Home Is Where The Heart Is

Sunday wasn’t just the Cuban Music Festival and the earthquake. Wedged between the two was a visit to the Heritage Square Museum and the Lummis Home and Garden, both in Los Angeles. These diverse adventures made me feel like I was ping-ponging around a multi-cultural world all in one day.

The Heritage Square Museum was established in 1969 as a living history museum showcasing the development of Southern California Victorian mansions. These mansions were moved from their original locations into the Heritage Square and are open to the public. The museum docents are dressed in period costume, and there are woodcarving and blacksmith demonstrations along with antique cars, and original photographs highlighting the history of our beloved Los Angeles, a Los Angeles not solely centered around the myth of “Hollywood.”

Here are photos I took of two of the homes:



The next stop on this multi-cultural adventure was a jaunt around the corner from the Heritage Square Museum to the Lummis Home and Garden, a turn of the century home built over a twelve-year period by hand by Charles Fletcher Lummis from stones he pulled from the arroyo.

Who the hell is Charles Fletcher Lummis you ask? He was an early activist, author, anthropologist, photographer, and civic booster. Additionally he founded the Southwest Museum and was the first city editor of the Los Angeles Times. He was the original multi-tasker for sure.

Here’s a picture of the Lummis House:


All I can say is Sunday was certainly a fun day.

Comments

Michael:

Great post on Heritage Square last year. As a lover of history, I thought you should know that LA Heritage Day is right around the corner. We've got over 75 history organizations coming out to say "history is important, too!"

Check out the complete list at heritagesquare.blogspot.com