Every so often somebody asks about the corroding civil defense sirens up on poles scattered all over Los Angeles. Well, Dennis Hanley knows all about them. They were air raid sirens first installed ...

Claud Beelman was one of those Los Angeles architects whose work spanned eras and dramatic changes in style. He's responsible for noteworthy LA examples as different as the Eastern Columbia building ...

The club on north Lankershim was the premier West Coast venue for country music for a few decades. Los Angeles Magazine revisits the good old days.

Downtown chronicler Ed Fuentes blogs at View from a Loft that the sign for Gorky's Russian cafe still hangs over the corner of 8th and San Julian streets. It's kind of like looking back in time at the ...

Jim A. Beardsley is an independent archivist and historical research specialist in Los Angeles who began researching Newport '69 while pursuing his master's degree in history at Cal State Northridge.

What is it about non-Angelenos becoming so obsessed with old filming locations that they spend years tracking down obscure shots and facts — then write books about their discoveries that become ...

With Ayn Rand in the media conversation around Paul Ryan and the Republican convention, here's a look at the home that Rand used to occupy in Northridge. And what a house it was — if it still existed, ...

If you didn't grow up in the Los Angeles area during the baby boom, you can leave the room for a couple of minutes. Though if your parents fit the description, you might want to stick around. Sheriff ...

From the outside, the Conejo Creek Condos look like anywhere else in the Ventura County suburban community. Inside is more chaotic. Immigrants from rural Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras ...

Several LA Observed regulars knew right away that the mystery Jurgensen's Grocery sign posted last week can be found on Glendon Avenue in Westwood Village. There's nothing quite like the Jurgensen's ...

Deep collections of photos showing the faded Wednesday night car culture tradition don't really exist. These photos by Ricard McCloskey are fun to look at.

The longtime SoCal sportswriter and columnist (and talk radio host) Doug Krikorian, laid off by the Press-Telegram in 2011, has shown up in the pages of the rival Long Beach Register.