Southern California’s Forgotten Wine Boom
It surprises many wine enthusiasts to learn that Southern California—not Napa or Sonoma—was the original cradle of California's commercial wine industry. Beginning in the Spanish Mission era and exploding during the 19th century, Los Angeles County was the state's dominant wine-producing region.
Bootleggers and Badges: A History of Burbank’s First Police Force
When you think of Burbank today, images of major movie studios, aviation history, and bustling Southern California commerce likely come to mind. But rewind to the early 1900s, and Burbank was a quiet agricultural community in the San Fernando Valley, lined with melon fields, orchards, and dirt roads.
Before the Freeways: The Story of Burbank’s Iconic Red Cars
Long before the Golden State Freeway cut through the San Fernando Valley, Burbank was connected to Downtown Los Angeles by one of the most advanced light-rail lines of its time: The Pacific Electric "Red Cars".
The 1959 Magnolia Boulevard Bridge time capsule
When the Magnolia Boulevard Bridge was dedicated in Burbank on February 5, 1959, city leaders sealed a small silver-plated lead time capsule behind the bridge's dedication plaque with instructions that it be opened 50 years later.
