Happy Birthday, Pio Pico! And More from Los Angeles Heritage Day

I was truly honored to be included by John Bwarie in this photo of true passionate Angelenos -- including histotainer Charles Phoenix, Councilman Tom LaBonge, KCET's Zach Behrens, Hidden LA's Lynn Garrett and LA Observed's Kevin Roderick. The pic above was taken by happenstance, as we were all standing outside Pico House the afternoon of April 14 to celebrate LA Heritage Day 2013.

I can never get enough of LA history, and this year's LA Heritage Day 2013 was a great opportunity to check out what was new with the various local organizations devoted to our region's past. There was even a Pio Pico impersonator -- making this blog post timely (rather than a month late!) since Pico -- the final governor of California under Mexico rule -- would have celebrated his 212th birthday on May 5.

In my previous post, I took you inside Pico House and the Merced Theatre, two of LA's oldest remaining buildings. Now a peek back inside the main floor of the Pico House -- and around the El Pueblo plaza:


"Pio Pico"


Inside the Pico House

Sunday at the L.A. Times Festival of Books

The weather was nice, the crowds were big but manageable, and I managed to get the Blogger Kid and Blogger Toddler 2.0 excited about buying some books. For us, this year's Los Angeles Times Festival of Books was a success.

The parking gods were once again smiling on us, as I managed to somehow score some sweet street parking on Jefferson, right beside the USC campus. And I gotta say, for the second year in a row, the USC location worked out well. The festival was easier to walk through than I remember at UCLA, and it felt like the booths, stages and events were closer together. The food options were also plentiful, including the food court at USC's student union.

As usual, one of my favorite stops is Angel City Press, where it's almost become a yearly tradition to run into LA Observed's Kevin Roderick and our pal Eric Lynxwiler. Also on hand was Charles Phoenix -- and I finally picked up Charles' wonderfully illustrated Southern Californialand: Mid-Century Culture in Kodachrome (and had him sign it, of course).

We also spent a great deal of time at the kids' stage, where we spotted Julie Andrews and also took in several readings and performances. And yes, the duo I love to hate to love, Choo Choo Soul, were back. The only thing more surreal than seeing Choo Choo Soul's Genevieve introducing Julie Andrews? Hearing Julie Andrews reference Genevieve later in her reading.

More shots from Sunday at the Festival of Books:


Betty White vs. Florence Henderson. How to choose?


Choo Choo Soul: For kids who find the Fresh Beat Band not edgy enough.


One of the 30 "Play Me, I'm Yours" pianos located around Los Angeles; this one outside the USC student union.


USC's a capella group performs.


McSweeney's booth.

Countdown to Carmageddon

I guess "carmageddon" is sticking, despite my attempts to coin "autopocalypse" or my pal Christy's even better "cartastrophe."

But CARMAGEDDON it is. CARMAGEDDON PEOPLE. WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE STUCK IN OUR HOMES NEXT WEEKEND!

Or maybe not. There's a strong feeling out there that the roads will rival the 1984 Olympics -- when motorists, afraid of all the traffic warnings, stayed clear... leaving the freeways remarkably smooth.

Team Franklin Avenue plans to stay as FAR AWAY from the 405 as possible next weekend... the benefits of living far, far away from the west side.

In case you're still in the dark about CARMAGEDDON 2011, UCLA and KCET will produce the special "COUNTDOWN TO CARMAGEDDON: The 405 Closure." Details:

Produced by UCLA’s University Communications and Public Outreach department, the 30-minute program is scheduled to air on KCET as a special broadcast of the award-winning news program SoCal Connected. The first airing is set for Wednesday, July 13, at 8 p.m. The show will repeat on Friday, July 15, at 9:30 p.m.

COUNTDOWN TO CARMAGEDDON: The 405 Closure presents the reasons for the freeway’s 53-hour closure and the unprecedented steps ordered by public officials to avoid severe traffic delays across the region. The program will also explore the potential long-term benefits to commuters of modernizing the freeway.

The program details the impact of the 405 shutdown through informative graphics and discussions with senior officials of Metro, the California Highway Patrol, the Los Angeles Police Department and UCLA, a major employer in the closure zone.

LA Observed's Kevin Roderick, who also serves as director of the UCLA Newsroom, will narrate.

Musing on LA's Film Cameos

As you know, we regularly chronicle appearances by Los Angeles in TV shows (either playing itself or another part of the country). In his Monday KCRW commentary, LA Observed's Kevin Roderick talked about seeing the new Sofia Coppola movie "Somewhere" at the Laemmle Sunset 5 near the Chateau Marmont, where the movie is set:

The film was entertaining enough. But what my wife and I really enjoyed was the only-in-LA moment that came as we left the theater.

Our eyes were immediately drawn across the street to the main location of the movie we’d just seen. The cozy old Chateau Marmont Hotel.

Like anybody who lives in LA, it's not news for us to spot familiar locations in movies. "Somewhere" makes use of a street in Laurel Canyon that we know well. The Pickwick ice rink in Burbank also makes an appearance.

That reminded me of the time I caught "The Godfather" at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in the 1997 (when it was given a 25th anniversary re-release). When Robert Duvall's character, Tom Hagen, comes to Hollywood, there's a big establishing shot of the Chinese Theatre.

Yes, it's kind of trippy to be watching a movie featuring a scene at the very place where you're watching the movie. The crowd cheered at the shot -- sort of a cool, communal acknowledgement that, hey, we're all sharing an only-in-LA moment.

Los Angeles Books for Christmas

It's actually pretty easy to figure out what to get me for a gift these days: Books about Los Angeles.

My growing collection of L.A. books -- found at book sales, on eBay and in stores -- now fills a full bookcase in our living room. And it keeps growing.

Mrs. Franklin Avenue knows of two books on my wish list this year: "Los Angeles in Maps" and Taschen's "Los Angeles: Portrait of a City."

Kevin Roderick talks about giving L.A. books as the perfect gifts this holiday season in his weekly KCRW commentary:

The best of them helps us clarify what we think we already know. Or delights us with the telling detail and nuance you get from closely examining a great photograph. Or a nicely turned insight.

The big, expensive book that every Angeleno-phile wants this year is Taschen’s major work, many years in the making, called "Los Angeles: Portrait of a City."

It overwhelms as both pictorial history and photographic tribute.

There are more than 500 pictures, and they really tell a story of the greater LA area and its people, present and past.

The editor, Jim Heimann of Taschen, and LA Times book critic David Ulin selected images we haven’t seen before and give them crucial context. Essays by the historian Kevin Starr add essential backstory to the scenes we see.

The book lists at 70 dollars, though you can probably get it for less online. This is the one that’s sure to be a hit with anyone who fancies themself a student of LA.

It's true -- I've seen it for as cheap as $35 online. For any fan of Los Angeles, I'd say you've just been given your holiday marching orders.