty new to the area. There were just a handful in Orange County 20 years ago, probably having been brought over from Asia as pets and escaped. And now, they’re thriving and have spread everywhere from Baja to San Luis Obispo. Who knows where they’ll end up next? If anyone sees a chartreuse cutie in New York, let me know. It'll probably be very tired.

Yes, you can see I’ve become slightly annoying with my newfound bird interest. I’ll be asking my family what they want for dinner, and I’ll say, “Wait, is that the spotted towhee?” and turn to my phone, and my teenager will wrest it out of my hand and say, “Mom, be in the present!” Which is right. But my morning serenade as the birds come online one by one and greet the new day — well, that’s as present as you can be.

Walk through the automatic doors at the Carson Library and you’ll see on your left a 1973 painting called "Dominoes" by John Riddle.

Riddle, a prominent Black artist, has worked in the L.A. County Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum, and has been collected by Jesse Jackson and Roberta Flack.

Riddle's work was previously owned by the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company in West Adams. Over two decades, the company’s art director, William Pajaud, an L.A. artist himself, carefully collected hundreds of pieces of Black art. Each piece in the collection, Pajaud said, would be a chapter telling the story of African Americans in the U.S. The collection included oil paintings, watercolors, and sculptures in clay, wood and metal.

When Golden State Mutual Life Insurance shut down, the company sold most of the best pieces at a private auction in 2007, with some selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. L.A. County was able to acquire about 120 works, including Riddle's piece.

To keep the works accessible to the public and free of charge, county officials chose four public libraries and three community centers to show the work. Earlier this year, the county arts department created a new website with a map to make them easier to find. The locations include the Golden State Mutual historic building in West Adams, plus:
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Libraries

• Carson Library (Carson)
• A.C. Bilbrew Library (Willowbrook)
• Masao W. Satow Library (Gardena)
• View Park Bebe Moore Campbell Library (View Park/Windsor Hills)
  

Community centers:

• Curtis Tucker Behavioral Health Center Health Services (Inglewood)
• Willowbrook Senior Center Aging and Disabilities (Willowbrook)
• Mark Ridley-Thomas Behavioral Health Center Health Services (on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Medical Campus).

“All of these are county-owned spaces that are available, accessible to the public and to patrons to be able to live with the works, learn about the works, see the works, learn about the works,” said Kristin Sakoda, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

Dominoes by John Riddle. The painting was part of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance collection but is now part of the Los Angeles County Civic Art Collection.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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As you walk past the checkout desk at the Carson Library, toward the teen section, you’ll see another remarkable piece from the county’s holdings. It’s a two-foot-tall sculpture made from one piece of mahogany. It’s called "The Embrace" by artist Elizabeth Catlett, whose work is in the collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, among many other institutions. Catlett depicted two people hugging, their faces and bodies fused together, their eyes looking at the viewer.

Detail of El Abrazo (The Embrace) by Elizabeth Catlett.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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In the auction catalogue for the Golden State Collection, Catlett wrote: “I still work figuratively, trying to express emotion through abstract form, color, line, and space. I attempt to reach out to ordinary people who have little or no experience or understanding of art principles, and extend to them what I may feel about a subject."

Ancestral Fragments by Stanley Wilson.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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Meanwhile at A.C. Bilbrew Library, north of Compton, there’s a piece by Charles White, who lived in L.A. County for decades and mentored many artists in the region. His paintings and drawings in the 1960s took on the issues of the Black Civil Rights Movement, and that led well-known Black Americans like Nat King Cole and Eartha Kitt to buy his art.

County officials are hopeful that the communities around these neighborhoods enjoy the art’s benefits, including “mental health, in our education, our youth development, our sense of inclusion and belonging,” Sakoda said.