LOS ANGELES HISTORY OF RESTAURANTS & BARS (SAN FRANCISCO, SAN DIEGO, LAS VEGAS, PHOENIX, BALTIMORE, DENVER, WASHINGTON D.C. AND DALLAS/FORT WORTH AS WELL)

"LOS ANGELES TIME MACHINES"

History of Los Angeles Metropolitan historic restaurants and historic bars from the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s with a description of their history - places like the Brown Derby Restaurant,  Musso and Frank's Restaurant, the La Dolce Vita Restaurant, Miceli's Italian Restaurant and Canter's Deli - this website concentrates on the history of those bastions of a bygone era (note I have ulterior motives for over using the words history and historic - the things ya gotta do in the modern world!). Get ready to enter history and take a trip back in time. By clicking on the hyperlinks at the bottom of the page (I know it's a mess - the joys of Microsoft discontinuing FrontPage), you will find charts of restaurants and bars in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and beyond (I like to call it Las Sangeles - Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco and towns in between -Dallas, Denver, Baltimore and D.C. restaurant history included too!) which were built before 1970, still exist (except for my extinct restaurant page) and still have elements of the original interior design (or at least look like they are original). There are a lot of excellent websites that concentrate on the history of specific restaurants like the Brown Derby Restaurant. However, I’m not sure there are any that concentrate solely on the history of pre-70s bars and restaurants in general with original, not overly remodeled interiors (yeah - even us married guys can be into interior design!). These are the places I call "time machines".  Using this guide you can still spend an entire week in California at restaurants, bars, movies, shopping etc. and in effect not leave the 1940s (you could have spent the exact same week back then - well, maybe a little less traffic!). You can also explore the historic mysteries of Los Angeles' dark side: Did Elizabeth Short (the Black Dahlia) live in the Alto Nido apartments? Where did Sharon Tate have her last meal? Does Hollywoodland still exist? Where did Raymond Chandler hang out? Is the Queen Mary haunted? Where was the last restaurant James Dean ate at before his crash.  These and other historic questions and more are answered by exploring this site. If you want to pretend you are in the middle of a "film noir" classic (or maybe your life, like mine, is something out of a film noir!), there is no better site in the world to find the places do this.

NEWS FLASH!!! REGARDING MUSSO & FRANK'S - Under the newly consolidated leadership of the Jones/Mosso family there are exciting new developments at Musso and Frank Grill (Musso and Frank's) - at night they have instituted new lighting in the bar ("new room") area that is a vast improvement (very Raymond Chandleresque ambiance! Hey - he may be still going to his old hang in one form or another) and the bar is now open on Friday and Saturday nights until 2am.  Period appropriate music is played through their new sound system (very subtle ambiance appropriate - like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington).  This scene beats any of the over priced generic "upscale" clubs in Hollywood or elsewhere - so get over there and support the cause!  If you don't believe me check out MAD MEN on AMC - Season one, episode seven.   Bartending great "Ruben Rueda" is staying up late at Musso's waiting for you. Tell 'em Jonathon sent you!  Hipsters, Gen X'ers and even un-labled youth in general - you're going to love this place and no - you don't need a tuxedo or even a tie and jacket!

Check out my new Antelope Valley, Denver and Dallas and Fort Worth pages.  To do so you have to go to my new website (very much under construction - www.oldschoolla.com) click here for Antelope Valley click here for Dallas.  click here for Denver. When "Old School LA" is all done (which is looking like never at present), you will see much improved photos (and heaven help us perhaps even the navigation buttons will return!).  Also check out the new page on the Ambassador Hotel destruction - click here

[The Musso and Frank Grill ("Musso's " or "Musso and Frank's"- Interior wise perhaps the best of time machines anywhere.  This place has an unparalleled history involving writers like Faulkner, Fitzgerald and Chandler, as well as a story behind almost every table and booth for movie and television stars like Charlie Chaplin and Raymond Burr (as well as those greats who are still with us and still eat here).  While locals cherish this place, tourist should realize that this should be the number one Hollywood attraction for real Hollywood history (and great food as well!).]

What is a time machine? Well, on this site it has nothing to do with H.G. Wells of course. For me the real time machine is a restaurant, hotel, bar or other building interior where you can sit and feel like you’ve returned to the past. It’s sort of like when you hear an old tune that brings you back to an earlier time in your life (although the best time machines for me bring me to a time before I was born). Sitting in these places, one has the illusion of going back in history to a time gone by when life had a slower pace, people cared about quality and integrity, a person's "word" was good as gold and life’s pleasures were more simple and innocent.

[Hollywood's Best Kept Secret - Manuel "Manny" Aguirre - one of the world's greatest bartenders and repeated award winner for the best Martini -  If you stop by the Musso and Frank Grill between 1:00PM and 5:00PM or so you can hear wonderful Hollywood anecdotes and stories and receive unparalleled personal service from the "Bartender to the Stars" - this is as personal a "living Hollywood history" as you will ever experience for the price of a drink!  Tell him "Jonathon sent you" - I promise he won't hold it against you.  For more on Manny Aguirre - see my great restaurateur page]

Los Angeles (Las Sangeles in general) is full of wonderful time machines of this nature, although they are vanishing at an alarming rate. Our history is disappearing.  In the thirty years I’ve lived in or near Southern California, we’ve lost the Hollywood Brown Derby Restaurant, Nickodell’s restaurant, Chasen’s Restaurant, Vickman’s restaurant, C.C. Brown’s, most of the movie palaces and the list goes on and on. In even earlier times, the destruction of our pop culture history in Los Angeles was constant. For example, there are no longer any traces of the original (first) Café Trocadero and Mocambo on the Sunset Strip. Surprisingly, however, there are still a wealth of old school bars and restaurants left (and some I have yet to discover). The more interest we can collectively generate in these historic bars and restaurants (and patronize), the more likely the rate of destruction will at least slow.

A fan of the site who goes by "Buck Shot" was nice enough to make a Google map of most of the places in Los Angeles on this site.  Click here for the map. And if that were not enough here is another map of the time machines on this site by Nathan S.  Click here  NEW!!!! - Check out my google map for Los Angeles MAD MEN bars, restaurants - the actual filming locations, locales, sites, sets - whatever you call them. Click here .  I'm just a fan of the TV show.  "MAD MEN" is the copyrighted name of the AMC TV SHOW.  Neither latimemachines.com nor my locations map is in anyway affiliated or approved by the "MAD MEN" TV show or AMC TV.

Browsing through all the pages of this site (which would probably take you the better part of day!) you will find places associated with all the great characters of Los Angeles' past and present - famous, notorious or obscure, good or evil, past and present, great or mediocre, such as Mickey Cohen, Charles "Hank" Bukowski, Raymond Chandler, Chet Baker, Elvis Presley, Sid Grauman, Marcel Lamaze, Howard Hughes, Clifford Clinton,  Fred MacMurray,  Frank Bowers, Joseph Musso, Bob Cobb, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, Elizabeth Short, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Aimee Semple McPherson, Frank Lloyd Wright, Wayne McAllister, Shawn Hausman, Frank Gehry, C.E. Toberman, Eddie Brandstatter, Fermin "Frank" Toulet, Bert Rovere, Paul Perrot, Jack Nicholson, Charlie Chaplin, David Hockney, Nathaniel West, Jim Morrison, Jack Webb, Baron Long, Patsy D'Amore, Frank Sinatra, Julius "Groucho" Marx, James Dean, Martin I. Townsend and so many more.  They are mentioned here in this site, associated with some bar, restaurant, hotel or building.

[Ruben Castro - one of Beverly Hill's greatest living maitre d's - he will make you feel like a King or President (as he has done for real royalty and presidents) from the minute you walk through the doors of La Dolce Vita - ask him about the time he turned down a gift of a Rolls Royce from Frank Sinatra.  As a Bohemian who used to fear Beverly Hills, I can personally assure you  that Ruben will shatter any such phobia.  It's time for the present generation to start experiencing this world of integrity, true quality and relaxing elegance.  Dress like you are going to a nice club and discover what you are missing going to generic "upscale" corporate spots - for more on Ruben Castro - see my great restaurateur page]

RATINGS - For better or worse, I thought it might be nice to institute a "time machine" rating for each place I mention. I give them from one to five "T's" (for "Time Machine") based on my purely subjective guess as to how much of the historic, original interior design remains (except for those historic recreations that really work, like the "El Capitan" movie palace). The number of T's has nothing to do with the quality of the food or drinks, or even how nice the ambiance or restaurant in general is. It just reflects how well preserved the original interior is. A place with a one or even "no" T rating may be a perfectly wonderful restaurant or bar, but it's almost totally remodeled . With that, we're off!!

If you see someone like Martin I. Townsend ("I told you so") eating in a Hollywood restaurant, it's really poor form to ask for an autograph!  Everyone deserves to eat in peace. If he's sitting at a bar and not surrounded by an entourage, then maybe...

FREE IDEA FOR A NEW RESTAURANT OR BAR! Why is it that it is so hard to have a genuine, interactive cross-cultural experience in the world's greatest melting pot - Los Angeles? Yes, with a lot of work you can assimilate yourself into another culture by joining a church, signing up for groups, hanging out over the long term in certain places. But if a person simply wants a night out to interact with people from other countries and cultures, maybe try out one's broken Korean, Spanish or Russian with a friendly person, sing a song they know in French, get a personal explanation of how to eat with a spoon and fork in Thailand, etc. where do you go?  In most ethnic restaurants you are lucky to get a smile from a hurried waiter.  Why not a restaurant or bar specifically designed to be cross-culture friendly.  Have an ultra friendly staff of waiters from many different countries that are willing to teach you a few words in their language or explain their country's cuisine or how to eat their food.  Have changing dishes from the countries represented by the staff.  It is easy enough to have karaoke in ten different languages - foster a clientele from all over the world.  There must be some way to design a friendly, inviting cross-cultural experience in a city that oozes world cultures.  Maybe a sort of Museum/gallery/food/art/bookstore and drink mix. Singing, dancing, music and art from many of Los Angeles's world cultures.  I think it would be a big success!  If one exists out there anywhere in the U.S., please let me know. There must be some interest in world's cultures interacting in Los Angeles!

CRUZ'S BRIDAL & TUX - Hey - if you think Manny Aguirre provides wonderful service as a bartender at Musso's - just imagine the family business run by his daughter in Santa Clarita, CA! Cruz's Bridal & Tux has everything you need for that elegant wedding you've been dreaming of!  Open Tues 10-7 Wed 10-6 Thu 10-8 Fri 10-4 Sat 10-5 Closed Sunday and Monday.  28100 Bouquet Cyn. Rd. Suite #205, Santa Clarita, CA   91350 phone: 661 263 2990  www.cruzsbridal.com  cruzsbridal@sbcglobal.net . This is not a paid ad (there are NONE on this site) - just an enthusiastic recommendation!