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Local Flavor | Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

How Baxter Became One of L.A.’s Steepest Streets

With its 32 percent grade, how did Baxter Street ever get built?

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

How Sepulveda Canyon Became the 405

L.A.'s most hated stretch of freeway began as a bucolic country road through the Santa Monica Mountains.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Where to Find the Lost Cities of L.A.

California may be famous for its ghost towns, but you don’t have to travel as far north as Gold Country, Death Valley, or even the Mojave to see one. Here are five great lost cities within arm’s reach from L.A., and what to look for when you visit.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

A Guide to Art Deco Los Angeles | KCET

If you’d like nothing more than to kick up your heels to the Charleston or the Foxtrot in some “Roaring Twenties” garb, celebrating the magic of the Jazz Age, then it’s time to immerse yourself in all the Art Deco that Los Angeles has to offer.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Angeles Crest: The Creation of L.A.’s Highway Into the Heavens

Built between 1929 and 1956, the Angeles Crest Highway forever changed the once-remote mountain backcountry it traverses.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Two Amazing Spots to See Tens of Thousands of Monarch Butterflies

Each year hundreds of thousands of monarch butterflies flock to several small groves up and down the state's beachside communities. In turn, locals and tourists come out in droves to witness this wintering spectacle.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

5 Best Haunted Hiking Trails

Here are the five best haunted hikes in Southern California – for ghost hunters and skeptics alike. Take only photos, and leave only footprints, so the spirits stay wherever they may dwell.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

How Did L.A. Become a City of Palms? And Other Questions About California's Trees

Q&A with historian Jared Farmer, author of "Trees in Paradise: A California History."

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Six Great Stair Treks to Help Work Off Thanksgiving Dinner

If you forgot to train for your local Turkey Trot this year, here are six great places to take the stairs after your Thanksgiving dinner.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

When Oil Derricks Ruled the L.A. Landscape | KCET

Vintage photos reveal a time when Southern California was a forest of oil derricks.

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Video: A Train Ride Down PCH in 1898 | KCET

The train tunnel in this 1898 film is now where Interstate 10 turns into Pacific Coast Highway.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Transforming the Taco: The Origins of Taco Bell | KCET

For the innovative, restless Glen Bell, the opening of the first Taco Bell was simply the idea that finally caught fire, after a decade of working to bring a Mexican-inspired menu to the masses.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Laws That Shaped L.A.: How Bunker Hill Lost its Victorians

How did all the grand mansions of Bunker Hill get demolished? Blame a 1949 law that pushed forward the agenda of "redevelopment."

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Six Great LA “Lakes”

Natural lakes are a rarity in Southern California but maybe it doesn’t matter if a lake in LA is “real” or not. Whether it’s fishing, boating, birding, or picnicking, here are six great bodies of water we call “lakes” of greater LA.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

You can now hike 67 miles through the Santa Monica Mountains uninterrupted

For more than 50 years, Southern Californians have dreamed of following an uninterrupted trail among the sycamore canyons and sandstone peaks of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

5 Species You Might Have Mistakenly Thought Were California Natives | KCET

Did you know that all of these animals are exotics that were introduced to California? Some of the entries on this list may surprise you.

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When the Hippodrome Was Hip: The Looff Carousel and the Era of Seaside Amusement

Over 90 years of exposure to sea salt and smog seems to have settled a permanent coat of sticky dust over the Santa Monica Hippodromes walls.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

6 Grand Estates of a Bygone Era | KCET

Explore the opulence of yesteryear and experience the grandeur of a bygone era—from the mountains and valley to the beach.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

What Happened in the Elysian Hills Before the Dodgers? | LA as Subject | SoCal Focus | KCET

Before Scully, Koufax, or Lasorda, other legends emerged from L.A.'s Elysian Hills: man-eating lions on the prowl; an incredible "moving mountain" and an Edenic garden of exotic trees.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Watch 'Lost Wetlands' | Lost L.A. | Shows | KCET

Los Angeles is no desert -- just ask the researchers who discovered a matrix of wetlands surrounding Ballona Creek that were paved over long ago.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Prisoners of Fame: Falcon Lair, Rudolph Valentino, Doris Duke, and the Cult of Celebrity Death | Lost Landmarks | Departures

In the 1920s, Hollywood heartthrob Rudolph Valentino retreated behind the walls of his estate, Falcon Lair, until his flame was snuffed out by his own self-destruction. Falcon Lair is proof that all that glitters is not gold.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Griffith Park's Lesser-Known Wonders | Excursions | Travel | KCET

Beat the crowds by visiting these unexpected landmarks, where secrets and mysteries abound.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

The 5, the 101, the 405: Why Southern Californians Love Saying 'the' Before Freeway Numbers

How did Southern Californians come to treat their highway route numbers as if they were proper names?

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

The Most Haunted Places in Los Angeles | Excursions | Travel | KCET

For a little taste of paranormal activity, visit one of these historic L.A. landmarks and be reminded that you are not alone -- even when you're by yourself.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Marion's Playground: The Story of the Annenberg Community Beach House | Lost Landmarks | Departures Columns | KCET

Pictures of Marion Davies were everywhere at the lavish beach retreat built by her longtime love William Randolph Hearst.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Holy Cross Cemetery: A Catholic Oasis with a Macabre Twist

From the first Korean saint to the first dracula (aka Bela Lugosi), diverse tales of people from many different continents are all united by a single religion at this Culver City cemetery.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

'The Suicide': The Hotel Cecil and the Mean Streets of L.A.'s Notorious Skid Row | Lost Landmarks | Departures Columns |

If you ever want to experience loneliness in the midst of a metropolis, take a trip to the Hotel Cecil in downtown.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Clifford Clinton: The Man and His Cafeteria Shaped Food and Politics in L.A. | Departures | KCET

Clifford Clinton, best known as the founder of Clifton's Cafeteria, was not only a colorful restaurateur, but also a political reformer, mayoral candidate, and the founder of Meals for Millions.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

No Further West: The Design of Los Angeles Union Station | Los Angeles | Artbound | KCET

A new exhibition at L.A.'s Central Library features the architectural drawings, sketches and blueprints that expressed the calculated vision of Union Station.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

When San Bernardino Was a Mormon Colony

In 1851, 437 Latter-day Saints set out from the Great Salt Lake City to establish a Mormon foothold in Southern California.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Marina del Rey: Southern California's Comeback Kid: [CITY] Features Article by 10Best.com

Marina del Rey sits among some of the most sought-after communities in southern California: Santa Monica, Venice and Playa del Rey, to name a few. Despite turning 50 this year, this spot is turning even more heads and attracting even more visitor

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Photos: How Oil Wells Once Dominated Southern California's Landscape | LA as Subject | SoCal Focus | KCET

Ever since oil was discovered near downtown L.A. in 1892, extracting petroleum from the land beneath has been a major part of the Southern California economy.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

$1.3 Billion L.A. River Habitat Restoration Plan Unanimously Approved in D.C.

The $1.3 billion river habitat restoration plan was unanimously approved this morning by the Civil Works Review Board of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Washington D.C.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Off the Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Knickerbocker Hotel's Haunted History | Lost Landmarks | Departures Columns | KC

The building itself appears tired and worn out, and its history has been as jammed packed and traumatic as any melodrama made by the city that it calls home.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Last House Standing on Bunker Hill | LA as Subject | SoCal Focus | KCET

By 1969, bulldozers had cleared Bunker Hill of its Victorian mansions. Steam shovels had shaved 30 feet off its summit. Only one stubborn house remained.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Great Hikes: The Murphy Ranch Trail | Hiking | SoCal Wanderer | KCET

Explore the ruins of the Pacific Palisades ranch that was meant to be a Nazi encampment.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

The Music Stops for the Original Disneyland Band

The Disneyland Band has been playing since opening day of the amusement park on July 17, 1955. Recently, Disneyland announced the last performance of the original assemble will be on July 16, a day before the 60th anniversary of the park.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

The Lost Canals of Venice of America [Expanded] | LA as Subject | SoCal Focus | KCET

The seven original canals of Venice, California, are lost to history -- long ago filled in, paved over, and converted into residential streets.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

L.A.'s Historic Hiking Destinations | Hiking | SoCal Wanderer | KCET

There are plenty of Los Angeles hikes for those that enjoy a bit of beautiful decay.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Top 5 Beach Camping Sites in California | Camping | SoCal Wanderer | KCET

Pitch a tent and watch the sunset from any of these glorious beach camping sites.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

How L.A. Celebrated Sunset Boulevard's Opening in 1904

Sunset may have been its name, but the boulevard's grand opening on May 14, 1904, marked the dawning of a new age in Los Angeles.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

L.A. ON LP: The Search for Locations on Classic Album Covers

Oliver Wang explores the different locations and time eras that are captured in the LP art of L.A.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

A Whimpering Roar: The Old Griffith Park Zoo, Then and Now | Lost Landmarks | Departures Columns | KCET

Parts of the old zoo at Griffith Park still stand, and they are moving reminders that sometimes humans just don't know best when it comes to animals.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Top 5 Old California Lighthouses | Outdoors | SoCal Wanderer | KCET

Take a coastal tour through California's history at any one of these old lighthouses.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

When L.A. Was Empty: Wide-Open SoCal Landscapes

Early photographs of Los Angeles surprise for many reasons, but often what's most striking is how empty the city looks.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Photos: Aliso Street, Before It Became the 101 Freeway | LA as Subject | SoCal Focus | KCET

Long before it became the downtown portion of the 101 freeway, Aliso Street was a major transportation corridor for early Los Angeles.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

8 of the Best Places to See the Night Sky in L.A. County

There are a few places closer at hand in L.A. County where the night skies are dark enough to make tilting your head upward worthwhile.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

The 10 Best Chinese Dumplings in Los Angeles

Without a doubt, the Chinese are the champions of dumplings. We've rounded up ten different types of Chinese dumplings in Los Angeles.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Public Swimming Pools in Los Angeles

History buff, aspiring athlete, or desert rat? There's a public swimming pool out there that will suit your preferences.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Highland Park Preservation | 6 Rise of the Inner City | Departures | KCET

The transformation of Highland Park's landscape from single family homes to high density apartments spurred some local residents and preservationists to act to protect the heritage of this historical Arroyo Seco community.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

11 Places You Have To See In The California Desert | Guides | SoCal Wanderer | KCET

The California desert offers millions of acres of amazing things to see and do. With so much to choose from, where does a person start?

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Lower Arroyo | Nature | Highland Park Field Guide | KCET

The Lower Arroyo Seco presents a beautiful terrain for relaxation. Head up the street to the Gamble House, one of the premiere Craftsman homes in the area. Also, the Nature Park includes a fly casting pond and archery range.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Why Isn't There a Freeway to Beverly Hills?

It's the missing link of L.A.'s freeway network -- the 2, a direct connection between the Westside's 405 and Hollywood's 101.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

California Strawberry Day: Strawberries for Every Course

California harvests the most strawberries in the country, so it's only fitting that the state has its very own Strawberry Day on March 21.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

L.A.'s Famous Four-Level Freeway Interchange, 'The Stack,' Turns 58

Fifty-eight years ago today, the Four Level interchange first opened to traffic. This iconic concrete ribbon that binds the 101 and 110 freeways is an almost inescapable feature of many Southern Californians' commute.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

The Catalina Casino: The Magic Isle's Art Deco Pleasure Palace

There's a feeling that the party has passed its grandeur at the landmark structure built by chewing gum magnate William Wrigley, as the centerpiece of his dream resort on Avalon Bay.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Murals at El Monte Station: Eloy Torrez | East of East | Departures Columns | KCET

Artist Eloy Torrez invites viewers at the El Monte Bus Station to venture out of their ordinary daily life into unexpected territories as he also pushed himself to explore new aspects of his arts practice and identity.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Monomania L.A.: Ernest Marquez and Rancho Boca de Santa Monica | Los Angeles | Artbound | KCET

Ernest Marquez' family arrived in California in 1771. What began as a quest to illustrate a family history turned into a collection of 4,600 rare photos of historical Southern California.

Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

Home on the California Range: Ranch Housing in Postwar America | Intersections | Departures Columns | KCET

The bohemian aesthetic of the "bungalow boom" gave way to the ranch house, as popularized by architect Cliff May, the "Father of American Ranch Houses."

    Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

    Regional Chinese Food Guide To Los Angeles

    To mark the Chinese New Year, we've compiled a list of all the regions of China represented in the greater Los Angeles area.

      Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

      We Shall Never Know: Murder, Money and the Enduring Mystery of Greystone Mansion

      Now a public park, the stone-faced Tudor mansion is a palace of dreams and illusions that was once the site of a double murder, involving one of the city's most prominent families.

        Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

        Before the 110 Freeway, Figueroa Street Ran Through These Tunnels

        Until 1943, the Art Deco tunnels carried Figueroa Street's two-way traffic through the Elysian Hills.

          Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

          Dick Clark's unbelievable Flintstones-style house finally sells at half off, after nearly 3 years

          Despite its 360-degree vistas in Malibu, the undeniably eccentric property goes for only $1,777,777 -- about half the initial asking price.

            Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

            Cracking the mystery of L.A.'s 'Nazi' ranch - Yahoo Homes

            From Yahoo Homes: The urban ruins are the stuff of legend. A trove of blueprints reveals plans for a self-sustaining compound with a mansion fit for a world leader -- perhaps even Hitler himself.

            Miscellaneous | Local Flavor

            History of Development in L.A., O.C. Counties Tied to Sugar Beets | Where We Are | SoCal Focus | KCET

            The homely sugar beet begat development in both Los Angeles and Orange counties at the turn of the 20th century. The city of Los Alamitos began with sugar, but celebrating the beet isn't entirely sweet.