THE SPARKLETTS FACTORY MIGHT BE SAVED
Plus: a Mount Washington compound on the market, an eight-course dinner at Comet Over Delphi, a desert retreat, and a film about crash test dummies.
SANCTUARIES LA EXPLORES THE QUIETER SIDE OF LOS ANGELES THROUGH DESIGN.
ROOTED IN THE BELIEF THAT SANCTUARY EXISTS EVERYWHERE, OFTEN HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT.
IF YOU ENJOY THIS PUBLICATION, CONSIDER SUBSCRIBING OR SHARING IT WITH A FRIEND.
Welcome to From the Field — a new occasional Wednesday newsletter series. While the main publication goes deep on homes, spaces, and the people who shape them, From the Field is shorter and more immediate: what I saw the past few weeks, what's worth paying attention to, and what's coming up in the city.
A BUILDING WORTH SAVING
If you live in Eagle Rock or Highland Park, you’ve been watching the old Sparkletts Bottling Plant and wondering. The rumors have been circulating for months — Uber depot, Erewhon, Whole Foods — but nothing is decided yet, and the most important step toward protecting it happens this week.
The Cultural Heritage Commission holds its final hearing on the Sparkletts Bottling Plant’s Historic Cultural Monument designation this Thursday, April 16th at 10am, Room 1010, City Hall. City staff has recommended approval. The community showing up makes a difference.
My neighbor Deborah Gorman — wife of architect Andrei Pogany — has been leading the neighborhood push. I’ll be there.
The building sits above one of Eagle Rock’s original artesian wells: underground water that’s been here far longer than the city. My dream for the site — and I’m not the only one with this dream — is something that honors that: a community bathhouse, a place to gather around water rather than buy it in plastic bottles. Think Wi Spa meets Barton Springs, rooted in the actual geology of this hill. I’m working on a longer piece about the history of springs in this area. More soon.
A MOUNT WASHINGTON COMPOUND
This week I toured an extraordinary compound in Mount Washington — three separate structures including two single-family homes (you could do that in the 1940s!) and a pool with sweeping views of the San Gabriels and the city below. Currently on the market for $3.99M with O’Connor Estates. A full feature is coming. Stay tuned.
TWO BUNCH PALMS
I just returned from four nights at Two Bunch Palms in Desert Hot Springs — one of the oldest continuously operating hot spring resorts in California. A proper feature is coming in a few weeks. If you’ve been on the fence about going, get off it. This place is pure magic.
THE LONELIEST CRASH TEST DUMMY
A few weeks ago I hosted a screening and moderated a panel at Meadow York Manor for Eve Van Dyke’s NYT OpDoc, The Loneliest Crash Test Dummy — a short film about the history of crash test dummies and what their design reveals about whose safety has historically been prioritized. If you weren’t there, watch the panel here. It’s worth your time.
UPCOMING
My friend Holland Denvir started LA Design Weekend as a side passion project two and a half years ago. Now in year three it's grown into a full week: kicking off Wednesday September 30 in DTLA, moving through Chinatown and the Arts District, and finishing the weekend starting on it’s usual schedule in Lincoln Heights on Saturday October 3. Host applications are still open; studios, galleries, shops, and workspaces are all welcome, and opening your doors is free. If you've been thinking about it, now is the moment.
The MAK Center's annual spring architecture tour returns May 9 — this year featuring five houses by R.M. Schindler, Raphael Soriano, and Lloyd Wright, spanning the 1920s to 1950s. If you care about LA modernism this is essential. Tickets support the Schindler House.
The 35th Annual Bungalow Heaven Home Tour is back on April 26 after taking last year off for fire recovery. If you've never done this — a full afternoon walking through privately owned Craftsman bungalows in Pasadena — put it on the calendar. One of my favorite things to do in LA. Tickets via Eventbrite.
The Bob Baker Marionette Theater's Hooray LA show runs through May 3. A love letter to the city — the Tongva people, the LA River, the La Brea tar pits, the beach culture. It made me proud to be an Angeleno. Go before it closes.
LA Woodshop is running an intro to woodworking class on April 25 and 26. Nine to four, you mill and finish your own cutting board. This is exactly the kind of thing this city does well. The Saturday class is sold out but the Sunday class still has tickets available.
Adam Weiss is throwing dance parties down by the LA River and I am fully supportive of this. Next one is April 19. RSVPs filled up already but if you get on his mailing list you may be able to snag a spot.
WORTH KNOWING
Last Saturday I attended the VERT x Comet Over Delphi dinner — a one-night collaboration that brought Chef Toshihiro Tanaka, listed in the Michelin Guide Tokyo 2026, into the Comet Over Delphi space. The room was as good as the food. Constanzia Delort-Laval, Comet’s architect-owner, was in vintage Armani. I ended up next to Rose DiSarno, an architect at Gensler who does all the floral arrangements at Comet as a passion project — the ones you’ve probably admired without knowing who made them. More from Rose soon. Eight courses, each paired with Japanese tea. Savory and sweet so interwoven you stopped trying to categorize them.
The menu from Saturday's VERT x Comet Over Delphi dinner. Milan Design Week is happening April 20-26 and Los Angeles is well represented. Kelly Wearstler debuts her H&M HOME collection there next week through a curated exhibition — a double first for both her and the brand at the furniture world’s most prestigious stage. And Flamingo Estate is collaborating with Kohler on a bathhouse installation inspired by the Flamingo property — Richard Christensen doing what Richard Christensen does. Worth watching.
Olive Ateliers — the downtown furniture shop with the best eye for objects with soul — just launched The Sentimentalist, a collaboration with Pamela Anderson. Designed from memory and with love, apparently. Available now.
Erewhon is opening an outpost at LACMA, opening April 19 for members and May 4 for all. Make of that what you will — a $22 smoothie next to a Basquiat feels very Los Angeles 2026.
This week’s feature: Keeping the Bones — Alfie Koetter of Loaf
Next up: A Mount Washington Compound you don’t want to miss.
A lot happening in this city! More soon — Shelby xx