Author Archives: Nathan Marsak

It’s that time of year again! Come on by the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, all day Saturday and Sunday, at USC. A whole gang of Angel City Press authors will be there to sign books, and talk with YOU alllll about their Los Angeles-related obsessions. I’ll be there under the ACP tent onContinue reading “LA Times Festival of Books, this Weekend”

I’m not a morning person, and wouldn’t wish sunrise on my worst enemy, but I will still nevertheless appear for you at a 7:00 am event, come the 16th! If you’re not familiar with the LABC, they are great group of folk and the club has just entered its hundredth year! Learn about them here.Continue reading “EVENT! Los Angeles Breakfast Club, Wed. April 16”

Postscript: we had a GREAT turnout! I want to heartily thank the Book Club of California, and the good folks at Pasadena Heritage. The Book Club of California will host lil’ ol me in Pasadena this Wednesday the 9th! I’ll be delivering an illustrated lecture about Arnold Hylen, his books, how I came to reprintContinue reading “EVENT! Book Club of California, April 9th”

So you’re flipping through your copy of Los Angeles Before the Freeways and thinking well, that’s a great old building, I wonder what’s there now? So, just for fun (if your idea of fun is a hefty dose of hiraeth) here are ten shots from Freeways, paired with a contemporary view: ABOVE: Looking north onContinue reading “Before the Freeways: What’s There Now?”

Fresh on the heels of this Instagram post, a nifty KCRW piece hit the airwaves this morning: https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/kcrw-features/before-freeways Check it out! And while I have you here— —I want to thank everyone who came out last Saturday to the book launch! We had a time!

Los Angeles Before the Freeways is officially out-and-in-stores as of this morning. Go grab yours! And if you do not as yet own Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, grab that too! And if you want to know more about Bunker Hill — specifically, its less savory aspects — might I suggest you pick up the quaintContinue reading “The Big Four”

********* There’s a terrific review of the book by Local News Pasadena‘s Robert Savino Oventile— —which you may read by clicking here: https://localnewspasadena.com/2025/picturing-history-in-las-architecture/ ******** Then, in HeySoCal! — Click →→ https://heysocal.com/2025/03/10/book-los-angeles-before-the-freeways-captures-images-of-lost-architectural-gems/ ←← here! ******** And check out this article in The Eastsider by clicking here!

As detailed in my last post, there’s a new book about old LA coming to stores near you (does it have Bunker Hill in it? Of course!)… And to celebrate, this Saturday March 22nd, we’re having a party! Why should you come to this party? I’ll give you five reasons! It’s at the Central Library.Continue reading “Come to the Book Launch!”

Greetings, friends! I began this blog in advance of the 2020 publication of Bunker Hill, Los Angeles. Since then I’ve self-published a couple more books about Bunker Hill — Bunker Noir! and Marsak’s Guide to Bunker Hill — and now it’s time to announce the new book from Angel City Press! (And believe it orContinue reading “Huge News! New Book! “Los Angeles Before the Freeways””

Everyone loves the boom-era mansions of Bunker Hill, which we know primarily through images shot as they neared their demolition, photographed in the 1950s and 60s by the likes of Hylen, Reagh, Conner, et al. More rare and important are those images captured of a house in its early years. Luckily, many of the mostContinue reading “The Weller House”