Tune in to Episode Sixteen of the Esotouric podcast as we sit down with historian Marc Chevalier to debunk myths about the Oviatt Building and its influence on the American Art Deco style. We’ll also talk with Professor Don Johnson of Cal State L.A.‘s Criminalistics Department, for a guided tour of his apprenticeships in mortuary and forensic science.

All this, plus cultural musings on LAVA’s 2013 Visionary of the Year Dwain Carlo Crum’s 100th day at sea, endangered Caltrans-owned houses in Pasadena’s Markham Place District added to the National Register, Irving Gill’s Torrance railroad bridge getting a revamp, the City of Los Angeles’ tentative deal to purchase a long-derelict Civic Center plot for a park, Santa Monica’s beloved Bay Cities Guaranty Building purchase by preservation-friendly Sorgente Group of America, Urban Outfitters move into the Rialto Theater, Metro releases four possible plans for a Union Station redesign, and Supervisor Gloria Molina pledge to help save East L.A.‘s giant tamale in peril, as Kim & Richard usher in the week of May 6th, 2013.

PHOTO CREDIT: Marc Chevalier