This has got to be some type of Halloween gimmick or hoax. During California’s Mission Era, meticulous records were kept by both civil and Church authorities documenting every phase of a mission’s founding, from site surveys to actual construction. If there had been a mission chapel in the area of Old Town Pasadena, there would be no doubt about it among scholars.

The Tupa's porch.

Porch scene at the Finnish Folk Art Museum on the Pasadena Museum of History grounds. Once a Swiss-chalet style garage, the building was originally designed in 1910 as part of the Wigmore Estate. In 1949, a Finnish consul moved the structure to what was then the Finnish consulate and refurbished it as a sauna and guesthouse in his country’s tradition. It’s certainly one of Pasadena’s most “unique” buildings and, according to its official web page, the only museum of its kind in the entire U.S. Unfortunately, however, the porch, exterior and a little looksie through the windows is all you can see right now. The museum is currently closed for repairs.

Angeles-Rosedale Cemetery.

• Does a bank in Silverlake rest atop a famous silent movie horse? Find out in Banking on a Dead Horse in Silver Lake.

• Where do the stars prefer most to take their big dirt nap? Forest Lawn, the Ultimate Celebrity Neverland.

• How about a campo santo that allegedly boasts a mysterious tunnel of ghosts? Tripping Out to SoCal’s Oldest Family Graveyard.

• Just how weird could a Victorian Era funeral in L.A. get? Here’s One Lulu of a Burial at Angeles-Rosedale Cemetery.

• She’s gone but not forgotten… But wait… Exactly who was she? The Unforgettable Cora Phillips.

Monrovia's haunting Aztec Hotel.

Built in 1925 in the Mayan Revival style, Monrovia’s sadly dilapidated Aztec Hotel is a notable example of the once-proudly offbeat motoring attractions that characterized America’s famous Route 66.

The hotel was designed by Robert Stacy-Judd, an architect known for exotic buildings, including several Egyptian-themed theaters in England. The Aztec was his first American creation.

Tucked away in Monrovia’s growing business district, the modest-size Aztec is easy to zip on past when cruising what is now Foothill Blvd. (In fact, the scary characters you’ll likely encounter there — alive and otherwise — will probably discourage you from lingering altogether.) Yet the hotel is culturally significant for sparking a wave of similarly designed buildings across the country. In 1978 it was added to the National Register of Historic places as one of America’s first (and last remaining) Mayan Revival structures.

Inside, the lobby, banquet room and other interior spaces can probably best be described as cozy but ornate, thanks to a playful mix of Aztec and Mayan-inspired murals, mosaics and related architectural cues.

Corner relief.

Upscale and chic when it opened, the Aztec quickly fell on hard times during the Depression. It had a brief recovery during the 1930s — and even hosted such celebrities as Bing Crosby — but eventually declined as the surrounding area developed.

In more recent decades, the hotel has struggled with a reputation for seediness, although current management seems intent on rekindling it’s former charm. Perhaps this is one reason they aren’t shy about romanticizing their ghostlore on the Aztec’s website:

“In the twenties or thirties a tragic accident occurred to a young couple in room 120. During their lovemaking, the wife fell off the bed and hit her head on the radiator, causing her death. Every room located west of room 120, which includes rooms 118, 116 and 114, has been without heat since the misfortune. Time and time again, the heating system is checked out, but it is always found to be in working order.”

So goes the story of the female ghost dubbed “Razzle Dazzle.” But she isn’t alone in haunting the joint. In fact, if you believe such stories, the Aztec is very popular with female visitors from the Great Beyond. Several ghostly women are said to frequent a ladies’ rest room in the lobby area, while others flit through the hotel’s hallways, chilling the air as they go.

This is probably a good thing in summer, since to this day the hotel lacks air conditioning — supposedly to preserve its historic character.

Aztec Hotel
311 W. Foothill Blvd.
Monrovia, CA

More Pathe Newsreel footage from the Silent Era. This time a plane buzzes Pasadena’s Colorado Street (aka “Suicide”) Bridge. Just imagine anyone trying that stunt today.

The famous Eagle Rock.

Situated near where the 134 FWY crosses over Figueroa Street, the 50-foot sandstone boulder is a well-known landmark. Perhaps less known is that the dome also sits atop a 20,000-foot-deep faultline that runs through the region. In fact, the boulder was partially disfigured by an earthquake in 1923.

Once part of Rancho San Rafael, one of California’s first Spanish ranch concessions, the surrounding district was incorporated as a 600-resident city in 1911. Twelve years later, having more than doubled its population, Eagle Rock City voted for annexation to Los Angeles. Today the neighborhood boasts approximately 24,000 residents and 600 businesses.

Meanwhile, the rock has become a historical monument, with a modest park at its foot. (Surprisingly, no one was there on the beautiful weekend I snapped this photo.) A few picnic tables and a small trail can be accessed from Figueroa.

St. Francis bungalows today.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, nothing says Southern California Living like a bungalow court — and with good reason. They originated here, specifically in the City of Pasadena. In fact, the photo at left depicts what’s left of the world’s very first one.

Built in 1909 by Sylvanus Marston, the St. Francis Court once occupied the north side of Pasadena’s famous Colorado Blvd. where it intersects Oak Knoll Ave. Featuring 11 bungalows, it was eventually “disassembled” to make way for an extension of Oak Knoll. Five of the original bungalows were then moved to lots near Catalina Ave. and Cornell Road, where the above two were shot. (Unfortunately, the relocated bungalows are no longer laid out as a court, but as regular houses.)

The photo below shows the St. Francis Court in its heyday.

(City of Pasadena image)

According to the city’s Planning Department web pages, where you’ll find a full history of the bungalow court, there are 112 examples these types of housing arrangements in Pasadena today, with 43 of them carrying some sort of historic designation.

Created by the Seaver Center for Western History Research, a department of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, this is the first of an educational series of videos examining historic street names in the City of Angels. Too see more beyond the introduction, be sure to click on the links for parts 2-6 when this video ends.

Edison power lines, Eagle Rock.

There’s nothing truly spectacular about this scene near Eagle Rock. I simply like the flow of the electrical lines from the Edison plant in the background, along with the juxtaposition of the wood electrical pole with the massive metal infrastructure.

(StockXchange)

That’s right, folks! Once again we’re pimping the old Dateline>City of Angels archives to reacquaint readers with some of our all-time favorite posts. This week we bring you three selections dealing with murder and mayhem topped off with scandal. (Not to mention a ghost or two.) Enjoy!

• The gruesome kidnapping and murder of Marian Parker shocked the nation in 1927. Now her childlike spirit is said to linger in her family’s former home in L.A.

• Just who shot whom at Greystone Manor that tragic February night in 1929? The true story of oil magnate Ned Doheny’s death still haunts Angeleno society today — perhaps literally.

• Ready for another Hollywood-style whodunnit? The sensational, unsolved 1922 murder of the famed director William Desmond Taylor scandalized the public, leading to a morals campaign to clean up Tinseltown.

Church of the Angels.

A close-up shot of the Church of the Angels, Pasadena’s oldest house of worship. The church was commissioned by San Rafael Ranch owner Francis Campbell-Johnson to memorialize her husband Alexander, who died in 1888. Since the couple were English immigrants, Campbell-Johnson turned to Holmbury St. Mary’s Church, near Dorking, Surrey, England, for inspiration. The cornerstone was laid in what was then the town of Garvanza on Holy Saturday, April 20, 1889.

Ironically, when Campbell-Johnson first announced the site for her church, friends were not entirely supportive. Pasadena, they said, was a much better location. No matter–Pasadena eventually annexed this section of Garvanza along with its little church several years later.

The Episcopal church features several striking architectural cues, including an exterior of golden sandstone quarried in the San Fernando Valley, red-pressed brick interior walling, a redwood ceiling and a large Seth Thomas clock gracing its stone tower. Thanks to its angelic charm, the shrine has served as a filming locale for several movies and television programs.

1100 Avenue 64,
Pasadena, CA 91105

Pathe Newsreel footage of a 1925 balloon ride over Los Angeles. According to Wikipedia, font of all Internet knowledge, Charles Pathe “was a pioneer of moving picture news services in the silent era.” His Pathe News company produced newsreels from 1910 to the 1970s.

Ray Bradbury (Wikimedia)

Today is Friday, and you know what that means! Time for another wrap-up of some interesting items culled from the blogosphere this past week. Today’s selection includes the deaths of two famous Angelenos, mugshots (just for fun), and a pair of posts relating to Southland art. Enjoy!

• They say celebrity deaths always come in threes. Award-winning sci-fi author Ray Bradbury (pictured) appears to be this week’s second passing. (Who’s next?) The prolific futurist died in Los Angeles at age 91. New York Times

• Of course, this week’s first celebrity death was Richard Dawson, who resuscitated his flagging career with kisses for the ladies on television’s “Family Feud” game show. He died of cancer at 79. Fox News

• If you’re a fan of crime blotters (and who isn’t?), you’ll go absolutely gaga over this rogue’s gallery of local arrest photos accumulated over the past six months. Pasadena Star-News

• A 20-year-old Elysian Park monument to preservationists Frank Glass and Grace Simons got some much-needed preservation of its own after years of neglect and vandalism. The Eastsider

• They’re certainly an expression of free speech, but are the cardboard cutouts of nannies and other unsung workers appearing all over wealthy neighborhoods really art, or just life-size litter trashing up the city? You decide. Los Angeles Times

Republican logo.

Question: Besides stardom, what do Adam Sandler, Angie Harmon and Gary Sinise have in common? Answer: They’re all Hollywood Republicans — or at least individuals on record as giving to GOP candidates and related conservative causes. Yes, there really are such right-leaning people in Tinseltown, and Ranker has a list of 200 or so of the most famous of them, including not only film and television stars (both alive and dead), but songsters, directors and other high-power Movieland moguls. Click on over — some of the names may surprise you.

Studio City's Hand Car Wash

A vintage Corvette tops a bigger-than-life hand and sponge along Ventura Blvd. at the Studio City Hand Car Wash. There’s no doubt the signage attracts a lot of attention but, personally, I think it’s a waste of a good sports car. However, that’s my only “objection” to the kitschy landmark, which has apparently sparked a lot of heated controversy over the years as to whether or not it’s an eyesore. (You’d think people would have better things to complain about in Los Angeles.)

Bob Baker Theater (Public Domain)

Unfortunately, it may indeed be curtains for Echo Park’s world-renown Bob Baker Marionette Theater. Built in 1953, the old cinder-block building at First Street and Glendale Blvd. is considered by many to be America’s longest-running puppet theater, and was declared a Los Angeles historic-cultural landmark in 2009. Nevertheless, the theater has been floundering since 2008, despite public campaigns to keep it open. Now the property is reportedly up for sale at a $2.05 million asking price, with the seller already suggesting how new development could look on the site.

Born in 1924, Baker, the theater’s founder, is an American puppetry icon. He began his career at age 8, and is universally hailed as a pioneer in gaining wider acceptance of the art form in television and cinema. In 1961, he purchased what was then a nondescript special effects workshop, ultimately transforming it not only into the present iconic theater, but a cultural repository for a now-estimated 3,000 hand-made marionettes. The historic building has also served as an educational center for aspiring puppeteers.

(StockXchange image)

When it comes to sleuthing a good ghost story, I’m like Velma in the “Scooby Doo” cartoons: I prefer to start my search in the library. Over the years, this blog has paid a lot of attention to local ghostlore, often from a more analytical perspective. It’s not that I’m a total skeptic, it’s just that I like to match ghost tales to the historical record to see if they have any basis in fact. Consider these past groovy mysteries:

• Of all the alleged specters in the SoCal region, Rudy Valentino’s seems to get around the most. He’s been sighted in some of the oddest places — even a park that he never had any connection to in real life.

• Is L.A.’s City Hall haunted by the spirit of a 19th century aristocrat? Ghost books and paranormal websites say yes, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find any city official willing to confirm the rumors.

• The hills and winding roads of L.A.’s Elysian Park have made it a popular make-out spot, but beware the infamous White Lady. According to legend, she’s a prudish spirit who’s more than eager to break up a good time.

• Considering that the Black Dahlia was last seen leaving the Biltmore Hotel before her murder, you’d expect its walls to be oozing with ectoplasm. And they are – just not hers.

My talking cow on a Monrovia street corner.

Once upon a time in SoCal history there were, as one author put it, “Cattle on a Thousand Hills.” Nowadays the most any of us suburbanites ever see is a plastic bovine like this one standing outside Rigo’s drive-up market in Monrovia.

I was pondering this fact outloud as I snapped this picture, when I swear the plastic cow spoke to me:

“Did you know that we cattle first came to this region with the Spaniards in the late 1700s?” she asked rhetorically.

“Um. I guess I never really thought about it,” I replied, checking nervously about to make sure no one was witnessing my rather bizarre conversation.

“By the 1830s we were the backbone of the Californio ranching economy under Mexico. Our disappearance from the landscape after American statehood, however, had less to do with encroaching civilization than a host of other factors,” she lectured.

I looked it up and, by golly, the cow was right. In the 1850s, California’s rancheros were riding high on the hog, so to speak. According to the “Los Angeles A-Z” almanac:

“Before the Gold Rush, California herds may have numbered 400,000 head, with each animal worth about $4. During the Gold Rush, when beef was in demand up north, the value rose to between $50 and $500.”

The cow.

“That was at a time when land went for about $3 per acre, and Californio rancheros lived like royalty,” said the cow. “We called those days The Days of the Dons, but they didn’t last long. In 1863, drought struck southern California, culling our herds by the thousands. Then, floods, disease and pestilence followed in 1864. Our carcuses could be seen rotting everywhere. It was a huge disaster.”

She went on to explain how the bottom quickly fell out of the cattle industry, and many once-lordly rancheros found themselves bankrupted and ripe for American swindlers and real estate speculators.

“Within a very short period, southern California was shifting from a ranching to a farming economy, helping set the stage for the region’s land and population booms in the late 1800s,” she concluded.

I thanked the cow for her brief history lesson and turned to walk back to my Jeep, still a little disconcerted by the whole exchange. Then, suddenly, I thought of one last question.

“By the way, just what breed of cow are you?” I asked. “Jersey? Holstein?”

“Polyethylene, silly!” she winked.

Further Reading:

• Wikipedia: California Ranchos

• Californios.us: Californios

• Old and Sold: The Mexican Era

Everything you ever wanted to know about the development of the movie industry, from the early days to television, in exactly 5 minutes. Listen up close, kiddos. It goes by fast.

(StockXchange image)

Two Monrovia girls were startled to find a bear taking a dip in their family’s pool over Memorial Day weekend. They managed to capture the animal’s leisurely swim in a video for KTLA. Unfortunately, that Channel 5 report won’t embed here, so you’ll have to click the link to see the cute ol’ bear enjoying himself. KTLA

Four More Items…

• Crazed and possibly drunk, a half-naked woman “terrorized” a Pasadena auto shop with a crowbar Tuesday. Even more embarrassing for her, a reporter showed up in time to photograph her detainment in detail. Star-News

• After giving Occupy L.A. huge leeway to encamp at City Hall, the Los Angeles City Council appears to be headed for a ban on pitching tents and overnight camping in city parks. Guess they learned a lesson from all the damage and “waste” the Occupiers left behind. L.A. Daily News

• Oh, the scandal! Speaking of left-behind waste, the doggie doo has hit the proverbial fan in Eagle Rock over a former neighborhood council president accused of not picking up after his pooch. Patch

• San Fernando Valley resident Tommy Gelinas has spent an estimated $300,000 buying, well, everything having anything remotely to do with The Valley. Is he a history-minded collector or merely a candidate for an episode of “Hoarders?” You decide. L.A. Daily News