Photo Essay: Things That Were Spared from the Fires (Palisades & Eaton Fires Edition—Continuously Updated)

[Last updated 1/15/25 7:11 PM PT—Added Saddle Peak Lodge, Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, and Inn of the Seventh Ray.]

[Updated 1/13/25 9:48 PM PT—Added Balian House]

How am I faring in the tragic firestorms of Los Angeles? I'm safe for now, but I'm stressed. I'm grieving. I'm in mourning. All of LA is.

So I turn my attention to documenting. It feels like all I can do. 

I've already started a running tally of the places that were lost in the Palisades and the Eaton Fires, focusing on those I'd already photographed and knew pretty intimately. 

But I'd like to add some good news in the mix, so here's what I know about some of the places I care about and their survival status. 

Lake Shrine

 

Photo Essay: Things We Lost In the Fires (Palisades and Eaton Edition—Continuously Updated)

[Last updated 1/13/25 10:04 PM PT—Added Mt. Lowe's Inspiration Point]

Los Angeles is currently on fire as it has never been on fire before. 

The Palisades Fire alone is almost twice the size of the island of Manhattan in terms of acreage. 

It seems like a new fire pops up every day. 

I've had two fires near me—a structure fire on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood and a brushfire between Wattles Mansion and Runyon Canyon, the latter of which I could see from my building. That second one almost sent me evacuating, but I decided to pack up and wait it out until I was told to leave, rather than trying to get my cat in the carrier. 

I have been so very lucky so far. 

But all of Los Angeles is in mourning. And the grief has only just begun. 

Because I'm me, I've set my attention to documenting what's been saved and what's been lost. It feels productive. Maybe it's helpful.

I haven't been able to leave my apartment yet to go see anything. The air quality is not good for my weak lungs. I'd have too much separation anxiety being from my kittyboy during what feels like an apocalyptic time. (Besides, there are too many looky-loos with drones and cameras shooting photos and videos out there already, and they're getting in the way of emergency crews and the residents trying to go and check on their own homes.)

So, I'm keeping tabs on things remotely for now. From what I've seen on the internet and the local news, I'm not sure I'd want to see any of this in person. 

So here are some of the major updates as I know them—particularly about places I've documented before and was pretty familiar with, so I can confidently report what's going on with them.

The first conflagration to erupt, the Palisades Fire, first raged through the Pacific Palisades community of Los Angeles. It's wiped out entire residential neighborhoods, a commercial district, and historic structures in Palisades—and it's not done, as it rages towards the 405 to the east and the 101 to the north as I write this. (It's headed straight for San Vicente Mountain Park!)

 Photo: California State Parks

Random Thoughts Upon a Milestone Anniversary

 

 I say that I lived in NYC for 14 years—but in reality, it was actually 13 years and 8 months.

I left New York to move to LA at the end of January 2011, which means I've lived here for 13 years and 11+ months. 

I already surpassed my time in NYC without really noticing it. And now I'm about to celebrate my 14th anniversary in Los Angeles—a real 14 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: Kicking Off Yet Another New Year at the Rose Parade (2025 Edition)

I don't go to the Rose Parade every year. After all, I didn't even go at all until 2015. And I skipped 2019 and 2022.

   

But this year, on the first day of 2025, the pull to watch those floats, marching bands, and horses crawl down Colorado Boulevard was so strong...

 

...that I woke up with a start (and without an alarm) at 8:15 a.m. after just five hours of sleep and made a beeline to Pasadena.

Photo Essay: Getting My Horse On In Preparation for the Rose Parade, 2025

It had been 10 years since I'd attended Equestfest, the Tournament of Roses equine exhibition, in the days before the Rose Parade. And this year I found myself revisiting a few things that I hadn't done for a decade. 

 

So I decided to go back. After all, I enjoy a day out with the horses.

Year In Review: 2024 Updates to Past Posts

As time goes on, my maintenance of this blog shifts more to updating information surrounding places I've already been rather than documenting places that are new (or new to me). 

And that gets a little depressing—because there are more businesses and buildings that close than those that are rescued. 

But we have to take our victories wherever we can get them. 

So this year, I feel lucky that I was able to report on the now-publicly accessible abandoned church at Heritage Square Museum and the newly-added TCM tour at Warner Brothers Studios.

Unfortunately, I also had to break the news of the passing of Heritage Square's beloved museum cat Belle Boy (who died in 2023). And the closure of the Mirage on the Vegas Strip. And the shut-down of the Los Angeles Times Olympic printing plant.

Those were all written about in new blog posts—but there are plenty of other updates I made that you may have missed. (I don't always share these to social media or in my email blast.)

So here are some updates I made in 2024—although not all of these necessarily actually happened this year.

Hilbert Museum of California Art

Photo Essay: Top Posts of 2024

It's true, 2024 was a rough year. 

Between health issues and a job loss, I've worried about what was going to happen to me. 

But somehow, I've managed to keep plugging away, as I always seem to do. 

And there are some good things on the horizon—namely, the history book I'm writing for the centennial of The Los Angeles Breakfast Club, which will be published in 2025. That's taking up a lot of my time now—time I could be spending "out there" exploring, and on here sharing my experiences. 

I'm certain the sacrifices I'm making now—including not doing any freelance writing for other publications—will pay off in the end. But that just means it may look as though I haven't been as productive this year. 

At least, for now. 

But I still had plenty of good stuff to share—so, as is my tradition at the end of each year, here follows my Top 10 posts of 2024. 

That's based on clicks/page views alone and not by some subjective judgment on their quality. So, if you'd like to know what other people were reading in 2024, take a gander here:

1. 

Photo Essay: Piru's Newhall Mansion is a 130-Year-Old Queen Anne Design in a 40-Year-Old Body

Photo Essay: Toluca Lake's Magical Holiday Parade, on Christmas Eve

Last year, in search of festive plans for Christmas Eve, I volunteered as a caroler for the Toluca Lake Magical Holiday Parade—formerly known as the "Christmas Caroling Truck" or the "Christmas Truck Parade." 

This year, to the sacrifice of invites for dinners at friends' homes, I decided to experience this long-standing neighborhood tradition from the ground as a spectator. 

Photo: The Hollywood Palladium—A Palace for Big Bands, Roller Disco, and More

Many theaters over the last 100 years (or more?) have been named the "Palace" to evoke grandeur and cultural sophistication. 

Photo: 2023

But there's another moniker that brings that idea of glamour to new heights: Palladium, which comes from the Greek goddess of the arts, Pallas Athena.