Return to Linda Vista Community Hospital

Please note: The author of this blog does not encourage trespassing in any way, shape, or form.  The Linda Vista Community Hospital is currently not open to the public and is available as a filming location; visit http://www.lindavistalocation.com for more information.

This shot was originally taken during a previous visit to the Linda Vista Community Hospital, formerly the Santa Fe Coastlines Hospital.

Fifty years ago at Linda Vista Community Hospital, doctors would have been calling out to nurses for patients’ records, the nurses would have hurried to the patients’ bedsides in scrubs, and the patients might have been complaining about the obligatory tasteless hospital food.  Today, this scenario would only take place after the words “Lights, camera, action” were shouted after the snap of a clapperboard.

As promised in a previous post, another visit was paid to the Linda Vista Community Hospital in Boyle Heights (Unfortunately, the usual DSLR camera used for shooting was out of commission for the day, hence the camera phone photos).

The prior post incorrectly stated the hospital was built in 1937; it was in fact established in 1904, says Francis Kortekaas, who has managed the location for the last 20 or so years.

Originally built to service Santa Fe Railroad employees, the Santa Fe Coastlines Hospital had several construction phases in 1925, 1931, 1938, 1961 and 1966, according to the California State Parks’ Office of Historical Preservation.  The different decades’ architectural styles are evident in the building’s six floors, and a stroll through the hospital will transport visitors through time from Classic Revival to Art Deco to Streamline Modern periods.  Eventually, in 1937, it became the Linda Vista Community Hospital.

In the meantime, a couple of reposts while the gears start working

While I get back into the groove of things, here are a few of my posts originally published on CSUN Scene, a blog maintained by my fellow journalism classmates as part of a class.

Missile radar sites surround L.A. as part of the city's efforts to protect itself during the Cold War

L.A.’s “Ring of Supersonic Steel”: The City of Angel’s Cold War past can be revisited in the many missile radar bases in the surrounding mountains. This post takes a look at the radar site off Mulholland Drive.

Meet Dumbledore: A quick interview with an army vet-turned-Santa-turned-theatre actor/Hollywood Boulevard character.

Where the wild things were: In 1956, Los Angeles got a new zoo. Instead of bulldozing the old one, which had already been falling into dilapidation, they simply cleared out the cages – most of the animals had already died from malnutrition anyway – and left it there. The site of the original zoo is now a picnic area in Griffith Park.

Lincoln Heights Jail’s current (and past) inhabitants: The old prison has a rich history… The site had been used to house prisoners since the days of the Gold Rush until and was “used as a drunk tank” up until the 1960s, according to arroyoartscollective.org, and is a favorite in Hollywood as a filming location (The movie, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” shot scenes in the jail’s basement). And just like any old building with a past, it’s supposedly the home of the spirits of its past inhabitants.

Found: Art at Moorpark & Laurel Canyon: Outside a Top Thai Massage in Studio City is a makeshift art gallery.

L.A. Farmer’s Market through the pen of an artist: For two & 1/2 hours every other week, graphic artist and native Canadian Mark Kalesniko finds inspiration for his characters in the tourists and regulars that flow through the market.