the ruins of el segundo

my travels of late took me back to my roots in more ways than one. san polo matese to see where my grandparents were born, lived and married prior to moving to southern califronia to, and far less interesting, my educational background. a bachelors degree in urban studies with an emphasis in city planning which has gotten far less use than the time it took to get that damn piece of paper. seeing all of those old towns and cities in italy got me thinking about the city of the los angeles and how little history we as angelino’s preserve.

surfridge is our own little version of pompeii. far less considered or appreciated, and the chances of getting a guided tour are about as good as me winning our poker tournament. i drive by it nearly everyday and other than my absurd thoughts of redeveloping it as a beach colony with some crazy sound attenuation features or a hearing impaired community with an affinity for the blue butterfly, i

cant think of a better use of this prime real estate other the golf course that will never happen.

across from dockweilder beach with it’s rolling hills and ocean views it was once compared to pacific palisades. by the fifties this 470 acre cozy beach neighborhood with some 800 homes never imagined that mines airfield was going to be the cause of it's demise.  today all that remains are inaccessible worn out streets and a few abandoned lamp posts.

i can only wonder if they incorporated some spectacular architecture, remarkable cathedrals, magnificent artwork and a few brothels, surfridge may have stood a better chance. eminent domain kicks major volcanic activity’s ass very time in the south bay.

speaking of artwork, if you want to check out some really cool art, ben kelley will be showing several of his new sculptures at an upcoming show at the subliminal projects gallery. it may not be michelangelo’s david, but you don’t have to travel as far to see it.

poker is this saturday, rsvp to c.k. and j.w.