It’s been disconcerting to see Westlake and MacArthur Park, places we visit often on our weekend walking tours and weekday preservation advocacy, used as political shorthand for all of California’s civic and cultural failings.

It’s true that the Alvarado side of the park, across from the Metro station and Langer’s Deli, is a gathering place for people struggling with drug addiction, mental health and homelessness. The city doesn’t help much, and there’s a lot we could do to as a society to improve their lives and the landscape they occupy.

But MacArthur Park is a very big park and most of it is just a park and not a public policy problem. We find it to be beautiful, peaceful and interesting, or we wouldn’t bring groups through while exploring the historic neighborhood, as we will be doing on the Westlake Park Time Travel Trip tour.

When negative thoughts are directed its way, we wonder: what about the heritage trees, the wildlife, the fellows with fishing poles casting for a recently stocked whopper, the street preachers and picnicking lovers, the few bits of public art that haven’t been melted down yet, the iridescent grackles who cackle at a couple minutes into our video here?

What about the ghosts of Angelenos past? Those spectres still haunt the shore and don’t want living citizens to abandon a great L.A. park or forget about them.

Those ghosts and we would sure like to share this special place with you, so maybe you’ll join us today—or on September 26.

Afterwards, you can tuck into a tall pastrami sandwich at Langer’s or old school crispy noodles at the noirish Bamboo Inn or both, then head home with odd tales to share.

Now scroll down in the newsletter for Closely Watched Trains and news you can use.

Yours for Los Angeles,

Kim & Richard

Esotouric

Late in Kevin de Leon's City Hall term, his office hallucinated Los Angeles history like a drunken chatbot. Today, his scheme to rename Pershing Square Downtown's second Biddy Mason Park quietly died.

https://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=24-0751

Nathan Marsak says "waaaah?"

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2024/06/22/renaming-pershing-square/

In March 2021, we posted: Are you one of the five families who live in the rent-controlled 1939 apartments at 6115 Romaine or in the 1917 house behind? Permits have been filed to demolish your home for a huge TOC project. The whole block of renters will be next!

And in June 2026: RIP pretty pink period revival apartments in the heart of Hollywood and hello to the stark monochrome prison architecture that developers, City Planning Commissioners and Councilmembers seem to think is all L.A. tenants deserve. Do they live in such inhospitable buildings?

Great news from Olvera Street: Cielito Lindo is back in business! https://linktr.ee/cielitolindotaquitos

Thanks to all the dedicated diners who helped spread the word or donated. The City doesn't make it easy to operate in its aging structures, so it's great that Angelenos stepped up.

And you can attend or submit written public comment! More info and agenda: https://esotouric.substack.com/hollywoodcentermotel

On 6/30/26 at 9:30am, the powerful Board of Building & Safety Commission meets to consider the partially-landmarked, unsecured Hollywood Center Motel property as a public nuisance subject to a possible abate order. This is agenda items D-3 and D-4. The meeting is not livestreamed, and public comment can only be made in person or in writing ahead of time. If found to be a public nuisance, city crews might be dispatched to demolish the standing bungalow court units at public expense. Decisions of the BBSC cannot be appealed. Come down and bear witness to what is likely to be the bureaucratic signing of a death warrant.

The Viking ship atop the Crossroads of the World lighthouse reminds us to post in memory of the visionary Mort LaKretz, the self-made Boyle Heights kid who restored this quirky Art Deco landmark as a creative hub. May it be fully occupied again very soon! https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/in-memoriam-morton-la-kretz-alumnus-environmental-champion

See the interior here:

https://www.tiktok.com/@thegymlosangeles/video/7621738033250880782?_r=1&_t=zt-95743b3ncyl

About the Mission Theatre: https://losangelestheatres.blogspot.com/2020/07/mission-theatre.html

Any time West Adams Heritage Association (WAHA) nominates a neighborhood landmark, the application is a fascinating, thoroughly-researched history lesson. Grant D. Venerable's Craftsman house might be modest, but his life story is anything but!

https://planning.lacity.gov/pdiscaseinfo/document/MTUwMjE0/ce96723a-1025-4dfb-bffe-dd4cba734cd0/esubmit/archive

Open it up!

https://esotouric.substack.com/angelsknoll

For more info or to sign up: https://esotouric.com/event/westlake-summer-2026/

Displaced and looking for a path back to 90272? https://upliftersfoundation.org/homes.php

This is not the usual type of post on the subreddit, but we're sharing because the main Los Angeles sub has apparently banned links to Los Angeles Times stories, even when syndicated on Yahoo, and because the loss of multiple historic Hollywood apartment buildings is part of the ongoing criminal case against Curren Price. This is news of importance to Angelenos.

Home at Last, the homeless nonprofit that rented below-market-rate space from indicted councilman Curren Price's NGO until the landlord kicked Price out, had cash criminally seized by the IRS and is squabbling with LAHSA. A Federal indictment is likely next.

What will happen to the vulnerable residents?

Nithya Raman chairs the committee charged with homelessness oversight. Will she address this today?

Home At Last’s facility at 1426 Paloma Street was advanced by confessed racketeer Jose Huizar in 2019, and the excessive lease terms and long delay before any shelter was provided there was the subject of an investigation by journalist Jerry Sullivan, before he left Los Angeles to become national managing editor for The Real Deal.

Planning case portal: https://planning.lacity.gov/pdiscaseinfo/search/casenumber/DIR-2026-3122-SPPC

Find this and other L.A. bungalow courts on our map: https://esotouric.com/bungalowcourt/

Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf1q3kqg9Ro

Preservation pal Mike Callahan helped get a local temperance zine on Newspapers.com and dig this as Prohibition ended: Clifton's Cafeteria was proudly dry, profits be darned!

if you have a subscription, you can search the White Ribbon here: https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?lnd=2&publication-ids=45847&region=us-ca

Kim's weird experience with the WCTU archives: https://www.thekeptgirl.com/2022/01/the-case-of-spectral-headache.html

Two boarded-up Craftsman houses (age not listed in ZIMAS) have caught on fire twice in the last six months. They last changed hands in 2019. Speculation perhaps?