Angeleno Heights Walking Tour

We love our other LA Walking Tour that we decided to take another one.  This one was located in LA's first suburban neighborhood, Angeleno Heights.  The original 14 homes of this neighborhood were built between 1895 and 1897.  In the 70's this neighborhood was established as LAs first historic preservation zone and now includes over 800 buildings.  Our tour consisted of the 14 homes of the original neighborhood.  What was interesting about these homes was that they were built in the victorian architectural style.

This neighborhood is right next to Echo Park and very close to Elysian Park/Dodger Stadium.  We met at an old Fire Station and then walked up a street towards Carroll Avenue which showcases almost all of the houses.  Some of the houses were restored better than others.  Three of the houses were moved from other places (like Bunker Hill in Downtown).  Some of the houses have been used for filming purposes.  We even got to go inside one of the houses.  I couldn't believe we spent two hours on one street but it was very interesting and I would highly recommend this tour to anyone.

This house was located across the street from the Fire Station and was not part of the original track but was a good example of Victorian architecture.

This house had Victorian elements added to it. 

This is known as a Victorian Farmhouse.

The first house to be restored that was part of the original track. 

In its social history, this house at one point housed over 40 people.  Because of this it was almost condemned.

The owner restored the house (even the carriage house) and even put in an elevator (the protruding rectangle).

Carroll Ave was lined with these street lamps which arent original to the street but original to the time period.  They found them in a warehouse in Glendale.

It cost this house $30,000 to just paint the house-so many details with different colors.

This used to be a beautiful Victorian home but the owners took off the Victorian elements (but kept the body of the house).  This house and the destruction of Bunker Hill in Downtown were the reasons why the neighborhood sought to make the area a preservation zone.

Each house had a stepping block where you would step up to get into your carriage.  The hitch is original to the time period but not the neighborhood.

Love this house!  It is a catalog house.  You ordered it from a catalog and then they shipped it to you.  

This house is older and was transplanted from a different neighborhood.  I also believe this house was used in a recent episode of Mad Men.

One of these turrets had a ghost mask hanging in the window.  I could see that being a little eery if you saw that at night!

This was Sean's favorite and it was the last one built on the street.

Cute patio!

This was the house used in Thriller.  The tree is the yard is also protected so who ever owns the house cant cut down the tree. 

Another view of the Thriller house

This is the house that we got to go inside.  The bottom floor is kept in period furnishings for filming.  The renter's live upstairs.  It was small but very interesting.

Out with the Old, In with the New

I was driving home one day when all of a sudden my cars gauges started going up and down like crazy.  I immediately pulled into a gas station.  I turned off my car and called Sean.  I told him I just knew it was bad news.  When I tried to turn on my car again it didn't turn on.

We ended up having it towed to Valencia (from Eagle Rock!) and I took the next three days off of work to try to figure out what was wrong with my car.  After going in and out of the shop for a couple of days and after some new parts put in, they determined there was water in my engine and that it would cost several thousand dollars to fix.  My car was not worth that much money.  So we made the decision just to get a new car.

We were first wanting to get a small SUV but since I am commuting we decided that would be a waste of money.  We eventually decided on a Honda Accord.  I was selfish and really wanted some of the luxury elements so we got one of the higher end models of the Accord.

I love my new car!  I love the wine exterior color.  I love my sunroof and open it as much as I possibly can.  I love that my seat comes with a lumbar support that you can customize!  It has heated seats (not using those right now!) and the sound system is pretty decent.  It also has dual cooling zones which is probably the main reason why I wanted this version.  I am always having to close my vents when I drive with Sean because he gets hotter than me in the car.  Now we can control our own sides!

I was really sad to see my old car go.  It has treated me really well.  I remember driving it around Provo for the first time and thinking I was so cool.  I drove 80,000 miles on that car in 8 years.  That car took me across country 4 times.  I lived out of that car during my EFY summers.  Rest in peace Altima!

My old Nissan Altima

My new Honda Accord

Dodger Dawgs

I have lived in LA for five years and I have never been to a Dodger game.    I've taken the time to drive all the way to Anaheim to go to an Angels  game (three times) but havent taken the time to hop right over to Elysian Park.    That could be partly because Sean is an Angels fan and not a Dodgers fan.  

I quickly learned that Sean really enjoyed baseball early on in our dating.  When he came to visit me in Boston we took a tour of Fenway Park and he about died and gone to heaven.  I remember when we were sitting in the Press Boxes, I looked over at him and he was all smiles.  For his birthday that year I bought a vintage California Angels Pennant and an antique  baseball glove {aren't I a great wife!;)}

So with a baseball fan of a husband and living within 35 minutes of the stadium, what does it take for us to get to a Dodger game?  Friends with free tickets of course!  They even  had the all you can eat tickets.  I totally loaded up on popcorn.  It was soooo good!

We of course went early for batting practice.  Sean came equipped with a glove but he didn't catch any.  Our friends caught about 6 so we got some of those balls.  Not the same. 

We went on Memorial Day so they had some cool things before the game.  They had wounded vets walk out on the field with the giant flag.  They had Buzz Aldridge throw out the first pitch.  And they had soldiers from Afghanistan via satellite say, Play Ball.  

A Dodgers game wouldn't be complete with out their famous Dodger Dogs!

Piru

Piru is a very small town just west of us.  There's not a lot there but we took the time to see the "sights."  It apparently is used a lot in filming because it has an old time feel.  It was a lot smaller than I thought but it still had a little charm to it.  There is a local Mexican restaurant that we wanted to visit but its only open for Breakfast and Lunch so we'll have to visit another time.

Our first visit was their community park which included a baseball field and playground.  Nearby was an old train bridge.  I swear it looked like something out of Stand By Me.  

I really like cemeteries so we decided to drive to the other side of town and take a look.  It was Memorial Day and there were a couple of flags out in the cemetery.  There is a family that is buried here that died when the St. Francis Dam broke.

I swear this house was used in an episode of Castle.  It currently is used as a rental facility for family reunions, weddings and business retreats.

Heritage Valley, of which Piru is one town that resides in it, had a train system.  Piru had a cute downtown park at the main train station.  I dont believe it is actually working but I am sure movies love the set.

I love how this service station has its advertisement still visible on the side of the building.

 I think this truck matches the time period of the city.

Like I said, not a lot to see in Piru but it was nice to get out of Valencia and catch a glimpse of the history of the area that we live in.

Markie Mark

Sean's little brother, Mark, left on his mission last week to Colorado Springs.  We love being with Mark and we will definitely miss him tons but we are so excited for him.  He was also super prepared to leave on his mission.  Sean kept thinking about how nervous he was when he left on his mission to Portugal.  Sean thinks that seeing 3 older brothers leave on missions has helped Mark not be as nervous.  He also thought that it helped that Mark lived away from home for a bit before his mission.  It will be interesting to see how well missionaries adjust to their missions since the age limit has decreased and probably less missionaries will have had opportunities of living on their own.  It will be even more important that families teach their missionaries to clean, cook and take care of themselves while they are still in high school.

We're just glad Mark is out and we look forward to hearing about all his missionary experiences!

William S. Hart Museum

We have some interesting local sights here in Valencia.  A couple of Saturdays ago we went to the William S. Hart museum.  It is located in Newhall which is the oldest area of Santa Clarita.  Hart was an actor and did all his movies with his horse.  He lived at his house with his sister and even had some aspects of the house catered to his horse.  His breakfast area had large doors that opened outside so his horse could come up and eat breakfast with the family.  That's love. 

I liked how they framed different kinds of horse shoes.

They had all the original appliances.  Here's the stove and oven.

Pretty small kitchen.

Dumbwaiter.

All Hart's stuff.

Hart also lived with his dogs.  These cutouts show how big they were and they even had their own beds.