Photo Essay: The Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round Celebrates a Stationary Centennial

I didn't get to ride the Griffith Park Park Merry-Go-Round nearly enough when it was running. But now that the 100-year-old Spillman Engineering Corp. ride hasn't been running for four years, I've been desperate to experience it again.

 

Photo Essay: LACMA Parades Down Wilshire Boulevard to Celebrate New Gallery Grand Opening

OK, let's put aside the fact that I'm mad at LACMA for doing the unthinkable in 2020—demolishing its William Pereira-designed buildings of its original campus, immortalized in Ed Rucha's oil painting Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Fire. 

Pereira's Bing Theatre was absolutely lovely. I'll never forgive them for what they did. 

But I did join the museum in celebrating the grand opening of its new David Geffen Galleries, which replaced the demolished buildings and expanded the LACMA footprint to the east with a Brutalist, "floating" bridge designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, his first project in the U.S.

Capping off an all-day block party on Saturday was the first-ever—and perhaps annual—Art Parade, a collaboration between LACMA and gallery owner Jeffrey Deitch. Deitch had curated a similar Art Parade in NYC's SoHo neighborhood from 2005 to 2008, but I somehow missed it then. 

I also missed the street procession that brought Michael Heizer's Levitated Mass boulder to LACMA in 2012. So I wasn't going to skip out on this one—despite the grudge I carry. 

Can of Letters, Ben Klevay

Photo Essay: Riding the D (Or, Bringing the D to Beverly Hills)

When you move from New York City to Los Angeles, everybody outside of LA says, "Oh, but you have to drive." 

That's not a bad thing to me. I often wished I had a car when I lived in three of the five boroughs. And by the time I moved from Brooklyn to Manhattan in 2003, I'd been avoiding the subway ride home late at night for years already. At one point when I was making enough money, I took cabs to work every day. 

But living in Beverly Hills since 2011, I have felt the pinch of not even having the option to ride the subway. If I wanted to, say, ride the Expo line to an event at the Coliseum (so as to avoid traffic and high parking fees), I'd still have to drive five miles (or 20 minutes) and park my car in the Metro lot. 

Thank goodness for the bus lines, which have gotten me where I've needed to go many times when my car has been in the shop and I couldn't afford rideshare.

So even though public transit has not been part of my daily routine, I was still excited that the LA subway was finally coming to Beverly Hills, thanks to the Purple Line Extension—or what's now known as "the D." 

Photo Essay: Baseball Buzz Returns to Ontario, California With the Opening of ONT Field

Ontario Airport in California's Inland Empire has been staging a major comeback—and it may have launched its biggest flex yet.

I remember when the only way for me to fly JetBlue from New York City to the West Coast was from JFK to ONT or LGB (Long Beach)—and then JetBlue ceased operations out of ONT in 2008 and the mid-sized airport's business declined by nearly half. 

That was back when Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) controlled ONT and didn't prioritize regional air transport. But then ownership of the Ontario airport transferred to the locally-focused Ontario International Airport Authority in 2016—and when JetBlue returned in 2018, that seemed to be a major sign of an upswing. 

By the end of 2019, the number of passengers passing through the airport rebounded to its 2008 numbers. And in the following years, ONT continued to break its own records, celebrate more milestones, and welcome more airlines to its runways and gates. 

 

Now, ONT holds the naming rights for the new baseball stadium in Ontario, called ONT Field. 

Photo Essay: The Troll Takeover of South Coast Botanic Garden

I missed out on a lot going on around town when I was writing the centennial history book for The Los Angeles Breakfast Club (which is coming out later this year). I was too busy, too overwhelmed to maintain my baseline level of vigilance and diligence when it comes to avoiding regret. 

So when the six wooden sculptures of Thomas Dambo’s TROLLS: Save the Humans arrived at South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes in late 2023—and only stuck around for just over three months—I didn't have the bandwidth to figure out what they were or why I should go until it was too late. 

Until my coauthor pointed out that Thomas Dambo is Danish and would be bringing a permanent troll installation to California's Danish town, Solvang. 

I still haven't made it up north to see that one—which debuted in early 2025—but I got a second chance at the South Coast Botanic Garden this spring, with the arrival of 12 brand new trolls as part of Thomas Dambo’s Trolls: A Field Study, which runs through October 4.

I wasn't going to miss it this time. 

 

Photo Essay: A Daylight Exploration of the Variety Arts Theatre

Back in 2012, I didn't have the lay of the land in Los Angeles yet—so, I just tried to take every opportunity to go anywhere that seemed cool, even if I'd never heard of it before. 

That's how I ended up at Variety Arts Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, thanks to a haunted house/immersive theater show for Halloween by horror movie producer Jason Blum called Blumhouse of Horrors. 

I only had one photo of the night, and I could barely recall any real details, so I was thrilled to be able to return for Julia Stoschek Foundation's six-week run of "What a Wonderful World: An Audiovisual Poem" video art installation during its opening weekend last month.

Only thing was, it was pretty dark in there. I didn't feel like I could really see the building (which was the main reason I went in the first place).

 

So I scheduled myself on another day, after Spring Forward, right when the place opens at 5 p.m., so I could partake in the playhouse under some daylight illumination. 

Photo Essay: Bonnie Claire Ghost Town's Inspirational House of Quotes

Since my accommodations during my recent superbloom trip to Death Valley National Park were in Beatty, Nevada—and not inside the park or in one of the surrounding towns in California—my geography gave me the opportunity to explore some of the environs east of and in the eastern end of the park for the first time in a long time.

 

Photo Essay: An Anti-Frieze Art Gallery Takeover of the 99 Cent Store

The chain of 99 Cents Only Stores went belly-up in 2024, filing bankruptcy and closing and selling off all of its stores. 

But the famed location in the Miracle Mile community of Los Angeles has been reactivated—as a pop-up gallery lasting just one week. 

Photo Essay: A Long-Neglected Playhouse for Variety Acts Gets Some Much-Needed Attention from the Art World

Back in 2012, I didn't have the lay of the land in Los Angeles yet—so, I just tried to take every opportunity to go anywhere that seemed cool, even if I'd never heard of it before. 

That's how I ended up at Variety Arts Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, thanks to a haunted house/immersive theater show for Halloween by horror movie producer Jason Blum called Blumhouse of Horrors. 

I remember being led through an auditorium with seats—at one point, through one of those squeeze tubes that make it feel like you're traveling through a birth canal. And I remember someone in costume—maybe an usher? or a bellhop?—taking a group of us up the elevator to an upper level that felt more like a hotel than a theater.

But it was so long ago—and I only have one photo of the night, taken outside with a scare actor (jump to the photo ↓)—that I barely can recall any real details.

 

The Variety Arts Theatre has been open to the public very rarely since then, including for the Delusion haunt in Fall 2025—but it's had construction fencing up out front for years. Thankfully, that finally came down, and the theater doors swung open once again. 

Photo Essay: John Lautner's Salkin House Emerges From the Lost and Found [Updated]

[Last updated 1/24/25 8:45 PM PT—Made some corrections based on an email from the real estate agent behind the 2014 sale—Steven Gutierrez-Kovner, who also grew up in the home—and a photo received from a friend who visited the home during its pre-2014 ownership.]

Back in October, I heard about an opportunity to visit a "Lost Lautner"—that is, a house designed by architect John Lautner that was missing from the official record of his works. 

circa April 2009, via Google Street View

It was the Salkin House, located on Avon Terrace and tucked into the crook of the neck of upper Elysian Park. Completed in 1948, somehow it had disappeared from public memory for decades—until it was "discovered" again in 2014, when it hit the market for the first time basically ever, confirming the rumors of its existence to be true. 

 

circa March 2018, via Google Street View

Fashion designer Trina Turk and her (now late) husband Jonathan Skow purchased it for $1.2 million (with the adjacent lot, $1.5 million) and embarked on a preservation-minded restoration. They secured its designation as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2016.

Photo Essay: How Southern California Inspired the Creation of This Memphis Cemetery's 'Crystal Cave'

I took a trip to Memphis for my milestone birthday at the end of September, mostly to finally visit Graceland and cross that off my bucket list. 

I really wanted an Elvis-themed weekend, so I shied away from attractions that weren't rooted in the history of rock and roll or its king. 

But there was one exception to my rule, something I definitely did not want to miss: the Crystal Shine Grotto. 

It's touted as "the world's only man-made crystal cave" (I guess the Crystal Cave in Yucca Valley, CA doesn't count because it's foam?)—and from the outside, it looks like a geological oddity tucked away in the middle of East Memphis's Memorial Park Cemetery. 

 

 

Photo Essay: The Glorious Human-Powered Sculptures of the Kinetic Grand Championship

Why fly to Sacramento and drive five hours to Arcata, California in Memorial Day Weekend traffic?

To spectate the Kinetic Grand Championship, of course!

This kinetic sculpture race goes back the year 1969, when artist Hobart Brown raced a souped-up version of his kid's tricycle in the town of Ferndale, California. 

Now, it's expanded into a three-day, all-terrain event — and there are kinetic races in other cities across the country, like Ventura, California and Baltimore, Maryland. 

 

It's called the "Triathalon of the Art World"—but to me, the land, water, and sand races sound more like a Tough Mudder obstacle course. 

Photo Essay: No Better Place to 'B' in Vegas Than the Bellagio Conservatory in Spring

People always ask me, "What is there good to do in Las Vegas?"

 

And the first thing I always tell them is the Bellagio Conservatory. "It's different every time!" I say. 

Photo Essay: Kustomized Cars in Vegas, Courtesy of "The Count"

Every time I visit Vegas, I never have enough time to do all the things I want to do. 

And during this last visit, I wasn't feeling well and it was raining—so that really curtailed the amount of adventures I could have. 

But it gave me the opportunity to do an indoor activity that wouldn't require much energy on my part: take the free tour at Count's Kustoms car shop. 

Photo Essay: Light and Space in William Cody's Palm Springs Home

When I was in Palm Springs last month for Modernism Week, I missed the opportunity to visit the Cody Family Residence, which artist Phillip K. Smith III had taken over with a temporary, site-specific installation of his light and space sculptures.

It was a one-time event that was happening just days after I'd be leaving Palm Springs. And my schedule didn't allow me to return so soon. 

Fortunately, the PKSIII installation is taking reservations through April 5—so a month later, I made my way back to the Coachella Valley just to see it. 

And it was worth the trip. 

 

Photo Essay: 85 Years of The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank

There are five main movie production studios in Los Angeles, and only four of them give studio tours: Warner Brothers, Paramount, Sony, and Universal. I'd visited them all (plus some smaller ones like the Fox lot, which didn't allow photos) except one—and the one holdout was the one that provides extremely limited public access.

Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. 

Photo Essay: Crazy for Planes at Mojave Air & Space Port

I've long been fascinated with the Mojave Air & Space Port, the home of Virgin Galactic and just a stone's throw away from Edwards Air Force Base.

 

I've skulked around the airport a bit in the past, but I always wanted to go to its monthly "Plane Crazy" event, which would give a little closer access to the runway (and maybe get a better view of the airplane graveyard). I've had it on my calendar for years and years.

Photo Essay: A Festival of Rose Parade Floats, 2025

Going to Floatfest after the Rose Parade is a totally different experience than watching the Rose Parade live—but even so, sometimes I only do one or the other. 

 

This year, I did both—mostly because I left the Rose Parade a little early and missed a couple of floats (and was feeling so ill during the parade I was sure I'd missed out on a lot of details).

Photo Essay: Delving Into the Underground History of The Mission Inn's Cloistered Catacombs

I'd already taken the tour of The Mission Inn in Riverside, California once, in 2015. And normally that would mean I was done with it. 

But at Halloweentime this year, the hotel unveiled a series of "Spooktacular" tours that took guests into its underground tunnels—a.k.a. its "catacombs."

Photo Essay: Looping Through Nevada's Scenic Valley of Fire

I seem to visit Valley of Fire every 11 or 12 years—my first time in February 2001, my second in October 2013, and my most recent in November 2024. But since it spans a whopping 40,000 acres, there was plenty more I could see.

 

This time I was at the eastern end of it, staying at a hotel in Moapa Valley and entering the park from the Northshore Road Toll Gate off Highway 169.