L.A.’s New Hampshire and Vermont Mystery: Partially Solved

Last week, I asked why New Hampshire Ave. is to the west of Vermont Ave. in L.A., when up in New England, Vermont is the one on the west.

Bob Timmermann, who earlier this year spoke about Sepulveda Blvd. at the Central Library, did some digging:

From my half-assed sleuthing at the Central Library, the reason why Vermont Ave and New Hampshire Ave in L.A. are backwards in relation to the states is due to the fact that the streets weren’t named at the same time.

Vermont is a very old street in L.A. terms. It first shows up in 1866. New Hampshire wasn’t built and named until 1887, when it was part of one of the developments that sprung up in Southern California during Real Estate Boom I.

Next year at the Central Library, I plan to follow up on my Sepulveda trip with a journey down Western Avenue. Unlike Sepulveda, this should have slightly better scenery and fewer trucks.

Thanks Bob!

Mapping Los Angeles

I’ll definitely have to head down to the Central Library soon to check out “L.A. Unfolded,” which showcases some of the library’s massive collection of Los Angeles maps.

The L.A. Times’ Bob Pool
makes a visit:

There’s the mysterious “Mesmer City,” shown in 1924 as prosperously thriving between Culver City and Mar Vista. It turns out the detailed map was a subdivision promoter’s dreamy depiction of what life could be like at homesites “in the direction of Los Angeles’ growth toward the ocean.”

That growth eventually arrived, but Mesmer City didn’t.

A 1903 road map showing owners of the city’s 1,600 automobiles where dirt roads were safe enough to drive at 8 mph is included. With an eye toward more sales, cartographer Henry Rueger labeled his creation “Rueger’s Automobile and Miners Road Map” so he could tap into the vein of potential local prospectors and speculators.

One of Hollywood’s first movie star maps is there — John Tyler’s 1945 “Guide Thru Starland” that pinpoints the homes of Harold Lloyd, Groucho Marx, Walter Pidgeon and dozens of their peers.

The late, lamented L.A. City Nerd put together a list of excellent online L.A. map resources a while back; check out my post on it, complete with links, here.

Traveling Sepulveda Blvd., End to End

(Flickr pic by Candice (Bessie Smith).)

Bob Timmermann has put together a talk this August on Sepulveda Boulevard, and as preparation, journeyed up the street from Long Beach to Sylmar this weekend. He writes:

I’ve got my camera ready and, more importantly, a hand clicker to count the number of traffic signals along the way. Would you care to enter a guess in how many there will be?

Pedestrian crosswalks count as regular interesections with a signal. Stop signs and rail crossings don’t.

You want to venture a guess? I’ll compile them all and send to Bob — and he’ll reveal the real number at his August talk at the Central Library. (Bob put together a talk on the origins of the Dodgers in Los Angeles this past April.)

Traveling Sepulveda Blvd., End to End

(Flickr pic by Candice (Bessie Smith).)

Bob Timmermann has put together a talk this August on Sepulveda Boulevard, and as preparation, journeyed up the street from Long Beach to Sylmar this weekend. He writes:

I’ve got my camera ready and, more importantly, a hand clicker to count the number of traffic signals along the way. Would you care to enter a guess in how many there will be?

Pedestrian crosswalks count as regular interesections with a signal. Stop signs and rail crossings don’t.

You want to venture a guess? I’ll compile them all and send to Bob — and he’ll reveal the real number at his August talk at the Central Library. (Bob put together a talk on the origins of the Dodgers in Los Angeles this past April.)

Crusading Against the Public Library’s Proposed $1 Fee

The folks who helped save the 76 gas station balls now have their sights set on the Los Angeles Public Library.

Kim Cooper and Richard Schave, who are behind Esotouric bus adventures
and the 1947project time travel blog, are leading a crusade against the proposed $1 fee for books that must be shipped in from other branches.

At SaveLAPL.com, Cooper and Schave argue that the $1 fee would be “disastrous to the thousands of families, elderly people, students and scholars who rely on the offerings of a free public library to feed their minds.”

From the Save LAPL folks:

As the city faces the biggest financial crisis in decades, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is completing his 2008-09 budget for approval by City Council. And unless the public speaks up now, the LA Public Library, already barred from buying new books since a February spending freeze, will soon begin charging a prohibitive $1-per-book loan fee for any book requested from another branch. With the launch of the SaveLAPL website, thousands of Library users are first learning about the threat and telling Mayor Villaraigosa they want him to keep the Library free.

The group notes that April 14-19 is National Library Week.

I’m torn on this issue; with the massive budget cuts across the state, something’s gotta give — and a $1 fee for the LAPL to transport books from one branch to another doesn’t sound unreasonable, given how desperate the library is for money.

But I also am concerned about the precedent. How depressing that things have come to this. Your thoughts?

How the Dodgers Came To Town

(Image via the Los Angeles Public Library collection.)

As the Dodgers celebrate their 50th anniversary in Los Angeles, Bob Timmermann is putting together what promises to be an interesting talk about how Walter O’Malley and the team made it out here from Brooklyn. (H/t to Jon Weisman for pointing this out.)

Bob will conduct the talk on Thursday, April 3, at the Los Angeles Central Library.

He’s already been tossing out some interesting tidbits over at The Griddle, such as:

– Dodger Stadium is not actually in Chavez Ravine, but rather, Chavez Ravine is across the street.

– The debate over Proposition B, the 1958 referendum that Dodgers owner O’Malley pushed in order to trade his Wrigley Field (in South L.A.) property for the land where Dodger Stadium now sits.

– What a larger Wrigley Field (the L.A. one) might have looked like.

How the Dodgers Came To Town

(Image via the Los Angeles Public Library collection.)

As the Dodgers celebrate their 50th anniversary in Los Angeles, Bob Timmermann is putting together what promises to be an interesting talk about how Walter O’Malley and the team made it out here from Brooklyn. (H/t to Jon Weisman for pointing this out.)

Bob will conduct the talk on Thursday, April 3, at the Los Angeles Central Library.

He’s already been tossing out some interesting tidbits over at The Griddle, such as:

– Dodger Stadium is not actually in Chavez Ravine, but rather, Chavez Ravine is across the street.

– The debate over Proposition B, the 1958 referendum that Dodgers owner O’Malley pushed in order to trade his Wrigley Field (in South L.A.) property for the land where Dodger Stadium now sits.

– What a larger Wrigley Field (the L.A. one) might have looked like.

The 64 Reasons You Love L.A.

Los Angeles magazine is getting interactive, asking readers to vote for their L.A. faves in a mock, March Madness-style elimination tournament.

Some of the matchups make sense: Disney Hall vs. the Magic Castle? Indie 103.1 vs. KCRW? Apple Pan vs. In-N-Out?

Others are purposely quirky: The Vincent Thomas Bridge vs. Trader Joes. Central Library vs. Vin Scully. 99 Cents Only Stores vs. Topanga Canyon. Rooftop Neon vs. Taco Trucks.

The idea is to get people talking about their Los Angeles faves. And the list purposely leaves out plenty. Our friend Mary Melton, who’s acting editor at LA Mag right now while Kit Rachlis is on sabbatical, writing a book, emails us with more details:

Out of this first round of voting, which lasts until February 25, we’ll narrow the field to 32 (to be announced in the April issue and on the web site), then 16 (May), 8 (June), the final four (July), and then one winner (August, in our Best of LA issue). Each month readers will be able to vote anew, and find out the results in the magazine and on the web site.

I’m already campaigning to make Langer’s the ultimate winner. And if you’re wondering why, then clearly you’ve never ventured to MacArthur Park for pastrami. Shame on you.

Go to lamag.com and vote right now. Your thoughts on the above face offs?

The Mayor Who Once Offered Great Expectations…

… is now simply urging everyone to read “Great Expectations.” The irony of this photo is unintentional, I’m sure, yet a disappointing reminder nonetheless that the mayor initially generated much excitement to the city’s top elected post; after too many missteps, those expectations are no longer so great.

(Spotted at the Central Library, and also the Eagle Rock branch.)

Mark Your Calendar: It’s An End-of-the-Line Weekend

There must be something about this weekend: It’s your last chance to catch, see or do several things in Los Angeles. It’s almost as if the city is doing a post-holiday clean up. (And taking advantage of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to officially wrap things up.)

To boot:

Downtown on Ice finishes up its annual Pershing Square run on Jan. 21. I still haven’t gone this year, so hopefully you’ll see me down there one night this weekend.

The Los Angeles Central Library’s Julius Shulman’s Los Angeles photo exhibit closes on Sunday. (Although, one reader notes via the L.A. Public Library site that it may have been extended a week. But just to be safe, I’d hit it this weekend.)

Virgin Megastore’s Sunset location closes its doors for good on Sunday. (See the post below for more details.)

It’s your last chance to see the final remaining piece of the Ambassador Hotel. The chunk of the Cocoanut Grove that was to be preserved is instead slated to be demolished on Tuesday.

So go out there and see your ever-changing city this weekend!