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
- Grand View Memorial Park in Glendale, California looks a lot better than it did 10 years ago.
- The Millard Sheets mosaic tile mural that was removed from a bank building in Santa Monica has found a new home at the Hilbert Museum of California Art in Orange, California.
- The Marciano Art Foundation in the former Scottish Rite Temple building on Wilshire in Los Angeles has reopened.
- After losing its lease, Bauer Pottery found a new spot and reopened a new showroom in Frogtown, Los Angeles.
- The Pinball Hall of Fame in Vegas relocated and has some snazzy signage now.
Wayfarer's Chapel
Losses
- The Wayfarer's Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, California sustained catastrophic damage from a local landslide and was dismantled piece by piece, to be reassembled elsewhere sometime in the future.
- The Jim Henson Company announced it was selling the historic Charlie Chaplin Studios lot.
- Keller Peak fire lookout was destroyed by wildfire.
- Ilan Lael Foundation's James Hubbell passed away.
- Sky Village Swap Meet in Yucca Valley, California closed — and Bob's Crystal Cave will be sold off.
- Snow White Cafe in Hollywood closed and was gutted, murals removed.
- Monastery of the Angels in Los Angeles officially closed.
- Graber Olive House in Ontario, California is closed and for sale.
- Pea Soup Andersen's in Buellton, California permanently closed.
- Buck Owens' Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, California was listed for sale, putting its future as a live performance venue/museum/restaurant in question.
- The film location for Twin Pines Mall in Back to the Future will be redeveloped.
- Moonlight Rollerway in Glenda, California no longer hosts its live organ nights.
- Angeles Crest Creamery is no longer open to the public. See past posts here and here and here.
- Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California closed permanently.
- Downtown San Bernardino's Carousel Mall was demolished.
- SoCal's only oyster farm, Carlsbad Aquafarm, no longer conducts public tours.
- Icons of Darkness, the horror attraction in Hollywood, is permanently closed.
- A mural on the side of the Pann's Coffee Shop building in Los Angeles has been painted over.
- My favorite alpaca farm—the Alpaca Hacienda in Temecula, California—closed and its alpacas have been relocated.
- Dirt, the "King of the Shop" at Nevada Northern Railway, passed away in January 2023 but I updated my blog post this year.
- LACMA's Rain Room is now located in the UAE.
- The Steinbeck wax museum at Cannery Row in Monterey closed in 2022, but I just found out and updated my post.
Brand Park Cemetery
Splitting the Difference (or just Neutral)
- The Big Boy statue outside Bob's Big Boy Broiler in Downey, California got scalped by a flying fire hydrant in a late-night speeding car collision. A brand new statue now graces the entryway of the coffee shop.
- The family cemetery in Glendale's Brand Park was open for a tour so I added some more photos.
- Horace Heidt Estates had an event that opened up the museum for tours, so I added more photos. But the luau still hasn't come back.
- The former Fox Westwood movie theatre is temporarily closed—but it's been sold to new owners who are renovating it and will reopen it when it's all spiffed up.
- The Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles changed ownership.
- The Theatre at Ace in Downtown Los Angeles is under new ownership and management as the United Theatre on Broadway.
- The Warner Grand theatre in San Pedro, California is temporarily closed—but will reopen after renovations are complete. See blog posts here and here.
- The Rudolph Schindler-designed Rodriguez House in Glendale, California has been sold to a new owner.
- I went back to the Arroyo Parkway and added some additional photos to my photo essay from when I walked the 110.
- Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant will continue to operate past 2024—although it's unclear whether that will affect access to the Point San Luis Lighthouse.
- Seven Magic Mountains public art installation will be relocated away from Las Vegas—a loss for Southern Nevada (and visitors to it) but a win for whomever gets it next.
Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments or send me an email (using the Contact Form to the right).
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