The Brief

One of TV’s most famous sitcom houses has entered L.A.’s landmarking process.

City officials are considering whether to grant a mid-century modern ranch known as the Brady Bunch house historic-cultural monument status.

The owner of the Studio City house is seeking the designation with the backing of preservationists like those at the Los Angeles Conservancy.

“That show would not be the show without that house,” said Adrian Scott Fine, president and CEO of the conservancy.

The living room has been recreated to look like the TV show’s iconic set, with the open staircase and mid-century décor.

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Los Angeles Conservancy

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Used in the show’s establishing shots during its run from 1969 to 1974, the house is instantly recognizable to generations of fans who watched Mike and Carol Brady wrangle their lively brood of six under its gabled roof.

Though interior scenes were shot on a studio lot, the house façade has become as iconic as Peter’s first voice crack and Jan’s immortal wail, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!”

Fans make regular pilgrimages to snap photos out front, and limited charity tours of the house sell out.

Fine said the house helped shape how audiences around the world envisioned an idyllic suburban life in Los Angeles.

“It feels like stepping back into your childhood,” said Fine, who watched re-runs of the show growing up in the Midwest. “Comfort, warmth — it's a place that feels good to so many people.”

A mid-century TV Star

Built in 1959 and designed by Harry Londelius Jr., the Dilling Street home was chosen by producers for its close proximity to the studio and its look — the kind of distinctive mid-century house viewers could easily imagine an architect like Mike Brady living in.

As television production consolidated in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, shows like The Brady Bunch relied on actual exteriors used to ground shows in otherwise studio-filmed episodes, according to a report by the city’s Planning Department recommending review of the Brady Bunch house application.

Other Los Angeles homes that became famous through establishing shots include the residences featured in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Beverly Hillbillies and The Golden Girls.

HGTV recreated the Brady Bunch staircase for its 2019 renovation show.

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Los Angeles Conservancy

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As part of the HGTV remodel show, The Brady Bunch kitchen was recreated with its orange countertops and avocado-green appliances.

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Los Angeles Conservancy

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HGTV’s Big Makeover

After the show’s five-season run, The Brady Bunch lived on in syndication for decades, with the house imprinting on viewers across generations.

The home-remodel network HGTV helped revive the house's fame with a 2019 show.

For the series A Very Brady Renovation, the network brought back cast members to help rebuild the inside of the house to mimic the sets fans knew from TV, from the open, split-level staircase to the kitchen with orange Formica countertops.

After the series, HGTV sold the house for $3.2 million to current owner Tina Trahan, a superfan who told People in 2023, "It was like, 'I need this house. I have to have the house.’”

“I just felt like it was just part of America and the culture,” she said.

What’s next

Lovingly maintained, the Brady Bunch house is not at risk of teardown like other structures that preservationists have tried to save around town by seeking historic-cultural monument status.

But Fine argues that now is the time to act.

“Ideally, what we should be doing for all of the architecturally, culturally significant places in L.A. is codifying and ensuring that they have some type of level of recognition and protection, so that there isn't a risk down the road where you are scrambling,” Fine said.

Members of the Cultural Heritage Commission are expected to visit the property in the coming weeks, then vote on whether to recommend monument status to the City Council.

With this designation, any major exterior alteration or demolition proposal would trigger review by city staff and the Cultural Heritage Commission.

“It doesn’t mean it could never be demolished,” Fine said. “But it would be very difficult, and there would be a lot of steps to go through before you ever got to that stage.”

A vote by the City Council is expected in the coming months. Years later, the Brady Bunch house still knows how to pull focus.

Fire survivors are calling for longer timelines on mortgage forbearance and better policy to stop credit hits as the expiration of mortgage protections looms nearly a year after the most destructive fires in L.A. County history.

After the Eaton and Palisades fires, hundreds of mortgage companies promised to let borrowers delay their monthly payments for 90 days. In September those protections were extended and enhanced when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 238 into law. That allowed survivors to request forbearance for up to 12 months, without requiring full repayment at the end of the forbearance period.

Ever since, fire survivors have said some mortgage lenders are not adhering to those rules.

“We have heard feedback that there is widespread activity that goes to show that a lot of banks and a lot of mortgage services are not actually complying with 238,” said Assemblymember John Harabedian, who wrote the law.

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation told LAist it has received more than 200 complaints from L.A. fire survivors “related to issues such as credit reporting, forbearance terms and insurance payouts.”

Harabedian said his office has been receiving calls as well.

“ A lot of people who rightfully deserve forbearance are not being given it, or to the extent that they're being offered forbearance, they're being tasked with things that are illegal under the law, like negative credit reporting, lump sum payments, et cetera,” Harabedian said.

He said holding companies accountable remains a challenge, since that requires survivors to report the issues they’re experiencing.

“It should not be incumbent on the borrower to have to educate a financial institution that's licensed and operating in the state of California that this is the law,” Harabedian said.

Loopholes

Aimee Williams, a housing rights attorney for the legal aid nonprofit Bet Tzedek that is working with fire survivors, said she has seen many clients benefit from the passage of AB 238. But big loopholes remain. She said the law doesn’t mandate the protections and there is still little transparency from many mortgage lenders about how their mortgages work and what people’s rights are.

“It's a step in the right direction, but outside of an overhaul of the law and providing something standard that all mortgage services need to follow, it's going to continue to be a bit of a mystery for people,” Williams said. “And unfortunately, we're going to continue to see people being surprised by demands for payment or threats of foreclosure.”

That’s what happened to Tamara Carroll, whose Altadena home survived the Eaton Fire. With smoke and other damage, though, it took more than eight months for her to safely return.

Tamara Carroll assesses damage to her patio from the Eaton Fire earlier this year.

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Noé Montes

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She entered forbearance for the first three months after the fire while she lived in a Burbank hotel and took some time off work to cope with the stress. She said she extended that forbearance another three months when she was still displaced and sorting out her finances. Then she got a call — she was in active foreclosure.

“I literally screamed,” Carroll said.

The state policy urging lenders to extend those protections up to a year had not yet gone into effect, but Carroll said she got no warning or explanation that she could go into foreclosure if she continued with her forbearance, which is required by state and federal law.

A spokesperson for Carroll's lender, the Rocket Mortgage-affiliated Mr. Cooper,  said they didn't have any record of her asking for an extension. She says she did request one over the phone. The spokesperson said the company has fully complied with AB 283.

Without the extension, Carroll was told she’d have to pay about $18,000 — to make up for the last six months of forbearance plus additional fees — to get back in good standing, she said. Carroll used insurance money that she was going to use to replace her roof, which was damaged in the fire, to pay off the bank.

“I just feel like they took advantage of me,” Carroll said. “I was so emotionally battered from the fires … so I just didn’t have the energy to fight an institution that really didn’t care.”

A call for better policy 

As temporary housing insurance dries up, the challenges are only mounting for fire survivors. Many are paying rent on top of mortgages for homes that no longer exist or are still uninhabitable.

One Palisades couple is leading the charge for stronger mortgage protections — Rachel Jonas and Rob Fagnani lost their home in the Marquez Knolls neighborhood, where they had planned to raise their two young children. Now they’ve relocated to Fagnani’s parents’ house in Tennessee as they work to rebuild, which they expect to take at least another year.

“We want to be back in L.A., and we want to be in L.A. for the future,” Fagnani said.

Rob Fagnani, left, and Rachel Jonas, in front of where their Palisades home stood, are calling for policy changes.

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Courtesy of Rob Fagnani and Rachel Jonas

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While they don’t have to pay rent, they still have a substantial mortgage and are underinsured, so they decided to enter forbearance as they figure out how to finance their rebuild. Fagnani’s finance background gave him the tools to dig deeply into mortgage and insurance policy.

After talking with dozens of colleagues and friends in the mortgage and finance world, he and Jonas decided to organize their neighbors around mortgage policy reform for disaster survivors.

“Most people are underinsured. Everyone's trying to free up cash. Most people already have too much debt anyway, and they don't want to add on additional debt,” Fagnani said.

So they built a website and a platform to help neighbors easily send letters to their representatives to call for more comprehensive federal mortgage protections for disaster survivors across the country.

Their asks include:

• Extending the forbearance period for two to three years.
• Add deferred payments to the end of the loan term at current interest rates, with protections to avoid damage to credit scores and foreclosure pressure. 

“Many people are maybe a couple hundred thousand dollars short, and those couple hundred thousand dollars are the difference between them being able to square the economics,” Fagnani said. “So this is a way to do that without forcing families to take on more debt.”

Their efforts are gaining traction — Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park highlighted their advocacy in her newsletter last month. Mayor Karen Bass recently called on banks to voluntarily extend their forbearance relief for an additional three years. And some lenders are voluntarily doing the same — Bank of America announced it will offer up to three years of forbearance to fire survivors, though most people will have to modify their loans, which can hurt their credit.

Williams, the lawyer, said a standard at a federal level is “a great idea,” though she doubts the current Congress will be open to it. Mortgage-relief legislation proposed by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) earlier this year did not pass.

“Forbearance is not supposed to be … you'll be able to pay everything in full after the period ends,” Williams said. “It really gives you breathing room to figure out what to do next to make your long-term financial plans while trying to stay on top of your short-term financial security.”

On a recent rainy afternoon, a handful of students gathered in a small UCLA classroom to pore over autopsy reports and death records.

They took turns presenting different cases, sharing what they’d gleaned from documents about people who died at the hands of police. After an overview, they honed in on the reports’ details.

As part of the university’s BioCritical Studies Lab, the significance of the students’ work extends far beyond the classroom.

Terence Keel, a professor in the Department of African American Studies and the Institute for Society and Genetics, founded the lab in 2020, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. After watching police take Floyd’s life, Keel wondered how many others died under similar circumstances.

Together, Keel and his students have produced multiple reports about in-custody deaths. Through this work, the professor has learned that every day in the U.S., about five people die in jail or during arrests.

The reports, coupled with conversations with community activists and people who’ve lost loved ones across the country, underpin Keel’s new book, The Coroner's Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence.

How a lab discussion uncovers details

This recent class session started by examining a San Diego case involving a man who died in 2020 after being tased by police three times.

One student said it was “pretty shocking” that no officers faced liability. Another brought up the difference between what was stated in the autopsy report and the San Diego district attorney's account.

In the latter, the student noted, “It says that [an] officer put his left knee on [the man’s] upper back and neck. ... That provides a lot more context as to why [the man] became unresponsive.”

Not only was that detail left out of the autopsy report, another student added, “But on page seven, it says, ‘It does not appear that the officers at any time significantly placed their weight or pressure on the decedent’s head, neck or torso’ — which directly goes against what you just read.”

“Did anyone notice, on Page 5 of the [autopsy], the contributing factor to death was ‘atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease,’” Keel asked the class. “What did you all make of that?”

The lab secures autopsy reports and death records through public records requests. Students are assigned at least one case per week. They’re tasked with coding these cases, following a strict protocol. As they answer questions provided by their instructors, the students input the data in a survey for the lab’s Coroner Report Project.

In his new book, Keel describes the obstacles he faced in securing these records.

The professor says “a part of [him] had to perish” to write the text — the part of him that “wanted to believe America was growing into our best values and evolving beyond the primitivism of our past.”

“I am grateful for this loss,” he writes.

Before conducting his research, “I could not imagine how often these deaths occurred, how they were hidden from the public or the sheer magnitude of lethal police violence,” Keel adds.

“I hope you lose a part of yourself,” too, he tells readers, “and gain in return the ability to see the humanity of the people we are socialized to forget.”

Keel’s students already are heeding the call.

What kinds of students participate

The professor's students span majors from the humanities to life sciences. Many of them are pre-med. Grace Sosa, a former student, is the lab’s assistant director and co-leads class discussion.

“We welcome the feelings that come up — the rage and the sadness and the anger — all that stuff,” Sosa said. “The data collection that we do is important, but it's also important to never lose sight of the fact that every single one of these deaths should not have happened. And that should make us feel something.”

This approach sits well with students like Stepheny Nguyenle, a recent graduate who continues to be part of the lab.

“More than anything,” she told LAist, “I joined because I wanted to learn and grow alongside a group of people who believe in a better world, where human dignity takes precedence.”

For others, the lab is an invitation to take what’s learned and probe the world around them.

Senior Zaia Hammond (center), a Human Biology & Society major and African American Studies minor, said Keel's lab has helped her become more empathetic toward others, especially incarcerated people.

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“[T]his is the first time I've ever looked at an autopsy report,” said sophomore Ellie Portman, who's now prone to scrutinizing news media. “We [grow up thinking] that whatever is in an autopsy report is correct and whatever the police do is right. ... This lab has taught me the importance of asking questions and being curious,” she said.

Junior Manhoor Ahmad also said the lab “has really taught me to go deeper.”

“I pay attention to the layers behind every incident: the police tactics used; the medical vulnerabilities of the person involved; how force escalates; the stress on the body; and the role that institutions play in framing these [deaths] as unavoidable,” she said.

How the community has been involved

When Keel launched the lab, a local woman named Helen Jones helped guide discussions.

Jones, a Watts native, lost her son in 2009. His name was John Horton III, and he was 22 years old when he died inside Men’s Central Jail in downtown L.A. authorities said he died by suicide in solitary confinement. But in Jones’ view, his body told a different story.

When Horton’s body was being prepared at a mortuary, Jones noticed wounds, bruises and scrapes across his body.

In his book, Keel notes that Horton “had no record of mental illness and was not under suicide watch when he was taken to prison.” Plus, when his family received the lab results, “they revealed that [Horton] had sustained recent injuries to his abdomen, adrenal glands, skeletal muscles in his lower back and kidneys.”

In the autopsy report, the coroner ascribed Horton’s death to “hanging and other undetermined factors.” But if Horton was alone in his cell, his mother wondered, how did those internal injuries occur?

Keel met Horton’s mother in 2020. At the time, she was a community organizer with Dignity and Power Now, a grassroots organization based in L.A. that’s working toward prison abolition. The experience of losing her son pushed Jones to become well-versed in death records. When Keel’s lab took off, she’d bring records of people who’d lost their life in custody and share her insights with his students.

Jones “had a wealth of knowledge and expertise about the faults and virtues of our death investigation system that would have taken decades for most academics to acquire,” Keel says in his book.

Through Jones, Keel and his students learned about “how death investigators weaponized details about the criminal history of the deceased, or their troubles with substance abuse or, even worse, their health history, making the case that they were going to die regardless of the actions of police.” Jones drew the lab’s attention “to the places in the autopsy where illegible handwriting, unchecked boxes, missing files and vague language obscured or distorted what happened to the victim and why.”

Keel’s lab and book also have been shaped by other families who’ve grappled with in-custody deaths. Out of necessity and desperation, he said, these families likewise taught themselves how to read autopsy reports, using anatomy books, along with legal and medical dictionaries.

Keel hopes his book finds its way to people who think in-custody deaths are an issue from which they’re far removed.

“[T]here is a perception that [this] is a Black and brown problem,” Keel told LAist. “But when you look at the data, look at the raw numbers, white Americans are the largest group in the nation being killed by police. ... And when you look at all of the people who are dying in custody, every single demographic in [the U.S.] is represented.”

Disclosure: Julia Barajas is a part-time law student at UCLA.

We lost a titan of the Los Angeles architecture world this week with Frank Gehry’s death, but fortunately, he left this city with several indelible marks. To honor his memory, I’d suggest heading to Walt Disney Concert Hall and taking the self-guided audio tour of the incredible space that he designed; the tour takes you through the gardens, the auditorium itself and all kinds of nooks that you wouldn’t find on your own. It’s free and available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

In music this week, Licorice Pizza recommends modern rock gods the Struts doing a special acoustic performance and Q&A at the Grammy Museum on Monday night. On Wednesday, Postmodern Jukebox plays the Grove of Anaheim, and Danity Kane are at the El Rey; Thursday, breakout UK pop star Luvcat is at the El Rey, while Ben Folds plays the Blue Note. And Tom Petty & Heartbreakers guitar legend Mike Campbell plays with his band, the Dirty Knobs, at the United Theater.

Elsewhere on LAist.com, you can get the skinny on Metro’s water taxi plan for the 2028 Olympics, learn the secrets behind Stranger Things' special effects and food and culture writer Gab Chabrán eats L.A.’s most expensive tamale so you don’t have to.

Events

Will Butler & the Stereophonic cast

Thursday, December 11, 4:30 p.m. 
Amoeba Music
6200 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Julieta Cervantes

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I recently saw the Tony-winning play for 2024, Stereophonic, in London and loved it. The story of the making of a record by a Fleetwood Mac-esque band in Northern California in the '70s is imaginative and transportive. Lucky for us, it’s coming to L.A. this week. To celebrate the opening, the show’s composer, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), and members of the cast will be performing a free in-store show at Amoeba in Hollywood. Don’t miss it — or the show, which is at the Pantages through Jan. 2.

Jonathan Richman

Monday, December 8, 7 p.m. 
Sid the Cat Auditorium
022 El Centro St., South Pasadena
COST: $39.25; MORE INFO

The Sid the Cat team said they long dreamed of a basketball court with their logo in the middle, but due to space issues they settled on a pickleball court.

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Courtesy Sheva Kafai

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Perhaps the most anticipated new venue amongst the indie music set, Sid the Cat Auditorium just opened in South Pasadena with a great lineup of artists headlining throughout the next few weeks. Check out singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman, cofounder of influential punk band Modern Lovers, with Tommy Larkins on the drums. Read more about the spot’s history — and future — here.

Hot Chocolate Nutcracker

Through Sunday, December 14
Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center
1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach
COST: $54.59; MORE INFO

Debbie Allen dance academy EB RECITAL 2024

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LEE TONKS PHOTOGRAPHY

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There are so many Nutcrackers to choose from in the next few weeks, but it’s always a great time and a fun twist on the original to see Debbie Allen's version, Hot Chocolate Nutcracker, which is celebrating its 15th year on stage. Really want to splash out? There’s also a special star-studded performance and gala on Dec. 11.

PlutoTV: Holidays are Brutal Rage Room

Thursday, December 11, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Rage Ground
120 E. 11th St., Downtown L.A.
COST: FREE WITH RSVP; MORE INFO

I am always hesitant to share marketing activations, but this one is too clever (and fun) not to include. If you’ve never been to a rage room, they are expensive but cathartic ways to get your pent-up frustration out via smashing glass, car windows, throwing hammers — you name it. The holidays can definitely spark anger, so put your holiday stress to bed before seeing your family by signing up for a free rage room session, thanks to PlutoTV’s “The Holidays are Brutal” collection of shows.

A Christmas Carol

Through Monday, December 22
Independent Shakespeare Company 
ISC Studio 
3191 Casitas Ave., #130, Pasadena
COST: $33.50; MORE INFO

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Grettel Cortes

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Another Christmas Carol? Well, yes, but this one is told from the author’s perspective. Your dear narrator is Charles Dickens himself, played by Independent Shakespeare Company actor David Melville. It's the show's 20th time being performed at the Independent Shakespeare Company.

Robert Rauschenberg at Gemini G.E.L.: Celebrating Four Decades of Innovation and Collaboration

Through Friday, December 19 
Gemini G.E.L.
8365 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Gemini G.E.L.

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As a titan of American art and precursor to the pop art movement, Robert Rauschenberg often collaborated with art publisher Gemini to create unique works and oversized prints. In this new show celebrating 40 years of projects, you can see prints like "Booster," a six-foot, scanned X-ray image of the artist himself.

Guest chef dinner with Chef Joe Hou

Monday, December 8 
Charcoal Venice 
425 Washington Blvd., Venice
COST: $125; MORE INFO

Chef Josiah Citrin’s Charcoal celebrates its 10th anniversary with a one-night-only guest chef dinner featuring Chef Joe Hou, Chef de Cuisine at the Michelin-starred Angler in San Francisco. The menu includes highlights from both chefs, including grilled meats and seafood that honor Charcoal’s adherence to cooking over a live fire.

8 Nights at Birdie G’s 

December 8 to 11
Birdie G's
2421 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica
COST: $125; MORE INFO 

Santa Monica favorite Birdie G’s has its final flutter on Dec. 20, but before then, you can get your fill of Hanukkah specials during their "8 Nights at Birdie G’s" promotion. This week features a variety of guest chefs, including Jordan Kahn (Destroyer) and Chris Cosentino (Koast Maui).

Happy hour at Broken Spanish Comedor

Every Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 6 p.m. 
Broken Spanish Comedor
12565 Washington Blvd., Culver City
COST: VARIES, MORE INFO

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Courtesy Peridot Photos

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Just in time for post-work happy hour before the holidays, Ray Garcia’s Broken Spanish Comedor has launched a new happy hour from 5 to 6 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday, featuring a curated selection of food and drinks ranging from $5 to $15, including $10 craft draft margaritas, palomas and wine.

The autonomous ride-hailing service Waymo plans to file a voluntarily software recall after several reports that its self-driving taxis illegally passed stopped school buses.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation in October in response to "a media report involving a Waymo AV [autonomous vehicle] that failed to remain stopped when approaching a school bus that was stopped with its red lights flashing, stop arm deployed, and crossing control arm deployed."

WXIA-TV in Atlanta aired video in September that showed a Waymo vehicle driving around a school bus.

The NHTSA website also includes a letter from the Austin Independent School District, saying the district has documented 19 instances of Waymo vehicles "illegally and dangerously" passing the district's school buses. The letter, signed by the district's senior counsel, says in one instance the Waymo vehicle drove past the stopped bus "only moments after a student crossed in front of the vehicle, and while the student was still in the road."

In a statement emailed to NPR, Waymo Chief Safety Officer Mauricio Peña said that while the company is proud of its safety record, "holding the highest safety standards means recognizing when our behavior should be better." Peña wrote that Waymo plans "to file a voluntary software recall with NHTSA" and it "will continue analyzing our vehicles performance and making necessary fixes."

The company says it identified a software issue that contributed to the incidents and it believes subsequent updates will fix the problem. Waymo says it plans to file the voluntary recall early next week and it points out that no injuries have occurred because of this problem.

Waymo is a subsidiary of Alphabet, the parent company of Google. It has focused on safety in public statements, showing that driverless Waymo cars have a lot fewer crashes than those with human drivers. In the cities where the company operates, it says there have been 91% fewer crashes with serious injuries and 92% fewer crashes with pedestrian injuries.

Independent analyses from technology news website Ars Technica and the newsletter Understanding AI support Waymo's claim that its AVs are safer than human drivers. Still, federal regulators are asking the company to provide a lot more information about these incidents.

According to NHTSA, Waymo's AVs surpassed 100 million miles of driving last July and continue to accumulate 2 million miles a week. Given that and discussions with Waymo, the agency says "the likelihood of other prior similar incidents is high."

Earlier this week, NHTSA investigators sent a list of detailed questions about the incidents to Waymo as part of its inquiry. The agency asked Waymo to document similar incidents and provide more information about how it has responded. NHTSA set a deadline of Jan. 20, 2026, for Waymo to respond.

Editor's note: Google is a financial supporter of NPR.

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