Lisa Burks Online

Sitting Pretty

I spotted this little guy enjoying a shady ledge on a mirrored building near the Buena Vista Library the other day.

Loved how the reflection made it look like he was sitting in the nearby tree.  See more snaps here.

Sidewalk Bingo ~ 1928

Found not one, not two, but three count 'em three Hunt Bros. Constructor logos in the 100 block of Glenoaks Blvd. today, all dated 1928.

They appear on the sidewalk in front of Olive Market, located at 130 S. Glenoaks Blvd. near Olive Ave. 

The diamond shaped one is located in front of the store's doorway and the other two flank either end of the building, itself the original 1928 structure.

What sets these Hunt Bros. stamps apart from the 1930 and 1933 versions I've previously documented is that they are the oldest and also the first I've found at a commercial property.

You're Fired

Some of my favorite houses in Burbank are the oldsters that still stand proud among the modern development.

When I see them, my mind wanders back in time to wonder what the area was like when they were new.

The house that stands at 334 E. Cypress, down by the Media Center Mall, was gutted by fire in the past year.  

Boarded up and cleaned out ~ snapped on April 1, 2009

This particular house was built in 1922 during the initial residential building boom when Burbank's population was about 3,000.  Today there's more like 110,000 of us.

Burbank circa 1922 (Burbank Public Library Collection)

Demolition has begun on the grand little lady 334.  I noticed today that the roof was gone.

Looks like they will be taking her apart bit by bit.  I hope so. It always kills me when the bulldozers arrive to start mauling buildings apart.

No dignity.

No respect for the ghosts that live there, or so I imagine whenever I witness this ritual, which happens more in the name of progress around these parts lately, not post-flames euthanasia.

Rest in peace, 334 E. Cypress. Thank you for 87 years.

'Graveside Companion' Comes To Burbank

My pal Steve Goldstein has been on a very successful whirlwind publicity tour for his hot new book LA's Graveside Companion: Where The VIPs RIP. 

This weekend he'll be in my neck of the woods, good ole Burbank!

Meet Steve at a book signing this Sunday, April 19th at 2pm at Dark Delicacies, the only all horror book store in America, located 4213 Burbank Blvd.

Caffeinated Laughs

After the traditional Tax Day fleecing today I was sorely in need of a good laugh on a shoestring budget.

Luckily for me (and about two dozen other peeps) I found plenty of both tonight with The Comic Buzz crew at Romancing The Bean in Burbank.

The Comic Buzz Comedians Jerry Rocha, Bryan Erwin,
Neil Edwards and Heather Thompson

Word is starting to get around about this midweek stand-up showcase, now on its fourth consecutive week.  This is thanks in part to a featured write up last week in The Burbank Leader.

But it also has a lot to do with the energetic enthusiasm of it's creator and host, Bryan Erwin, who spends his pre-show warm-up time at the door, humorously enticing passers-by in off the boulevard.

For the price of a very affordable and super delish latte, I spent close to two hours laughing at seven comedians tonight who each presented their unique brand of clever, witty and sometimes downright weird musings on the coffee house's corner stage.

Topics ranged from facial hair, travel and dating to death, cultural oddities and bar soap, with some edgy Nazi, sex and depression jokes thrown in for good measure.  All very, very funny.

Each week the line up consists of up-and-coming comedians who you have probably seen on late night television or at some of the more pricey comedy clubs in Los Angeles.

Tonight's roster included Kyle Kinane, Heather Thompson, Danny Vermont, The Walsh Brothers, Jerry Rocha and Neil Edwards.

The Comic Buzz happens every Wednesday evening starting at 8pm.

Romancing The Bean is located at 150 S. San Fernando Blvd., between Olive and Angeleno. At least for the next few weeks. Word there tonight was that it's losing the space at the end of the month, but plans are to stay in the immediate area.

Here's hoping!  What a lovely coffee house environment and some of the best comedy I've seen in a long time.  The Bean also hosts Open Mic Night, which adds music and poetry to the mix, every 2nd and 4th Tuesday night.

Sidewalk Bingo ~ 1930

Another Sidewalk Bingo success!   

On this afternoon's walk I actually found several stamps in the sidewalks between home and Ikea, but only the Hunt Bros. seemed to date their work.

Nice touch. That officially makes them my favorites.

Today I found one from 1930 on the sidewalk of the house at 501 E. Cypress. 

According to the Los Angeles County Assessor's records, this home was built the very same year.  I especially love the stone wall that borders the entire property.

So far, I've gotten a 1930 and a 1933.  That means there's probably at the very least 1931 and 1932 out there, yay!

Leaving Their Mark

The Hunt Brothers construction company was apparently very busy in my neighborhood back in the 1930s.

I've noticed their moniker stamped on residential sidewalks here, there and yonder.

Had my camera with me when I spied this beauty from 1933.  It's held up well over the past 76 years.  Lettering still sharp, no cracks in the cement.

It's located on N. 5th St. between Magnolia and Palm, on a sidewalk between two of three side-by-side-by-side bungalows that were built there in 1929.

I know I've seen others around but with different years noted. With limited research, I haven't found anything significant to tell me who they were and how long they operated in Burbank.  They sure seemed to do quality work, though!

I'm going to try to find more, from different years, to photograph and see if I can piece together a time line.  Sidewalk Bingo!  At the very least, it's one way to make my daily walks a bit more interesting.

The Old Neighborhood

I live on San Jose Ave. in Burbank, an area of the city that saw a lot of development in the 1940s.  My garden apartment, for instance, was built in 1947.

A few blocks down from my place are lots of small shops on Glenoaks Blvd.  Most occupy original buildings from that boom era.

While many houses and apartments have been demolished to make room for condos in recent years, it's great to see the mom-and-pop storefronts surviving.

Today on my daily walk I took along my camera to investigate 501 Glenoaks after spying this May 26, 1940 news clipping. Amazingly enough, I also found an undated photo of this exact building on the select photographs page on the Burbank Historical Society website.

Photo courtesy of the Burbank Historical Society.

While the neighborhood looks a lot different today, the building has retained much of it's original art deco flavor.  The once open-air market in now enclosed and divided into three storefronts that are currently occupied by a jeweler, a camera shop and H & R Block.

An awning covers the original sign-supporting border, once painted dual tone and now all black. 

A shoe repair and keysmith currently occupies the corner on the alley where Suzy's Home Bakery once filled the neighborhood with warm, sweet smells.  Suzy's neon sign may be long gone, but it's power source outlet is still there.

The retail space at the corner of San Jose and Glenoaks, the home of Andy's Finest Furniture for the past decade or so, is now empty.

Burbank or Bust

Earlier this month I visited the grave of our city's founding father Dr. David Burbank at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles.  Today I stopped by the Burbank Central Library to photograph his bust, which has been on display there since 1978.

Dr. David Burbank by Rick Dorary

After last night's rains the good dentist's likeness had some leaves and other thingies stuck to it, so he need some minor grooming.

The 21" bronze bust, created by artist Rick Doray, sits atop a cement structure that contains four time capsules that were sealed on July 4, 1977 by the Burbank Bicentennial Committee.  Each has separate opening dates, Independence Day 2001, 2026, 2051 and 2076.

Read about the capsule contents at WesClark.com.

Eric and Wendell

Eric and Wendell, two park bench regulars at the library, who I had a wonderful conversation with (thanks for sharing your Cheetos, guys!) told me word on the street is that when the 2001 time capsule was opened it was empty.

Another bronze sculpture of Dr. Burbank will be unveiled later this year, in slightly larger-than-life form, as the intersection of Burbank and Victory boulevards.

Created by artist Andrea Favilli, it is part of the $10-million improvement project covering 2.2 miles of Burbank Blvd. that also includes 11 landscaped medians, 401 trees and 54 benches.

See more photos of Dr. Burbank's bust on my Flickr page.

It's Easy Being Green

The theme for Burbank Reads '09 is "Live Green, Think Green, Read Green" and the month-long celebration got a truly inspired kickoff yesterday when actor and eco-conscious pioneer, Ed Begley, Jr. paid a visit to the Buena Vista branch library. 

Ed is also the author of this year's "One City, One Book" featured read, "Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life."

His book was chosen by the Burbank Public Library because, of all the books considered, it generated the most conversation among the selection committee.  Many had read it and were inspired to become more energy conscious thanks to it's practical, non-preachy approach to explaining how it's possible for everyone to become environmentally responsible on any type of budget.

The 240-page handbook offers insights about which habits and common household products contribute to pollution and energy waste, while also offering illustrated Ed-tested suggestions on how to fix these problems. Chapters cover a wide range of topics: home, transportation, recycling, energy, garden, kitchen, clothing, hair and skin care.  It also includes a workbook section to help readers plan ways to be eco-friendly and measure the positive results of the changes they make in their lifestyle.
 

Ed, who has lived his entire life in the San Fernando Valley, told an audience of more than 150 area residents that he was bringing them good news and a message of hope regarding the environment, even in the face of continued challenges of attaining cleaner air and water.

"It's a real problem," said Ed. "The media is not trying to scare you. It's real and so are the health problems associated with it."

Along the way, he reminded the audience of the importance of fact-checking and building a good working knowledge of environmental issues, calling libraries "sacred places" of learning.

"Anything I talk about here today, you can get more information on in this library through books, internet and other materials," he said. 

Ed's journey into a life dedicated to environmental activism began at age 20, in 1970, when pollution in Los Angeles was at it's peak. Fed up with the dirty air that left him out of breath, he finally said to himself, "Enough!  I'm done. I want to do something to be a part of the solution, not part of the problem."

"The most important thing I want to stress, if you hear nothing else, is that at the time I was a struggling actor. I was broke. I didn't have money to buy anything expensive. An expensive car, expensive solar panels, expensive anything," he explained. 

Lack of funds didn't deter him.  He started with "the small stuff" like  recycling, composting, changing his diet, turning down the thermostat because "it was cheap and easy."  Along the way he never went into debt, remaining fiscally responsible each step of the way and only investing in technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines and double-paned windows, once he could afford them.

He got rid of his gas-powered car and bought his first electric vehicle in 1970 for $950, a reasonable expense in that day and age.  Describing himself as "a crazy 20-year-old wanting to buy an electric car," much to his surprise and delight he found that there was "someone even crazier" out there, a guy named Dutch in Reseda, who had one to sell for the cash he had on hand.

The second most important thing he said that he learned from his earliest experiences was that he began to save money from his lifestyle changes.

"Everything I did, I did on a modest budget and in less than a year I was into profit," said Ed.  Besides saving money on utility bills by cutting down and making money recycling, he found huge savings with his electric car because it didn't require the usual expensive maintenance and electricity was cheaper than gas.

While the smog and polluted water were negative influences that changed his living habits, Ed credits his dad for being a positive one.

"My father, (Academy Award-winning actor, Ed Begley Sr.) was a conservative who liked to conserve, he was a great man," said Ed. "He lived through the Depression, a son of Irish immigrants, and although he never used the word environmentalist, he was an environmentalist.   He turned off the lights, turned off the water, all that stuff and he instilled all that in me. He also got me involved in scouting. I was a Boy Scout where I saw nature up close and personal."

To honor his father, who died a few days before the first Earth Day in 1970, Ed chose that day to begin living life anew in a way that would benefit the environment and reflect his dad's values.

"He was the kind of guy who would say, 'Eddie, never tell somebody what you're going to do: Someday I'm gonna buy me an electric car, one day I'm going to start recycling. Tell them what you've done after you've done it.'  In other words, walk the walk don't just talk the talk," he recalled with fondness.

Least you think that Ed is not above learning a thing or two about stepping up his game, he told the audience a tale on himself which involved a recent home energy assessment using infared lights and air pressure equipment that revealed his house to be an "energy sieve."

It turned out that heat and air were leaking from his house through expanses in the walls, curves going going up into the ceiling and out cracks in the floor large enough for a butter knife to fit through that went down to the crawl space.

The biggest problem they found was an overhang from an add-on from previous ownership.  Although no light or rain was getting in, air was getting out.  "I would have never seen this without this new testing equipment," said Ed. . Sealing up the overhang with $10 worth of recycled insulation resulted in his already-low energy costs being cut in half.

"Think of what we can do as a nation with these kind of home energy audits for everyone who wants one," Ed said, pointing to economic stimulus package monies from Washington as being a wise investment for such funds.

For more information on home energy audits, Ed suggested contacting Residential Energy Assessment Services (REAS) for a referral to certified auditor in your area, or to visit his website at EdBegley.com.

Today's visit with Ed Begley, Jr. was not only one of the most informative and entertaining events I've attended at the Burbank Library, it was quite inspirational.  I've already read most of his book and have had several compact flourescent light bulb moments about how I can be more pro-eco with each turn of the page.

Thanks to the Burbank Library for Going Green this year, and to Ed for being a eco-leader who "walks the walk" every day, bringing us messages of hope (with humor!) about how easy and inexpensive it can be to take better care of Mother Earth.

Start Living Like Ed!
Check one out at the library
or get your own copy here

Here's a fun clip from Ed's HGTV show, Living With Ed, featuring his lovely wife, Rachelle, and friend and fellow actor, Bradley Whitford:

Ed Begley, Sr.
~ Remembering A Son's Inspiration ~



 
San Fernando Mission Cemetery
~ Photo by Lisa Burks, 6/1/2008 ~