Boy, if you thought all the rat copulating was happening in the shadow of Lineage, you haven't been reading LA City Council motions! How dim is Nithya Raman to co-sign a sketchy LAHSA real estate transfer for Curren Price hours before his next court date? cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkc...

Who killed the Pacific Dining Car? esotouric.substack.com/p/pacificdin... It was a joint effort, and could never have happened without the property owner and the business owner letting their personal family feud destroy a beloved landmark,

The Pacific Dining Car, a long goodbye (1921-2020-2024, R.I.P.)

Gentle reader,

esotouric.substack.com

Read Enri Marini's investigation into the players on both sides of LA's big homelessness lawsuit www.auditthegovernment.org/investigatio... It cost him $5000 to get these docs out from PACER's paywall, so chip in and support independent muckraking and civic transparency. linktr.ee/governmentau...

Hollywood Citizen-News editorial in 1969 warns it only takes one dirty bird with a stack of fake ballots to rig an election and nobody will ever know. That was the IBM Votomatic of "hanging chad" infamy. www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLI...

Nithya Raman and Kenneth Mejia stopped by the home of Joey Tuccio, a passionate advocate for protecting the abused dogs on Skid Row. It... didn't go well. www.instagram.com/p/Dbmr3cxuqXb/

If Los Angeles still had a Cultural Heritage Board, it would have had the power to compel the property owner to properly secure the Pacific Dining Car before fires reduced the "protected" landmark to ash. Angelenos care about these precious places, even if our "leaders" don't.

Empty Los Angeles heeds the call from a concerned neighbor alarmed by this mid-century 40-unit RSO apartment complex that is Boarded Up in Los Feliz...But Not Empty Yet! www.emptylosangeles.com/p/boarded-up...

Happy (?) "There Will Come Soft Rains" day, Ray Bradbury's grim vision of a smart home that still serves its radiation-poisoned, cremated California family even after it burns to the ground. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_W... Uzbekfilm's animated short from 1984: www.youtube.com/watch?v=quya...

New Documents Detail Nine-Figure, Silicon Valley–Funded Abundance Movement prospect.org/2026/06/12/n... Speaking to donors, the Yimby lobby admits it seeks to eliminate citizen participation from land use. This is undemocratic and Nithya Raman should be asked where she stands.

New tool just launched! Help preserve Los Angeles and submit an Esotouric Field Report if you see a special place in trouble. Let's work together to protect our shared cultural and architectural treasures from demolition by neglect and other threats. esotouric.substack.com/help-preserv...

Curren Price would have had to play hooky at City Hall to be back in criminal court on Friday, but the regular meeting was just cancelled. So, will any of his council colleagues come to Foltz and show their support? lacity.primegov.com/Portal/Meeti...

9th Circuit upholds Mark Ridley-Thomas bribery conviction. www.courthousenews.com/ninth-circui... The ruling perforates the entitled arguments of a politician whose harm to the commons includes letting LACMA bridge Wilshire. So, when does he report to prison? www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/u...

You know what smells? When city planners, paid to represent the interests of Angelenos, produce garbage policy documents that endanger all historic districts, forcing citizens to burn the midnight oil doing their jobs for them. larchmontbuzz.com/larchmont-vi...

An anonymous fan of Southern California's greatest surviving Googie drive-in, Bob's Big Boy in Burbank, has launched a campaign to shame the owners into maintaining it--and removing clumsy illegal additions. #RestoreBobs #WhatAboutBobs #PreserveBurbank www.instagram.com/preserveburb...

In June, we saw a City Council filing and broke news of the Uplifters Foundation's proposed quarter billion dollar bond to build traditional homes on burned Pacific Palisades lots. Senator Ben Allen says he's not on their board and locals are squawking. www.politico.com/news/2026/07...

8/15 is a rare Saturday when we don't have a public tour, and are booking private walks. The morning slot is taken, but if you'd like a short, deep dive into Downtown LA, let's explore Raymond Chandler, the Black Dahlia case, gay history or Film Noir lore. esotouric.com/giftcertific...

Pee-YOU, City Hall! As the world notes the incompetence of Los Angeles leaders through the foul lens of the Lineage warehouse fire aftermath, we've got a modest proposal for the prime Civic Center park parcel Karen Bass seeks to gift to AltaMed as a corporate branding space. youtu.be/FgmM0Bt8Lsw

For too long, the stewardship of LA's derelict architectural resources has been the province of passionate and increasingly angry citizens, doing it for free. It's long past time for those who have made fortunes in this city to step up and care for the places that matter! variety.com/2026/film/ne...

New from Bunker Hill historian Nathan Marsak, a deep dive into the post-redevelopment licensing of the Angels Flight brand, including some extremely revealing disco duds and coked-out revolving restaurant hijinx on top of the BLOC! bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/08/01/t...

New from Bunker Hill historian Nathan Marsak, a deep dive into the post-redevelopment licensing of the Angels Flight brand, including some extremely revealing disco duds and coked-out revolving restaurant hijinx on top of the BLOC! bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/08/01/t...

Today! Join us at Grand Central Market at 10:30am for a time travel trip to Raymond Chandler's 1920s Downtown Los Angeles, where stunning Art Deco towers went up as sinister schemes played out in tunnels under the streets. He saw it all--and took notes! esotouric.com/event/raymon...

Most of our walking tours just leave you with offbeat memories, but guests on Saturday's Raymond Chandler tour (esotouric.com/event/raymon...) might want to snag a copy of Herb Lester's map of the noir master's L.A., text by our Kim Cooper, art by Paul Rogers. (www.thekeptgirl.com/2014/09/chan...)

Incredibly, The Eames House is still zoned as a private residence, just as it was in Charles and Ray's day. eamesfoundation.org Now the board seeks change of use as a Public Benefit Project, to enshrine the museum and event space use for the future. planning.lacity.gov/pdiscaseinfo...

On the Oak Meadow celebrating America's 250th, Dr. Don Hodel explains how living twigs from Compton's ancient sycamore were collected for cloning in the Huntington Gardens' lab and how your historic site can adopt a future giant Eagle Tree, too. esotouric.substack.com/eagletree250

The Eagle Tree We Helped Clone Honors America's 250th at the Huntington Gardens

Gentle reader,

esotouric.substack.com

In June we shared: Uncanny book people, we need your most powerful spell! Eviction-threatened bookman Todd Pratum's quest for a new steward went viral and now his esoteric collection is bound for The Wu:uM in East Hollywood. oaklandside.org/2026/07/29/s...

A patriotic news flash: The Eagle Tree We Helped Clone Honors America's 250th at the Huntington Gardens! Read all about it and how your historic site can adopt a heritage sycamore, too. esotouric.substack.com/eagletree250

We talked with Dave Schilling for L.A. Material about the magnificent LAX Theme Building's exotic restaurant history and decades of demolition by neglect. This might be the poster child of squandered goodwill potential in a city that's made an art of it. lamaterial.com/p/lax-neglec...

The wreckers are coming for 456 N. Bristol, the airy English cottage where Pam Lang was stricken months after her agent husband Jennings was maimed for being too attentive to client Joan Bennett. Another gem perfect for Altadena. Somebody, please save it! web.archive.org/web/20251214...

Can't make a regular Saturday walk? We give private tours too, so pick your date and theme and let us take you somewhere strange and wonderful that will forever change the way you see Los Angeles. Speakeasy tunnel access optional. esotouric.com/giftcertific...

Unlike Marilyn Monroe's house, City Council punted on landmarking councilwoman Roz Wyman's Residence, and now her Paul R. Williams designed mansion is slated for demolition. On the right Altadena lot, it could be magnificent again. www.ladbsservices2.lacity.org/OnlineServic...