Bucket List

Last updated 11/2/21

For Bucket List places I've managed to cross off my list, click here.

In the meantime...

In no particular order, here's a running list of some of the places that have proven a bit more difficult to get into—because they're privately owned, invite-only, closed to the public, or accessible only on a very restricted basis.*

CA

Freeman House by Frank Lloyd Wright, Hollywood Hills
La Miniatura by Frank Lloyd Wright, Pasadena
Hale Solar Laboratory, Pasadena
Club 33, Disneyland, Anaheim
Theme Building Observation Deck, LAX, Los Angeles
Warner Pacific Theatre, Hollywood
Earl Carroll Theatre, Hollywood
Chemosphere by John Lautner, Hollywood Hills
Silvertop by John Lautner, Silverlake
Elrod House by John Lautner, Palm Springs
Bob Hope House by John Lautner, Palm Springs
Lake Norconian Club, Norco
Barclay Hotel basement speakeasy, Downtown Los Angeles

Hotel Rosslyn, Downtown Los Angeles
Goat Canyon Trestle, Carrizo Gorge, Anza-Borrego
Magic Castle Cabaret, Montecito
Brookledge Theater, Hancock Park, Los Angeles
Culver Studios, Culver City
Fallen Star, San Diego
Pirate Tower, Laguna Beach [visited 12/26/20]
Dawn Mine, Angeles National Forest
Camp Pendleton, San Diego [visited 2/6/20]
Vista Del Arroyo Hotel, Pasadena [visited 4/5/23]
Panamint City, Death Valley National Park
Crowley Lake Columns, Mono County [visited 6/19/21]
Burro Schmidt Tunnel, Randsburg
Mozumdar Temple, Crestline [visited 10/23/21]
The Bubble House by Walter Neff, Pasadena
The Mojave Road, Mojave National Preserve
Beale's Cut, Santa Clarita
Spadena House, Beverly Hills
Zane Grey Estate, Altadena
McNally Estate, Altadena
Sybil Brand Institute, Monterey Park

Batchelder lobby of the Roebling Building/Angel City Brewery, Downtown LA

Swim in the Los Angeles Athletic Club pool

Swim in the Hearst Castle pools

Encinitas boat houses (interior)

Hollywood Hills boat houses [visited 10/15/23]

Palomar Observatory, 200-Inch Hale Telescope night viewing

Stimson House, University Park, Los Angeles

Pink Motel/Cadillac Jack's, Sun Valley

Santa Barbara Island, Channel Islands

San Clemente Island, Channel Islands

Cal State Channel Islands / Camarillo Mental Hospital, Camarillo

Hall of Justice, Downtown Los Angeles

Capitol Records observation deck, Hollywood

Federal Building Cold War shelters, Westwood

Shea's Castle, Lancaster

Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary convent, Los Feliz

Ambassador Mansion & Gardens/Ambassador Auditorium/Church of God, Pasadena

The Mountain Mermaid, Topanga

Rancho del Cielo, Santa Barbara

Bradbury Building roof, Downtown Los Angeles

Ghost Mountain, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Roosevelt Hotel rooftop, Hollywood [visited 4/6/22]

El Pueblo substation, Downtown LA

Rancho LaBrea Adobe/Gilmore Adobe (interior)

Jergins Tunnel, Long Beach

The Kellogg Doolittle Residence, Joshua Tree

Fox Studios, West L.A. [visited 4/14/24]

NY

North Brother Island, NYC
Hart Island, NYC
One Times Square New Year's Eve Ball, Manhattan, NYC
Brooklyn Army Terminal, Brooklyn, NYC
Pratt's Steam Whistle, Brooklyn, NYC
Tesla's Wardenclyff Laboratory, Long Island
Bowling alley at The Frick Collection, Manhattan, NYC

ELSEWHERE

Roden Crater, Flagstaff, AZ
Underground Home, Las Vegas, NV

Lightning Field, New Mexico

*A work in progress! More to be added.