Places agoalex Wants to Go

The short oil boom of Venice Beach, and its swift removal from the tourism-laden landscape.

This 38-year old fish became a casualty of changing trends.

Bug-devouring flora are the stars of a special wing of the glass conservatory.

NASA's leading space science lab started by a co-founder with deep ties to the occult.

Colorado Boulevard’s historic bookstore, operating since the bustling city of Pasadena was merely some orange groves and a few ostrich farms.

A Community Cornerstone.

"The Star Factory" cranked out Hollywood stars like nobody's business.

Political debates in a fabulous Pasadena castle.

Former 1954 Del Mar Train Station now serves signature cocktails and delightful culinary treats, and still operates as a Metro stop.

A stellar example of Art & Crafts architecture, and a movie set to boot.

Hiding amid the largest camellia collection in the country lies a charming children's maze, donated by a secret admirer.

A Masterpiece with a Tragic History.

Where religious effigies, magic soaps, and occult candles are brought to customers at wholesale prices.

Once a place of peaceful repose, this sanitarium now faces an uncertain future.

A cobblestone alley with an interesting past.

Where the line between entertainment and aerospace blurs.

Hidden above a drug store on a nondescript corner of Lincoln Heights is a private clubhouse for intrepid explorers.

A 9 year-old boy’s elaborate cardboard arcade in his father’s used auto parts store.

This rare tortoise skeleton has been hanging around the downtown Los Angeles museum for over a century.

The art and history of the velvet painting are on full display in this Los Angeles museum.

Once a purveyor of Santeria supplies, religious products , and household sundries, now closed.

The beautiful 1920 Pantages Theatre remains hidden just underneath the LA Downtown Jewelry Exchange.

A one-of-a-kind collection of a unique medium.

This Los Angeles animation studio is keeping the wonder of stop motion puppetry alive.