Events Calendar

Welcome to the Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society Calendar. We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events.

Sep
23
Wed
The History, Architecture, and Stories of Wilshire Blvd @ Virtual Zoom Event
Sep 23 @ 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Windsor Square-Hancock Park
Historical Society


Invites You to Join a FREE ZOOM Webinar

The History, Architecture, and Stories of
Wilshire Blvd

Wednesday
September 23
@5pm


Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85947603412

PLEASE RSVP
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  In July, Sharon Boorstin’s article about an architectural driving tour of Wilshire Boulevard appeared in the Los Angeles Times. But the author has much more to say than her 1000-word limit allowed. Join Sharon in a ZOOM presentation covering the history, architecture — and fascinating stories — about the street once known as then “The Fifth Avenue” of Los Angeles. Bring your own memories of Wilshire Boulevard in the past to share.

Sharon Boorstin is a contributing writer for the Los Angeles Times, specializing in lifestyle and travel. She has written for magazines including Bon Appetit, Smithsonian and Town & Country Travel.  Sharon edited guidebooks for cities including Los Angeles, New York and London, and with her husband Paul, she wrote dozens of screenplays for feature films and television including “Angel of Death” (ABC) starring Jane Seymour. Her memoir/cookbook “Let Us Eat Cake: Adventures in Food and Friendship” (Harper-Collins 2002) was a selection of the Pulpwood Queens Book Club. In 2019 Sharon won Visit California’s Eureka Award for Best Newspaper Travel Article.

Sharon’s presentation is based on a July 23, 2020 article she wrote for the Los Angeles Times: “Wilshire Boulevard Architectural Driving Tour.”   She will share the history of — and stories behind—  the important L.A. landmarks on Wilshire Boulevard between MacArthur Park and Fairfax Boulevard. Remember Bullock’s Wilshire? The Ambassador Hotel? The Wiltern Theater? Bring memories to share during a Q&A at the end.
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Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society Presents

The History, Architecture, and Stories of Wilshire Blvd.   Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85947603412 Meeting ID: 859 4760 3412
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Meeting ID: 859 4760 3412
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May
12
Wed
Judson: Innovation in Stained Glass @ Virtual Event
May 12 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Please join us on May 12, 2021 at 7pm.
Five generations of Judsons have worked with artists, architects, and designers to create Old World-style stained glass whose quality and craftsmanship has often been compared to the work of Louis Tiffany. Famed for its Craftsman glass, Judson arts-and-crafts era windows have been celebrated by experts in the field for decades. Judson’s work with Frank Lloyd Wright on Hollyhock House in the 1920s was recently re-saluted when the house was named to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list. Established in Pasadena during the heyday of the Arroyo Culture, headquarters of Judson Studios are still housed in the original Craftsman-era home and studio of patriarch William Lees Judson.

*$10 Presentation only  – Members (Pay Below with small Paypal fee)
*$15 Presentation only  – Non Members (Pay Below with small Paypal fee)
$76 Presentation and hardcover book including shipping, Member price.
$81 Presentation and hardcover book including shipping, Non-Member price.

*After your purchase you will be emailed the special presentation link by 6pm the day before the presentation and by 12pm on the day of the presentation.

Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society

And

Angel City Press

Present

Judson: Innovation in Stained Glass

by David Judson

May 12, 2021 at 7pm

JUDSON: Innovation in Stained Glass by David Judson and Steffie Nelson is a history of the world-renowned family of artisans who began crafting stained glass windows in Los Angeles in 1897.

May
26
Wed
VIRTUAL HOME TOUR 303 N. JUNE ST. @ Virtual Event
May 26 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
VIRTUAL HOME TOUR 303 N. JUNE ST. @ Virtual Event

Wednesday May 26th at 7:00 PM. A prime Hancock Park 1927 Mediterranean Revival Architectural Masterpiece has been fully renovated, restored, decorated and enhanced into its present pristine  condition by the legendary design firm of Ron Wilson Interiors and its owner, Joseph Guidera as his personal residence.  This distinctive estate has all the hallmarks of a truly unique and special property: built in the 1920s for a direct descendant of Los Angeles oldest original Spanish land grant holding families, designed for large-scale entertaining and yet with many smaller intimate personal spaces in a grand period revival style by noted architects, constructed by a local well know builder of most prestigious luxury homes of the era, and now restored to all of its former glory.

$25 Member price
(Pay Below with a small Paypal fee)*
$35 Non-member price (Pay Below with a small Paypal fee)*
*After your purchase you will be emailed the special presentation link by 6pm the day before the presentation and by 12pm on the day of the presentation.

Wednesday May 26th at 7:00 PM

The Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society

presents its first

History and Virtual Home Tour of 330 N. June Street

Featuring an interview and guided tour through this historic property by President Richard Battaglia and home owner Joseph Guidera followed by question and answer period with Mr. Guidera.

Patrick J. Watson was born in 1876 to his parents, Colonel James Alexander Watson of Scotland and Maria Dolores Dominguez on the old Manual Dominguez Rancho, which encompasses much of present day cities of Torrance, Wilmington, Compton, Carson, San Pedro and the South Bay area of Los Angeles. This was the first Spanish land grant in CA from King Carlos of Spain. Patrick Watson was the vice president of the Watson Land Co and in 1923, he sold his share of the original Rancho property to The Pan American Oil Company which was a subsidiary of the Doheny Company. In the mid-1920s, Patrick Watson & his wife, Miss Mamie O’Farrell of San Francisco, were looking to move off of the original Rancho property and decided to build a new home for themselves in the fashionable and developing area of Hancock Park.

Patrick hired the notable Architectural firm of Hunt & Burns to design his new family estate on a large double access lot located on a prominent corner in the new district of Hancock Park.  During their tenure together, Sumner P. Hunt and Silas R. Burns built some of the most beautiful buildings in the Los Angeles area including:  Automobile Club of Southern California, Headquarters – 1921-1923, Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles – 1910, The Wilshire – Ebell Club, Clubhouse – 1926-1927, Los Angeles Public Library, Vermont Square Branch – 1913, McKinley House, Lafayette Park, Los Angeles, CA – 1917, Scripps College, Claremont, CA – 1929, The Los Angeles Tennis Club – 1927 and The Wilshire Country Club – 1919.

For his new home, Patrick Watson would enlist the services of the Sweden-born master builder C.J. Nordquist who had a well-deserved reputation for building some of the grandest homes and public buildings in Los Angeles.

 

Aug
29
Sun
A GARDEN PARTY
Aug 29 @ 4:00 pm – 7:30 pm
A GARDEN PARTY

On Sunday, August 29th at 4:00 you are invited to A Garden Party at the home of June Bilgore, 355 S. Windsor Blvd, Windsor Square. It is our Annual Meeting which usually takes place in June of each year. We had to pass over 2020 because of Covid but we are now back in the swing of things. This will be our first live event since February of 2020. This year our garden party will honor Captain Shannon Paulson of the Wilshire Division Police who, after years of watching over the Hancock Park area will be moving to a higher position within the Los Angeles Police Department. Her successor will also be present to be introduced to the neighborhood.

SUNDAY AUGUST 29, 2021

355 S. WINDSOR BLVD, WINDSOR SQUARE

SOLD OUT

I am happy to announce our special guest speaker will be Alison Martino who created the online community Vintage Los Angeles. Alison has over two million followers daily being delighted by her trivia and nuances on growing up in Los Angeles. Daughter of the late popular singer and actor, Al Martino, Alison has been dubbed the “Godmother Of Los Angeles.” since her father played a prominent role in the movie, The Godfather as singer Johnny Fontane. Alison will be charming us with her colorful memories and interesting tidbits of growing up in the City Of The Angels.

For more information on Alison go to http://alisonmartino.com/

 

Price includes dinner and refreshments.

Tickets: Member Price $55.             Non-Member price $65.
SOLD OUT

Nov
10
Wed
Saving Radio City Music Hall – A Dancer’s True Story @ Virtual Event
Nov 10 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

November 10th at 7:00pm. In Saving Radio City Music Hall, published by TurningPointPress, Rosemary Novellino-Mearns reveals how Radio City Music Hall, Art Deco masterpiece and New York City’s premiere tourist attraction for generations, was saved from demolition. After years of struggling with intense, sometimes painful memories, “Rosie” tells the honest, fact-filled, emotionally charged, and often humorous story of how she organized the gargantuan effort to save Radio City Music Hall in the Spring of 1978. Against all odds, and in only four months, she succeeded. Readers will be shocked by the “no good deed goes unpunished” climax of the story in which Rosie reveals her reward for spearheading the movement to save “The Showplace of the Nation.”

*$10 Presentation only  – Members (Pay Below with small Paypal fee)
*$15 Presentation only  – Non Members (Pay Below with small Paypal fee)
Book available through Amazon

*After your purchase you will be emailed the special presentation link by 6pm the day before the presentation and by 12pm on the day of the presentation.

Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society

Presents

Saving Radio City Music Hall – A Dancer’s True Story

by Rosemary Novellino-Mearns

November 10th at 7:00pm

A modest but determined young dancer from Glen Rock, New Jersey, Rosemary Novellino joined the Radio City Music Hall Ballet Company, the classical dance counterpart to the world-famous Rockettes, in 1966. After a shaky beginning, she danced with the group for twelve years, eventually becoming its Dance Captain and Assistant to the legendary choreographer Peter Gennaro. In the mid-1970s, questionable behind-the-scenes changes in Music Hall management alarmed hundreds of employees, but no one was prepared for the official announcement in early 1978, that Radio City Music Hall was slated to close that April and be demolished.

Drawing upon formerly untapped inner strengths, Rosemary refused to let this happen. She became President of “The Showpeople’s Committee to Save Radio City Music Hall” and motivated fellow workers, friends, thousands of Radio City fans around the world, New York and national media, cultural leaders and politicians to support the cause. As a result of these efforts, the Art Deco palace was declared a National Historic Landmark. saving not only the building but the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of Music Hall employees on stage and behind the scenes who have entertained millions to this day. This “heartfelt and very personal account of that effort,” says Booklist, “provides a backstage glimpse of the drama that ensued and features a cast of characters that includes performers, politicians, the media, and some very heavy hitters in the world of New York real estate that will delight readers interested in the performing arts and their history in the U.S.”

Nov
4
Sat
A VERY SPECIAL INTERIOR TOUR OF CONSULATE GENERAL HOMES
Nov 4 @ 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
A VERY SPECIAL INTERIOR TOUR OF CONSULATE GENERAL HOMES

Saturday. November 4th 12pm to 4pm

The Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical society proudly presents our annual home tour on Saturday, November 4th from 12:00 to 4:00. This year for our home tour we have scheduled an outing which has not been attempted since 1976. Because of the stately homes in Hancock Park and Windsor Square there are a wealth of Consulate General homes. There are eleven in all but not all will be on this year’s home tour. As usual for the home tour there are a handful of stately historic houses, lunch and refreshments as well as a silent auction. Prosecco will also be served. Day of sale ticket purchases, lunch and the silent auction will be held at 355 S. Windsor Blvd. Names of the country consulates and addresses will be provided within the program at this address when attendees receive their wrist bands. Security is tight on this tour so photography and video of any interiors of the consulates is strictly forbidden.

If you have anything you would like to donate to our silent auction tax receipts are available. The Historical Society is a non-profit 501 c3. Proceeds go to the greening and improvement of various spaces in and around our area. Most recently the Historical Society donated funds for the bistro lighting above the city parking lot on Larchmont Blvd.

Day of event tickets, lunch, and silent auction will be at 355 S. Windsor Blvd.

Tickets for the Consulate Home Tour are $65 for members and $85 for non-members.

Tour Tickets Members and Non Members