Hadley Meares
Hadley Meares is a writer, historian, and singer who traded one Southland (her home state of North Carolina) for another. She is a frequent contributor to Curbed and Atlas Obscura, and leads historical tours all around Los Angeles for Obscura Society LA. Her debut novel, "Absolutely," is now available on Amazon.
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The cheeseburger was supposedly invented by Lionel Sternberger at The Rite Spot in Pasadena, when he added a slice of cheese to a regular beef burger and called it the "Aristocratic Hamburger." But the real history behind this fast food staple is a bit more complicated.
Driven from their home countries, many European émigrés found intellectual stimulation, camaraderie and solace within homes around Los Angeles.
Talented composers fleeing Nazism made a new home for themselves in the United States and, in the process, helped create the vibrant sounds and the emotional pull of such Hollywood movies as "Casablanca," "Sabrina" and many more.
In a time of misogyny and limited opportunities, Route 66 offered women a chance to make their mark on the American experience.
Founded by middle-and-upper-class women to push for abstinence and prohibition laws, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union at Eagle Rock became a major force for societal change and a hub for feminist activity in Los Angeles.
For Los Angeles residents, the Hollywood Bowl has become a part of their collective memory, highlighting the importance of public performance spaces.
For Los Angeles residents, the Hollywood Bowl has become a part of their collective memory, highlighting the importance of public performance spaces.
Lawrence Lipton's book “The Holy Barbarians” was a celebration and canonization of the “Venice West” scene. It also became the biggest hit of his career, around which he revolved on for much of his life.
From the outside, it's not much to look at, but this small home in East Hollywood was a warm home for an unusual family — a place of refuge for dozens of young, displaced members of the LBGTQ community.
Though Captain Hancock would make many trips to the Galapagos on his ocean research vessel, Velero III. This trip was special in that it was not to study the remote island chains’ unique flora and fauna, but to solve a gripping mystery.
The Velero III was no regular pleasure cruiser. It was a floating lab for scientists, funded by millionaire Angeleno George Allan Hancock. Its adventures benefited knowledge in the early days of ocean research.
Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein and Helen Gahagan Douglas, are only some of the strong female forces who have formed the circle of influence surrounding Rosalind Wyman, the woman responsible for bringing the Dodgers to L.A. in the 1950s.