First German Methodist, Bunker Hill
The remains of Old Bunker Hill are few and far between. Yes, we have Bunker Hill captured in still images, and in cinema, but actual archaeological residua is scant. We have a house, of course, but attempts to analyze the greater Hill’s physical, material culture is generally limited to, for example, a retaining wall or…
The World Trade Center — in Peril?!
The World Trade Center! Important! Incredible! And…doomed? Well, no, but…sort of? You know about the World Trade Center because you have undoubtedly been there to marvel at its wonders, but if you haven’t, you’ve at least seen it in the book Bunker Hill, Los Angeles… …and in the book Marsak’s Guide to Bunker Hill… …but…
Free Talk! This Thursday! In the San Fernando Valley!
Come on out Thursday the 23rd, 7pm, to hear me go on about our lost 19th century built environment, the world of Arnold Hylen, and what it took to republish his masterpiece, Los Angeles Before the Freeways.
Free Lecture! Bunker Hill vs. Modernity! April 19th
Greetings fellow Hill fan! Bunker Hill fascinates us largely because of the way it responded to, and resisted, modernity. And a large part of modernity, in general, springs from speed. Transport. Modernity’s drive to systematically annihilate space and time, reorganizing human life via acceleration. Stuff like that. Thus a central part of the story of…
Bunker Hill in “Death Race 2000”
Early 1980s, I’m about fourteen, and I saw Death Race 2000 on KHJ Channel 9. At which point, as you might imagine, I said holy crap, this is the greatest movie ever made. Of course it was heavily edited, but a buddy of mine with Showtime told me it was going to be on Showtime,…
Bunker Hill TOUR — March 21st
Greetings fellow Hill enthusiast! Admit it, you wake every morn and muse “that Bunker Hill place sure is intriguing, but I wish someone would guide me through the area for hours on end discussing where this building stood, where they shot that noir picture, but that’s never going to happen, so I shall suffer in…
Bunker Hill in Ken Russell’s “Whore”
Let me be clear: I do not advise you watch Whore. If you have a shred of decency, be forewarned, this is a pathologically indecent film. But if you thrive on outré cinema, know that Whore is neither “so bad it’s good” like Showgirls, nor “unpleasantly unsettling yet fascinatingly, skillfully crafted” à la Happiness or…
New Book on Early L.A. Architects!
Since you’ve read Bunker Hill, Los Angeles and Los Angeles Before the Freeways, you are aware that early Los Angeles was shaped by an impressive array of top-shelf architects, most of whom have receded into obscurity. Antonio Gonzalez, a distinguished librarian and devoted chronicler of early Los Angeles, seeks to deepen your understanding of this…
Chavez Ravine in John Laslett’s “Shameful Victory”
Greetings, faithful Bunker Hill blog reader! Having perused my posts here, you know I criticize incompetent “journalists” who befoul the mainstream press, and routinely malign those propaganda-pushing “historians” who infect the internet with their mortifying twaddle. But then I’m sure you roll your eyes and say “well, Nathan, anyone can deride AI, or pick on…
The First Microwave Tower, 1962-1967
For reasons now lost to me — I spend way too much time falling down internet rabbit holes — I came across the 1964 Loyola High School yearbook, on classmates.com. Their theme that year was “Communication” and as such begins with this sterling image: Which is, of course, the tower atop the Bell Telephone building…
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Bunker Hill, Los Angeles 