Until the redevelopment agency bulldozed it all, Los Angeles had a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood in the heart of the city, with Victorian mansions converted to boarding houses, meandering stairways and lush gardens. The buildings were old, but full of character. Bunker Hill’s residents included retirees and workers, artists and writers, families and loners… crime victims and perps.
Join Esotouric and Nathan Marsak for a time travel trip through a lost neighborhood viewed through the bloodstained lens of its true crime history. Long before Nathan was the esteemed author of Bunker Hill Los Angeles: Essence of Sunshine and Noir, he was a collaborator on our 1947project blog, an experiment in understanding Los Angeles by exploring its forgotten crimes and crime scenes, with one full year dedicated to an archeological exploration of old Bunker Hill. Nathan is so committed to preserving Bunker Hill that he’s recently become an Angels Flight operator, to help keep an eye on the tiny funicular that once served the community’s mass transit needs.
This immersive time travel trip is the ghoulish companion to the Bunker Hill, Dead and Alive, tour, shifting the focus from architecture, history and redevelopment to some of the strange and awful things that happened on Bunker Hill, which when combined with its use as a film location, helped to shape the neighborhood’s abiding reputation as the noir stain on the land of sunshine.
On this tour, you’ll get to know the darker side of Bunker Hill, but the astonishing beauty of its buildings, culture and community will also shine through. It is recommended for mature audiences. Bunker Noir! is also the name of Nathan’s true crime zine, a collection of terrible tales and rare photos that will be available for purchase and signing after the tour.
This walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone.
MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:
Tour begins at 10:30am sharp, with check-in time 10am at the patio outside Grand Central Market in front of Maple Block BBQ at 324 S Hill St, Los Angeles, CA 90013. Please arrive on time and proceed to the check in table to get signed in and logged in to the smartphone slideshow. Scroll down for tour rules and recommendations.
TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:
BE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting about 3 hours, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. We will be making frequent use of the pedestrian bridges, and there will be one or two flights of stairs to ascend or descend at a time for the first half of the walk. Wear comfortable walking shoes, sunscreen and a hat. Bring your smartphone so you can view the tour slide show. We will have a cooler with cold water, and you’re encouraged to bring a full water bottle. A restroom will be available at the start, roughly halfway through at the Bonaventure, and end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect, please email us.
MASK POLICY: Masks are welcome, but not required, with the exception of on tours that visit unventilated historic spaces, when we will provide masks for your safety.
CAMERA POLICY: If you’d like to share about the tour on social media, please tag Esotouric in your posts. We ask you don’t record long portions of your hosts’ tour presentations. Still cameras and sketchbooks are fine.
Parking & Public Transit:
There are numerous paid public parking lots around Grand Central Market, including GCM’s multi-level lot at 308 South Hill Street Los Angeles, California 90013. The nearest Metro stations are Civic Center/Grand Park and Pershing Square. If using public transit, this link can help you plan your trip:
CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:
Emailing is the best way to communicate with us, but after 8am on tour day you can call or text Richard on his mobile phone, 213-915-8687.
CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:
If you’re sick, please do not attend the tour. Get some rest, and let us know not to expect you. If notified at least 72 hours before tour departure, we can refund or reschedule your booking. As long as you contact us before the tour begins, we are happy to move your reservation to a future tour date. You may also gift your ticket to someone else—we will need their name, email address and phone number to make this switch.