We go to the Sunset Strip to see how activists are trying to save Lytton Savings from demolition, a beautiful Mid-Century Modern representation of the California Dream ... Baldwin Hills, Baldwin Ave, Baldwin Lake, Lucky Baldwin’s Pub … So who was Baldwin? A womanizing schemer who once owned much of the San Gabriel Valley and created Arcadia as a mini-Vegas ... We check in with the 77-year old woman we talked with last week, who finds herself homeless for the holidays for the first time in her life. And a reading of “The Night Before Christmas” with Rachel Bloom, Salman Rushdie, Alex Cohen, Larry Mantle, Adam Carolla, Kathleen Turner, and NPR's Sylvia Poggioli.
Saving Lytton Savings, a mid-century modern masterpiece
"You look at this building and see what people saw as the future of Los Angeles in the 1950s."
-- Linda Dishman, LA Conservancy
A building that represents a vision of Los Angeles is being threatened by the wrecking ball.
It's the 1960 Lytton Savings building, on Sunset Blvd at Crescent Heights ... as LA Magazine's Chris Nichols puts it, at the Gateway to the Sunset Strip: "For more than 50 years, this zigzag roofed, glass-walled wonder has been here. It was a cultural center, an art museum before LACMA, a gallery, a theater, and the home of the eccentric Bart Lytton, who created this really unusual place to save money."
"One of the reasons that Lytton Savings is so significant," says Linda Dishman, head of the LA Conservancy, "is because it tells the story of Los Angeles in two ways. One is the architecture. It's Mid-Century Modern; everyone loves the zigzag roof. And second is tells the story of the development of Southern California post-war, because these savings and loans funded all the residential homes throughout this town and the Valley."
The 8150 Sunset Boulevard Project threatens Lytton Savings. It'd be a two-towered, mixed-use development. Dishman says at first the developers wanted to incorporate the old building into the new. But then Frank Gehry's architecture firm got involved, and that idea hit the dirt.
The building got some help when the LA City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to give Lytton Savings Historic-Cultural Monument status, which was championed by the Friends of Lytton Savings. And while that's an important accomplishment, delaying demolition, Dishman says, for up to one year, the Conservancy has also taken the city to court for its support of the 8150 Sunset Boulevard Project:
While Lytton Savings is significant in and of itself, the litigation is about more than the building. We need to hold government accountable for following the law ... The environmental impact report acknowledged Lytton Savings as a qualified historical resource. The EIR identified two feasible preservation alternatives allowing Lytton Savings to be incorporated into the project. Under CEQA, a project must avoid significant impacts such as the demolition of a historical resource if the fundamental project objectives can be met without demolition. Nonetheless, the Los Angeles City Council approved the project that, as designed by architect Frank Gehry, calls for the needless demolition of Lytton Savings. -- LA Conservancy
Listen to the audio to hear what cool electronic devices were in the office of Bart Lytton, whose story has a sad ending:
Lytton incorporated artwork throughout his buildings and became a cultural leader, helping lead the effort to build a Hollywood Museum and working to save Irving Gill’s Dodge house in West Hollywood. He showcased emerging artists and filmmakers at his Lytton Center for the Visual Arts, including female artists who were shunned by many other galleries at the time. Lytton spent just over a decade in banking before his empire collapsed and he suffered a heart attack at age 56. -- Chris Nichols, LA Magazine
Off-Ramp Song of the Week: We (Heart) 'Barracuda'
Off-Ramp's Song of the Week is a throwback to one of the best songs to come out of the 70s, Heart's "Barracuda," a "tribute" to an awful manager.
And next week, you can see Heart tribute band Dog 'n' Butterfly take on Fleetwood Mac cover band Mirage in a 1970s pop rock fan's DREAM. (Get it? "These Dreams" and "Dreams?" Bam!)
Dog 'n' Butterfly formed in 2005, has apparently been endorsed by Heart themselves, and performed on AXS TV's "World's Greatest Tribute Bands:"
Dog 'n' Butterfly's cover of "Crazy on You"
Then we've got the five-piece cover band Mirage: Visions of Fleetwood Mac, which has also appeared on AXS TV:
Mirage's cover of "You Make Lovin' Fun"
The dueling tribute bands will be performing two Southern California dates together:
The Gaslamp in Long Beach on Saturday, December 17th.
The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Friday, December 23rd.
The "Forgotten Folks": Homeless seniors are the new face of homelessness
Last week we brought you the story of Elena Mays, a woman turning 77 next month who found herself homeless for the first time. Her move out date into permanent housing was slated for Thanksgiving Day, but as of this writing, Elena is still waiting. The stress of her situation has caused her to be admitted to the hospital two times in five months.
Tom Wukawitz, Client Services Program Manager for Good Shepherd Center says the only thing unusual about Elena's case is how common it is. He's speaking about the increase he's seen in senior citizens who are not in stable housing. "They're the forgotten age group. They are the forgotten folks of society."
A 2010 study conducted by the Homeless Research Institute shows Americans over the age of 65 without stable housing is expected to reach roughly 89 million nationwide by 2050.
Denise Cohen, Shelter Manager of the Languille Emergency Shelter, part of Good Shepherd Center agrees what's happening at the shelter is happening everywhere.
"I got to a lot of community network type meetings with people like myself, and we do talk about issues like this," she says. Cohen cites the issue in Westwood of the eviction of more than 150 vulnerable tenants in a senior living facility, one of which is a Holocaust survivor.
"Who's going to help a 99 year old man apartment hunt?" She asks. "I call this the new face of the homeless."
The new face of the homeless for Cohen isn't just about age. It's also about the newness. The women who've sought shelter at Good Shepherd, and other shelters in Souther California, are homeless for the first time, like Elena Mays.
"For the first time ever women who've always had their own home-- women who've always been independent are finding themselves not being able to take care of themselves and are loosing their homes," adds Cohen. "They don't look stereotypically homeless. They look like women in my life."
You can donate to Good Shepherd Center by clicking here. They also accept drop off donations for the Languille Emergency Shelter at: 267 N. Belmont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90026. Cohen recommends calling the shelter at (213) 250-5241 to coordinate drop off. As far as suggestions for goods are concerned Cohen says, "We can never have enough shampoo. Travel size bottles are great."
Rachel Bloom joins Mantle, Carolla, Poggioli and more in our All Star Night Before Christmas
Rachel Bloom of "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" was in the The Frame studio today, and after she was done, I asked if she'd lend her voice to our annual audio holiday card to listeners, the All Star Night Before Christmas.
"I'd love to!" she said. "Our family reads this every year at Christmas!"
And thirty seconds later, she'd nailed:
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
And now Rachel joins the ranks of celebs and KPCC hosts who hammed it up for us, including A Martinez, Alex Cohen, Larry Mantle, John Horn, Adam Carolla, Salman Rushdie, Kathleen Turner, NPR's Sylvia Poggioli, Ted ("Isaac" on the Love Boat) Lange, and John ("Q" on Star Trek) de Lancie. Patt Morrison specifically asked to read the reindeer names, so she say Donder, not Donner. (I'm sure she's right.)
The late great Steve Julian corralled many of the voices a few years ago in his local theater work, so of course I couldn't take his velvety voice out of there. And neither could I switch out Huell Howser, who closes out the poem in signature Huell fashion.
But there's no need. After all, it's at Christmas that we remember old and new friends, those with us in the flesh, and those with us in our hearts.
Lucky Baldwin's Arcadia: A 'gambling hell and booze pleasure park'
Elias “Lucky” Baldwin died more than a century ago, but his name and legacy lives throughout L.A.: Baldwin Park, Baldwin Hills, Baldwin Avenue, Lucky Baldwin’s Pub in old town Pasadena, and the Baldwin’s Queen Anne Cottage at the arboretum, which looks out at Baldwin Lake.
Baldwin was born in Ohio in 1828. He came to Southern California in 1875 as a millionaire who had made his money in real estate, hotels, the stock market, and even selling brandy and tobacco to Mormons. Upon his arrival here, he bought 8,000 acres of land, then known as Rancho Santa Anita. It was the largest real estate transaction in L.A. County to that time.
But within five years of his arrival, Baldwin owned almost 45,000 acres in L.A. County, including parts of Arcadia, Monrovia, Sierra Madre, Temple City, El Monte and South El Monte, the City of Industry, Baldwin Park, West Covina, La Puente, Montebello, South San Gabriel, and Monterey Park.
Near the turn of the century, Baldwin turned city builder. After a failed venture to create a town named “Baldwin,” he launched a town site named Arcadia on part of his ranch land. But it was not until the Pacific Electric Railway announced a line from Pasadena to Monrovia that would pass through Arcadia that the idea of cityhood really took hold.
With visions of inflated land values, Baldwin signed an agreement with Pacific Electric and in 1903 happily started watching trains pass through Arcadia. Two weeks later, Baldwin filed a petition for the incorporation of Arcadia into a municipality. Opponents feared he wanted to turn the city into a “gambling hell and booze pleasure park,” and the Anti-Saloon League led the opposition.
The county authorized an incorporation election to be held, and 39 voters turned out to support cityhood for Arcadia. When local newspapers printed a complete list of those who voted in Arcadia’s first election, it turned out that 75 percent of the names were readily identifiable as Baldwin’s relatives, business associates, and/or employees.
Baldwin was elected as the city’s first mayor , and while he'd promised the county supervisors he had no intention of establishing a town for the fostering of horse racing, gambling, and other kindred vices; that’s exactly what he did. One of Arcadia’s first ordinances was for licensing the sale of alcohol ... and Baldwin’s eldest daughter got the first liquor license.
Next came horse racing. In 1907, he opened Santa Anita Park on the site of today’s Santa Anita Golf Course.
On opening day, 7,000 people showed up. Baldwin put slot machines and roulette wheels in the lobby. There were rooms for poker games, bars dispensed Baldwin wines and brandies, and in the rear of the hotel there was a boxing ring.
But just two years later, in 1909, Baldwin got the flu, which developed into pneumonia. At 81 years of age, he died.
It was the end of an era. Santa Anita Racetrack closed its doors and horse racing was banned throughout the state. In 1912, liquor licensing was outlawed in the city. And Arcadia began to transition from a “gambling hell and booze pleasure park” to “suburban tranquility.”
By 1920, Arcadia boasted public gas, electric, and telephone services, and secured its first library, church, and bank, as well as a new city hall. But horse racing did return to Arcadia in 1934 with the opening of the current Santa Anita Racetrack.
At the arboretum you can see one of the most interesting parts of Baldwin’s legacy – peacocks. All the peacocks here and in nearby Arcadia neighborhoods are descendants of the birds Baldwin brought over from a trip to India in the 1870s.
To learn more about Elias “Lucky” Baldwin make sure to listen to the story above.
Robert Petersen produces the podcast The Hidden History of Los Angeles and shares it with KPCC's Off-Ramp.
Star Wars superfan will see 'Rogue One,' but still ponders Rey's backstory
Star Wars superfan Robert Colter says he's excited about the newest Star Wars movie, "Rogue One" ... but he's still trying to figure out "Episode VII: The Force Awakens."
That's the movie that introduced the franchise's newest protagonist, Rey, who came into the 2015 film without much of an origin story, but a natural affinity for the Force. What's her family tree, Robert wonders:
"I subscribe to multiple theories as to where she may come from. When you think about Star Wars at its heart, it isn't just sci-fi. Its more of a soap opera, as George Lucas has said. So its about family at its core. So the most obvious theory would be that [Rey] is the spawn of Luke."
But the fact this theory seems somewhat obvious means it might not be her true origin. Robert says Emperor Palpatine is another place to look for Rey's beginnings. "Star Wars is ultimately the story of the battle with the Palpatine family. In the prequel trilogy it was Anakin ultimately being seduced by the Palpatine family. And as it was in the original trilogy where Luke overcomes Palpatine."
Another theory is a combination of the Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel stories:
"Essentially it says there were two children that used to play around this tree and they got Force powers from the tree. The son kills the daughter but the daughter is revived by the tree. Then she becomes the first Jedi and he is the first Sith lord. There is apparently some expanded universe support for this theory... saying Rey might be the incarnation of the first Jedi. I think it's a little far-fetched."
Robert is excited for the Rogue One release. He even plans to take his one-year old niece to see the film. He says, "She's gonna love it and it'll be in her blood. It'll never be a surprise that Darth Vader is Luke's father. It'll be in her earliest memories."
If you have any thoughts on Rey's origin story, share your thoughts with us in the comments section.
And May the Force be with you.