These thieves are stealing L.A.’s history, and our sense of place

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, July 23. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• L.A. history falls victim to thievery.
• The road to nomination clears for Harris
• These are the 101 best tacos in Los Angeles
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

You can’t put a price on L.A. history. But these thieves try

As a high schooler in late 1980s Los Angeles, nothing made me feel more important than gliding my mother’s old Datsun B-210 station wagon across the old Glendale-Hyperion Bridge.

I was editor of the Fairfax High School newspaper, and each week I collected the page proofs and drove those nine miles to the printer in Glendale.

It was the best part of my week — Fairfax Avenue to Fountain Avenue (navigating around Le Conte Middle School), stopping at the McDonald’s drive-through on Vermont Avenue for a quick treat before heading into Silver Lake. Hyperion curved around the hills and spit me out onto the grand span of arches, towers, ornate concrete railings and old-fashioned street lamps over the years by L.A.’s smoggy air.

I’d yet to drive over the Golden Gate, the Brooklyn or the George Washington bridges, so this one over the L.A. River and 5 Freeway seemed like the single most amazing act of human engineering. Each Wednesday, I dropped the page proofs off on Brand Boulevard and headed back over the bridge, where the winter afternoon sunset made the concrete glow a light orange. I made it back into Hollywood, where I usually rewarded myself with a trip through the Pioneer Chicken drive-through off Fountain.

The bridge never lost its allure, even as the B-210 gave way to a Nissan Sentra, a Honda Accord and a Toyota Avalon and that Pioneer Chicken came to a tragic end.

But lately, it has broken my heart.

A bronze street lamp post is seen along Orange Grove Boulevard. Many street lamp posts have been stolen.

(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

The naked bridge

During the pandemic, those nearly century-old copper lamps started disappearing. The copper made them valuable — easy targets for thieves. By late 2021, 22 lamps had been stolen, and the city decided to remove the remaining 18 to make sure the historic items were preserved.

You drive over the bridge today, and it looks naked. The patina of those old lights, at least in my view, is what made those 35,000 cubic yards of sculpted concrete shine.

We’ve reported how crime in L.A. went up during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency (and has since gone back down). But what happened to the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge is about something more: the alteration of the cityscape we all share. Thieves have been targeting old street lamps, copper wiring and other “street furniture” like never before. In Pasadena earlier this year, 11 of the 1920s-era lights on stately Orange Grove Boulevard were nabbed. “They’re backing in vehicles, tying a chain around them and yanking them out of the ground,” a Pasadena police spokesman told KTLA-TV. Numerous ornate iron lamps in Long Beach’s historic Bluff Park neighborhood have been nabbed over the last few years. Just Monday night, I hit the 7th Street Bridge in downtown Los Angeles and saw that all of the Gothic lanterns that once graced the landmark were gone. Officials in South L.A. report that more than 300 fire hydrants have been stolen.

Why should anyone care so much about this in a city with so many bigger problems?

For me, it’s personal. I don’t like the beach. I hate hiking. Parks are not my thing. Freeways are fine but not as cool as surface streets. My love is cruising around L.A., watching the world unfold from the air-conditioned comfort of my car (yes, the AC is always on, even in winter).

I have been doing it since my Fairfax High newspaper delivery days. I know the bridge, and those green, graffiti scarred lamps helped connect me to the past. Orange Grove would be just another road housing rich people without those tight rows of squat gumball-topped lamps. I’ve sometimes gone out of my way to inspect the blue beauties in Bluff Park, which match perfectly with the period homes.

Street lamps are a work of art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Something nice for everyone, not just the rich

They harken back to a time when city fathers thought the public amenities should look as nice as the private property. That everyone should share in the wealth. I drive down Wilshire Boulevard and can’t help but admire a city that took the care to frame lanterns in the shape of sleek nude women. On Olympic Boulevard, I look up and smile at the metal piece in the shape of a serpent that presents the street light to motorists.

So thieves are stealing from all of us — and from the ideal of what our city can look like.

In what other city would the most famous piece of public art be derived from a collection of vintage street lights?

The city says it’s still working on a plan for the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge. And Esotouric L.A. has done an excellent job of tracking the city’s efforts (so far unsuccessful) to make old lamps harder to steal.

Pioneer Chicken in Bell Gardens

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

L.A. historians remind us that so many of the dazzling and ornate street lights that the city was famous for are gone for good. City Hall has tried to preserve what is left, including replacing aging lamps with replicas. Let’s hope it can find a way to keep them bolted to the ground.

I made my peace when the Pioneer Chicken on Fountain that closed. It brought me joy, but all those fried chicken treats didn’t do much for my health or for the cleanliness of my car.

But the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge is different. It’s a treat for everyone.

Today’s top stories

Former President Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris.

(Associated Press)

Kamala Harris consolidates her position

• Harris appeared to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination and raked in record-breaking $81 million
• Here are 5 reasons Biden made the right move.
• Environmental groups are ‘ecstatic’ over Kamala Harris’ candidacy and California climate record.
• Here’s what Joe Biden’s decision means for Gavin Newsom

California races

• He’s not George Gascón. But is that enough to make Nathan Hochman L.A.’s next D.A.?
• A complaint accused California Senate candidate Steve Garvey of failing to disclose income.
• Rep. Ken Calvert has secured millions for his Riverside County district. Do his own properties benefit?

Let’s talk about water

• Californians’ water usage is down 9% and other takeaways from The Times’ updated water tracker.
• How to best filter your L.A. tap water based on your ZIP Code.
• Plain ol’ water is out. Hydration supplements are in. But do these top 8 brands really work?

More heat wave news

• ‘Long-duration’ heat wave is again cooking California, raising health and wildfire concerns.
• These California counties endured the nation’s longest streaks of excessive heat.

Elon Musk’s messy divorce with California

• Musk got billions in subsidies for Tesla and SpaceX, but he’s moving them to Texas anyway.
• Musk revived L.A. aerospace with SpaceX. Will it thrive without him?

More big stories

• A 15,000-gallon sewage leak has triggered closures at two L.A. County beaches
• LeBron James selected as a flag-bearer for U.S. at opening ceremony for Paris Olympics.
• Deaths from drug overdoses plateaued in L.A. County in 2023 after years of increases.
• Devastating ransomware attack shuts down L.A. County courts.
  

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Commentary and opinions

• George Skelton: California’s Kamala Harris was the necessary choice but not the best candidate.
• Anita Chabria: Please, Kamala, give us something to believe in

Today’s great reads

Senior Alex Victorio struts during Inglewood High’s “Breakdown” at the school’s graduation ceremony.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

This high school marching band ‘represents the soul of Inglewood’ Inglewood High’s marching band was one of the best around, but during the pandemic it cratered. Here’s how school officials and a new band leader brought it back.

Other great reads

• For these Death Valley residents, extreme heat is a way of life
• Meet Usha Vance: From San Francisco corporate lawyer to MAGA’s potential second lady
  

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].

For your downtime

A triptych that says “best rides” of three water rides in Southern California, including Disneyland’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” and the “Timber Mountain” log flume at Knott’s Berry Farm.

(Photos by Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times, Disney and Knott’s Berry Farm)

Going out

• The best water rides in Southern California, ranked by splash factor.
• Want to save money, curb food waste and try new restaurants? There’s an app for that.
• ‘Peter Pan’ had a Tiger Lily problem. The musical now does right by Indigenous people.

Staying in

• 2024 Paris Olympics: How to watch every event and the opening ceremony.
• Paris Olympics TV schedule: Wednesday’s listings
• 🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for Watermelon Curry.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... a great photo

Show us your favorite place in California! We’re running low on submissions. Send us photos that scream California and we may feature them in an edition of Essential California.

Visitors walk out onto the salt flats at Badwater Basin, taking advantage of cooler morning temperatures on a day when the mercury would rise as high as 125 degrees.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from staff photographer Brian van der Brug of the salt flats at Badwater Basin in Death Valley.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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