ok, i might overuse the word ‘favorite’.
but i have a lot of favorites.
like, for example, this house/building/structure.
it’s, all things considered, my favorite place in l.a.
architecturally it’s pretty simple, like a humble little mission chapel.
but it’s history (and current use) is/are pretty amazing.
to wit:
it’s currently an l.a outpost of the international theosophical society:
http://www.theosophical.org/about-us
and in it’s past it was a silent film theater, a directors club where orson welles staged plays, a little lecture hall where carl jung and aldous huxley spoke, and a meeting place for the krotona society:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krotona
now, as a theosophist building, it’s used for yoga and 12 step meetings and spiritual meetings and solstice events and neighborhood concerts etc etc.
it’s a humble little building and even though it’s architecturally very simple and basic it’s my favorite building in l.a.
last december 21st we were gathered in this little building for a solstice concert and it felt as if we were a million miles away from anything even tangentially urban.
but, of course, grimy hollywood is a 10 minute walk away.
so, from my perspective, this little building represents much of what makes l.a a really remarkable, special, hidden place.
and even though it won’t appear in any books on ‘great buildings of l.a’ it is, in my humble opinion, the greatest building in l.a.
thanks
moby
p.s-oh, i’m also including a couple of pictures of lizards because they’re everywhere and i love them.
