Some things never change. A repeating theme in the Archi's thus far is the fact that the Andronicus Chapter continuously welcomes brothers from all over the country who visit, transfer, or settle down in the Los Angeles Area. It's nice to see that Andronicus has always had an "open arms" policy, especially since I have been on the receiving end of one of those Andronican Hugs for the last 7 years.
If you haven't figured it out, I'm completely in love with my hometown of Los Angeles, and one of the things that I love most about it is its cultural diversity; the blurring of Mexican, African American, Korean, Armenian, Japanese, Thai, Italian, Chinese, Greek, Peruvian, Russian, and so many more cultures. It's the reason why the hottest thing in LA right now is something called the Kogi Taco, which is a Korean Barbecue on a Taco, that is served from a roving catering truck. http://kogibbq.com/
In a way, Andronicus has always been the Kogi Taco of Alpha Rho Chi, mixing their fabulous weather and excellent football with Anthemian, Daedalan, Cossutian, Satyran, and Hadrian cultures. This point is illustrated by the fact that at the Sostratus Installation last April, people from 10 different chapters were present for the festivities. Half of the active chapters were represented!
In 1923, Andronicus was visited by brothers from Iktinos, Demetrios & Mnesicles. At the time, we had 6 chapters, so percentage wise, they had us beat.
Los Angeles in 1923
The Bimini Bath's Incident...
A Curious incident at the Bimini Baths - Andronicus Pledge was injured saving a young lady at the Bimini Baths. Having never heard of it, I did a little research.
The baths were located on the western edge of LA at the time, in the area that is now considered Koreatown. The western edge of the city is now considered the ocean, which is a good 15 miles further west of this site. The photograph below is a photo of the site. The baths could be accessed easily by our brothers using the Red Car, whose tracks can be seen in the photograph. Currently very little of this site remains. (Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library)
Thanks to the LA Eco Village Blog which already did the excellent footwork on this research project. http://laecovillage.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/ride-the-streetcar-to-the-bimini-baths/The Hall of Justice...
Brother Roy Boxmeyer, Mnesicles, came to Los Angeles with the specific purpose of working on the new Los Angeles Hall of Justice. It was built as part of a massive overhaul to the Los Angeles Civic Center. In the photo below, the Hall of Justice is shown completed; the square building on the right. It is accompanied by the Los Angeles County Courthouse (center) and the Los Angeles Hall of Records, (Left) (Photo from the USC Digital Archives)
The Hall of Justice is the only 1 of these three buildings that remain. The building houses a series of courtrooms, jails and is capable of performing autopsies. It is historically known for jailing and trying notorious criminals such as Charles Manson & Sirhan Sirhan. Also it is known to have been the site of Marilyn Monroe's Autopsy. In popular culture, the building is extensively featured in television shows such as Dragnet, (which is about to get its own postage stamp), Get Smart & CHiP's.
The building was heavily damaged in the 1994 earthquake, however, it is currently undergoing extensive renovations and repairs, which is slightly visible in the current photo below. (Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library)
No comments:
Post a Comment