GHOULA meets for cocktails in haunted places on the 13th of each month. “SPIRITS with SPIRITS” is a casual gathering of regional ghost hunters. Open to all, from the curious skeptic to the passionate phantom pursuer. Make friends, and toast a ghost! Let's put the “Boo!” back into “booze.”All those who attend will receive a free G.H.O.U.L.A. button. If you already have, please wear it so others can find you.
THE DATE: May 13th, 2009 (Wednesday)
THE PLACE: E.B.’s Beer and Wine
(West Patio, Farmer’s Market, 6333 W. 3rd St.)
THE TIME: 7pm to 9pm
GHOST(S):
The “Gilmore Island” at the corner of Third and Fairfax has gone through many changes in the last 100 years. Over those decades, it has been home to a dairy, an oil field, a baseball stadium, a race track, a police department, a post office, a bank, a public library, a car-hop restaurant, a residential neighborhood, the amazing Pan Pacific Auditorium, a drive-in movie theater, television studios, an antique mall, a community park, and the entertainment/shopping complex known as “The Grove.”
Legend has it that this place even inspired “The Beverly Hillbillies” TV show at CBS (next door). Apparently, Arthur Gilmore accidentally struck oil while digging a well for water. It is also said that this was the last place James Dean ate in Los Angeles before beginning the road trip that would end his life. Speaking of last meals, a security guard confidentially told GHOULA that a large number of old people die every year while visiting (and dining at) this location.
However, this land is most famous for its “Farmer Market,” which began in 1934, when a group a farmers parked their trucks at this intersection and began selling their fresh produce to the passing traffic. Gilmore, never one to miss a trick, created a parking lot with chalk lines and charged each farmer a small rent. Within the year, the first structure (with electricity and running water) went up when Blanch Magee began selling prepared food at the site. One by one, the produce trucks were replaced by the collection of booths that stand today. To get an idea of what those original stalls looked like go to Gill’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream which opened in 1937, and has the distinction of being the only booth that has never remodeled over the years.
Given this vendor’s history, it is not surprising, there is a story connected to Gill’s involving a short, bald man dressed all in white (with a hair-net), who has been seen by diners standing at the counter as if to order an ice cream cone. Then, on second glance, he vanishes. His identity and history are unknown.
Elsewhere on the property is a structure even older than Gill’s. Hidden from the public (near the massive parking structure) still stands an adobe home built in 1852. It is said to be haunted by the spirit of Earl Gilmore who lived there until 1964 when he died in the very same room (and bed) he was born in.
It is also worth mentioning that a local ghost hunting club (now defunct) many years ago used to hold their monthly meetings at the historic Farmer’s Market. Any further stories, or evidence, they may have uncovered has (at present) been sadly lost. Perhaps, those attending this month’s SPIRITS with SPIRITS can carry on in their phantom-following footsteps.
(to see last month's SPIRITS with SPIRITS location...)
THE TIME: 7pm to 9pm
GHOST(S):
The “Gilmore Island” at the corner of Third and Fairfax has gone through many changes in the last 100 years. Over those decades, it has been home to a dairy, an oil field, a baseball stadium, a race track, a police department, a post office, a bank, a public library, a car-hop restaurant, a residential neighborhood, the amazing Pan Pacific Auditorium, a drive-in movie theater, television studios, an antique mall, a community park, and the entertainment/shopping complex known as “The Grove.”
Legend has it that this place even inspired “The Beverly Hillbillies” TV show at CBS (next door). Apparently, Arthur Gilmore accidentally struck oil while digging a well for water. It is also said that this was the last place James Dean ate in Los Angeles before beginning the road trip that would end his life. Speaking of last meals, a security guard confidentially told GHOULA that a large number of old people die every year while visiting (and dining at) this location.
However, this land is most famous for its “Farmer Market,” which began in 1934, when a group a farmers parked their trucks at this intersection and began selling their fresh produce to the passing traffic. Gilmore, never one to miss a trick, created a parking lot with chalk lines and charged each farmer a small rent. Within the year, the first structure (with electricity and running water) went up when Blanch Magee began selling prepared food at the site. One by one, the produce trucks were replaced by the collection of booths that stand today. To get an idea of what those original stalls looked like go to Gill’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream which opened in 1937, and has the distinction of being the only booth that has never remodeled over the years.
Given this vendor’s history, it is not surprising, there is a story connected to Gill’s involving a short, bald man dressed all in white (with a hair-net), who has been seen by diners standing at the counter as if to order an ice cream cone. Then, on second glance, he vanishes. His identity and history are unknown.
Elsewhere on the property is a structure even older than Gill’s. Hidden from the public (near the massive parking structure) still stands an adobe home built in 1852. It is said to be haunted by the spirit of Earl Gilmore who lived there until 1964 when he died in the very same room (and bed) he was born in.
It is also worth mentioning that a local ghost hunting club (now defunct) many years ago used to hold their monthly meetings at the historic Farmer’s Market. Any further stories, or evidence, they may have uncovered has (at present) been sadly lost. Perhaps, those attending this month’s SPIRITS with SPIRITS can carry on in their phantom-following footsteps.
(to see last month's SPIRITS with SPIRITS location...)
1 comment:
I have heard that the ghost of an elderly patron also haunts the Thee’s Continental Bakery (just behind the ice cream stand mentioned above).
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