The Witch's House

I live very close to a neighborhood that was built by a contractor of singular vision.  High-pitched rooflines, lava rock, decorative block, thatched roofs, bamboo thickets - this is a mid-60's explosion of tiki architecture.  Oddly enough, instead of vowel-filled Polynesian names, the streets of this wicky-wacky, tiki-tacky enclave have names with a distinctly brogue-ish lilt to them - Killybrooke, Killarney, Limerick, et al.  Odder still, is the fact that many of the residents, armed only with leaded-glass front doors, contemporary paver walkways, and Cape Cod color schemes, fight a losing battle against the existing architecture; it creates such a dissonance that it almost circles back around into wacky tacky territory...but not quite.

There is nothing I love more than when people truly embrace the beauty of their given architecture, especially when the architectural style is inherently wacky tacky.  There is no better example than the Witch's House in Beverly Hills, CA.

Spooky in the dappled afternoon sunlight, even if my name was
Hansel or Gretel, I don't think I'd be able to resist the charms of this house!

Built in 1921, in the early days of the Storybook craze, the Witch's House was transplanted to its current location in the mid-1930's.  Famously featured in the movie Clueless, the details of the home cut a distinctively-wacky tacky figure among the manicured lawns of lowland Beverly Hills.  Fortunately, the homeowners of this house have embraced the history of the structure.  Lovingly restoring its many brilliant details, they have maintained a true landmark in a city filled with more caricature than earnest historical character.

The ramshackle shingles and shutters, the paint,
and the cartoony, copper, chimney pots give every
indication that there is an actual witch on the premises.

"No Trespassing, Keep Out"
The signs are so charming that they're difficult to obey.

A mini moat, a foot bridge, and an overgrown cottage garden add so much depth and texture.
You see that tree?  Who says we don't have autumn in Southern California?!!?!

The stone walls/pillars are topped with pumpkins of equal character.

At the Witch's House, it is a Happy Halloween every day of the year!

History is a challenging word to apply to a part of the world that is so relatively young; for California, however, the Witch's House is a big part of our history in terms of industry, architecture, and culture.  Boo-ravo to the witch for keeping it so spooky!

"Trick or Treat" (1952)

Do you have any spooky houses in your neighborhood?  Is your house witchy or maybe even haunted?   Does it come alive during the Halloween season?  Here's hoping you have a Happy Halloween!

The Witch's House
516 Walden Dr
Beverly Hills, CA


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Trick-or-Treat for Halloween

I love Halloween.  I love it even more as an adult than I did as a child.  It has less to do with candy and costumes than the simple fact that in comparison to holidays like Christmas and Easter, Halloween requires very little from me.  I used to think Thanksgiving fell into the category of easy holidays simply because no gifts were exchanged, but after all of the grocery shopping, preparation, cooking, cleaning, and last minute trips to the grocery store for forgotten items, Halloween feels like a vacation.  For me, Halloween just isn't Halloween without some of my favorite, standard, spooky programming.

I hate, repeat hate, scary movies.  I am of the opinion that the world in which we live is about a scary as I can handle and I don't need demented clowns forcing me to amputate parts of my own body keeping me awake at night.  Nor do I need an angry, burn victim with knife-hands terrorizing me in my sleep.  One year I went to a friend's Halloween party and in a continuous loop, the television displayed "best of" clips from some of the most famous horror franchises.  I am haunted to this day.  As much as I detest horror/slasher movies, I love mildly-spooky, Halloween programming with 5-to-10-year-olds as the target audience.  Gimme a good cartoon and I am happy.  No surprises here - I refuse to let a Halloween pass without watching Disney's Ichabod and Mr. Toad.  Who doesn't love the Washington Irving tale of the New England school teacher chased through the woods by a headless horseman?  Who doesn't get a kick out of the heavily-Mary Blair influenced animation?  Who doesn't want the opportunity to let the mellow "boo-boo-boo-ing" of Bing Crosby's mellifluous voice ingrain itself into the soundtrack of another holiday beyond Christmas?  I ask you, who?  To get you in the Halloween spirit, here are some pieces of Mary Blair's (it is never too soon to feature Mary Blair again) concept art for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and the finished cartoon in three parts.

Concept art for Icahbod Crane - Mary Blair

Concept art for Icahbod Crane - Mary Blair

Concept art for Icahbod Crane - Mary Blair

Concept art for Icahbod Crane - Mary Blair

The "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" portion of Ichabod & Mr. Toad (1949)

And just one more for good measure...

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny