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Lynell George

@lynellgeorge.bsky.social
841 followers 147 following 252 posts

Journalist, Essayist, Author, Pen-and-Paper Enthusiast, Wanderer Latest book: "A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia E. Butler" Southland

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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 4h
“Nearly everyone had left for the dance floor—bursitis in their hips, plantar fasciitis in their heels, they rocked back and forth like creaky boats.” — Ann Patchett #SundaySentence
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
100%. And the dreamy Terence Blanchard score.
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Leave It for the Children: A Visual History of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra By Samuel Lamontagne and Darol Olu Kae The book traces the Arkestra’s history through photographs, album covers, posters, flyers, sheet music, newspaper clippings, film stills, and other ephemera & text Pub date: 10/20
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jeff @jazyjef.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
John Carter (1929-1991) His 5-album concept series Roots and Folklore: Episodes in the Development of American Folk Music (1982-1990), inspired by African American life, has long deserved the box set treatment. 3 of the 5 are below.
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jeff @jazyjef.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
John Carter was born in Fort Worth, Texas on this day in 1929 📸 Mark Weber, Culver City, California, August 31, 1976
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jeff @jazyjef.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Annual reminder that @lynellgeorge.bsky.social's essay on John Carter is a great read. It's in her first book, which was an important companion when i arrived in Los Angeles in the late 90s.
penguinrandomhouse.com
No Crystal Stair by Lynell George: 9780860913894 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
Buy No Crystal Stair by Lynell George from Penguin Random House
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@LAhistory @lahistory.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Spent some time exploring the #LucasMuseum library and pulled out a couple of Los Angeles titles, incl'g Eric Avila’s "Popular Culture in the Age of White Flight: Fear & Fantasy in Suburban Los Angeles" & @lynellgeorge.bsky.social's “After/Image: Los Angeles Outside the Frame.” #librarysky #booksky
A color photo of the Lucas Museum library shows the three levels of bookshelves in the library. Patrons can be seen sitting at tables looking through the various art books.
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Thank you all for stepping up for such a last-minute event at the Kennedy Center. We are so proud of all of you. 💚✊ Cheers 🍻 Raise a glass and let’s have another round tonight.
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Final few days to view two compelling exhibitions. Both present portraits from unexpected angles, depicting two major artists who shaped the 20th century landscape. “The Sound of Gordon Parks” & “A New Song: Langston Hughes in the West” at California African American Museum in Expo Park. Ends 9/13
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Goodnews @goodnews.computer · 04/09/2026
Take a break from being depressed that everything you love is being destroyed by slop for a moment and let me tell you about the beautiful symbiotic relationship between graffiti writers, train yard workers, and model train enthusiasts.
A hand holding a model train with a replica of the same graffiti on the full scale train car behind it.A model train with two graffiti pieces on opposite sides.
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Ian James @ianjames.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Earth will soon pass the 1.5-degree limit that the world's governments set as a climate target in 2015. "Humanity is speeding past the limit to avoid climate catastrophe." "Every tenth of a degree we avoid still means less damage." @borenbears.bsky.social @apnews.com www.pbs.org/newshour/amp...
pbs.org
Global warming will exceed 1.5-degree limit, UN says in report that maps path back below danger zone
In a strategic retreat in the fight against climate change, the United Nations has acknowledged that Earth has lost its chance to prevent some of the worst of global warming's harms. So now the world ...
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jeff @jazyjef.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Jazz Memorial for James Blood Ulmer Saint Peter's Church, NYC Tuesday, September 29 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM
eventbrite.com
Jazz Memorial for James Blood Ulmer
Come celebrate the life and legacy of James Blood Ulmer with stories and music at Saint Peter's Church.
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@LAhistory @lahistory.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"An intersection in #LeimertPark was dedicated Sunday as Ben Caldwell Square in honor of the independent filmmaker and educator who has spent over four decades as a fixture of Leimert Park’s arts and culture scene." @ladailynews.bsky.social: www.dailynews.com/2026/08/31/b...
dailynews.com
Ben Caldwell Square in Leimert Park honors filmmaker, educator
Caldwell was a founding member of the L.A. Rebellion, a groundbreaking movement of African American filmmakers who sought to change the image of Black people from the stereotypes prevalent in the film...
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@LAhistory @lahistory.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Love that LAPL's Octavia Lab has a small library of #OctaviaEButler books. Quote from the book by @lynellgeorge.bsky.social: “In her old neighborhood of North #Pasadena, there are no plaques or honorary pocket parks named in her honor, nothing that tells us that this was the soil of inspiration.”
The focus of this color photo is the book by Lynell George titled "a handful of earth / a handful of sky: the world of Octavia E. Butler." The Octavia Lab's open reel deck can be seen in the background.An an excerpt from the book reads: 

In her old neighborhood of North Pasadena, there are no plaques or honorary pocket parks named in her honor, nothing that tells us that this was the soil of inspiration. This isn't to say that there isn't a deep and enduring love for Butler that still exists in this corner of Pasadena amid the compact cottages and well-tended California bungalows. One of her former childhood schools has recently named its library in her honor. Residents and old friends keep her alive in stories. She was a fixture on the landscape, waiting for buses, beneath a canopy of sycamore trees, taking her brisk early morning hike up Lake Avenue, out of Pasadena into Altadena, tipping toward the majestic outline of the San Gabriels. Those mountains, on a clear day, look like a paper backdrop-a view you might, if you're not careful, push your hand through.

In 2015, I was commissioned by Julia Meltzer to create a text, a
"posthumous interview," for the L.A.-based arts nonprofit Clock-shop for a major retrospective of Butler's work and legacy.
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Mr. Curry never married and resolutely declined to discuss his private life. “I guarantee you, if it matters, that I have experienced true love, true heartbreak and everything in between, including no small amount of wreckage. .” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/m...
nytimes.com
Tim Curry, Star of ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ Dies at 80
The actor’s gift for garish eccentricity was indelibly appropriate for the outlandish, cross-dressing mad scientist Frank-N-Furter.
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Library of Congress @librarycongress.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The Library is devastated to learn of the passing of Dolly Parton, a music legend and titan of children's literacy. Her Imagination Library program has earned multiple Library Literacy Awards and, in 2018, she visited us to donate its 100 millionth book to our collection and host a story time. 🦋❤️
Dolly Parton reads to children in the Library’s Great Hall in 2018. Photo by Shawn Miller.
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City Lights Booksellers & Publishers @citylightsbooks.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
We'll always love you, Dolly Parton. RIP 1946 - 2026
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William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 25/08/2026
[Exit Queen.]
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
“When I was young, we didn’t go to the movies, so I just created my own stories…. I used to love to go to graveyards a lot. I’d read somebody’s name on their stone or see the grave of a little kid and wonder what their story was.” www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
rollingstone.com
Dolly Parton, Hardscrabble Storyteller Turned Global Entertainer, Dead at 80
Dolly Parton, country music legend, dead at 80.
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Wordle 1,889 2/6 ⬜🟨🟩🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
He added: “I don’t believe this was ever simply about ‘professional conduct’ or ‘plagiarism’ There is a profound difference between scrutiny & a sustained public campaign that turns an individual into a symbol of everything the right believes is wrong with DEI.” www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
independent.co.uk
Jason Arday told friend he ‘couldn’t go on’ in voice note hours before death
The former University of Cambridge professor was pronounced dead on Friday
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Hari Kunzru @harikunzru.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Arday found dead and a very large number of British commentators are deleting posts and videos.
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
“‘Jason was subjected to a campaign of sustained abuse’ in the years since he accepted a role at Cambridge, his family wrote in a statement. ‘The campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/w...
nytimes.com
Jason Arday, Cambridge Professor Accused of Plagiarism, Is Found Dead
Mr. Arday resigned last week after the university announced an investigation into allegations of plagiarism and fabrication.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 10/08/2026
Jackie, the bald eagle whose nest in the San Bernardino Mountains in California has been featured on a livestream watched by millions, died on Monday after weeks of intensive care. Jackie had been receiving treatment since she was attacked by other eagles last month. nyti.ms/4gokSOP
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@LAhistory @lahistory.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Sat @ 2pm: “Life Without Reservations: Growing Up at the Famed Ambassador Hotel, 1921 to 1938” at LAPL’s Central Library in #DTLA. www.lapl.org/events/life-... #LAevents
A cut-out b/w portrait of Carlyn Frank (the subject of the history talk) set against a b/w photo of the legendary Ambassador Hotel.
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
abc7.com/post/socal-e...
abc7.com
Eaton Fire was caused by SoCal Edison electrical tower, LA County Fire Department says
The deadly 2025 Eaton Fire in Los Angeles was caused by Southern California Edison equipment, fire officials say.
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
“We don’t know enough about ourselves. I think it’s better to know that you don’t know, that way you can grow with the mystery as the mystery grows in you. But, these days, of course, everybody knows everything, that’s why so many people are so lost.” James Baldwin Born #OTD 1924 📷Leslie Schenk 1949
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Carolina A. Miranda @cmonstah.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
My favorite Betye Saar quote was in a story I did in 2015 about how LA museums were then failing to engage her work. Her response: "They can’t wait and wait because then I’ll die and it’ll cost big bucks. Then they will pay for their hesitation.” Love her. www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
latimes.com
Column: Betye Saar's art on race couldn't be timelier. So why aren't more museums showing her work?
It's not for nothing that Betye Saar's traveling museum show is called "Still Tickin'."
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
As Saar’s 100th birthday approached, her work and its groundbreaking importance were celebrated…near[ing] the milestone, Saar appeared more interested in creating new art than in dissecting her legacy. “That’s what art. Making something where there was nothing.” www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
latimes.com
Betye Saar, a Los Angeles artist who transformed collections of bigoted bric-a-brac, has died
Betye Saar, a Los Angeles artist who transformed collections of bigoted bric-a-brac — Sambo dolls, ceramic mammies, and crude renderings of pickaninnies — into potent works of assemblage that mined th...
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Carolina A. Miranda @cmonstah.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Me with more Betye Saar lore, including the fact that her mural, "LA Energy" (no longer extant), makes a cameo in the apocalypse flick, "Night of the Comet."
A film still shows a pair of women wearing turquoise standing behind a wall at the base of a corporate tower. The wall features a mural of abstract geometric shapes in colores like red, orange and blue.
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Sitting with some thoughts…
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Robin Reed @robinreed.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Deep bow to Ms. Saar’s legacy. We were lucky to visit the Huntington for an Exhibit years ago, and it was the first I knew of her work. Drifting Towards Twilight is now in their permanent collection. She was a FORCE.
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 12/12/2023
I spent time behind the scenes reporting about Betye Saar’s “Drifting Toward Twilight” which incorporates an array of Saar’s signature found objects as well as flora from the Huntington’s grounds. Mysterious, layered, the piece feels like something out of antiquity. huntington.org/frontiers/be...
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Siddhartha Mitter @siddharthamitter.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Lynell George, on Betye Saar, in 2023 Amid everything else Ms. Saar was so much from and of Los Angeles -- Watts, Pasadena, Hermosa Beach, Laurel Canyon... -- and it will be good to read @lynellgeorge.bsky.social and other poets of LA on her legacy and life.
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Hagsploitated @dulcetspacecadet.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Woah that piece is incredible! Very excited to read this and dig into Saar.
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
“Over the threshold, into the dream, the light fades, and the world falls away…” Betye Saar 1926–2026 share.google/YyXrTY1eK1TC...
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
My photographs of Williams’s buildings are as much a tribute to his labor and persistence as they are a tribute to his talent. I am proud to live and work in Paul Williams’s city.” — Janna Ireland Coming in August. A new edition of Ireland’s “Regarding Paul R. Williams” from Angel City Press.
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Citizen.Coping @propcazhpm.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
In the 1930s, Gordon Parks was a young railroad porter who gathered magazines that passengers left behind and studied photographs of migrant workers taken by Farm Security Admin photographers. At 28 y.o., he bought his first camera for $12.50 at a pawnshop and taught himself how to take photos.
youtu.be
Gordon Parks interview (2000)
YouTube video by Manufacturing Intellect
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@LAhistory @lahistory.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
"It only takes one generation to lose history. What we’ve decided to do is to try and preserve the history of Chavez Ravine so that they are never forgotten. This is an archival home that you can go back to, because the residents can’t go back to their real homes," Priscilla Leiva. #ChavezRavine
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@LAhistory @lahistory.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Saul Bass also redesigned LA's RTD logo in 1980. “I viewed it as a personal project. Los Angeles is my home. We all know that #publictransportation is one of the major issues that confronts society generally—and Los Angeles in particular," #SaulBass. RTD mug via @metrolosangeles.bsky.social store:
White mug with RTD logo and stripes (red, orange and gold), designed by Saul Bass. This mug is available through Metro's online store: https://shop.metro.net/products/rtd-11-oz-mug?_pos=2&_sid=1722ed9aa&_ss=r
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@LAhistory @lahistory.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
“We’re heartened by the community response who share memories from their childhood. Their loyalty is such a beautiful part of our family business. We’re proud to be part of this legacy and want to continue this LA landmark for generations to come.” @eater.bsky.social: la.eater.com/los-angeles-...
la.eater.com
Olvera Street Is Los Angeles’s Birthplace. Right Now, It’s Empty.
The historic corridor remains at risk for becoming a Los Angeles ghost town
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Liam Dillon @liamjdillon.com · 22/07/2026
New owner of LA's downtown "Graffiti Towers" will remove the graffiti immediately but plans to memorialize it in a coffee table book. www.latimes.com/business/sto...
latimes.com
Graffiti towers set to be cleared for cleanup and sale
Work cleaning the Oceanwide Plaza skyscrapers — known informally as Graffiti Towers — will begin immediately, according to the $517-million sale agreement tentatively approved by a federal judge.
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Los Angeles Times @latimes.com · 21/07/2026
Found weak and disheveled, rescued eagle — probably Big Bear's Jackie — receiving care in Ojai
latimes.com
Found weak and disheveled, rescued eagle — probably Big Bear's Jackie — receiving care in Ojai
Found weak and disheveled along the shoreline, the raptor believed to be nest cam star Jackie is receiving care while experts investigate what caused its decline.
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Citizen.Coping @propcazhpm.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
I love it so much. Such a wonderful photo. 🍦🩷🎈 It captures their individuality and their innocence – something too often denied Black children, especially our girls.
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jeff @jazyjef.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
“King Crimson’s 21st Century Schizoid Man is said to have been inspired by Ellington’s madcap approach, especially in the latter section of the song…it’s actually not until the closing moments of the song, after the main riff has played out one last time, that the true essence of Ellington comes in”
faroutmagazine.co.uk
How Duke Ellington inspired a 1969 prog-rock classic
Never one to shy away from straying outside of his comfort zone, Duke Ellington's influence stretches far beyond the realm of jazz where he was best known.
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@LAhistory @lahistory.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
RIP to Hal Williams! In addition to articles about his acting, the Los Angeles Sentinel archive is full of #HalWilliams reports about his charity work as he emceed/participated in many local community events (incl’g several trips down the Compton Christmas parade route in the 1980s). A few examples:
LA Sentinel article (Oct 7, 1982) reads: 

TV Star Adds Spark To Dinner

Hal Williams, co-star of the CBS-TV hit series "Private Benjamin" will serve as emcee for the 15th Annual Awards Dinner sponsored by the Watts Health Foundation, Saturday, Oct. 9 at the Sheraton Plaza LaReina Hotel, 6101 W. Century Blvd. at 8:15pm

According to Dr. Clyde Oden of the Foundation, a number of community service awards will be presented in addition to employee service awards for five, 10, and 15 years service.

Honorees include Mayor Tom Bradley, Congressman Mervyn Dymally, Jim Cleaver, Executive Editor, Los Angeles Sentinel, and the Rev. Thomas Kilgore, Pastor, Second Baptist Church. Dr. Leroy Weeks of Drew Medical Center will be among those honored.”LA Sentinel article (September 3, 1987) with a grainy portrait of Hal Williams reads: 

Williams To Speak

Hal Williams of "227" will be the celebrity speaker at the First Baptist Church, 858 W. 98th St., Sunday, Sept. 13, at 4 p.m. Williams will speak at the Second Annual Back-To-School Prayer service.A grainy newspaper photo from the Los Angeles Sentinel (December 29, 1988) shows Hal Williams, Marla Gibbs, Willie Tyler holding Lester, and Reynaldo Rey at the First AME Holiday Banquet, a fundraiser to help support the church. Wish I could find a better photo of this moment.An excerpt from an article in the Los Angeles Sentinel (September 30, 1993) announces the 16th Annual Dr. Mayme Clayton Golf Classic held in the recently-demolished Royal Vista Golf Course in Walnut. Hal Williams is listed as one of the celebrity hosts, along with J.D. Hall, Anne-Marie Johnson, Carl Lumbly, Felton Perry, and Dick Anthony.
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Wordle 1,850 2/6 🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Wordle 1,847 2/6 🟩🟨⬜🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
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Lynell George @lynellgeorge.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Wonderful news!
coloradoboulevard.net
Pasadena Unified's Octavia E. Butler Library Named National Finalist for School Library of the Year Award
The library at Octavia E. Butler Magnet Middle School has earned national recognition as a finalist for the 2026 National School Library of the Year Award, one of the highest honor
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@LAhistory @lahistory.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
"The Sparkletts building, a white, Moorish Revival-style complex that served as a bottling plant for nearly 100 years, has become the city's latest historic landmark." @theeastsiderla.bsky.social: www.theeastsiderla.com/lifestyle/hi... #HighlandParkCA #historicpreservation
theeastsiderla.com
Sparkletts building approved by City Council to become historic monument
Highland Park— The Sparkletts building, a white, Moorish Revival-style complex that served as a bottling plant for nearly 100 years, has become the city's latest historic landmark.
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