BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Esotouric - ECPv6.17.5//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Esotouric X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://esotouric.com X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Esotouric REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20240310T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20241103T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20250309T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20251102T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20260308T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20261101T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20270314T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20271107T090000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260808T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260808T133000 DTSTAMP:20260426T171212Z CREATED:20260409T230741Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260426T171212Z UID:10000722-1786185000-1786195800@esotouric.com SUMMARY:FILM NOIR / REAL NOIR DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES WALKING TOUR DESCRIPTION:Join Esotouric on a walk that celebrates Film Noir and its abiding influence through visits to select filming locations\, sites connected to artists who shaped the genre\, and places where real life noir narratives were captured by dogged crime reporters\, bringing inspiration to Hollywood screenwriters in their daily newspaper. \nStarting from Grand Central Market in the Historic Core\, we’ll visit the Bradbury Building and some iconic locations in the Historic Core\, Civic Center and of course Bunker Hill\, the sprawling Victorian neighborhood of aging boarding houses and shadowy back alleys that was Hollywood’s favorite back lot when the screenplay called for a gritty mixed use set—until the redevelopment agency evicted 9000 people and tore it all down. \nYou’ll stand just where the camera did on immersive then-and-now film location stops\, and see how light\, shadow and landmarks feature in iconic noir cinema scenes. \nWe’ll end the tour with a ride on Angels Flight Railway\, a short track with a long filmography. Up on the hill\, historian Nathan Marsak\, author of Bunker Hill Los Angeles\, Bunker Noir!\, and Marsak’s Guide to Bunker Hill brings the lost neighborhood to life. And Bunker Hill native son Gordon Pattison explains how by playing up its sinister appearance\, Hollywood helped feed the urban renewal PR engine that sealed his beloved neighborhood’s fate. \nIf you’re interested in movies\, urban history\, true crime and the creative process\, you won’t want to miss it. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare images you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting approximately 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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.\n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/film-noir-summer-2026/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/film-noir-featured.jpeg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260801T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260801T133000 DTSTAMP:20260426T171118Z CREATED:20260409T232824Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260426T171118Z UID:10000724-1785580200-1785591000@esotouric.com SUMMARY:RAYMOND CHANDLER’S NOIR DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES DESCRIPTION:Join Esotouric for an immersive time travel trip in the footsteps of master detective novelist Raymond Chandler and his cynical alter ego Philip Marlowe\, in the historic heart of Downtown Los Angeles. \nChicago-born and educated in a fine English boarding school\, Chandler found his literary voice during long boozy lunches as a 1920s oil company executive\, quietly observing the criminal origins of great Los Angeles fortunes. Although he left Downtown in the 1930s and found success with fiction and screenwriting\, the old neighborhood cast an abiding spell and he returned to it throughout his career. \nThis tour explores some of the time capsule sites where the young Chandler worked and played\, and where the mature writer set some of his most memorable and murderous scenes. From Angels Flight Railway and old Bunker Hill to the Oviatt Building\, Clifton’s Cafeteria to seedy hotels on the edge of Skid Row\, we’ll bring Chandler’s real and invented worlds alive on a stroll among beautiful\, fascinating landmarks. \nAlong the way\, you’ll get to know the real Raymond Chandler\, with intimate details sleuthed out by the tour guides who over many years of noir exploration have discovered Chandler’s previously unknown comic operetta and penned a Chandler map and nonfiction novel The Kept Girl about the real life cult of angel worshippers who fleeced his oil executive colleague and were front page news in a crime crazed city. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting approximately 3 hours\, moving at a casual pace. 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\, middle and end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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.\n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/raymond-chandler-summer-2026/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/chandler-tour-collage-300x169-1.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260711T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260711T133000 DTSTAMP:20260426T170741Z CREATED:20260409T224334Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260426T170741Z UID:10000719-1783765800-1783776600@esotouric.com SUMMARY:HOTEL HORRORS & MAIN STREET VICE DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES WALKING TOUR DESCRIPTION:From the founding of the city through the mid-20th century\, downtown was the true center of Los Angeles\, a lively\, densely populated\, exciting and sometimes dangerous place. After many quiet decades\, downtown again became a destination. But while the historic buildings remain\, their stories got lost. \nBlending true crime\, architecture\, theatrical\, documentary and social history\, this tour aims to revive the ghosts that cling to the bricks and alleyways and inside some time capsule buildings where the past is present. \nThis is a tour of the ribald\, racy\, raunchy old promenade where the better people simply did not travel\, but kicks were had by all who did. Burlesque babes and tattoo artists\, weird wax museums\, sword swallowers\, fake and real freaks\, taxi dancers and B-girl hustlers\, elegant hotels and dirty magazine stands\, sophisticated steak houses and nickel donut dives\, even Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones — these were the pleasures and the people to be found along Main Street during the 20th century. \nWe’ll visit the scenes of some more unforgettable debaucheries and share stories of bloodshed\, smut\, passion and commerce that bring a lost world to life. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting approximately 3 hours\, over level ground moving at a casual pace. 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\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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.\n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n About Our Guest Host\nJoan Renner is a true crime author and commentator. Her blog\, Deranged L.A. Crimes\, covers 20th century crimes and scandals. The L.A. Weekly called her book The First with the latest: Aggie Underwood\, the Los Angeles Herald\, and the Sordid Crimes of a City\, “A great introduction to some long-forgotten L.A. crimes.” Over the past decade\, she has appeared in over sixty TV shows and podcasts such as City of Angels\, City of Death; Deadly Women; Buried in the Backyard; and Hollywood & Crime. She is currently working on a book for University Press Kentucky about Los Angeles during the Prohibition era. When she’s not writing about or researching crime\, Joan volunteers as an archivist at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Museum. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/main-street-vice-summer-2026/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Hotel-Horrors-Main-St-Featured.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260620T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260620T133000 DTSTAMP:20260606T010655Z CREATED:20260211T024006Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260606T010655Z UID:10000714-1781951400-1781962200@esotouric.com SUMMARY:KNOW YOUR DOWNTOWN LA: BRADBURY BUILDING\, BASEMENTS OF YORE AND THE DUTCH CHOCOLATE SHOP DESCRIPTION:As the historic heart of Los Angeles\, Downtown is a complex and confusing ecosystem\, where the old town and the new city collide and the past is always present. Join Esotouric for an immersive time travel trip as you explore Victorian time capsule interiors\, Prohibition-era speakeasy tunnels\, early public spaces and the richly layered streetscape\, all on a three hour tour like no other. \nStarting from Grand Central Market\, a culinary destination for more than a century\, we’ll set out to explore prominent Broadway Theater District and Main Street landmarks\, learn the lesser known history of the astonishing Bradbury Building\, explore the sprawling basement of the Van Nuys / Barclay Hotel (Morgan\, Walls and Morgan\, 1896) with its\, bookie stand\, sidewalk prisms and freight elevators and pay tribute to architect John Parkinson in his own King Edward Hotel\, including the basement King Edward Saloon speakeasy tunnels. Also on this tour\, we’ll make a rare interior visit to Arts & Crafts tile master Ernest Batchelder’s Dutch Chocolate Shop\, a remarkable 1914 time capsule that’s been in the news with recent efforts by Altadena’s Save the Tiles volunteers to rescue his work from fire damaged properties. \nThis walking tour draws on original research to tell the real stories of Downtown Los Angeles and is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, the middle\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK POLICY: At this time\, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours\, with the exception of when we visit cramped and unventilated basement tunnels and the Dutch Chocolate Shop space. Please bring a mask to wear for this portion of the tour. If you forget your mask\, we can provide one on check in. \nCAMERA 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. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/know-your-downtown-june-2026/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DCS-4.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260606T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260606T133000 DTSTAMP:20260212T190407Z CREATED:20260211T025155Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260212T190407Z UID:10000716-1780741800-1780752600@esotouric.com SUMMARY:THE REAL BLACK DAHLIA DOWNTOWN WALKING TOUR DESCRIPTION:The Black Dahlia murder in 1947 is the most compelling unsolved crime Los Angeles has ever known. What Jack the Ripper is to London\, the Torso Killer to Cleveland\, the Black Dahlia is to L.A. And yet unlike those other cases\, the name Black Dahlia refers not to the killer\, but to the victim. What was it about Elizabeth Short that keeps her the object of obsessive fascination by writers\, musicians\, artists\, filmmakers\, cops and readers\, decades after she was slain? \nThe Real Black Dahlia tour seeks to answer this question by intimately exploring the last weeks of Elizabeth Short’s life\, asking not “who killed her?” but “who was she?”—and how do we know so much about a person who was a stranger in town\, with no fixed address\, no means of support and no real confidantes? The answer takes us deep into the twin shadow worlds of mid-century investigative reporting and detective work\, and a high stakes race to turn trauma into gold. \nThis walking tour around the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles takes us from the human hustle of Main Street to the serene lobby of the Biltmore Hotel (the second-to-last place she was seen alive)\, the discreet gay bar that was her final intended destination to the Greyhound station where she checked her bags\, and to the newspaper offices that sensationalized and humanized her. \nFrom the few personal possessions she left behind to the friends who scarcely knew her\, from the mass hysteria of the investigation with its fruitless leads\, wacko suspects and false confessions\, the tour reveals all that’s known about this enigmatic black-haired girl who reinvented herself at whim\, and shows how she came to be the unfortunate symbol of her time and place. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare images you can view on your smartphone. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over level ground moving at a casual pace. 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 and end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/black-dahlia-summer-2026/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/black-dahlia-walk-featured-WP.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260523T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260523T133000 DTSTAMP:20260212T190150Z CREATED:20260211T021847Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260212T190150Z UID:10000712-1779532200-1779543000@esotouric.com SUMMARY:THE RUN: GAY DOWNTOWN HISTORY WALKING TOUR DESCRIPTION:Join Esotouric on a walking tour of 20th century LGBTQ landmarks in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles\, for a time travel trip along The Run\, the circuit of queer friendly spaces that provided community\, culture and connection at a time when homosexuality was still criminalized\, and in the early years of gay liberation. Drawing on original archival research and featuring unpublished images\, this tour will bring a lost world to life. \nStarting from Grand Central Market\, we’ll take you where the action was\, from Pershing Square to the Main Street fun zone\, private assignations to bold political organizing\, groundbreaking legal cases to discrete bars\, and even into the shuttered 1920s-era speakeasy beneath the King Eddy Saloon to see scrawled hook up messages in the only cruisy bathroom that’s a designated National Register landmark! Plus\, we’ll put the nail in the coffin of the urban legend that there was a gay uprising at Cooper’s Do-Nuts that predates the Stonewall Rebellion. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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 and end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK POLICY: Guests are welcome to wear masks\, but they are not required except when we visit historic interiors that don’t have ventilation. When we go into the basement speakeasy under the King Edward Hotel\, we ask that all guests wear a mask. Please bring your own\, or ask for one on check in. \nCAMERA POLICY: No video- or audio-taping unless it has been pre-cleared with us\, please. Still cameras and sketchbooks are fine. \n  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/the-run-spring-2026/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/the-run-featured-2025-WP.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260411T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260411T133000 DTSTAMP:20251111T222744Z CREATED:20251017T020434Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251111T222744Z UID:10000705-1775903400-1775914200@esotouric.com SUMMARY:JOHN FANTE’S DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES TOUR & BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION DESCRIPTION:Join Esotouric for an immersive time travel trip in the footsteps of novelist and screenwriter John Fante (1909-1983) through Downtown Los Angeles and Bunker Hill\, On this special edition of the tour hosted on John Fante’s birthday\, we’ll be joined by Fante’s family\, and end the walk with birthday cake. \nBefore Jack Kerouac\, before Charles Bukowski\, there was John Fante\, author of the classic comic novel Ask the Dust (1939) and four more books featuring his alter-ego Arturo Bandini\, an outspoken\, down-and-out Mr. Hyde to Fante’s Dr. Jekyll. As Bunker Hill’s prodigal son\, Fante chronicles a colorful Los Angeles neighborhood teeming with immigrants\, criminals and dreamers like himself\, until redevelopment forces swept the people\, the buildings and much of Bunker Hill itself away. But Arturo Bandini’s voice remains as strong and relevant today as it was in 1939. So please join us as we follow in his footsteps\, to the hidden speakeasy beneath the King Eddy Saloon\, Central Library and John Fante Square\, for a ride on his beloved Angels Flight Railway and across the new\, corporate Bunker Hill in search of echoes of the lost neighborhood. This walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n COVID SAFETY: At this time\, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours\, with the exception of when we visit the cramped and unventilated basement speakeasy beneath the King Edward Hotel. Please bring a mask to wear for this portion of the tour. If you forget your mask\, we can provide one on check in. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/fante-2026/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/fante-tour-collage-fixed.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260404T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260404T133000 DTSTAMP:20251111T222954Z CREATED:20251017T015802Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251111T222954Z UID:10000704-1775298600-1775309400@esotouric.com SUMMARY:CHRISTINE STERLING & LEO POLITI: ANGELS OF LOS ANGELES DESCRIPTION:Esotouric invites you to attend a special Downtown walking tour that celebrates the life\, work\, passions and abiding influence of two remarkable Angelenos: the Mother of Olvera Street Christine Sterling (1881–1963) and acclaimed author and illustrator Leo Politi (1908-1996)\, through visits to time capsule locations that figure in their remarkable\, entwined Los Angeles preservation stories. \nFresno born\, educated in Italy and London\, Leo Politi arrived in Los Angeles in the depths of the Great Depression and instantly found something magical: a very old street lined with 19th century brick commercial buildings and adobe houses had been transformed into a thriving marketplace for artists\, traditional craftsmen\, booksellers\, antique dealers\, puppeteers\, cactus venders\, restaurateurs and numerous Mexican-American merchant families. \nPoliti fit in perfectly as Olvera Street’s public artist\, drawing and painting the old buildings\, colorful characters\, and festive events that honored his adopted city’s multi-cultural history and selling portraits to tourists and locals. Even after he became an award-winning children’s author\, he always returned\, notebook in hand\, to be with his friends and capture the lively scene. \nThis unlikely oasis was the brainchild of the Oakland born Chastina Rix Hough\, a struggling single mom who had christened herself with a glittering new name (Christine Sterling) to accompany her obsessive efforts to halt demolition of the historic Avila Adobe (1818)\, preserve the landmarks around it\, and revive Olvera Street as a place where Angelenos and visitors could escape the frantic modern world. \nWhen these two remarkable people met\, a lucky star must have been shining. Christine and Leo loved the City\, its history and its people\, and they never stopped fighting for places that matter. Although they’re both gone now\, their work changed Los Angeles for the better\, and you can still see and feel their influence today. Join us and see for yourself! \nThe tour will begin at Grand Central Market\, across from Politi’s beloved Angels Flight Railway funicular and below the redeveloped Bunker Hill that replaced his lost Victorian neighborhood. \nWe’ll visit the Bradbury Building\, the strangest and most beautiful Victorian office building\, then set out for Olvera Street and the Plaza to stroll all around Christine Sterling’s world\, and share insights into her poorly understood\, wildly successful campaign to stop time. You’ll see Leo’s Blessing of the Animals mural\, Pico House\, La Placita church\, Avila Adobe and pay your respects at Leo’s burial spot. \nOn the way and back\, replicating Leo’s pedestrian commute to Olvera Street\, we’ll enjoy a then and now tour of a much changed Downtown landscape\, using rare vintage photos to find clues to the landmarks lost to freeway construction and parking lots. Featured ghost buildings include the old Hall of Justice and Jail\, the lyrically luminous Baker Block\, the Old West stage coach stop at the Los Angeles Times building\, the famed red sandstone courthouse and off-kilter Hall of Records. Plus the Fort Moore Pioneer memorial\, lost tunnels\, the original city cemetery\, legends of Lizard People and downtown’s “other” funicular\, Court Flight. \nSpecial guest on this edition of the tour: Bunker Hill native son Gordon Pattison\, whose family home The Castle was a favorite subject for Politi’s paintings. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting approximately 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, the middle and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nCOVID SAFETY: At this time\, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours. \nCAMERA POLICY: No video- or audio-taping unless it has been pre-cleared with us\, please. Still cameras and sketchbooks are fine. \n  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/sterling-politi-angels-2026/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/before-freeways-featured-02.jpeg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260328T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260328T133000 DTSTAMP:20260327T165401Z CREATED:20260123T225303Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260327T165401Z UID:10000709-1774693800-1774704600@esotouric.com SUMMARY:KNOW YOUR DOWNTOWN LA: BRADBURY BUILDING\, BASEMENTS OF YORE AND THE DUTCH CHOCOLATE SHOP DESCRIPTION:As the historic heart of Los Angeles\, Downtown is a complex and confusing ecosystem\, where the old town and the new city collide and the past is always present. Join Esotouric for an immersive time travel trip as you explore Victorian time capsule interiors\, Prohibition-era speakeasy tunnels\, early public spaces and the richly layered streetscape\, all on a three hour tour like no other. \nStarting from Grand Central Market\, a culinary destination for more than a century\, we’ll set out to explore prominent Broadway Theater District and Main Street landmarks\, learn the lesser known history of the astonishing Bradbury Building\, explore the sprawling basement of the Van Nuys / Barclay Hotel (Morgan\, Walls and Morgan\, 1896) with its\, bookie stand\, sidewalk prisms and freight elevators and pay tribute to architect John Parkinson in his own King Edward Hotel\, including the basement King Edward Saloon speakeasy tunnels. Also on this tour\, we’ll make a rare interior visit to Arts & Crafts tile master Ernest Batchelder’s Dutch Chocolate Shop\, a remarkable 1914 time capsule that’s been in the news with recent efforts by Altadena’s Save the Tiles volunteers to rescue his work from fire damaged properties. \nThis walking tour draws on original research to tell the real stories of Downtown Los Angeles and is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, the middle\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK POLICY: At this time\, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours\, with the exception of when we visit cramped and unventilated basement tunnels and the Dutch Chocolate Shop space. Please bring a mask to wear for this portion of the tour. If you forget your mask\, we can provide one on check in. \nCAMERA 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. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/know-your-downtown-spring-2026/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DCS-4.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260321T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260321T133000 DTSTAMP:20251111T223234Z CREATED:20251017T013633Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251111T223234Z UID:10000702-1774089000-1774099800@esotouric.com SUMMARY:BUNKER HILL\, DEAD AND ALIVE DESCRIPTION:In the late 1960s\, after the Community Redevelopment Agency bought up all the boarding houses\, hotels\, shops and taverns\, displaced 9000 people and brought in the bulldozers\, it seemed like the end for Bunker Hill\, the Victorian neighborhood above Downtown. But a funny thing happened\, as the proposed redevelopment stalled and new ideas about adaptive reuse\, historic preservation\, environmentalism and tenants rights took root: people who never visited old Bunker Hill began to study\, celebrate and explore it–virtually–through the thousands of photos\, film clips\, stories and paintings that survive. Bunker Hill might be dead\, but its ghosts are active and eager to meet you. \nJoin Esotouric and Bunker Hill historian Nathan Marsak for an immersive time travel trip onto modern Bunker Hill\, to explore the lost neighborhood and how it grew\, with stops to memorialize iconic landmarks and fascinating personalities\, and its double life as a favorite film noir location. Then once you’ve fallen in love with the lively and lovely old neighborhood\, we’ll break your heart with how local and Federal officials conspired to knock it all down\, and the lessons this failed redevelopment scheme can teach Angelenos of today. Plus\, we’ll explore the new Bunker Hill’s best buildings and public spaces\, an open-air Museum of Modernism\, featuring remarkable examples of Late Moderne\, New Formalist\, Postmodernism and more\, and revisit some notorious crime scenes from the past. \nIf that sounds like an unusually rich and layered walking tour\, that’s because it is! Our guest hosts Nathan Marsak is the author of three very different books about Bunker Hill–Bunker Hill Los Angeles\, Bunker Noir! and Marsak’s Guide to Bunker Hill–and this tour includes elements of all of them. You’ll have a chance to buy copies and get them autographed after the tour. \nAlso joining us is native son Gordon Pattison who will be our guide hunting for the ghosts of the lost Victorian neighborhood hiding among the shining modern towers. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE 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. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/bunker-hill-dead-and-alive-2026/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Bunker-Hill-WP.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260307T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260307T133000 DTSTAMP:20251111T223430Z CREATED:20251017T011659Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251111T223430Z UID:10000700-1772879400-1772890200@esotouric.com SUMMARY:FILM NOIR / REAL NOIR DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES WALKING TOUR DESCRIPTION:Join Esotouric on a walk that celebrates Film Noir and its abiding influence through visits to select filming locations\, sites connected to artists who shaped the genre\, and places where real life noir narratives were captured by dogged crime reporters\, bringing inspiration to Hollywood screenwriters in their daily newspaper. \nStarting from Grand Central Market in the Historic Core\, we’ll visit the Bradbury Building and some iconic locations in the Historic Core\, Civic Center and of course Bunker Hill\, the sprawling Victorian neighborhood of aging boarding houses and shadowy back alleys that was Hollywood’s favorite back lot when the screenplay called for a gritty mixed use set—until the redevelopment agency evicted 9000 people and tore it all down. \nYou’ll stand just where the camera did on immersive then-and-now film location stops\, and see how light\, shadow and landmarks feature in iconic noir cinema scenes. \nWe’ll end the tour with a ride on Angels Flight Railway\, a short track with a long filmography. Up on the hill\, historian Nathan Marsak\, author of Bunker Hill Los Angeles\, Bunker Noir!\, and Marsak’s Guide to Bunker Hill brings the lost neighborhood to life. And Bunker Hill native son Gordon Pattison explains how by playing up its sinister appearance\, Hollywood helped feed the urban renewal PR engine that sealed his beloved neighborhood’s fate. \nIf you’re interested in movies\, urban history\, true crime and the creative process\, you won’t want to miss it. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare images you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting approximately 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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.\n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/film-noir-dtla-winter-2026/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/film-noir-featured-2025-WP.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260221T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260221T133000 DTSTAMP:20251111T223933Z CREATED:20251017T010232Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251111T223933Z UID:10000698-1771669800-1771680600@esotouric.com SUMMARY:RAYMOND CHANDLER’S NOIR DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES DESCRIPTION:Join Esotouric for an immersive time travel trip in the footsteps of master detective novelist Raymond Chandler and his cynical alter ego Philip Marlowe\, in the historic heart of Downtown Los Angeles. \nChicago-born and educated in a fine English boarding school\, Chandler found his literary voice during long boozy lunches as a 1920s oil company executive\, quietly observing the criminal origins of great Los Angeles fortunes. Although he left Downtown in the 1930s and found success with fiction and screenwriting\, the old neighborhood cast an abiding spell and he returned to it throughout his career. \nThis tour explores some of the time capsule sites where the young Chandler worked and played\, and where the mature writer set some of his most memorable and murderous scenes. From Angels Flight Railway and old Bunker Hill to the Oviatt Building\, Clifton’s Cafeteria to seedy hotels on the edge of Skid Row\, we’ll bring Chandler’s real and invented worlds alive on a stroll among beautiful\, fascinating landmarks. \nAlong the way\, you’ll get to know the real Raymond Chandler\, with intimate details sleuthed out by the tour guides who over many years of noir exploration have discovered Chandler’s previously unknown comic operetta and penned a Chandler map and nonfiction novel The Kept Girl about the real life cult of angel worshippers who fleeced his oil executive colleague and were front page news in a crime crazed city. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting approximately 3 hours\, moving at a casual pace. 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\, middle and end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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.\n  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/chandlers-noir-winter-2026/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/chandler-tour-collage-300x169-1.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260117T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260117T133000 DTSTAMP:20260107T024404Z CREATED:20251016T235539Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260107T024404Z UID:10000693-1768645800-1768656600@esotouric.com SUMMARY:Know Your Downtown LA: Bradbury Building\, Basements of Yore and the Dutch Chocolate Shop DESCRIPTION:As the historic heart of Los Angeles\, Downtown is a complex and confusing ecosystem\, where the old town and the new city collide and the past is always present. Join Esotouric for an immersive time travel trip as you explore Victorian time capsule interiors\, Prohibition-era speakeasy tunnels\, early public spaces and the richly layered streetscape\, all on a three hour tour like no other. \nStarting from Grand Central Market\, a culinary destination for more than a century\, we’ll set out to explore prominent Broadway Theater District and Main Street landmarks\, learn the lesser known history of the astonishing Bradbury Building\, explore the sprawling basement of the Van Nuys / Barclay Hotel (Morgan\, Walls and Morgan\, 1896) with its\, bookie stand\, sidewalk prisms and freight elevators and pay tribute to architect John Parkinson in his own King Edward Hotel\, including the basement King Edward Saloon speakeasy tunnels. Also on this tour\, we’ll make a rare interior visit to Arts & Crafts tile master Ernest Batchelder’s Dutch Chocolate Shop\, a remarkable 1914 time capsule that’s been in the news with recent efforts by Altadena’s Save the Tiles volunteers to rescue his work from fire damaged properties. \nThis walking tour draws on original research to tell the real stories of Downtown Los Angeles and is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, the middle\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK POLICY: At this time\, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours\, with the exception of when we visit cramped and unventilated basement tunnels and the Dutch Chocolate Shop space. Please bring a mask to wear for this portion of the tour. If you forget your mask\, we can provide one on check in. \nCAMERA 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. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/know-your-downtown-winter-2026/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DCS-4.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251227T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251227T133000 DTSTAMP:20250718T024935Z CREATED:20250710T195941Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250718T024935Z UID:10000689-1766831400-1766842200@esotouric.com SUMMARY:HUMAN SACRIFICE: THE BLACK DAHLIA\, ELISA LAM\, HEIDI PLANCK & SKID ROW SLASHER CASES DESCRIPTION:Join Esotouric’s Kim Cooper and Richard Schave\, the Skid Row historians featured in “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel\,” and their special guest Joan Renner\, on a true crime and cultural history walking tour that explores the terrifying intersection of real estate speculation\, housing insecurity and death in Downtown Los Angeles from the 1940s to the present. \nStarting from Grand Central Market\, we’ll fan out over the historic core to visit significant sites in the investigations of three notorious and heartbreaking cases: the kidnapping and murder of Beth Short in 1947\, the serial killing of seven poor or homeless men by Vaughn Greenwood between December 1974 and January 1975\, and Elisa Lam’s disappearance and drowning while staying at the Stay on Main hostel inside the single room occupancy Hotel Cecil in 2013. We’ll also talk about the October 2021 disappearance of Heidi Planck\, although we won’t trek as far as the Hope + Flower apartments where she was last seen. \nYou’ll learn about the importance of newspaper reporting to 20th century crime investigations\, and the role of internet communities today\, hear about how previous generations slept rough in all-night movie theaters\, alleys and under bushes\, how the high cost or lack of housing options make victims more vulnerable\, and about property developers who bend the rules to transform low-income residency hotels and market rate apartments into profitable blind spots where people can vanish. \nAlong the way\, you’ll get to know the victims as sympathetic and relatable people who serve as fascinating windows into real life and death in Los Angeles over the decades and learn how public policy choices can set the stage for avoidable tragedy. \nCan understanding why true crimes happened help Los Angeles finally solve its housing crisis? We think it can! \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n About Our Guest Host\nJoan Renner is a true crime author and commentator. Her blog\, Deranged L.A. Crimes\, covers 20th century crimes and scandals. The L.A. Weekly called her book The First with the latest: Aggie Underwood\, the Los Angeles Herald\, and the Sordid Crimes of a City\, “A great introduction to some long-forgotten L.A. crimes.” Over the past decade\, she has appeared in over sixty TV shows and podcasts such as City of Angels\, City of Death; Deadly Women; Buried in the Backyard; and Hollywood & Crime. She is currently working on a book for University Press Kentucky about Los Angeles during the Prohibition era. When she’s not writing about or researching crime\, Joan volunteers as an archivist at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Museum. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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 and end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nCOVID SAFETY: At this time\, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours. \nCAMERA POLICY: No video- or audio-taping unless it has been pre-cleared with us\, please. Still cameras and sketchbooks are fine. \n  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/human-sacrifice-winter-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Hotel-Cecil-WP.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251220T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251220T133000 DTSTAMP:20251218T024036Z CREATED:20251013T220238Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251218T024036Z UID:10000692-1766226600-1766237400@esotouric.com SUMMARY:KNOW YOUR DOWNTOWN LA: BRADBURY BUILDING\, BASEMENTS OF YORE AND THE DUTCH CHOCOLATE SHOP DESCRIPTION:As the historic heart of Los Angeles\, Downtown is a complex and confusing ecosystem\, where the old town and the new city collide and the past is always present. Join Esotouric for an immersive time travel trip as you explore Victorian time capsule interiors\, Prohibition-era speakeasy tunnels\, early public spaces and the richly layered streetscape\, all on a three hour tour like no other. \nStarting from Grand Central Market\, a culinary destination for more than a century\, we’ll set out to explore prominent Broadway Theater District and Main Street landmarks\, learn the lesser known history of the astonishing Bradbury Building\, explore the sprawling basement of the Van Nuys / Barclay Hotel (Morgan\, Walls and Morgan\, 1896) with its\, bookie stand\, sidewalk prisms and freight elevators and pay tribute to architect John Parkinson in his own King Edward Hotel\, including the basement King Edward Saloon speakeasy tunnels. Also on this tour\, we’ll make a rare interior visit to Arts & Crafts tile master Ernest Batchelder’s Dutch Chocolate Shop\, a remarkable 1914 time capsule that’s been in the news with recent efforts by Altadena’s Save the Tiles volunteers to rescue his work from fire damaged properties. \nThis walking tour draws on original research to tell the real stories of Downtown Los Angeles and is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, the middle\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK POLICY: At this time\, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours\, with the exception of when we visit cramped and unventilated basement tunnels and the Dutch Chocolate Shop space. Please bring a mask to wear for this portion of the tour. If you forget your mask\, we can provide one on check in. \nCAMERA 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. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/know-your-downtown-winter-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DCS-4.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251206T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251206T133000 DTSTAMP:20251205T191640Z CREATED:20250708T173606Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251205T191640Z UID:10000686-1765017000-1765027800@esotouric.com SUMMARY:HOTEL HORRORS & MAIN STREET VICE DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES WALKING TOUR DESCRIPTION:From the founding of the city through the mid-20th century\, downtown was the true center of Los Angeles\, a lively\, densely populated\, exciting and sometimes dangerous place. After many quiet decades\, downtown again became a destination. But while the historic buildings remain\, their stories got lost. \nBlending true crime\, architecture\, theatrical\, documentary and social history\, this tour aims to revive the ghosts that cling to the bricks and alleyways and inside some time capsule buildings where the past is present. \nThis is a tour of the ribald\, racy\, raunchy old promenade where the better people simply did not travel\, but kicks were had by all who did. Burlesque babes and tattoo artists\, weird wax museums\, sword swallowers\, fake and real freaks\, taxi dancers and B-girl hustlers\, elegant hotels and dirty magazine stands\, sophisticated steak houses and nickel donut dives\, even Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones — these were the pleasures and the people to be found along Main Street during the 20th century. \nWe’ll visit the scenes of some more unforgettable debaucheries and share stories of bloodshed\, smut\, passion and commerce that bring a lost world to life. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting approximately 3 hours\, over level ground moving at a casual pace. 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\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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.\n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n About Our Guest Host\nJoan Renner is a true crime author and commentator. Her blog\, Deranged L.A. Crimes\, covers 20th century crimes and scandals. The L.A. Weekly called her book The First with the latest: Aggie Underwood\, the Los Angeles Herald\, and the Sordid Crimes of a City\, “A great introduction to some long-forgotten L.A. crimes.” Over the past decade\, she has appeared in over sixty TV shows and podcasts such as City of Angels\, City of Death; Deadly Women; Buried in the Backyard; and Hollywood & Crime. She is currently working on a book for University Press Kentucky about Los Angeles during the Prohibition era. When she’s not writing about or researching crime\, Joan volunteers as an archivist at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Museum. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/main-st-vice-fall-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Hotel-Horrors-Main-St-Featured.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251122T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251122T133000 DTSTAMP:20250714T215105Z CREATED:20250708T172607Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250714T215105Z UID:10000685-1763807400-1763818200@esotouric.com SUMMARY:THE REAL BLACK DAHLIA DOWNTOWN WALKING TOUR DESCRIPTION:The Black Dahlia murder in 1947 is the most compelling unsolved crime Los Angeles has ever known. What Jack the Ripper is to London\, the Torso Killer to Cleveland\, the Black Dahlia is to L.A. And yet unlike those other cases\, the name Black Dahlia refers not to the killer\, but to the victim. What was it about Elizabeth Short that keeps her the object of obsessive fascination by writers\, musicians\, artists\, filmmakers\, cops and readers\, decades after she was slain? \nThe Real Black Dahlia tour seeks to answer this question by intimately exploring the last weeks of Elizabeth Short’s life\, asking not “who killed her?” but “who was she?”—and how do we know so much about a person who was a stranger in town\, with no fixed address\, no means of support and no real confidantes? The answer takes us deep into the twin shadow worlds of mid-century investigative reporting and detective work\, and a high stakes race to turn trauma into gold. \nThis walking tour around the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles takes us from the human hustle of Main Street to the serene lobby of the Biltmore Hotel (the second-to-last place she was seen alive)\, the discreet gay bar that was her final intended destination to the Greyhound station where she checked her bags\, and to the newspaper offices that sensationalized and humanized her. \nFrom the few personal possessions she left behind to the friends who scarcely knew her\, from the mass hysteria of the investigation with its fruitless leads\, wacko suspects and false confessions\, the tour reveals all that’s known about this enigmatic black-haired girl who reinvented herself at whim\, and shows how she came to be the unfortunate symbol of her time and place. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare images you can view on your smartphone. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over level ground moving at a casual pace. 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 and end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/black-dahlia-fall-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/black-dahlia-walk-featured-WP.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251025T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251025T133000 DTSTAMP:20251013T165527Z CREATED:20251002T211405Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251013T165527Z UID:10000691-1761388200-1761399000@esotouric.com SUMMARY:SOLD OUT - KNOW YOUR DOWNTOWN LA: BRADBURY BUILDING\, BASEMENTS OF YORE AND THE DUTCH CHOCOLATE SHOP DESCRIPTION:THIS TOUR IS SOLD OUT.  Please sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on the next time we will offer it. \nAs the historic heart of Los Angeles\, Downtown is a complex and confusing ecosystem\, where the old town and the new city collide and the past is always present. Join Esotouric for an immersive time travel trip as you explore Victorian time capsule interiors\, Prohibition-era speakeasy tunnels\, early public spaces and the richly layered streetscape\, all on a three hour tour like no other. \nStarting from Grand Central Market\, a culinary destination for more than a century\, we’ll set out to explore prominent Broadway Theater District and Main Street landmarks\, learn the lesser known history of the astonishing Bradbury Building\, explore the sprawling basement of the Van Nuys / Barclay Hotel (Morgan\, Walls and Morgan\, 1896) with its original horse stables\, bookie stand\, sidewalk prisms and freight elevators and pay tribute to architect John Parkinson in his own King Edward Hotel\, including the basement King Edward Saloon speakeasy tunnels. Also on this tour\, we’ll make a rare interior visit to Arts & Crafts tile master Ernest Batchelder’s Dutch Chocolate Shop\, a remarkable 1914 time capsule that’s been in the news with recent efforts by Altadena’s Save the Tiles volunteers to rescue his work from fire damaged properties. \nThis walking tour draws on original research to tell the real stories of Downtown Los Angeles and is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, the middle\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK POLICY: At this time\, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours\, with the exception of when we visit cramped and unventilated basement tunnels and the Dutch Chocolate Shop space. Please bring a mask to wear for this portion of the tour. If you forget your mask\, we can provide one on check in. \nCAMERA 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. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/know-your-downtown-fall-2nd-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DCS-4.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251018T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251018T133000 DTSTAMP:20250714T215434Z CREATED:20250704T005540Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250714T215434Z UID:10000681-1760783400-1760794200@esotouric.com SUMMARY:THE RUN: GAY DOWNTOWN HISTORY WALKING TOUR DESCRIPTION:Join Esotouric on a walking tour of 20th century LGBTQ landmarks in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles\, for a time travel trip along The Run\, the circuit of queer friendly spaces that provided community\, culture and connection at a time when homosexuality was still criminalized\, and in the early years of gay liberation. Drawing on original archival research and featuring unpublished images\, this tour will bring a lost world to life. \nStarting from Grand Central Market\, we’ll take you where the action was\, from Pershing Square to the Main Street fun zone\, private assignations to bold political organizing\, groundbreaking legal cases to discrete bars\, and even into the shuttered 1920s-era speakeasy beneath the King Eddy Saloon to see scrawled hook up messages in the only cruisy bathroom that’s a designated National Register landmark! Plus\, we’ll put the nail in the coffin of the urban legend that there was a gay uprising at Cooper’s Do-Nuts that predates the Stonewall Rebellion. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, the middle\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK POLICY: Guests are welcome to wear masks\, but they are not required except when we visit historic interiors that don’t have ventilation. When we go into the basement speakeasy under the King Edward Hotel\, we ask that all guests wear a mask. Please bring your own\, or ask for one on check in. \nCAMERA POLICY: No video- or audio-taping unless it has been pre-cleared with us\, please. Still cameras and sketchbooks are fine. \n  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/the-run-gay-dtla-fall-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/the-run-featured-2025-WP.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251011T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251011T133000 DTSTAMP:20251010T220558Z CREATED:20250704T004905Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251010T220558Z UID:10000680-1760178600-1760189400@esotouric.com SUMMARY:SOLD OUT - KNOW YOUR DOWNTOWN LA: BRADBURY BUILDING\, BASEMENTS OF YORE AND THE DUTCH CHOCOLATE SHOP DESCRIPTION:As the historic heart of Los Angeles\, Downtown is a complex and confusing ecosystem\, where the old town and the new city collide and the past is always present. Join Esotouric for an immersive time travel trip as you explore Victorian time capsule interiors\, Prohibition-era speakeasy tunnels\, early public spaces and the richly layered streetscape\, all on a three hour tour like no other. \nStarting from Grand Central Market\, a culinary destination for more than a century\, we’ll set out to explore prominent Broadway Theater District and Main Street landmarks\, learn the lesser known history of the astonishing Bradbury Building\, explore the sprawling basement of the Van Nuys / Barclay Hotel (Morgan\, Walls and Morgan\, 1896) with its\, bookie stand\, sidewalk prisms and freight elevators and pay tribute to architect John Parkinson in his own King Edward Hotel\, including the basement King Edward Saloon speakeasy tunnels. Also on this tour\, we’ll make a rare interior visit to Arts & Crafts tile master Ernest Batchelder’s Dutch Chocolate Shop\, a remarkable 1914 time capsule that’s been in the news with recent efforts by Altadena’s Save the Tiles volunteers to rescue his work from fire damaged properties. \nThis walking tour draws on original research to tell the real stories of Downtown Los Angeles and is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, the middle\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK POLICY: At this time\, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours\, with the exception of when we visit cramped and unventilated basement tunnels and the Dutch Chocolate Shop space. Please bring a mask to wear for this portion of the tour. If you forget your mask\, we can provide one on check in. \nCAMERA 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. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/know-your-downtown-fall-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DCS-4.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250920T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250920T133000 DTSTAMP:20250515T195123Z CREATED:20250515T190302Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250515T195123Z UID:10000677-1758364200-1758375000@esotouric.com SUMMARY:FILM NOIR / REAL NOIR DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES WALKING TOUR DESCRIPTION:Join Esotouric on a walk that celebrates Film Noir and its abiding influence through visits to select filming locations\, sites connected to artists who shaped the genre\, and places where real life noir narratives were captured by dogged crime reporters\, bringing inspiration to Hollywood screenwriters in their daily newspaper. \nStarting from Grand Central Market in the Historic Core\, we’ll visit the Bradbury Building and some iconic locations in the Historic Core\, Civic Center and of course Bunker Hill\, the sprawling Victorian neighborhood of aging boarding houses and shadowy back alleys that was Hollywood’s favorite back lot when the screenplay called for a gritty mixed use set—until the redevelopment agency evicted 9000 people and tore it all down. \nYou’ll stand just where the camera did on immersive then-and-now film location stops\, and see how light\, shadow and landmarks feature in iconic noir cinema scenes. \nWe’ll end the tour with a ride on Angels Flight Railway\, a short track with a long filmography. Up on the hill\, historian Nathan Marsak\, author of Bunker Hill Los Angeles\, Bunker Noir!\, and Marsak’s Guide to Bunker Hill brings the lost neighborhood to life. And Bunker Hill native son Gordon Pattison explains how by playing up its sinister appearance\, Hollywood helped feed the urban renewal PR engine that sealed his beloved neighborhood’s fate. \nIf you’re interested in movies\, urban history\, true crime and the creative process\, you won’t want to miss it. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare images you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting approximately 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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.\n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/film-noir-fall-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/film-noir-featured-2025-WP.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250906T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250906T133000 DTSTAMP:20250515T195006Z CREATED:20250506T202111Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250515T195006Z UID:10000673-1757154600-1757165400@esotouric.com SUMMARY:RAYMOND CHANDLER’S NOIR DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES DESCRIPTION:Join Esotouric for an immersive time travel trip in the footsteps of master detective novelist Raymond Chandler and his cynical alter ego Philip Marlowe\, in the historic heart of Downtown Los Angeles. \nChicago-born and educated in a fine English boarding school\, Chandler found his literary voice during long boozy lunches as a 1920s oil company executive\, quietly observing the criminal origins of great Los Angeles fortunes. Although he left Downtown in the 1930s and found success with fiction and screenwriting\, the old neighborhood cast an abiding spell and he returned to it throughout his career. \nThis tour explores some of the time capsule sites where the young Chandler worked and played\, and where the mature writer set some of his most memorable and murderous scenes. From Angels Flight Railway and old Bunker Hill to the Oviatt Building\, Clifton’s Cafeteria to seedy hotels on the edge of Skid Row\, we’ll bring Chandler’s real and invented worlds alive on a stroll among beautiful\, fascinating landmarks. \nAlong the way\, you’ll get to know the real Raymond Chandler\, with intimate details sleuthed out by the tour guides who over many years of noir exploration have discovered Chandler’s previously unknown comic operetta and penned a Chandler map and nonfiction novel The Kept Girl about the real life cult of angel worshippers who fleeced his oil executive colleague and were front page news in a crime crazed city. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting approximately 3 hours\, moving at a casual pace. 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\, middle and end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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.\n  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/chandlers-noir-fall-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/chandler-tour-collage.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250823T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250823T133000 DTSTAMP:20250815T043054Z CREATED:20250514T234336Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250815T043054Z UID:10000676-1755945000-1755955800@esotouric.com SUMMARY:SUMMER SALE - CHRISTINE STERLING & LEO POLITI: ANGELS OF LOS ANGELES DESCRIPTION:Esotouric invites you to attend a special Downtown walking tour that celebrates the life\, work\, passions and abiding influence of two remarkable Angelenos: the Mother of Olvera Street Christine Sterling (1881–1963) and acclaimed author and illustrator Leo Politi (1908-1996)\, through visits to time capsule locations that figure in their remarkable\, entwined Los Angeles preservation stories. \nFresno born\, educated in Italy and London\, Leo Politi arrived in Los Angeles in the depths of the Great Depression and instantly found something magical: a very old street lined with 19th century brick commercial buildings and adobe houses had been transformed into a thriving marketplace for artists\, traditional craftsmen\, booksellers\, antique dealers\, puppeteers\, cactus venders\, restaurateurs and numerous Mexican-American merchant families. \nPoliti fit in perfectly as Olvera Street’s public artist\, drawing and painting the old buildings\, colorful characters\, and festive events that honored his adopted city’s multi-cultural history and selling portraits to tourists and locals. Even after he became an award-winning children’s author\, he always returned\, notebook in hand\, to be with his friends and capture the lively scene. \nThis unlikely oasis was the brainchild of the Oakland born Chastina Rix Hough\, a struggling single mom who had christened herself with a glittering new name (Christine Sterling) to accompany her obsessive efforts to halt demolition of the historic Avila Adobe (1818)\, preserve the landmarks around it\, and revive Olvera Street as a place where Angelenos and visitors could escape the frantic modern world. \nWhen these two remarkable people met\, a lucky star must have been shining. Christine and Leo loved the City\, its history and its people\, and they never stopped fighting for places that matter. Although they’re both gone now\, their work changed Los Angeles for the better\, and you can still see and feel their influence today. Join us and see for yourself! \nThe tour will begin at Grand Central Market\, across from Politi’s beloved Angels Flight Railway funicular and below the redeveloped Bunker Hill that replaced his lost Victorian neighborhood. \nWe’ll visit the Bradbury Building\, the strangest and most beautiful Victorian office building\, then set out for Olvera Street and the Plaza to stroll all around Christine Sterling’s world\, and share insights into her poorly understood\, wildly successful campaign to stop time. You’ll see Leo’s Blessing of the Animals mural\, Pico House\, La Placita church\, Avila Adobe and pay your respects at Leo’s burial spot. \nOn the way and back\, replicating Leo’s pedestrian commute to Olvera Street\, we’ll enjoy a then and now tour of a much changed Downtown landscape\, using rare vintage photos to find clues to the landmarks lost to freeway construction and parking lots. Featured ghost buildings include the old Hall of Justice and Jail\, the lyrically luminous Baker Block\, the Old West stage coach stop at the Los Angeles Times building\, the famed red sandstone courthouse and off-kilter Hall of Records. Plus the Fort Moore Pioneer memorial\, lost tunnels\, the original city cemetery\, legends of Lizard People and downtown’s “other” funicular\, Court Flight. \nSpecial guest on this edition of the tour: Bunker Hill native son Gordon Pattison\, whose family home The Castle was a favorite subject for Politi’s paintings. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting approximately 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, the middle and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nCOVID SAFETY: At this time\, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours. \nCAMERA POLICY: No video- or audio-taping unless it has been pre-cleared with us\, please. Still cameras and sketchbooks are fine. \n  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/sterling-politi-fort-moore/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/before-freeways-featured-02.jpeg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250809T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250809T133000 DTSTAMP:20250515T194509Z CREATED:20250506T011613Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250515T194509Z UID:10000670-1754735400-1754746200@esotouric.com SUMMARY:HOTEL HORRORS & MAIN STREET VICE DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES WALKING TOUR DESCRIPTION:From the founding of the city through the mid-20th century\, downtown was the true center of Los Angeles\, a lively\, densely populated\, exciting and sometimes dangerous place. After many quiet decades\, downtown again became a destination. But while the historic buildings remain\, their stories got lost. \nBlending true crime\, architecture\, theatrical\, documentary and social history\, this tour aims to revive the ghosts that cling to the bricks and alleyways and inside some time capsule buildings where the past is present. \nThis is a tour of the ribald\, racy\, raunchy old promenade where the better people simply did not travel\, but kicks were had by all who did. Burlesque babes and tattoo artists\, weird wax museums\, sword swallowers\, fake and real freaks\, taxi dancers and B-girl hustlers\, elegant hotels and dirty magazine stands\, sophisticated steak houses and nickel donut dives\, even Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones — these were the pleasures and the people to be found along Main Street during the 20th century. \nWe’ll visit the scenes of some more unforgettable debaucheries and share stories of bloodshed\, smut\, passion and commerce that bring a lost world to life. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting approximately 3 hours\, over level ground moving at a casual pace. 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\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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.\n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n About Our Guest Host\nJoan Renner is a true crime author and commentator. Her blog\, Deranged L.A. Crimes\, covers 20th century crimes and scandals. The L.A. Weekly called her book The First with the latest: Aggie Underwood\, the Los Angeles Herald\, and the Sordid Crimes of a City\, “A great introduction to some long-forgotten L.A. crimes.” Over the past decade\, she has appeared in over sixty TV shows and podcasts such as City of Angels\, City of Death; Deadly Women; Buried in the Backyard; and Hollywood & Crime. She is currently working on a book for University Press Kentucky about Los Angeles during the Prohibition era. When she’s not writing about or researching crime\, Joan volunteers as an archivist at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Museum. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/hotel-horrors-summer-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Hotel-Horrors-Main-St-Featured.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250719T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250719T133000 DTSTAMP:20250128T024318Z CREATED:20250124T194113Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250128T024318Z UID:10000666-1752921000-1752931800@esotouric.com SUMMARY:THE REAL BLACK DAHLIA DOWNTOWN WALKING TOUR DESCRIPTION:The Black Dahlia murder in 1947 is the most compelling unsolved crime Los Angeles has ever known. What Jack the Ripper is to London\, the Torso Killer to Cleveland\, the Black Dahlia is to L.A. And yet unlike those other cases\, the name Black Dahlia refers not to the killer\, but to the victim. What was it about Elizabeth Short that keeps her the object of obsessive fascination by writers\, musicians\, artists\, filmmakers\, cops and readers\, decades after she was slain? \nThe Real Black Dahlia tour seeks to answer this question by intimately exploring the last weeks of Elizabeth Short’s life\, asking not “who killed her?” but “who was she?”—and how do we know so much about a person who was a stranger in town\, with no fixed address\, no means of support and no real confidantes? The answer takes us deep into the twin shadow worlds of mid-century investigative reporting and detective work\, and a high stakes race to turn trauma into gold. \nThis walking tour around the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles takes us from the human hustle of Main Street to the serene lobby of the Biltmore Hotel (the second-to-last place she was seen alive)\, the discreet gay bar that was her final intended destination to the Greyhound station where she checked her bags\, and to the newspaper offices that sensationalized and humanized her. \nFrom the few personal possessions she left behind to the friends who scarcely knew her\, from the mass hysteria of the investigation with its fruitless leads\, wacko suspects and false confessions\, the tour reveals all that’s known about this enigmatic black-haired girl who reinvented herself at whim\, and shows how she came to be the unfortunate symbol of her time and place. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare images you can view on your smartphone. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over level ground moving at a casual pace. 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 and end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/black-dahlia-summer-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/black-dahlia-walk-featured-WP.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250712T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250712T133000 DTSTAMP:20250128T025412Z CREATED:20250124T193628Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250128T025412Z UID:10000665-1752316200-1752327000@esotouric.com SUMMARY:FILM NOIR / REAL NOIR DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES WALKING TOUR DESCRIPTION:Join Esotouric on a walk that celebrates Film Noir and its abiding influence through visits to select filming locations\, sites connected to artists who shaped the genre\, and places where real life noir narratives were captured by dogged crime reporters\, bringing inspiration to Hollywood screenwriters in their daily newspaper. \nStarting from Grand Central Market in the Historic Core\, we’ll visit the Bradbury Building and some iconic locations in the Historic Core\, Civic Center and of course Bunker Hill\, the sprawling Victorian neighborhood of aging boarding houses and shadowy back alleys that was Hollywood’s favorite back lot when the screenplay called for a gritty mixed use set—until the redevelopment agency evicted 9000 people and tore it all down. \nYou’ll stand just where the camera did on immersive then-and-now film location stops\, and see how light\, shadow and landmarks feature in iconic noir cinema scenes. \nWe’ll end the tour with a ride on Angels Flight Railway\, a short track with a long filmography. Up on the hill\, historian Nathan Marsak\, author of Bunker Hill Los Angeles\, Bunker Noir!\, and Marsak’s Guide to Bunker Hill brings the lost neighborhood to life. And Bunker Hill native son Gordon Pattison explains how by playing up its sinister appearance\, Hollywood helped feed the urban renewal PR engine that sealed his beloved neighborhood’s fate. \nIf you’re interested in movies\, urban history\, true crime and the creative process\, you won’t want to miss it. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare images you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting approximately 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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.\n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/film-noir-summer-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/film-noir-featured-2025-WP.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250621T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250621T133000 DTSTAMP:20250515T194028Z CREATED:20241106T022130Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250515T194028Z UID:10000645-1750501800-1750512600@esotouric.com SUMMARY:KNOW YOUR DOWNTOWN LA: BRADBURY BUILDING\, BASEMENTS OF YORE AND THE DUTCH CHOCOLATE SHOP DESCRIPTION:As the historic heart of Los Angeles\, Downtown is a complex and confusing ecosystem\, where the old town and the new city collide and the past is always present. Join Esotouric for an immersive time travel trip as you explore Victorian time capsule interiors\, Prohibition-era speakeasy tunnels\, early public spaces and the richly layered streetscape\, all on a three hour tour like no other. \nStarting from Grand Central Market\, a culinary destination for more than a century\, we’ll set out to explore prominent Broadway Theater District and Main Street landmarks\, learn the lesser known history of the astonishing Bradbury Building\, explore the sprawling basement of the Van Nuys / Barclay Hotel (Morgan\, Walls and Morgan\, 1896) with its\, bookie stand\, sidewalk prisms and freight elevators and pay tribute to architect John Parkinson in his own King Edward Hotel\, including the basement King Edward Saloon speakeasy tunnels. Also on this tour\, we’ll make a rare interior visit to Arts & Crafts tile master Ernest Batchelder’s Dutch Chocolate Shop\, a remarkable 1914 time capsule that’s been in the news with recent efforts by Altadena’s Save the Tiles volunteers to rescue his work from fire damaged properties. \nThis walking tour draws on original research to tell the real stories of Downtown Los Angeles and is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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\, the middle\, and at the end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK POLICY: At this time\, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours\, with the exception of when we visit cramped and unventilated basement tunnels and the Dutch Chocolate Shop space. Please bring a mask to wear for this portion of the tour. If you forget your mask\, we can provide one on check in. \nCAMERA 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. \n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/know-your-downtown-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/know-downtown-featured.webp ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250614T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250614T133000 DTSTAMP:20250611T023149Z CREATED:20250124T192538Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250611T023149Z UID:10000662-1749897000-1749907800@esotouric.com SUMMARY:TOUR POSTPONED - RAYMOND CHANDLER’S NOIR DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES DESCRIPTION:Due to the unrest in Downtown Los Angeles\, this tour date has been postponed. The Chandler tour is next on our calendar on Saturday\, September 6. Stay safe out there\, and see you next time! \n \n \n \n \n \n Join Esotouric for an immersive time travel trip in the footsteps of master detective novelist Raymond Chandler and his cynical alter ego Philip Marlowe\, in the historic heart of Downtown Los Angeles. \nChicago-born and educated in a fine English boarding school\, Chandler found his literary voice during long boozy lunches as a 1920s oil company executive\, quietly observing the criminal origins of great Los Angeles fortunes. Although he left Downtown in the 1930s and found success with fiction and screenwriting\, the old neighborhood cast an abiding spell and he returned to it throughout his career. \nThis tour explores some of the time capsule sites where the young Chandler worked and played\, and where the mature writer set some of his most memorable and murderous scenes. From Angels Flight Railway and old Bunker Hill to the Oviatt Building\, Clifton’s Cafeteria to seedy hotels on the edge of Skid Row\, we’ll bring Chandler’s real and invented worlds alive on a stroll among beautiful\, fascinating landmarks. \nAlong the way\, you’ll get to know the real Raymond Chandler\, with intimate details sleuthed out by the tour guides who over many years of noir exploration have discovered Chandler’s previously unknown comic operetta and penned a Chandler map and nonfiction novel The Kept Girl about the real life cult of angel worshippers who fleeced his oil executive colleague and were front page news in a crime crazed city. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting approximately 3 hours\, moving at a casual pace. 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\, middle and end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nMASK 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. \nCAMERA 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.\n  \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/raymond-chandler-summer-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/chandler-tour-collage.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250524T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250524T133000 DTSTAMP:20250128T025320Z CREATED:20241107T220507Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250128T025320Z UID:10000658-1748082600-1748093400@esotouric.com SUMMARY:THE RUN: GAY DOWNTOWN HISTORY WALKING TOUR DESCRIPTION:Join Esotouric on a walking tour of 20th century LGBTQ landmarks in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles\, for a time travel trip along The Run\, the circuit of queer friendly spaces that provided community\, culture and connection at a time when homosexuality was still criminalized\, and in the early years of gay liberation. Drawing on original archival research and featuring unpublished images\, this tour will bring a lost world to life. \nStarting from Grand Central Market\, we’ll take you where the action was\, from Pershing Square to the Main Street fun zone\, private assignations to bold political organizing\, groundbreaking legal cases to discrete bars\, and even into the shuttered 1920s-era speakeasy beneath the King Eddy Saloon to see scrawled hook up messages in the only cruisy bathroom that’s a designated National Register landmark! Plus\, we’ll put the nail in the coffin of the urban legend that there was a gay uprising at Cooper’s Do-Nuts that predates the Stonewall Rebellion. \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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 and end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nCOVID SAFETY: At this time\, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours. \nCAMERA POLICY: No video- or audio-taping unless it has been pre-cleared with us\, please. Still cameras and sketchbooks are fine. \n  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/the-run-spring-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/the-run-featured-2025-WP.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250503T103000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250503T133000 DTSTAMP:20250128T024957Z CREATED:20241107T221159Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250128T024957Z UID:10000659-1746268200-1746279000@esotouric.com SUMMARY:HUMAN SACRIFICE: THE BLACK DAHLIA\, ELISA LAM\, HEIDI PLANCK & SKID ROW SLASHER CASES DESCRIPTION:Join Esotouric’s Kim Cooper and Richard Schave\, the Skid Row historians featured in “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel\,” and their special guest Joan Renner\, on a true crime and cultural history walking tour that explores the terrifying intersection of real estate speculation\, housing insecurity and death in Downtown Los Angeles from the 1940s to the present. \nStarting from Grand Central Market\, we’ll fan out over the historic core to visit significant sites in the investigations of three notorious and heartbreaking cases: the kidnapping and murder of Beth Short in 1947\, the serial killing of seven poor or homeless men by Vaughn Greenwood between December 1974 and January 1975\, and Elisa Lam’s disappearance and drowning while staying at the Stay on Main hostel inside the single room occupancy Hotel Cecil in 2013. We’ll also talk about the October 2021 disappearance of Heidi Planck\, although we won’t trek as far as the Hope + Flower apartments where she was last seen. \nYou’ll learn about the importance of newspaper reporting to 20th century crime investigations\, and the role of internet communities today\, hear about how previous generations slept rough in all-night movie theaters\, alleys and under bushes\, how the high cost or lack of housing options make victims more vulnerable\, and about property developers who bend the rules to transform low-income residency hotels and market rate apartments into profitable blind spots where people can vanish. \nAlong the way\, you’ll get to know the victims as sympathetic and relatable people who serve as fascinating windows into real life and death in Los Angeles over the decades and learn how public policy choices can set the stage for avoidable tragedy. \nCan understanding why true crimes happened help Los Angeles finally solve its housing crisis? We think it can! \nThis walking tour is illustrated with rare photos you can view on your smartphone. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n About Our Guest Host\nJoan Renner is a true crime author and commentator. Her blog\, Deranged L.A. Crimes\, covers 20th century crimes and scandals. The L.A. Weekly called her book The First with the latest: Aggie Underwood\, the Los Angeles Herald\, and the Sordid Crimes of a City\, “A great introduction to some long-forgotten L.A. crimes.” Over the past decade\, she has appeared in over sixty TV shows and podcasts such as City of Angels\, City of Death; Deadly Women; Buried in the Backyard; and Hollywood & Crime. She is currently working on a book for University Press Kentucky about Los Angeles during the Prohibition era. When she’s not writing about or researching crime\, Joan volunteers as an archivist at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Museum. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n MEETING INSTRUCTIONS:\nTour 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. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n Parking & Public Transit:\nThere 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: \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n TOUR RULES & RECOMMENDATIONS:\nBE PREPARED: This is a walking hour lasting 3 hours\, over a mix of level ground and occasional hills and stairs moving at a casual pace. 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 and end of the tour. If you need more information about what to expect\, please email us. \nCOVID SAFETY: At this time\, we no longer require that masks be worn on walking tours. \nCAMERA POLICY: No video- or audio-taping unless it has been pre-cleared with us\, please. Still cameras and sketchbooks are fine. \n  \n\n \n \n \n \n \n CONTACTING US ON OR BEFORE TOUR DAY:\nEmailing 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. \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n CANCELLATION / REFUND POLICY:\nIf 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. URL:https://esotouric.com/event/human-sacrifice-spring-2025/ LOCATION:Grand Central Market\, 308 South Hill Street\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90013\, United States CATEGORIES:walking tour ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://esotouric.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Hotel-Cecil-WP.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Esotouric":MAILTO:tours@esotouric.com END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR