As you know, we have a Biddy Mason Park:

And have for 37 years, and it’s great. But because Ysabel Jurado is oozing performative justice from every pore, we need to strip the name off of Pershing Square (because, I mean, what did General Pershing really do anyway?) and have another park named after Biddy Mason four blocks away.

Yes, it’s as dumb as it sounds, and I’m pretty sure it’s a done deal, because Council is voting on it Friday morning.

If you want to sleep well at night, I suggest you do your part and at least let them know that the idea is stupid.

Get alllll the info by clicking this link right now!

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/09/02/act-now-to-save-pershing-square/

But what if I told you that the story involved the history of themed environments, science fiction writers, Walt Disney, LAPD corruption, house bombings, feeding the world, Jim Crow, a mayoral downfall, mid-century modern suburbs, Kerouac, Bukowski, Christ in the Garden, Scientology, sex toys, and even....murder! Intrigued?

Come on out to Clifton’s on Saturday the 19th for the Art Deco Society’s event “An Evening in Clifton’s Speakeasy,” down in the little-seen, rarely-open basement bar where I’ll be delivering the aforementioned lecture. There will be cocktails throughout, and the rest of the ninety-gazillion square foot wonderland that is Clifton’s will be open for your delectation as well.

Click this link for details:

https://artdecola.org/events-calendar/cliftons-cafeteria-evening-in-the-speakeasy

and/or this link for even more blather:

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/08/30/cliftons-lecture-september-19th/

Ha! I scoffed, my last piece about Cooper Donuts was literally titled My Final Words on Cooper Donuts.

And I meant it. But then I read the new material and…sigh. The Cooper Donut Gatekeepers have revamped their website, and it is a fascinating, infuriating blend of the significant and the ludicrous. (Spoiler: weighted heavily toward the latter.) They even called me out by name. So, I’ve backburner’d the Art Deco tower, to take on the Donut saga… again.

Look, I hate to become “old man yells at cloud” but there’s nothing I can do…except churn out another six-dozen paragraphs about purported pastry pandemonia.

Guess my final words were anything but. Check out all the oven-fresh verbiage, here:

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/08/23/big-news-on-cooper-donuts/

https://thelalocal.org/art-and-culture/food/community/what-happened-to-downtown-la/

Which I augment with some vintage photos (as is my wont) here:

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/08/08/third-and-figueroa-by-lisa-napoli/

Enjoy!

But, there was a lone light in the darkness: a shining, revolving star called Angels Flight. Wait, you say, Angels Flight goes up and down—it doesn’t revolve!

Ah-ha. That’s where you are wrong. Come the 1970s, the ascending and descending cars of Angels Flight—the funicular—were in deep storage, having been removed in the spring of 1969. But 1973 saw the birth of a new Angels Flight—a mirrored spinning top crowning the Hyatt Regency at Charles Luckman’s no-nonsense black-glass Corporate Modern Broadway Plaza.

Even those who know of the old Angels Flight restaurant & bar — maybe you’ve seen a matchbook — have never seen a shot of its interior. Well, that changes today!

↓↓↓↓ Click here ↓↓↓↓

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/08/01/the-other-angels-flight/

Plus, we’ll look at the subsequent Clinton-era Angels Flight restaurant & bar on Bunker Hill.

Plus, being on the subject of whatnot carrying the Angels Flight appellation, we’ll look at America’s favorite line of crude, prurient trousers:

Again, there’s only ONE place to read about all this crazy non-Angels Flight Angels Flight nonsense!

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/08/01/the-other-angels-flight/

Is it remarkable? Yes.

Is it perfect? No.

Naturally, when handed something wonderful and significant, I am constitutionally unable to accept with wonder and gratitude, but am compelled to dismantle, scrutinize, and improve upon the work. I am nothing if not my father’s son.

↓↓↓↓↓ Read all about it! by clicking here ↓↓↓↓↓

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/07/26/new-chavez-ravine-archive/

You will! Click here ↓↓↓↓↓

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/05/23/first-german-methodist-bunker-hill/

Not just any art. A thousand-foot-long historical piece that elevates the human spirit above the mundane, the temporal, and the decaying elements of a society in decline.

Eh. It was nice while it lasted.

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/05/11/the-world-trade-center-in-peril/

And…wait for it…a bit of Bunker Hill!

The scene is shot on Grand, south of First, on asphalt that would one day grace the entrance of the Disney Concert Hall.

⬇⬇⬇ Click here to watch the clip! ⬇⬇⬇

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/03/23/bunker-hill-in-death-race-2000/

Such is the world of Whore, a 1991 Ken Russell film. Dismal in every way, it nonetheless commands a peculiar allure, attributable to having no small quantity of its scenes shot on Bunker Hill.

I know, it’s not the Bunker Hill of Yesteryear; it’s merely the Bunker Hill of yesterday. My father, a professor of European history, refused to broach any subject beyond 1850, thundering “Anything after 1850 isn’t history, it’s current events!” Similarly, I am dragged grudgingly into a discussion of Bunker Hill-within-recent-memory, but hey, the film yields some arresting Bunker Hill visuals. This one, for example, showcasing Two Cal Plaza under construction:

And now, should you wish to see plenty, plenty more early-90s Bunker Hill as you take in the wonderful world of Los Angeles whoredom that is Whore, please click the link below.

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/03/01/bunker-hill-in-ken-russells-whore/

And remember, never get in the van.

But what of the serious thinkers? The accomplished, accredited historians? Surely whatever they’ve said about Chavez Ravine is objective, indisputable fact, supported by empirical data. Heck, I bet if a UCLA history professor with a PhD from Oxford wrote a book about Chavez Ravine, he’d sure put me in my place!

WELL GUESS WHAT!

This is just such a book, published by a respected university press, no less. Did I read it? Well, I read the first six paragraphs of the prologue, and that was enough for me. It’s … not good. A mere nineteen sentences, each so full of inaccuracies, falsehoods, and misleading mendacity that I had to spill 5,000 words’ worth of ink picking them apart.

If that sort of thing floats your boat … click here ↓↓↓↓↓

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/02/07/chavez-ravine-in-john-lasletts-shameful-victory/

And you may think oh yeah, I know that tower but in fact … you don’t.

Read all about it!

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/01/31/the-first-microwave-tower-1962-1967/

After having learned Artificial Intelligence is replete with erudition and insight, I asked its chatbot-stepchild to school me on Bunker Hill, and boy, was I schooled but good! I even asked after Cooper Donuts, the Streetcar Conspiracy, and Chavez Ravine, and ChatGPT did not disappoint. Read all about it by clicking here ↓↓↓

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/01/18/lets-ask-chatgpt-some-stuff/

Will Marc even mention the Bunker Hill part? I don’t know! He’ll probably be too busy discussing THE GREATEST BUILDING IN LOS ANGELES.

For all the information, click this link!

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/01/10/incredible-oviatt-talk/

See you there!

In my most recent blogpost, while I refrain from a definitive ontological judgement, I do get really cranky about AI slop spitting out a purported “reconstruction” of 1880s Los Angeles — a digital artifact which, predictably, has garnered significant attention while being, equally predictably, an avalanche of aesthetic and historical effluent.

I invite you to engage with the full argument on the blog:

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2026/01/03/bunker-hill-ai-and-the-end-of-intelligence/

I — as do you — love seeing Bunker Hill in old movies and TV shows, and so I write on that subject (e.g. here and here and here and here) when I can.

The other day my buddy Bryan messaged and asked if I’d seen the “Pork Pie Hat” episode of Official Detective.

Which I had not. I have now, and now, so must you, for reasons that shall become abundantly clear.

Click on this link —

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2025/12/14/bunker-hill-in-official-detective/

— and get hipped to all the action!

I get it, it’s gratifying to believe that while small businesses are our lifeblood, when they get to be a certain size, they are no longer ethical, nor do they create jobs or improve lives. They are, instead, to be blamed for our failings and discontents, whatever they may be, because capitalism is inherently exploitative, or so I’m told.

I only bring this up because the other day I heard for the millionth time that this line of reasoning is inarguably true, and to prove it, just look at the indisputable fact that “Big Auto/Big Oil/Big Tire are a nefarious cabal who stole and destroyed our beloved public streetcar, and that’s why I had to sit in traffic for an hour getting to work this morning.”

You probably know where I’m going with this: there was no streetcar conspiracy. And I don’t mean “well there sort of was but I’m a Big Oil apologist and the conspiracy wasn’t really that bad” no, I’m saying it actually didn’t happen in any way, shape, or form.

Don’t believe me?

Click here

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2025/11/02/no-everyone-there-was-no-los-angeles-streetcar-conspiracy/

for all the instructive fun!

And I’m going to talk alllll about it: about the man who designed the cars, about other funiculars on the Hill, and about those wonderful French mirrors.

For example, you might ask why do the Angels Flight cars look like the Court Flight cars?

You’ll find out!

And since the Angels Flight cars are an integral part of the Court Flight story, we look at the evolution of the those cars, too —

↓↓↓↓↓↓↓ Read all about it, now! Click here! ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2025/10/26/incredible-new-court-flight-image/

Do you know why it’s not taught in history books? Because it’s not true.

If it’s not true, then why are indignant TikTok’rs so hot to say it is?

I look into they whys and wherefores in this post:

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2025/10/19/disneyland-gets-the-chavez-ravine-treatment/

*****

You know, as long as I have your attention, I should mention that your spooktacular Hallowe’en will be greatly augmented should you purchase a copy of Bunker Noir!

Bunker Noir! is full of terrible tales, and is on sale!

Details provided right here ↓↓↓↓↓

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2025/10/17/bunker-noir-october-sale/

Yes, a few years ago, I went on and on and on all about the Astoria in this post, recounting the terrible deeds done therein.

But that’s not fair to the wonderful Astoria! If only I could impart to you a bit more of its human element—like, a shot of residents in the lobby, having an afternoon OH WAIT! LOOK!

There’s a tale here, wherein I make contact with the grandson of this man, Astoria’s manager from 1920-1944:

And should you with to read all about it, I suggest you click this link ↓↓↓

https://bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2025/10/12/new-astoria-images-emerge/