An excellent website, CreepyLA.com asked me to write something about Haunted Hollywood Restaurants….

http://creepyla.com/blog/2012/10/16/dining-with-the-devil-haunted-hollywood-restaurants/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CreepyLA+%28Creepy+Los+Angeles%29

October 20, 2012

A few years ago Moonshadows hit the headlines in the worst way. It was the bar that actor Mel Gibson had been drinking in before he was stopped on suspicion of DUI (driving under the influence) and launched an anti-Semitic tirade at his arresting Police officer. The following media storm ran for what seemed like weeks on end and, unsurprisingly, having been on the receiving end of some very negative publicity, Moonshadows still weren’t keen to talk to journalists or researchers: an employee named Allesandro gave me a “definitely not – one hundred percent” reply when I called.

That’s a shame, because the ocean view here is spectacular, and their Blue Lounge has an excellent reputation for drawing in DJs to provide a soundtrack for the sunset – and into the night. It’s very much about champagne, steak and seafood here, so expect to see the young and beautiful, the rich and successful and the hippest of Hollywood (with prices to match).

It has been reported that the foggy image of a ghost appears in the mirror in the men’s restroom here, while in the women’s bathroom taps tend to suddenly turn themselves on, but there’s no archival evidence of anything unusual here. But if you are here and you visit the bathroom, be ready – just in case – for a watery surprise!

October 20, 2012

Right by the beach in Santa Monica, the art deco stylings of the Shangri-La Hotel have been drawing crowds since the 1940s. Standing on the corner of Ocean/Arizona Avenues, its opening was announced in the Los Angeles Times on April 21, 1940 and noted that architect William E. Forster’s “streamline moderne” design had contributed to the $380,000 cost.

The name “Shangri-La” was inspired by the fictional mountain paradise described in James Hamilton’s novel Lost Horizon and it’s been a hideaway for celebrities ever since (Madonna and Sean Penn courted here back in the 1980s).

Texas oil and cattle baron Frank A. Gillespie was the man behind what was originally the Shangri-La Apartments, and this was his regular summer home every year up until he died here on July 5, 1950. Next day the Los Angeles Times reported that he had “arrived on the Coast just nine days before his death”.

It had served as an army barracks during World War II, and then in 1962 it was listed as one of several nuclear fallout shelters, and was classified as being able to accommodate 66 people. The Cuban missile crisis had bought the world to the brink of war in October that year, and after President John F. Kennedy’s announcement of quarantine on Cuba the Los Angeles Times of October 25 noted that local Civil Defense offices had been receiving “a continuous flood of enquiries”.

Emergency supplies, air raid siren testing and radio announcements suddenly became part of everyday life, and emergency supplies including powdered food and biscuits, water and radiological equipment were “filled out and mailed” to several addresses, including 1301 Ocean Avenue.

There were no strange or mysterious stories in the archives, and Kris Ferraro of the hotel’s PR team was “sorry to say” that he asked around and couldn’t find any stories either, though he did mention the basement/former fall-out shelter, which now houses a kitchen, conference room and an office:

“It is spooky down there. It’s like being in the bowels of a ship, it’s so big and deep.”

The Shangri-La recently underwent a glamorous $30 million renovation, but when you visit, make sure you take a trip on the original freight elevator (the one on the right in the hall) to the rooftop bar, Suite 700. Lined with art deco mirrors, the patio outside allows you to take in the amazing view of the 101 year old Santa Monica Pier, the Pacific Ocean and beyond.

If you want to eat, take a seat in one of the swiveling barrel-shaped chairs in the small, club-like restaurant The Dining Room. Art deco in style, the restaurant serves delicious comfort food and has ingredients bought fresh from the local Farmer’s Market. Recommendations include the truffled duck empanada, the sirloin burger, or any of the flat breads. Also, the side of mac and cheese is made with Fat Tire ale, one of my favorites.

October 20, 2012

It’s only available for events and filming now, but there’s definitely a suicidal history here…

Built in 1925 as Lodge #99 for the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (check out the brass elk antlers embedded in the clock above the entry), this magnificent neo-gothic building was designed by art deco architect Claud Beelman and stands guard over MacArthur Park.

When The Elks sold the building, it was converted into a hotel: at the time this area was known as the glamorous “Champs Élysées of Los Angeles”, and the hotel ballroom, grand lobby and swimming pool (which hosted a number of swimming events in the 1932 Olympics) was a magnet for vacationers and visitors alike.

Many of them took a walk in Westlake Park (which was re-named MacArthur Park in 1942), though over the last few decades it became more associated with gangs than glitz, and despite being awarded Historic-Cultural Monument status in 1983 the Park Plaza closed its doors to paying guests around 10 years ago. The park has Historic-Cultural Monument status too, and is worth visiting – during the day at least – if only to see the lake and its huge fountain on the southern side (the park is divided in two by Wilshire Boulevard).

Staff had no spooky stories of the hotel to tell me, but a search of the Los Angeles Times archives confirmed things from when it was the Lodge; there were two suicides here. The September 19, 1940 issue reported that Adolph Frankel, 61, shot himself in the head, dying later in hospital. He was due to face trial on forgery charges and the paper printed part of his suicide note:

“This is the only way out. I’m glad to do it for my loved ones. I’d do it for my country anytime, why not now?”

Secondly, the June 30, 1941 issue reported that regular sunbather Frances J. Cook, 55, “rolled” off the ledge of the 11th floor, plunging 135 feet to his death. He had recently suffered a nervous breakdown and only recently been released from a sanitarium. Police found a note in his pocket that read in part:

“Ethel is the best wife a man ever had.”

Today a huge revitalization effort is underway in and around the park (surveillance cameras, a Metro station, the return of the paddle boats, free concerts and community festivals) and while the upper floors of the Park Plaza Hotel are currently bare concrete, the owners are looking to return the hotel to its glory days – but when that will be, no one can say for sure.

October 18, 2012

In June 1979, a bar “with a magical theme” opened in Santa Monica. It was called Merlin McFly’s and was notable for its décor: nine stained glass windows depicting Merlin, Aladdin, Houdini, a fire eater (below) and other notable names from the history of magic and sorcery. It was part of a chain of bar/grills across California, the other “family members” – Maxwell, Maestro, Maggie, Sly and Sky – also offering imaginative décor (heavy on the stained glass windows of course) and definitely looking to entertain their customers.

A Merlin McFly’s advertisement promised it was a place of “madness, magic and friendly spirits” and that their menu offered the delights of their “mystic burgers” and “wizard ribs”. “Fun is the password” said another in 1984, which had a hand-drawn picture of “P. Eye McFly” and report of the “The Great Restaurant Mystery”, an “investigation” into the McFly’s family tree and their restaurants.

By that time though, Merlin McFly’s was having some trouble. There were local problems with drug dealing, the city of Santa Monica had an ancient licensing rule about “Dance Halls” that meant McFly’s theoretically had to impose a cover charge, and then there was the issue that hit many singles bars very hard: the rising awareness and fear of HIV and AIDS.

When the bar closed, there were dozens of calls when it was announced that the windows would be on sale – at a price of $325,000. Steve Spill at the nearby Magicopolis magic theater bought the windows a year or two later and then sold them to a collector who put them in a stained glass museum in Washington, DC.

Today, Sly McFly’s in Monterey is the only one left, and their website’s amusing “story” of aspiring race car driver Sly mentions how he finished second at the Trophy Race in Ulster – a connection to Finn McCool’s Irish Bar, which is owned by Belfast-born Geraldine Gilliland and is now at that spot on Main Street.

Geraldine wears funky glasses and has long, red hair, and originally started out working at a restaurant in her native Northern Ireland. She grew up during the early days of “The Troubles” – “I used to fall to the kitchen floor when the bombs started going off” – and like many others she moved away, eventually finding herself in Los Angeles:

“I found LA very exotic – they spoke a different language, even though it was English! It was very scary actually – I didn’t know anyone at all, (but) I fell in love with Santa Monica after I drove from New York. When I saw the beach I cashed in my Greyhound bus ticket and my return ticket to Ireland too.”

As soon as she arrived, she started working over the grill and has continued ever since. Gilliland’s Cafe opened its doors in 1984, and she began her own catering company soon after. It was an immediate success, providing Christmas puddings to Bloomingdales, Dean & Deluca and Balducci’s in New York, but it was her mix of California and Irish cuisines that really established Gerri’s reputation on a national scale.

The cantina-style Lula Cocina was next in 1991, and 1994 saw Jake and Annie’s American-Irish Café, which eventually become Finn McCool’s and officially opened under this name a few days before St. Patrick’s Day in 2002.

As for any ghosts or strange stories, Spill hadn’t ever heard anything about Merlin McFly’s, but Gilliland – who has now been here for nearly 20 years – had:

“There were ghosts in the bathrooms. It was said that every time you washed your hands and looked in the mirror, an apparition appeared.”

The bathrooms at Finn McCool’s are in the same place as they were when Merlin was weaving his spells, but after emailing John Forbes at Bonny Doon Art Glass I found out exactly where the ghosts came from:

“The bathrooms had special effects in them; the mirrors were one-way and when the lights in the bathroom dimmed, the light behind the mirror came on illuminating the figure of the “ghost”. It made for startling looks on people’s faces as they saw the ghost figure appearing in the mirror!”

There was no further archival evidence of any strange events or stories here, so it seems that since this ghostly story has an earthly explanation, you’re safe in the smallest room. Still, it’s kind of a shame that the “ghost” special effect isn’t there anymore.

Forbes also recalled the Merlin stained glass image:

“The back bar had a stained glass image of Merlin and at midnight lasers would turn on, shooting red beams across the room – it looked pretty cool as it pierced through the drifting smoke. Wow, that took me back! Merlin’s was a really fun project, a lot of creative energy.”

Bathrooms aside, Finn’s certainly feels far more welcoming than a chain “Irish” pub. Not only is everyone working behind the bar from the Emerald Isle, it’s literally the same pub Geraldine has been pulling pints in since she was 10 years old.

Back then it was called Flynn’s Corner House and was in a small village near Newry, County Down. When her stepfather retired, Gilliland had the teak bar and its furniture shipped piece-by-piece to America via the Panama Canal, then re-named it after the legendary Irish giant.

If you’ve just spent a day on the beach and fancy a great pint of Guinness (or one of their 75 whiskies) then “Finn’s” is the place. From the menu you can try some traditional “fayre” like Irish Stew, fish and chips in a “newspaper” wrapper (just like the old days) or several dishes that take an unusual twist on some Irish/California favorites: Celtic Quesadillas, Galway Wings and Finn’s Blarney Skins (the Blarney Skins feature real Irish bacon, which is leaner and less salty). There are also mini-Yorkshire Puddings with a topping of roast beef available as a “Wee Bite” – I’ll leave you to figure out what they are!

One of the most popular dishes here is boxty, an Irish potato pancake that comes with delicious fillings like seafood, chicken, beef or curried vegetable (perfect for brunch). Add in a basket of soda bread and you have a real taste of Ireland (and of course there’s traditional Irish music and dancing too).

October 13, 2012

Tunnels came up often during my research. Whether it was discreet tunnels to bars or houses, tunnels used for prohibition or smuggling prostitutes or just tunnels where strange and murderous things were supposed to have happened, I was often asked: “Have you heard about the tunnel?”

Many of them were imaginary, but some did exist….

One of the many stories about the Wizard of Oz “munchkins” actors who stayed here during filming is the idea of a “secret tunnel” built to usher them to their set at Culver Studios. Milena Aalunni, who runs Private Events, Catering and Filming, noted:

“I was working downstairs at the bar/front desk area when a group of people came in and asked about the basement. They were paranormal enthusiasts, and they had heard about a secret tunnel that leads from the hotel to the studios.”

Amazingly, while many studios, bars and even restaurants do have large “tunnels” that are in fact utility ducts, this Culver Hotel one actually did exist (sort of); it was a pathway for pedestrians to cross the busy boulevard to the Culver Studios:

“We found out from a local fireman whose family has been working and living in Culver City for decades that the tunnel was indeed there at one point, but was filled in the late 1970s.”

October 8, 2012

I finally went for a drink at Tom Bergin’s recently; they’d been closed for what seemed like an eternity for renovations…

No matter where in the world you go, there seems to be an Irish pub. In Los Angeles they’re a little thinner on the ground – the Irish/American population is very spread out here – but Tom Bergin’s, which looks like a quaint old cottage, is one of the most famous Irish pubs in America. One of the oldest continually-operating bars in L.A. (until those renovations anyway), lawyer Tom Bergin first opened the doors of “Tom Bergin’s Old Horse Shoe Tavern and Thoroughbred Club” (his uncle had a tavern with the same name in Boston) on February 12, 1936.

Over the years the “Thoroughbred Club” and then “Horse Shoe” were dropped from the name, though the horseshoe-shaped bar is still here. It was considered such an important part of the place that during the move from its original location a few blocks away in 1949, some of the loyal patrons carried it themselves, to make sure things carried on the way they liked it.

Tom Bergin’s also made an everlasting contribution to television when the look and the atmosphere (allegedly) inspired Les and Glen Charles to create the comedy “Cheers”. The early series character of “Coach” in “Cheers” was modeled on head bartender Chris Doyle, who usually works Friday daytime (and you can also see him in the Ben Stiller/Drew Barrymore movie The Duplex, which filmed in here).

The idea of a bar “where everybody knows your name” probably came from all the shamrocks with customer names on them that plaster the walls. In fact, even though this is the home of the Oscars, getting your own hand-painted shamrock in Tom Bergin’s is right up there as the biggest honor in town: only 7000 or so (including Cary Grant, Ronald Reagan and Keifer Sutherland) have been selected since the tradition began in 1950.

Tales of banshees, giants, leprechauns and fairies are everywhere in Ireland, and there were online stories of a couple of ghosts in this little piece of the Emerald Isle: the figure of a woman walking through the bar and then disappearing, and a mysterious man standing by the fireplace in the restaurant in the back area. Talking by phone from Tom Bergin’s, former owner and current consultant T.K. Vodrey (“the K stands for Kelly”) laughed these off:

“I was the owner since 1973 and I’ve never heard any stories or seen any ghosts, though we have had a horse in the bar.”

This strange sight really did occur on St. Patrick’s Day 1978 when an Irish coffee-drinking horse trotted up to the bar to help promote the movie Casey’s Shadow, a tale about a no-hoper horse who becomes a drag-racing champion.

My advice? Try their famous Irish coffee. Last St. Patrick’s Day they served over 5,000 and the old “House of Irish Coffee” sign outside stakes a claim to be the first place in America that served the warming combo of whisky, coffee, cream and sugar. You can get a proper pint of Guinness here too (drinkers will know what that means), there’s a daily Happy Hour from 4-7pm, and if you’re hungry, go into the small back alcove and try to snag Cary Grant’s favorite booth or walk on to the Dining Room with its high ceiling and that notable fireplace.

One of my favorite stories that didn’t quite make the cut for the book – you can imagine what the newspapers looked like….

In January 1931 there was the stunning report of the “Red-Haired Bandit Queen”, Lucille Walker, a 19 or 23 year old (both ages were reported) who was the leader of a gang suspected of committing around 30 robberies across town – including two at the Gaylord.

Speaking openly from her cell, the naturally blond “Queen of Crooks” talked about using red and brown wigs and claimed she had profited little from her crimes – though she had sent $2000 to her mother. As for her arrest, that “was just a tough break”.

At her trial however, she told a different story. Accused alongside Otis Boyd Saunders and Alexander MacKay, she now insisted that MacKay had threatened to kill her and her mother if she didn’t cooperate in the banditry.

MacKay and Saunders had both turned State’s evidence, and though MacKay exonerated her from responsibility in one of the three robberies they were charged with, a guilty verdict was pronounced on her after just 20 minutes deliberation by the Jury. Mastermind or innocent? Either way, the Judge unusually allowed her to apply for the possibility of probation.

October 8, 2012

A pricey, busy restaurant in Chinatown, the Plum Tree Inn moved here after many years on Hill Street, despite suspicions locally that their new address was cursed (or so online research claimed). Every previous business here had apparently failed (Club Brazil in the 1940s, the Golden Palace Restaurant in the 1980s, and there were others too).

Online reports noted there had been a gang killing at this location “some 35 years” ago when it was known as the Golden Palace, and archive research did unearth a gangland massacre at the similarly-named Golden Dragon in 1977 – except that it was Chinatown in San Francisco. There was another restaurant at this address – the New Grand East – which suffered from some bad luck (a sudden and devastating fire in 1963), and was later linked to a bizarre murder, when the elderly former co-owner was killed during an apparent home invasion robbery on 31st October Halloween 1974.

Coming downstairs when he heard his wife cry out, he was shot by one of a trio of people who were wearing Halloween masks (including Frankenstein and a werewolf) as a deadly disguise. Disturbingly of all, the killing seemed to have been carried out by children – or small adults. The owner’s wife said they were all shorter than her; she was 5’1 and they were estimated to be around 4’6. The Los Angeles Times dubbed them the “Trick-or-Treat Terrorists” and they were caught the following year on Halloween, when they were again out on the hunt.

There are no other strange stories or witness accounts, but whether the Plum Tree Inn owners didn’t know – or didn’t care – about this site’s history, they did perhaps make one superstitious gesture: it lists its address as 913, when the other restaurants were all 911 N. Broadway. Either way, it seems to have broken any curse – for now. If you go, try their Kung Pao chicken, egg rolls and Peking Duck (order an hour in advance for the duck and their signature “Lion’s Head” – pork meatballs).

October 4, 2012

Since I’ve not given you anything extra for a while, I thought I’d add this today too: somewhere that’s literally dying for your business…

The L.A. County Coroner’s Office is somewhere you never want to visit. It’s the place where people who have died in suspicious or unexplained circumstances are sent for autopsy and examination to determine the cause of death. Over the years countless numbers of people – and a who’s who of celebrities – have ended up on the slab here, all of them equal in death.

Past “Guests” include Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy (who was assassinated in the now-gone Ambassador Hotel), John Belushi, Janis Joplin, Brittany Murphy, The Notorious BIG, River Phoenix and perhaps the two most famous murder victims in the history of Los Angeles, Elizabeth Short (“The Black Dahlia”) and Sharon Tate (who was murdered by Charles Manson and his followers).

The coroner’s department has existed in LA for over 100 years, but this unusual place is located in the Administration Building, which was converted from the old Los Angeles General Hospital building and restored after an earthquake in 1994. When you walk in it’s like you’ve stepped into a 1940s film noir; there’s an ornate tiled floor, marble walls, a big black staircase, gorgeous wooden chairs with red leather cushions, a big chandelier and four frosted glass doors with gold letter writing on them – you expect to see Humphrey Bogart walking out of one of them holding the Maltese Falcon and a gun.

Three of the doors are marked Identification (for tracing Jane and John Does), Notification (for contacting relatives and family) and Personal Property Release, where relatives can collect the personal possessions of their dearly departed. There’s no viewings done here though; that’s in another building altogether. The final door leads into something unique, though there’s no sign – just the same lettering as you see on the other doors. Apparently the only one in the world, this room (officially numbered 208) is Skeletons in the Closet, the official L.A. County Coroner’s gift shop.

Opened in 1993, it sells souvenir items like t-shirts, tote bags, baseball caps, coroner toe-tag key chains, pins, badges, boxer shorts called “undertakers”, books about the history of the Coroners in LA, “My First Skeleton”, water bottles, yellow crime scene tape that says “Warning! There’s a party going on” and much, much more. Each item displays a unique design such as a skeleton in Sherlock Holmes attire, the iconic chalked-out dead body outline or the County Coroner seal.

The idea for the gift shop came out of special coffee mugs and t-shirts that were created for the annual professional Coroner Conference, and any money that’s made at the gift shop goes to a good cause, the Youthful Drunk Driving Visitation Program (YDDVP). It was of course a media sensation from day one – they do a thriving mail order business too – and it’s meant to try and look for some humor, to remind people that life is precious and you must enjoy every moment of it: their slogan is “We’re dying for your business”.

Inside there’s a small skeleton dressed as Sherlock Holmes and a coffin converted into a black leather couch with the slogan “Law and Science Serving The Community” on it, while their most popular item, believe it or not, is a large beach towel with the dead body chalk outline on it – so you can lie down and play dead in the sun – and t-shirts with the Coroner’s seal (which is what I bought when I visited).

Obviously Skeletons in the Closet doesn’t qualify for Gourmet Ghosts, but it’s certainly an interesting and unusual place you can visit. After all, every victim who dies in the City of Angels comes here…