https://www.djwaldie.com/works daily 0.75 2025-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/3030f41d-d16a-4f2a-b558-29d543aa5ebf/ELA_cover_300dpi.jpg Works - Make it stand out Cover art by Gregb Ito https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1580666707622-LYDUQR57YR9SNFKCS4XV/DJWCover.jpg Works “L.A. Purple Night,” photograph by Ludwig Favre https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1451848729955-3OA9EM1YAE4KYBHFN7A8/holy-land-waldie.jpg Works Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir (W.W. Norton, 1996; revised edition, 2005) https://www.djwaldie.com/stories daily 0.75 2025-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1602370549029-EAZNJOKLR02DS3T7I096/Asleep.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1602367463469-Y9COEH1FWP58ZUILELI4/Tent.jpg Stories Mr. Q (arrow) and Gloria Graves. You could have seen the same face for free on any street in Hollywood. That didn’t stop the customers from paying ten cents and peering at the girl lying below in her coffin. Photograph courtesy of Herald-Examiner Collection, Los Angeles Public Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1602368260018-68CPY4X9C8R0B3MYLL1Z/Nurse.jpg Stories Nurse Godwin. Florence Godwin (Robert Godwin’s wife) acted as a nurse during the Los Angeles burials of Gloria Graves. Photograph courtesy of Herald-Examiner Collection, Los Angeles Public Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1602368827566-0TKV0U1SRXKDGGVO5KPO/Court.jpg Stories A girl and her coffin. “Gloria Graves, attractive ‘buried alive’ girl, brought her crypt to court today and showed it to jurors and gaping spectators. She did it to prove she was harming no one, including herself, when she was buried alive for seven days, assertedly in violation of a city ordinance against endurance contests.” (Original caption) Photograph courtesy of Herald-Examiner Collection, Los Angeles Public Library. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1602369749537-Q2Q300DYZUSKEBV1JHPM/Qs.jpg Stories Mr. and Mrs. Q. "Mr. Q, Robert M. Goodwin, 57-year-old stage hypnotist who was shot and killed by Dr. Harold T. Edwards in a row partly over his asserted insult to a young woman with whom he planned a "buried alive" act. (Original caption) Photograph courtesy of Herald-Examiner Collection, Los Angeles Public Library. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1602370204259-Q01P9L06VYQPZW141292/Nienstedt.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1603659728519-LF0YT8UNJRDF1GUFVYBA/Orphanage%2C+1878.jpg Stories Daughters of Charity orphanage and school (in color), about 1875. Photo courtesy of Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1603659890844-2S92Z49TK9BYU2WRLFAR/Cornette.jpg Stories The starched wimple (called a cornette) inspired the Flying Nun, Photo courtesy of Herald-Examiner Collection, Los Angeles Public Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1603660302963-REY6FYZS5QLGVBKM2L60/Los+Angeles+Infirmary+1908.jpg Stories Operating room, Los Angeles Infirmary, 1908. The nurses and doctors are assisted by a sister wearing her wing-like wimple. Photo courtesy of USC Digital Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1603660480232-FMX17K62YLA5OFMLCSTW/Los+Angeles+Orphan+Asylum.jpg Stories Photo courtesy of Herald-Examiner Collection, Los Angeles Public Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1603660641465-BVCP20O0JVN724QC64EF/Leaving+the+Orphanage.jpg Stories Sister Serena waves goodbye, 1950. “Probably the happiest family in the city this Christmas will be the Carl Johnsons, as Mrs. Johnson returns her daughters Yvonne and Monica to their home on December 9, 1950 after four years of life at the Los Angeles Orphanage.” Photo courtesy of Herald-Examiner Collection, Los Angeles Public Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1604512787552-2QQH5ONS4TO343TXAZM0/Los+Angeles+ca+1865.jpg Stories Los Angeles (looking north from the Plaza) in 1865. Photograph courtesy of Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1604512931341-JRXUWOWSTIWTYQ1T6B9I/Hancock%2C+Winfield+Scott.jpg Stories Winfield Scott Hancock Photograph from Wikimedia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1604513154093-E02YVH6TGURMS1G5NKUM/Hancocks+Headquarters.jpg Stories Captain Hancock’s depot (date unknown) Photograph courtesy of California State Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1604513022135-UQMFQHE8V36Y5HD0BJHH/Los+angeles+Star%2C+1860.jpg Stories Montage of images courtesy of USC Digital Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1604515930257-3VWDHSUCBS5790OL75HR/Downey%2C+John+Gately.jpg Stories Governor John Downey Photograph courtesy of Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1604513073472-AG5DFJLF8CTWM5POJOS9/Bella_Union_Hotel_exterior.jpg Stories Bella Union Hotel about 1857 Photograph courtesy of Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1604513247772-0IHX4U9KT9PDY2SNMJ1X/Johnson%2C+Albert+Sidney.jpg Stories Albert Sidney Johnson (in US Army uniform) Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1605118467838-PIGWFSSZPIGJYNV60SIC/Frontier+Medicine.jpg Stories Frontier medicine, circa 1865. Bone saw, tourniquet, scalpels, and other implements were standard equipment. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1605119319791-9THCSJ99HE9S6N375P4M/Medicinal+Poison.jpg Stories Medicinal poison. Arsenious Acid was used as a general remedy for a variety of conditions in the 19th century, despite its toxicity. Photograph courtesy of National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1605118675383-QIJOUP052JFJSGRUDD97/Den%2C+Richard.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1605118899424-GJ9MSZZ8SC6AIXH7Q95O/Griffin%2C+John+S.jpg Stories Dr. John S. Griffin. Griffin was a physician and businessman, as well as secessionist in Civil War-era Los Angeles. Photograph courtesy of Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1605119069341-HU7VV6DI1A2QATAUPV20/Physicians.jpg Stories Physicians of Los Angeles. As seen in these notices, medical practice in 19th century Los Angeles took a variety of approaches to disease. Photograph courtesy of the author https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1605119209798-03KGVW2PUM3ZLA2KS12X/Sunshine.jpg Stories Land of Sunshine. Whiteness made healthy what colonial officials had once called “this sad destination.” Photograph courtesy of the author https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1606069289109-UGU76DMUYEN2D0C3CQMB/PSE1.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1606069488668-XHELWUMDS70B701ICUS1/PSE3.jpg Stories Aerial View. Most of the fair’s buildings were roofed with canvas sheets. The walls were stuccoed wallboard. Photograph courtesy of Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1606069758588-LX0B272JZNCX32D9U6QO/PSE5.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1606070426173-JXW6QYW8N6JZ07UQ12WL/PSE4.jpg Stories Orientalism. The fair’s image was an Arabian Nights fantasy of “flaming flappers” in skimpy costumes. Photograph courtesy of Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1606070948752-OUJD6D94IB3485R8CQM6/PSE6.jpg Stories Guatemala Building. Strikingly colored and edged with stylized designs, the Guatemala building highlighted native textiles. Photograph courtesy of Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1607188598074-G0I3T4KN3NZ7GH2F8S6H/Natalie%27s+House.jpg Stories Karla Klarin: Natalie’s House 7 (2015), one of a series. https://www.karlaklarin.com/natalies-house https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1607188679530-FKREYZ1ME80K61BK2R8D/Confluence.jpg Stories John Humble, Headwaters, the Los Angeles River, Confluence of Arroyo Calabasas and Bell Creek, Canoga Park http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/humble/27784601.html https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1607900287698-5YU3P5XG0IWPD0LTZ3AF/Pasadena_City_Hall_tower.jpg Stories Pasadena City Hall (Photograph courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library, Security Pacific National Bank Collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1607900451034-54BALXQO4K89A77KFB3T/MCC.jpg Stories Adventist Medical Cadet Corps members on parade in 1951 (Photograph courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Seventh Day Adventists) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1607900583177-M59S6FI8D4ULKL61FJ7C/GS.jpg Stories Gustaf Stromberg at his desk at Mount Wilson Observatory, 1940 (Photograph courtesy of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science Collection at the Huntington Library) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1607900675363-9M07UKAQ6ZOUZKB3DQUW/van+Maanen.jpg Stories Adriaan Van Maanen (Photograph courtesy of the University of Chicago Library, Special Collections Research Center) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1607900780745-4UVJJEZ48EIIIF0R0FLQ/Mount_Wilson_Observatory_and_surrounding_mountains_ca1930.jpg Stories Mount Wilson Observatory and surrounding mountains, ca.1930 (From the California Historical Society Collection at the University of Southern California) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1608916237421-GM1FA0YW0JJ6ZWLZJ06U/Rancho+Map.jpg Stories Ranchos of Los Angeles County. The end of the Mexican period left Los Angeles with a pattern of large-scale land ownership and dispersed population centers. Map courtesy of the Map Collection – Los Angeles Public Library. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1608916379644-98AHVJA2G4PUZL6AKV0O/1858-09-00++Plat+of+Town+Lands.jpg Stories Los Angeles city lands, 1858. Los Angeles is the tiny dot in the center of the map surrounded by some 17,000 acres of municipal land. Map courtesy of the Map Collection – Los Angeles Public Library. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1608916513120-S4S7ZJBNV9RAB9ZR7B37/1876++Temple+Street.jpg Stories Temple Street, 1876. An unpaved Temple Street leads west below Bunker Hill among scattered houses and empty fields. Courtesy of the Security Pacific National Bank Collection – Los Angeles Public Library. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1608916640863-139JXPW40IRO3CA04JW5/1886++Angeleno+Heights.jpg Stories Angeleño Heights, 1886. Angeleño Heights (later known as Angelino Heights and Angeleno Heights) was one of the first suburbs of Los Angeles. Map courtesy of Loyola Marymount University, William H. Hannon Library. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1608916834689-D8K1KSX09L4QQ2W4GSIQ/1920s++PE+System.jpg Stories Inter-urban railways. The map boasts that Los Angeles has the “greatest electric railway system in the world.” Map courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library, Security Pacific National Bank Collection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1608916948574-EV3DWLOC013XC7MW6J1V/Downtown+Panarama.jpg Stories The Los Angeles of history. The uniformly dense, suburban appearing city was created out of its oppositions. Photo by Louis Raphael from Flickr, Creative Commons License. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1609700603432-3KCZP17LCZ5MUDGWF7VV/Before+The+Pike%2C+1880.jpg Stories Before the Pike, 1880. Decades after her “beautiful, empty beach” had become a raucous amusement zone, Sarah Bixby Smith (1871-1935) remembered picnicking on the strand at Alamitos Bay when it looked like this. (Photograph courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library, Security Pacific National Bank Collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1609700726890-79AOB7KGG985ZRQLXUSV/Bathhouse.jpg Stories Long Beach Bath House. On July 4, 1902, Charles Drake’s newly built Long Beach Bath House opened. (Photograph courtesy of the author’s collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1609700872266-EIC61THCUXTSM8UHYKJ8/Pike+Midway+c1912+csudh.jpeg Stories The Pike, about 1912. Strollers on the Pike’s midway pass the Long Beach Bath House. In the distance (at the upper left) is part of the framework of a roller coaster. (Historic postcard courtesy of Cal State Dominguez Hills Archives, James H. Osborne Photograph Collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1609700997666-GENH4DIA0C4548NITRH0/Looffs+Carousel%2C+1937.jpg Stories Looff’s Carousel, 1937. In 1911, master-carver and carousel builder Charles Looff installed the carousel at the Pike and moved his family to an apartment above it. The ride was destroyed in a fire in 1943, and a new carousel was installed nearby. (Photograph courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library, Security Pacific National Bank Collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1609701104172-7UWGGB76E3NG94JGII04/The+Pike%2C+1930.jpg Stories The Pike, 1930. Crowds mill down the midway of the Pike. Included in the enticements are Cunningham’s Cafe, the Majestic Ballroom, and The Strand movie theater. Looming over them is the multi-story Ocean Center building, constructed in 1929. (Photograph courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library, Security Pacific National Bank Collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1609701194651-XA2Z0Y3XW5BD58OYFVD6/Gaudy+Bawdy+Pike%2C+1960.jpg Stories Nu-Pike, 1963. Competition with newer amusement parks – and a sketchy reputation – led to a new name for the Pike in the 1950s. The Nu Pike was still the old mixture of carnival rides, greasy spoon cafés, tattoo parlors, and dive bars. (Photograph courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library, William Reagh Collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1609702236973-LSRRK15X4O1XQNY9PAGT/Racer+Runs+No+More%2C+1968.jpg Stories Racer Runs No More. A chain-link fence shut the entrance to the Cyclone Racer roller coaster at the Pike in 1968. (Photograph courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library, Security Pacific National Bank Collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1609702394970-RVG388FVIEIAI7JJUXZW/Laff+in+the+Dark.jpg Stories Laff In The Dark. Found here in 1976 was the mummified corpse of hapless outlaw Elmer McCurdy. (Photograph from the author’s collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1609702570735-9DX6SKXFR6ZK54MLUI35/Remains+of+The+Pike%2C+1988.jpg Stories Remains of the Pike, 1988. Al Brown, whose family owned the Looff’s concessions, holds a historic photo of the site. By 1988, nothing remained but Looff’s Lite-A-Line, a betting game that combines pinball and bingo. (Photograph courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library, Herald-Examiner Collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614356932997-1URFT92LXBS1DM61BX4D/Nichols+Canyon.jpg Stories David Hockney, Nichols Canyon, 1980 (Image courtesy of Phillips) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614357007303-C6RUY8T2SWEFDHKD3NHS/David+Hockney+Drawing+from+Life.jpg Stories David Hockney at his exhibition Drawing from Life at the National Portrait Gallery (Photograph by David Parry, National Portrait Gallery) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614549017755-THQSVWDXS0F2QUZM67H9/Vintage+Wheel Stories Vintage wheel (Photograph by Pixabay) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614549120165-AGD96OG3JHCERYN4JVSR/skateboard.jpg Stories Wheels up (Photograph by MickiTakesPictures) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614549165891-RPPGJLIRI2YOTZZX5ND3/Final.jpg Stories Finally (Remixed photograph) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1615998614639-NSRDGVMRBNTWRJR3QXRW/Venice+Short+Line Stories Venice Short Line cars (Photograph courtesy of Huntington Library) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1616082091225-I1K5GCJI1I0XFX1D9ZZ1/Vineyard+Junction.jpg Stories Vineyard Junction, 1913 (Photograph from the author’s collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1615998836021-JUKUFHE361Z6ISEY34I2/Pacific+Electric+Motorman Stories Pacific Electric motorman and conductor (Photograph courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library, Security Pacific National Bank Collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1615911606282-405XX8JGX6XRQ8QS3UT4/Vineyard+Junction Stories Beach towns and Pacific Electric lines, 1920 (Photograph from the author’s collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1615999062709-20G3LPJI39GR6VIM727C/Pacific+Electric Stories Pacific Electric (Photograph from the author’s collection) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1615924490383-5FP7EZ7BMYKGLO7UVCKI/vj3.jpg Stories Vineyard, a ghost place (Goggle maps) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1616433667626-C0X6JIQ9P4Y6OETNIRFT/Radium++Sulphur+Springs Stories Radium Sulphur Spring, the home of “liquid sunshine” (Undated postcard courtesy of Martin Turnbull) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1616433780566-MVCIEPK95YEZR3DXM907/Revigator+Water+Jar Stories Be sure to drink six or more glasses a day. (Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1616433885621-2DA7D6X50UTYJ3C5QT7N/Radiumilk.jpg Stories 1932 Los Angeles City Directory (Image courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1616434070072-RI250NYVVFSAU90SSX04/Radium+Hand+Cleaner Stories Quickly removes grease, paint, tar, rust and all other discolorations without irritating the skin. It cleanses softens and heals. (Photograph by Frank Fani, Creative Commons License) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1617899915286-CZF77ZRDQW0CUOAMM1ZD/Miner%27s+Union+Bar Stories Grain Belt Beer Ghost Sign, 30 May 2010 by Jasperado https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1617900185730-1JBZCEUJB869L2OO23KW/Rubber+M Stories Rubber M for Office, 8 October 2006 by monkeymagic1975 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1617900410928-MTLT7GW54G8PK58QW49P/Vote Stories Vote Against Prohibition, 12 July 2008 by Colin Ford https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1619814047620-IIV7GW96NA1UNM45Q8GX/Christos.jpg Stories Hans Holbein. “The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb,” oil and tempera on board, 1522, Kunstmuseum Basel https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1623538593141-9R9W6RG5EW6R4M84HQTK/Sign.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Old Motel Sign | Photograph by Ben Churchill https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1623538695759-U7KDKFMQ7DBDX09H11ZC/Motel6.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Motel 6 | Photograph by gamene https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1623538864932-9T0AGAR25FYK8K3GOWCN/Room1613.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Room 1613 | Photograph by John Margolies https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1624141899482-HM0B0XDZ49VLT9JLDCOW/Art+Festival+Sculpture+cr.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Abstract art. Mrs. Rudolph Polk, vice president of Los Angeles Municipal Art Commission, views “Image” by Esther Rohr, which won $100 prize at All City Outdoor Art Festival in 1956. Photograph courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library, Valley Times Collection https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1624142028703-OCJUSLG5ZWDMXQ38M5UM/Brandt.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Propaganda or a seascape. Councilman Harold Harby concluded that “Surge of the Sea” by Rex Brandt included a hammer and sickle design on the sail on the right. Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library, Herald-Examiner Collection https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1624142089860-G48DHWDGFA8OQXEVD6IM/Harby.jpg Stories - Make it stand out The shock of the new. Councilman Harold Harby compares a drawing by a mentally disabled artist with “Bird in the Moon” by Edmund Kohn, a proposed gift to the city by Howard Ahmanson. “If this is a bird,” said Harby, “the moon can have it!” Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library, Herald-Examiner Collection https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1625957249753-GOSHZSRDIXBCV65EFTPT/McAllister.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1625957440353-5BXP6YZDS2NN07VL3ET2/Clown+Menu.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Kids’ menu https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1634245207861-QK592OQGMX0S0EZ01NCW/1877++Brooklyn+Heights+and+LA++3.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/fd40370a-4f6a-4c31-be11-1eb6aae268cc/FPCE2.jpg Stories - Make it stand out A specific volume of light https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/7f634fde-2f8c-457f-90b0-3413aca544ca/FPCE1.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Award winning church interior https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/d47e1126-27f7-46a0-9d67-17286466c860/Seal.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/57b71703-7b68-48df-bd46-8c8e24604189/Enso.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Calligraphy by Kanjuro Shibata, "Ensō (円相)" https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/c5ba57b4-30bd-4354-83a6-923a4485e7ff/GeoBoard.jpg Stories - Make it stand out The US Geographic Board made the Anglo pronunciation of Los Angeles official in 1931. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/5346b9b5-12ff-4e57-aed8-cb3d15b5e92b/FBHeights.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Angeleño Heights, Birdseye View Publishing Co. , 1909 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/3af62ea2-2ccb-4216-9f57-c6cc25b72949/Pair.jpg Stories - Make it stand out City of Quartz (1990) and Ecology of Fear (1998) demolished booster clichés about Los Angeles. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/ae3d9b2e-0e49-47a7-a0d1-1dd8ae56e5a2/mike_davis.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Mike Davis: Scholar, Activist https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/29392f3c-7eaa-439c-bfae-f7dbf4cc7479/Pedestrian.jpg Stories - Make it stand out A dangerous place to be in Los Angeles https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/dbc67281-b747-4b00-9024-ca788fda970d/Pedestrian2.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/2de6d513-d921-4560-8215-685f9173dfa2/Pedestrian3.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1678042676071-G69PY0JFP63T2HHNFP9C/20230304_141129.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1678042696237-KVJO1EJC8VHDB4KA83CT/20230304_132252.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1678042722503-08O3XSJSQHHSJZB7AWPC/20230304_140234.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1678042745999-ULSWFNQNXG1C2DQCFK3C/20230304_135243.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1678042762734-4T2W57NUT7RXOK6OWSSR/20230304_140053.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1678042774822-R7YJNMOD92T4PIX62MA2/20230304_133345.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/39f18a08-66ed-469e-91a7-5b0cd70ecdc3/s4.jpg Stories - Make it stand out House: Photograph by Tom Johnson https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1d2c3106-e0ba-444c-895a-75da48e2314a/S3.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Nativity https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/f188e33e-0099-4131-be3d-6792b7fa937e/S2.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Yard Sale https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/f392686c-cee3-446d-a0d5-9f44b07a949d/page1.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Illustrations by Chris Sickles | Red Nose Studio https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/51188b88-dd26-4224-be5d-3e525d16dd3d/cs1.png Stories - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/fafaff3d-c3ee-47a1-a94d-a9ed589d8b14/cs2.png Stories - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/d804d5dc-eac7-4ba3-a2d3-b13d452ac694/cs3.png Stories - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/0ee07e34-95f9-4b9e-a353-14a63ca63d04/cs4.png Stories - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/43b9747a-13ba-4b20-9165-1d92c87ef9cb/Nativity.jpg Stories Missing: Photograph by Tom Johnson https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/3ecd9897-28bd-49d3-98b4-e3ee0d7b07f1/ICE2.jpg Stories - Make it stand out LA Uncovered, Robert Rauschenberg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/2198506b-61db-4219-b46e-f7a61e792978/Skyline.jpg Stories - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.djwaldie.com/holy-land daily 0.75 2025-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1626535596870-GSHZ4D7KTT4OEXZSZ77T/Holy+Land++2005++Front+Cover.jpg Holy Land - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/539cbd2d-bf72-4d0d-93d8-c0fba5a701ba/CBC2.jpg Holy Land - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/f9036ae2-6cdd-4c67-9e1a-c5557f6db3cb/BLWC.jpg Holy Land - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.djwaldie.com/becoming-la daily 0.75 2024-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1592694804369-FRTTGCU2U2BWWG5S8ID3/Ins++Ver1.jpg Becoming Los Angeles Listen to a preview of the audiobook edition https://www.djwaldie.com/about daily 1.0 2026-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/040f019a-f91f-4dd1-b504-6127ec5c1234/DJW-LAPL-2.jpg A SENSE OF PLACE - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.djwaldie.com/all-books daily 0.75 2025-10-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1761248620677-PRL5RSWD1U7H86DFYB72/Untitled-1.jpg Books - Elements of Los Angeles: Earth, Water, Air, Fire Angel City Press, 2025 Using the four classic elements as his structure, Waldie seems to have read everything, talked to everyone, and traveled to every corner of the city that alternately mystifies, frustrates, delights, and alarms us. — Heather King, Angelus https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614448074301-MR7YYZCGZ35YSN9CVEJI/Becoming.jpg Books - Becoming Los Angeles: Myth, Memory, and a Sense of Place Angel City Press, 2020 [A] book of many small revelations from a writer who is deeply concerned with finding the soul in a city often seen as only skin deep – Frances Anderton, KCRW Design and Architecture Because Waldie’s breadth of knowledge is so vast, his opinions so sharp and his loyalty so deep, he is especially articulate about what (Angelenos) have lost. – Nathan Deuel, Los Angeles Times https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614446392455-TKNRGVVE64R1Q3CR1YHP/River.jpg Books - LA River Photographs by Michael Kolster Text by D. J. Waldie George F. Thompson Publishing, 2019 This book is a revelation. … The illuminating text makes this a beautiful and utterly essential book for anyone intrigued by Los Angeles and its fraught history. – Jenny Watts, Curator of Photography & Visual Culture, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614446494003-CLV3GVRMEYM31BRHDMTC/Ruscha.jpg Books - Ed Ruscha and the Great American West Essay by D. J. Waldie University of California Press, 2016 Waldie, a keen observer of Los Angeles, works through the paradox of establishing a sense of place in a city often accused of engendering a sense of placelessness. He suggests that we view Ruscha’s Los Angeles work as a memoir, a perspective that gives the artist’s notoriously deadpan gaze a more personal cast. – Amanda A. Douberley, Panorama: Journal of the Association of Historians of American Art https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614446655716-G4A79YKSKN1BN222KAHT/Circus.jpg Books - No Circus Photographs by Randi Malkin Steinberger Text by D. J. Waldie Bologna: Damiani Editore, 2016 Only a writer as good as D. J. Waldie could turn houses tented for termite spraying into a poignant piece on life in Southern California. – Sara Libby, Voice of San Diego https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614446748612-2VWTO5CJPMUI0PHAV40R/House+-+Copy.jpg Books - House By Diane Keaton Text by D. J. Waldie Rizzoli, 2012 The volume stunningly portrays rusticated homes, aging farmhouses and crumbling lofts, all with beauty hidden beneath neglect and decay. – Papercity Magazine It's a lavish and mesmerizing photographic poem to iconic simplicity in home design, with compelling images of barn-and factory-inspired homes. The underlying theme is that simplicity isn't simple, but metaphoric and resonant. – HousePlans.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614446819636-J6T951JRXXA5HKZY1P8H/Recordari.jpg Books - Holy land: ricordi suburbani Genoa: Il Canneto Editore, 2011 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614446895348-983IWANVC7D16ACRA6L8/Romantica.jpg Books - California Romantica By Diane Keaton Text by D. J. Waldie Rizzoli, 2007 and 2019 Noted historian D. J. Waldie lucidly explicates the architecture and provides an intimate tour of a historic and distinctly Californian lifestyle. – Arcana Books https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614547508261-ZJWEIVCI4MI2BGE895M0/Home2.jpg Books - Close to Home: An American Album Found photographs Text by D. J. Waldie J. Paul Getty Museum, 2004 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614446818699-14Y9LA2APWWH6Q53538N/Now.jpg Books - Where We Are Now: Notes from Los Angeles Angel City Press, 2004 A breathtaking progression from his much-celebrated book Holy Land …, Where We Are Now is a compilation of Waldie's most intriguing recent works and an exploration of the meaning of place in Los Angeles, long regarded as the most "placeless" of American cities. – Angel City Press https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614446858880-DETU11QKZ3FT40GM6QZT/Real.jpg Books - Real City: Downtown Los Angeles Inside/Out Photographs by Marissa Roth Text by D. J. Waldie Angel City Press, 2001 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1614446859797-VMJMABEJ74NG4KLLQTO7/HL.jpg Books - Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir W. W. Norton, 1995 and 2005 Although it’s labeled as such, to call [Holy Land] a memoir does not quite do justice to the magic it works, invoking the numinous in the anonymous through an almost sacramental act of attention. – James Mustich, 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die Infinitely moving and powerful, just dead-on right, and absolutely original – Joan Didion A classic of American autobiography – Patricia Hampl, novelist and memoirist Quirky, haunting and frequently breathtaking – David Eggers, Might Verging on the haunting – Village Voice Unusual and compelling – Publishers Weekly A poetic, hypnotically appealing collection – People An almost mystical memoir – The New Yorker https://www.djwaldie.com/audiobooks daily 0.75 2021-08-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1626535596870-GSHZ4D7KTT4OEXZSZ77T/Holy+Land Audiobooks - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1626535716012-R9ALHDQ1SJMGA5R9DIMZ/Becoming Audiobooks - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.djwaldie.com/author daily 0.75 2025-11-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/97d6fe74-cac4-468d-ac22-88bd49460453/Facbk-template-1.jpg About the Author - Make it stand out Photo by Dustin Snipes https://www.djwaldie.com/elements daily 0.75 2026-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/c587e4d8-3aff-44b7-9490-7193685654a2/ELLA-CoverFinal.jpg <p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Elements of Los Angeles</p> - Make it stand out Read an excerpt from “Earth” published in the Los Angeles Review of Architecture. Cover art by Greg Ito https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/056ebb32-2aa1-467d-8cd8-1b43a9f82e6a/Greetings-2.jpg <p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Elements of Los Angeles</p> - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53fa7636e4b0271e3bce2198/1f2e9b80-1796-4eff-8c22-e9e425b01982/Mural+on+Melrose.jpg <p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Elements of Los Angeles</p> - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.