Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Observe Griffith Observatory

Griffith J. Griffith (the man so nice they named him twice) used his possibly ill-gotten mining gains to donate 3000 plus acres to Los Angeles to form Griffith Park (or more properly, Griffith J. Griffith Park).

After shooting his wife in the head (she survived) he spent two years in the pokey, and through his will gave money for the construction of the Greek Theater and the Griffith Observatory. The architect was John C. Austin, who also designed LA City Hall, and did not shoot his wife in the head or elsewhere.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Lucky Thirteen

The Thomas Peckham House on Benefit Street was begun before 1824 with later additions. I am not sure how many family members the building housed, but it is now the repository of thirteen condominiums. Not a bad exemplar for a medium sized apartment building.