Secrets of Los Angeles: A Guidebook to the City of Angels in the 1920s

194 Pages·2007·23.665 MB·English

by  Peter Aperlo

By Peter Aperlo
CoverArtwork—PaulCarrick
ScenarioWashes—PaulCarrick
ScenarioLineArt—MisletMichel
Maps,Plans,Scans,Photos—PeterAperlo
EditorialandLayout—CharlieKrank,LynnWillis,BadgerMcInnes
Chaosium—CharlieKrank,LynnWillis,DustinWright,&Fergie
ChaosiumInc.
2007
TheCover
LocalLosAngelesstreetartistP.Carrickcaptures
themomentasuspectedshoggothengulfs
Grauman’sChineseTheater.
SecretsofLosAngeles:A1920’sSourcebookfortheCity
oftheAngelsispublishedbyChaosium,Inc.
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oftheAngels©2007ChaosiumInc.asawhole;
allrightsreserved.
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H.P.Lovecraft
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2 SECRETS OF LOS ANGELES
Contents
INTRODUCTION ........................................5 CHAPTERFOUR:TheCoast ...........................107
MapoftheLosAngelesBasin(map) .........6-7 MalibuandPacificPalisades ...............108
WillRogers(box) .........................110
CHAPTERONE:TheRealHistoryofLosAngeles .......8
SantaMonica ............................111
Timeline(box) ............................14 Venice ...................................114
GuidetoPronunciation(box) ...............16 TonyCornero(box) .......................115
Transport.................................16 TheSouthBay ...........................122
LinesofPacificElectricRailway(map) .....18-19 L.A.Harbor&LongBeach .................123
ClimateandGeography.....................21
RaymondChandler(box) ..................126
WilliamMulholland(box) ..................22
PoliticalandSocialLife .....................22 CHAPTERFIVE:OutlyingAreas.......................127
CopsandRobbers ......................24-30
TheSanFernandoValley ...................127
1920’sLosAngelesOccupations(box).........26
EdgarRiceBurroughs(box) ................129
LosAngelesStreetNames(box) ..............28
TheSanGabrielValley.....................129
LosAngelesinDifferentEras ................29
UptonSinclair(box) ......................134
CHAPTERTWO:Downtown ...........................31 SantaCatalinaIsland ......................135
DowntownLosAngeles(map) ............32-33 Tijuana .................................136
TheGreatOilStockSwindle(box) ...........39
CHAPTERSIX:TheDreamFactory ....................137
AimeeSempleMcPherson(box) .............44
Sonoratown...............................49 TheBusinessofFilmProduction ............138
AhTom(box) .............................52 AFilmGlossary ..........................139
Chinatown ...............................55 TinseltownSins&Scandals ................141
JamesE.Davis(box) .......................55
OpiumUseandAddiction(box) .............57 CHAPTERSEVEN:AnAngelenoGrimoire.............146
LittleTokyo ...............................61
NativeCalifornianMagicandMyths .........147
A.L.KroeberandJ.P.Harrington(box) ......147
CHAPTERTHREE:TheSuburbs ........................65
MexicanBrujería .........................151
BoyleHeights&EastLosAngeles ............65
ChineseMysticism ........................154
CentralAvenue ............................68
OtherOccultTraditions ...................156
WestAdams ..............................71
EdwardL.Doheny(box) ....................74
Scenario1:TheShadowOverHollywood ............160
Westlake .................................77
Mid-Wilshire&HancockPark ...............78
Scenario2:TheBlacknessBeneath .................169
Hollywood ...............................81
CharlieChaplin(box) ......................82
Bibliography ........................................177
TheCurseonGriffithPark(box) .............90
BeverlyHills&Sawtelle .....................97
Index ................................................180
CulverCity ..............................102
LouisB.Mayer(box) ......................104
Handouts............................................182
CecilB.DeMille(box) .....................105
CONTENTS 3
DEDICATION
forSadieClare,
whosespawningandearlylarvalstage
correspondedwiththepreparationofthismanuscript.
4 SECRETS OF LOS ANGELES
W e l c o m e t o L o s A n g e l e s
Introduction
TheCityofAngels...NoburgthissideofthePearlyGatescouldliveup
tosuchamoniker,andL.A.isn’teventrying.No,youwon’tseemany
inhabitantsofthatsprawlingboomtownsproutingdownywingsorsign-
ingupfortheCelestialChoir.Sure,L.A.hasmorethanitsshareofevan-
gelists,faithhealers,andpoliticaldo-gooders,butwhenyoureconomyis
builtonblackgold,landspeculation,theHollywooddreamfactory,and
thesweatofmigrantworkers,itattractsalotmorethanjustthesaintly.
Thefresh-faced,scrubbed-clean,Midwestwholesomenesstheyplasterall
overtherealestateadsdon’ttellthestory.Youcan’thavesunshinewith-
outcastingshadows,andonethingL.A.hasinspadesissunshine....
—PeterAperlo.
LosAngelesinthe1920’swasafast-growing,fast-movingcitythatencom-
passedallthatwasgreatandallthatwasrotteninAmerica.Racial,ethnic,
andreligiousmeltingpotspresagedwhatthewholecountrywouldbecome
by the end of the century. L.A. nonetheless clung to a veneer of White
Protestantismmoreinlinewithfarm-beltstatesintheMidwest.Thenewlyrich
builtpleasurepalacesinherhillsandonherbeaches,whilerecentimmigrants
andthedescendantsofthefirsthumanswhowalkedthelandhuddledtogeth-
erinfilthyshantytowns.Theseresembledthemostsqualidpartsof theunde-
velopedworld.Philanthropistsendowedthecitywithimpressivemonuments
and dreams of a utopian society,while greedy businessmen and industrialists
crushedthelabormovementandembroiledthemselvesinscandalsthatrocked
the nation. Celebrated movie stars worked and played before the eyes of the
world,whilerumrunnersandracketeerspliedtheirtradebehindthescenesin
thelandofnoir,hand-in-handwithcrookedcopsandtwo-facedpoliticians.
Easternsophisticatesdismissedthecityasanabodeofthefrivolousandthe
nouveau riche, yet underneath it all coursed an energy at once vibrant and
unwholesome.Los Angeles was a place where anyone could reinvent himself,
and multitudes did — at a price.It was also a place where dark and blasphe-
mous secrets infested every level of society,belying the carefree and enviable
lifestyle broadcast to the world. For behind the glitz and glamour of
Tinseltown,primordial,inhuman forces and their twisted minions worked to
underminetheveryfoundationsofsanity.
Thisiswheretheinvestigatorscomein.
SecretsofLosAngelesisaninformativeresourceforkeepersshouldthetrail
ofamysteryleadtheirinvestigatorstotheSouthland,or,ifitisdesired,tobase
aCallofCthulhucampaignthere.Containedhereinarethefacts,legends,and
rumors of the people — places and events that made 1920’s Los Angeles the
excitingplaceitwas.Knowingithelpskeepersmaintainanairofrealism,and
alsoprovidesmanyjumping-offpointsforscenariosoftheirowndevising.The
informationpresentedinthissourcebookvariesfromtriviathattheinvestiga-
torswouldknowwhenfirststeppingoffthetraintosecretsknownonlytothe
highestechelonsofaliencults.Thekeeperdecideswhichiswhichandwhatlies
between.
INTRODUCTION 5
Map of the
Los Angeles
Basin
6 SECRETS OF LOS ANGELES
ChapterFivedescribesthoseoutlyingvalleysandcitieseasily
Nota bene reachablewithinaday’stravel.
ChapterSix exposes the grit under the glitter of the movie
industry, explaining the ins and outs of film production
Fromentrynumber1toTijuanaMexico,at303,mostlocation
andthestudiosystem.Italsorevealsthesometimes-dark
entries in this book represent single schools, hotels, busi-
nesses,etc.Somepartsoftownratelocalemaps,beingclose motivesanddoingsofthemoviemakersthemselves.
together.Probablymostofthelatterwillhavethesamenumber,
Chapter Seven delves into a sample of the spells, magical
exceptthatalettermaybeappendedtothenumber,asinthis
objects,andforbiddentomesthathavemadetheirwayinto
example,60-A.
thecityfromavarietyofcultures—humanandotherwise.
Cross-referencesinanentrytootherLosAngeleslocations
arefrequent:forexample,[60-A],bolded. Twoshortscenariosintroducetheinvestigatorstothetwist-
At the beginning of an entry, the location number comes ed place that is the City of Angels. They may decide for
first, then the name of the firm or agency, then its street
themselves how very ironic that nickname is. The book
address,alwaysinthatorder.Allsuchinformationisboldedat
thetopoftheentry,andtherestoftheentryisinmedium— concludeswithabibliographyandanindex.
withoneexception.Ifthebusinessoragencyis“portable”or
Readerswillnodoubtfindsomefavoritelocalemissing
“personality-based”,suchasalawyerorvoicecoach,oractor,
or assassin, the name and vocation of the professional goes from these pages, and will note gaps between the
first,initalics.Importantly,thelocationnumberfortheentryis detailedmapsof neighborhoods.Thisisamuchlarger
alwaysconsideredtobethatofthefirstboldedentryaboveit.
place than fictional Arkham. Even in the 1920’s Los
Therestofthisentryisinmedium.
Angeles was immense,necessitating choices as to what
toincludeorexclude.Withthemallyouwouldbehold-
ChapterOneisgivenovertoanhistoricalsketchofthecityand ing a volume several times the size of the Call of
thesurroundingareas,alongwithnotesontravel,thecur- Cthulhurules.RestassuredthatIhaveerredontheside
rentsocialandpoliticalclimate,andtheinfamousLAPD. of inclusion for major landmarks, and what has been
ChapterTwo details the downtown, containing the historic left out can be easily reconstructed or created using
Plaza,city government offices,and various ethnic neigh- yourimagination,withsomehelpfromthesourceslist-
borhoods.
edinthebibliography.
ChapterThreedealswiththesuburbseasttoBoyleHeights
The 1920’s were a time of unprecedented growth
andwesttoCulverCity,includinginformationonthetwo
andchangeinLosAngeles;structuresroseandfellevery
majoruniversities.
day.Keeperswhoarefastidiousabouthistoricalaccura-
Chapter Four takes us to the widely varied coastal region,
cy can pay attention to exactly when certain organiza-
from the private beaches of Malibu, to the canals and
tions,buildings,andlandmarksexisted.Everyefforthas
amusementpiersofVenice,totheindustrialcacophonyof
theharbor. beenmadetoprovideaccurateinformation.
HHuunnggrryy ffoorr aa TTaammaallee??
INTRODUCTION 7
C H A P T E R O N E
The Real History
of Los Angeles
AtthebeginningoftheCretaceousPeriod,theGreatRaceofYiththwarted
an invasion of Earth by the centipede-like Yekubians. The experience
shook the Yithians from their normally dispassionate lives and placed
themonamoresuspiciousfootingwithregardtotheotherintelligentbeings
withwhichtheysharedthisworld.Accordingly,theGreatRacesetupsentinel
stationsinfar-flungpartsoftheworldtoreportbacktoPnakotus,theircapital
in what would becomeAustralia.One of these secret sentinel stations was an
islandwrenchedfromthebottomoftheseabytheirnuclearengines.Theyhad
relocated it totheeasternedgeof the Pacific Ocean,approximately350 miles
southofpresent-dayLosAngeles.
KnownasTnok-Chrytll,thesettlementonthefloatingislandkepttabson
the activities of the mi-go to the north and the elder things to the south.
Powerfulfieldsof untoldenergiesmaskedtheislandfromdetectionbyeither
group,andindeeditsveryexistencewashiddenfromallbutafewYithiansas
well,and never recorded in their great library.When the flying polyps broke
freefromtheirprisonsandthemajorityof theGreatRacementallymigrated
into the future, a small corps of scientists and observers volunteered to stay
behindonTnok-Chrytllandcontinuetheirwork.
Allwaspeacefuluntilapproximatelytwentymillionyearsago,whenvio-
lent, undersea volcanic activity disrupted the non-detection field around
Tnok-Chrytll.Theflyingpolypscameupontheislandandswarmedtoanni-
hilatetheremnantsof theirancientfoes.TheYithians’doomwaswritlarge.
They retreated indoors to lure the multitudes of polyps in close.Then they
sprang the trap that had been prepared over the millennia for just such an
occurrence:an intense gravitational field dragged the polyps down onto the
island. When they sank Tnok-Chrytll beneath the waves, it took with it
countless thousands of flying polyps and all of the cone-shaped creatures
whichtheGreatRacetheninhabited.AfewYithianswereabletoprojecttheir
mindsintothefutureandsafety.
Sediment piled upon sediment even as the sunken island ground slowly
northontheedgeofthePacificPlate.Fivemillionyearsagoitbegantoemerge
slowlyonceagainfromtheseaasitimpactedtheNorthAmericanPlatealong
theSanAndreasFault,pushinguptheTransverseRangesoftheSantaMonica
and San Gabriel mountains.Alluvial deposits washed down from the moun-
tainscoveredthenewlyrisenplainbelow.Justunderhalf amillionyearsago,
serpentpeople—scatteredrefugeesfromLemuria—foundtheirwayintothis
basinformedbythemountains.Inthislushandidylliclandtheysoughtrespite
fromtheharshwintersravagingthenorthandsafetyfromthevengefulspears
of men. Here, in small enclaves they studied and worshiped (chiefly Yig and
Shub-Niggurath)inrelativepeace.Withpeacecamedevolution,butnotallthe
ancientlorewaslost.
8 SECRETS OF LOS ANGELES