ABANDONED & HISTORIC: LOS ANGELES-Neon & Beyond

By Jason Horton, Arcadia Publishing (by arrangement with Fonthill Media LLC).

Reviewed by Craig MacDonald

The vignettes written by mainly LA transplants are quite thought-provoking, like some of the historic locations, abandoned storefront and vintage signs caught by the author's camera. LA, where I worked for many years, is a worldly city, full of every culture and everything that's both good and bad. Whatever you're looking for, you can find it it LA. Contributors to this book say it just so and offer wisdom from their experiences.

"You should celebrate what you have before its gone," advises Musician Andrew Kline. How true! Still, some of what you thought was gone can still be found in LA. "Hanging out at the Rainbow Bar & Grill (Sunset Strip) on Saturday night, transports you to the era when stores couldn't keep enough Aqua Net and stonewash denim," writes Musician Carlos Ramirez.

"What I knew about Hollywood, came mostly from 'I Love Lucy'...but I found out it ain't what it's supposed to be...It ain't safe after dark…Lucy you got some 'splaining' to do," says Writer Dan O'Mahony.

"Just when you think you've seen it all" is the best way to describe LA," said Cultural Historian Danny O'Connor.

This book's author, Jason Horton, loves LA & its different cultural neighborhoods and he also includes some nearby cities he's fond of, such as South Pasadena, with its "tree-lined streets, craftsman homes...families out with their kids...the entire city celebrating Halloween & Christmas...the creative vibe burns bright. No wonder so many films have been shot in the area from Back to the Future & Mad Men to Father of the Bride & many others."

(Reviewer's vignette: A few years ago, I went back to this lovely town to see where my mother had lived in 1930. I looked up the address on Fremont Avenue & was shocked to find exactly where she resided over 75 years ago, untouched by time—a little, set-apart studio residence (one of several separated studio structures), where her mom also made & sold dresses for a living, two blocks from South Pasadena High School. I told my mother, "You really had it made. You could roll out of bed & walk two blocks to school! She was very proud of her school, whose mascot was, and still is, "The Tigers," and proudly told me how she was the jumping center on the basketball team.)

Horton, originally a New Yorker, told about being in a hometown toy store and running into Robin Williams. He told the comedian that he was a comedian and thinking of moving to Los Angeles. Williams encouraged him to do so. He did move to LA and was standing in a hallway at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, when he spotted Robin Williams leaning against the wall: "He was a regular boring person, just like the rest of us (waiting to perform)." He approached the famous actor/joker and reminded him of the advice he'd given him years before. Williams said he was glad he made it to LA.

This interesting book is divided up into Vintage, Abandoned & Historic and contains photos, including neon signs. The author states how "LA was home to America's first neon signs—two illuminated Packard ads installed in the city's bustling, post-war downtown."

A few of the coolest pictures show Atwater Village's The Tam O'Shanter sign, Downtown LA's Coles-originators of French Dipped Sandwiches (1908), Northridge's Cupid's Hot Dogs, Eagle Rock's Cindy's Coffee Shop, Hollywood's Musso & Frank Grill-since 1919, Echo Parks House of Spirits, Downtown LA's historic Bradbury Building and a view of LA from behind the famous Hollywood Sign.