by Kim Cooper | May 4, 2016 | The Esotouric Blog
Here’s something new under the sun: a searchable database of 19th century California trademarks, including some delightful Los Angeles oddities. Whether your tastes run to sporting man’s club life or electrically-charged cordials, underpants full of flea...
by Kim Cooper | Apr 14, 2016 | The Esotouric Blog
One of our favorite Los Angeles buildings is the Barclay Hotel (originally the Van Nuys), a Beaux Arts gem constructed in 1896 on the northwest corner of 4th and Main Streets by pioneering architects Morgan and Walls. We love the hotel because it’s beautiful,...
by Kim Cooper | Mar 16, 2016 | The Esotouric Blog
On a cool, spring day we left Los Angeles early, bound for the Orange County canyon home of Helena Modjeska, the great 19th century Polish actress who learned English in mid-life and tirelessly toured America, bringing culture and emotional honesty to the people. Our...
by Kim Cooper | Mar 4, 2016 | The Esotouric Blog
Most Saturdays, we host a few dozen “gentle riders” on the Esotouric tour bus, revealing the lost lore of Los Angeles through visits to landmarks both notable and obscure. Because most of our passengers are Southland locals, we don’t offer tours...
by Kim Cooper | Feb 28, 2016 | The Esotouric Blog
Long on our list of iconic Southern California sites to see was Rancho Camulos, the Spanish land grant rancho in the Santa Clara River Valley near Piru that inspired Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel of old Californio life, Ramona (1884). On Sunday, we had a chance to...
