Articles

General Meeting – Nightlife in Eagle Rock

Date: October 17, 2023
Time: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Zoom Passcode: 870077

A few months ago, Jim Hughes brought to us the
developers scrambled to open and stay engaged with fruits of research he had done into various nightclubs
trends in nightlife. The various incarnations of the club and bars in Eagle Rock. This piqued our interest and
initially named The Double H Club exemplify this motivated us to look at our collection to find out what
struggle to survive and prosper. The size of the club
we knew about the subject. We found much to share
motivated the owners to continually rebrand the club with Jim, but we were reminded that there was much
to attract a profitable audience.
that we didn’t know.
Bars which principally catered to a drinking trade We decided to invite the public to share their memo-
continued to exist in an environment where hard liquor ries and souvenirs at our next Meeting.

General Meeting – Tuesday August 8, 2023 @ 7pm

Date: August 8, 2023
Time: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Passcode 752947
The Jay Risk Standard Station - A Historic-Cultural Monument with consultant Steven Luftman(Go to the zoom link by clicking on the "General Meeting" link, above.)

General Meeting – Tuesday April 18

Date: April 18, 2023
Time: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Zoom recording passcode: !we52Lp5
Evolution of the Los Angeles Skyline, with David McMenamin (ERHS S'65, Occidental College '69) Have you ever wondered why Los Angeles did not have any buildings taller than the City Hall until the late 1960s, or why, until recently, LA skyscrapers had flat tops, or why downtown LA now has an “old” financial district and a “new” […]

General Meeting – Professor Long discusses Jock Peters

Date: February 21, 2023
Time: 7:00 pm
Passcode: 403420 Presentation by renowned Martin S. Kermacy Centennial Professor, Mr. Christopher Long from the School of Architecture, University of Texas at Austin. Professor Long will be discussing the life and career of one of the pioneers of modernism in Southern California: Jock Peters.

The 17th Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar

Date: October 22, 2022
Time: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Location: Doheny Memorial Library USC University Park Campus
THE STORIES OF L.A. ALL DAY. ALL IN ONE PLACE. The L.A. AS SUBJECT consortium, of which Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society is a member, brings to life the diverse, often hidden stories that make Southern California such a fascinating place of discovery. The annual LOS ANGELES ARCHIVES BAZAAR, which is free and open to […]

60th+ Anniversary Banquet

Date: October 19, 2022
Time: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location: Blair's, 1948 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90041
Come celebrate the 61 years of the Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society. PLEASE R.S.V.P. TOWEBMASTER@EAGLEROCKHISTORY.ORGby Monday October 17thto secure your spot at the tablewith your name(s) and number in your party PLEASE PAY EITHER: via PayPal to k8ttaylor@gmail.comORby exact change and/or check at Blair's the night of the party! ($50 cash or check made out […]

Verdugo: A Family Story with Don Urqidez

Date: August 7, 2022
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Location: Zoom Meeting ID: 837 1784 7788 - Passcode: 90041

JOIN US on Sunday August 7th at 1pm when we welcome Don as our virtual presenter in lieu of our Ice Cream Social; again postponed due to the Covid closure of the Center for the Arts and our concerns for our extended family. This will be a fascinating exploration of the Verdugo family’s history and continuing legacy in Southern California. Feel free to attend the virtual presentation with your own bowl or cone of ice cream to enjoy as we all listen to the presentation together!

Auto Service in Eagle Rock

Date: April 19, 2022
Time: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Meeting ID: 869 9324 7727 Passcode: 745547

Although Eagle Rock’s development was made possible by the construction of the L.A. Railway in 1906, our long romance with the automobile began soon after. Beginning as a rich man’s plaything, the car increasingly became an everyday desire and necessity for life in far-flung Los Angeles. The privacy and convenience of the personal car overshadowed and eventually totally replaced the extensive local and interurban rail networks that made Los Angeles’ development possible.

The fragile nature and constant needs for fuel, oil, tires and water made the corner service station a necessity. Many car enthusiasts opened small businesses to provide these and other mechanical services. The story inside this issue outlines the changes in these services over the years at Juett Clements Lenny, the largest independent, family-owned service station in early Eagle Rock. Many others came and went over the years.

We will take a Zoom tour along Colorado Boulevard and look into the auto facilities past and present along the route on April 19 at 7:00 P.M. A link will be posted on our website and in our email blast.

During the bulk of the twentieth century, automotive services were the dominant type of businesses along Colorado Boulevard. Beginning with dealerships out of garages, car dealerships grew. By the 1960s, dealerships were by far the largest businesses on the Boulevard. The dual nature of the Boulevard as our main street and a vital link in regional transportation drove this development. This combined with the then-substantial undeveloped space in the areas between concentrations of hometown service businesses encouraged highway-oriented development. Dealerships finally left the area when their need for space exceeded that available.

Beginning late in the twentieth century, the need for automotive services had declined causing many of the small service businesses to close. Retail had also evolved toward larger centralized malls, still oriented toward the car and often physically discouraging access by any other means.

Countering this concentration was the desire by many to re-emphasize the hometown services provided by the Boulevard. Efforts were made to encourage pedestrian oriented businesses. The revitalization of the Boulevard occurred but paradoxically, the primary means of access to these businesses continued to be the private car. Fuel and mechanical services thus remained a vital part of the urban mix.

Early Chapters in Southern California History : a Fresh View – 1542 to 1900

Date: February 22, 2022
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: ZOOM
California history, especially that of its other regions, is much older, and features a more diverse cast of protagonists, than just about any other part of the United States. Attend our meeting and hear Brian Dervin Dillon discuss early California. Zoom Meeting with Brian Dervin DillonMeeting ID: 894 3051 0378Passcode: 15421900

Historical History – Remembering 60 Years

Date: October 19, 2021
Time: 12:00 am - 12:00 am
Location: Zoom
Meeting ID: 874 8555 3802Passcode: 196110 60 Years of Collecting & Protecting! Happy Anniversary to Us! This is an important moment to pause and celebrate the accomplishments of our organization and to take a look at how we got here. Eric Warren, our current Vice President and author of several books on the history of […]