A Tale of Two Rivers: Los Angeles and San Antonio Trudi Sandmeier 00:00Today on Save As: Leslie Dinkin 00:01What I really liked about the L.A. River, I guess, is that it doesn’t pretend to be anything else, you know. It…
Tag: Los Angeles
Beyond the Stage: Uncovering Drag Culture in Los Angeles
Drag performances have long been a draw for audiences in L.A., though often held “underground” because of threats of persecution. In addition to its entertainment history, drag has had a role in affirming and protecting gender identity. Architect and recent graduate Jesús (Chuy) Barba Bonilla researched this history for his master’s thesis, Drag Culture of Los Angeles: Intangible Heritage through Ephemeral Places. In this episode, Willa Seidenberg chats with Chuy about how he chose this topic and why it matters within and beyond the LGBTQ+ community. He delves into the challenges of researching drag’s hidden and erased heritage and the vital need to uncover, document, and share these stories.
[Update] Meet you at Lenchita’s Cindy OlnickHello, Save As listeners, this is Cindy Olnick here, and we are very excited to bring you a brief update on a very important topic that we covered in the very first season. We…
[Update] Heritage and Hope at the Mafundi Building in Watts
After the Watts Rebellion of 1965, Black architects Art Silvers and Robert Kennard designed a Late Modern building for the Mafundi Institute, a cultural organization. The Watts Happening Cultural Center opened in 1970 as a place of creative expression, community, and healing. The popular Watts Coffee House has called the building home for decades. Now commonly called the Mafundi Building, this neighborhood treasure needs some TLC and new programming by and for the community.
We featured the Mafundi Building in Season 1, when it faced demolition and USC Materials Conservation students used it as their case study. MHC alum Rita Cofield, a lifelong community member and longtime champion of the building, joined us for the first episode. Now executive director of Friends at Mafundi and Project Leader of the Getty’s African American Historic Places Los Angeles initiative, Rita returns with an update on exciting developments. We follow the update with the original episode. This is a long one, but stick with it—you’ll be glad you did.
| The original episode was dedicated to the memory of Jerome Robinson—scholar, MHC alumnus, and friend—pictured at Disneyland Paris in 2017 with Save As co-host Trudi Sandmeier. |  |
[Update] Bunker Hill Refrain: Resurrecting a Lost Community
From 1930s census cards to virtual reality, the Bunker Hill Refrain project just keeps getting cooler. This multi-year effort is using data to reimagine downtown L.A.’s Bunker Hill—a historic, vibrant neighborhood razed in the urban renewal/removal of the 1950s. Dr. Meredith Drake Reitan offers an update on the project, which is digitally rebuilding the neighborhood block by block. Hear the latest on this great partnership to illuminate the social cost of urban renewal, inform more thoughtful planning going forward, perhaps even reconnect the community. Then hear the original episode from Season 1!
Mysteries of Modernism at Schindler’s Buck House Cindy Olnick Today on Save As: Sam Malnati I came from a background of not knowing anything about materials, so it was really cool to be able to look at peeling paint or…
Legacy Businesses in Immigrant Neighborhoods Trudi Sandmeier 00:00Today on Save As … Xiaoling Fang 00:02These small places might not look fancy or unique or iconic from outside, but it’s such an important pinch point for the community. Trudi Sandmeier 00:12Welcome to Save As:…
The Postwar L.A. of Gin Wong Trudi Sandmeier 0:00Today on Save As. Nirali Sheth 0:01He just always look towards the future and if you see his interviews he always said that my most favorite building is the next one. Trudi…