History: Brick By Brick

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History: Brick By Brick

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History Brick by Brick (HB3) is a historical storytelling project exploring the architecture, legends, and true stories behind the places that built our communities.

06/18/2026

📜 The past isn't finished speaking... History Brick by Brick is heading into some of Southern California's most fascinating and controversial stories.
Over the next few weeks, we'll explore the chaos and cultural impact of the Zoot Suit Riots, step inside the forgotten history of Norwalk State Hospital, uncover stories from places that have vanished from the landscape, and make a few surprise visits along the way.
Some of these stories were headlines. Some were hidden. All of them helped shape the communities we know today.
Because history isn't just found in textbooks. It's written in buildings, streets, memories... and the places that refuse to be forgotten. Stay curious. Stay tuned.

06/17/2026

🏡 Before video games, before smartphones, before every moment was scheduled, there were bicycles, front porches, and old houses.
Many of us grew up exploring neighborhoods one pedal at a time. We'd ride past old homes and wonder who lived there, race our friends to the next corner, and spend long summer evenings on front porch swings listening to stories from parents and grandparents.
Those old houses were more than wood and nails. They were gathering places. Front porches became living rooms. Kitchens became classrooms. Grandparents passed down family stories, recipes, songs, and wisdom while children listened—sometimes paying attention, sometimes not.
A porch swing could hold three generations. A bicycle could take you on an adventure. An old house could spark a lifelong love of history.
What do you remember most about the old house, front porch, or neighborhood where you grew up?

06/15/2026

🏛️ 🇺🇸 Some Journeys Continue Even When We Miss the Road. One of the places we had hoped to visit this season was the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library's remarkable new exhibition, *America 250: Celebrating 250 Years of the American Story.*
While schedules and circumstances sometimes have other plans, the exhibition itself remains an extraordinary reminder of why we do what we do at History Brick by Brick.
Among the artifacts on display are:
📜 John Hancock's letter written just one hour before Paul Revere's famous midnight ride
🇺🇸 An authentic 18th-century American flag alongside a Revolutionary War officer's uniform
⚔️ An original Gettysburg cannon
✍️ Abraham Lincoln's famous "I Would Save the Union" letter
🎭 Personal artifacts carried by Lincoln on the night of his assassination, including his blood-stained gloves and Ford's Theatre ticket
What fascinates us most is that history is rarely found only in grand monuments. It lives in letters hastily written, objects quietly preserved, and moments when ordinary people found themselves standing at extraordinary crossroads.
As America approaches its 250th birthday, exhibitions like this remind us that the story of the nation was built brick by brick, generation by generation, by people who often had no idea they were making history at all.
And perhaps that is the greatest lesson of history: today's ordinary moments become tomorrow's artifacts.

06/12/2026

🕰️🏡 Some places have a way of playing tricks on your sense of time ... While reviewing photographs from a recent visit at Neff House in La Mirada, something curious stood out. A pair of chairs suddenly looked as though they belonged in a dollhouse. A room felt somehow larger and smaller at the same time. The proportions seemed just a little... off.
Then there were the pumpkins. Sitting above a window, lined up like silent observers, they appeared less like decorations and more like spectators enjoying a private joke.
Perhaps it's simply architecture. Perhaps it's perspective. Or perhaps historic places preserve more than furniture and photographs. Sometimes they preserve atmosphere. A feeling. A sense that the people who once occupied these rooms are not entirely absent from them.
Looking at Andrew McNally's office this morning, one couldn't help but imagine him sitting quietly behind that desk, watching the modern world rush by and thinking: "Let's make this day a little more interesting."
History is often found in documents, dates, and photographs. But sometimes it is found in a room that feels just a little too alive.

06/11/2026

History has a funny way of revealing itself when you least expect it. While the cameras are quiet and the public announcements are still waiting for their proper moment, the work continues. Research notes are filling notebooks. New conversations are opening unexpected doors. Forgotten stories are finding their way back into the light.
Across Southern California, we're following threads through historic places, private collections, archives, and the memories of those who were there. Some of what we're uncovering will become future episodes of History Brick by Brick. Some will find a home in The Caw. And a few projects are taking shape in ways we couldn't have imagined just a few months ago.
There is something exciting about standing at the beginning of a story and not yet knowing where it will lead. For now, we'll simply say this: The bricks are being gathered ~ The foundations are being laid ~ And some very interesting doors are beginning to open.

06/07/2026

HISTORY IN THE MAKING / America's 250th Birthday Begins
History was written in the skies over La Mirada last night. More than 300 drones illuminated the night sky above the athletic fields of Biola University as the community gathered to celebrate the upcoming 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The show marked what organizers believe to be the first large-scale patriotic drone show of its kind in Southern California dedicated specifically to America's Semiquincentennial celebration.
For a few moments, the years seemed to collapse into one another. First came 1776. Then 2026. Then a giant birthday cake appeared in the sky, reminding everyone that our nation is preparing to celebrate a remarkable milestone ~ 250 years since thirteen colonies declared that they would chart their own course.
Families filled the Civic Center Plaza with lawn chairs and blankets. Children pointed skyward. Veterans stood quietly beneath the lights. The La Mirada Symphony provided the soundtrack for an evening that felt both patriotic and surprisingly personal.
History is often found in old documents, forgotten photographs, and weathered monuments. But sometimes history happens right in front of us. Last night was one of those moments.
And if this celebration was any indication, the red, white, and blue summer of 2026 is just getting started. ✨ 1776 ➜ 2026 250 Years of American Independence

#1776 #2026

06/04/2026

📜 A Letter Back Home 📜 History is often told through battles, dates, and statistics. But sometimes the most powerful stories are found in the words we imagine a soldier might have written by lantern light after a long day on the battlefield.
This week's History Brick by Brick takes us to Forks Road, North Carolina, where Union forces, including the United States Colored Troops, fought during the final campaign to capture Wilmington in February 1865.
A fictional letter inspired by real events, written in the spirit of those who marched, fought, and dreamed of returning home.

'Fear walked beside us, but so did determination.'

📜🇺🇸

06/03/2026

🚲 History, Brick by Brick ... Long before carbon fiber frames and mountain trails ~ cyclists were turning heads on the streets with towering penny-farthings and early bicycles that looked more like inventions than transportation.
Today we celebrate National Bicycle Day, a reminder that one of the world's most enduring inventions has carried us through generations of adventure, exploration, and freedom on two wheels.
From the cobblestone streets of the 1800s to today's bike paths, the journey continues. What was your first bicycle?

06/01/2026

🎩🏰 At Rubel Castle

We wandered today through a castle of stone,
Searching for treasures long hidden and known.
Antiques galore on every shelf,
Each one a story telling itself.

Fan dancers twirled with ribbons bright,
Comedians laughed through morning light.
A few little ghosties peeked round the wall,
Whispering secrets through window and hall.

Bottles and towers, curiosities vast,
Echoes of dreamers from ages past.
So if you should visit, take care where you tread—
A castle remembers the footsteps that fled.

🏰✨ A day of wonders, laughter, and lore...
Just another adventure behind the doors of Rubel Castle.

Rubel Castle

05/30/2026

Part IV / The Legacy Behind French Doors / Authored By Charles Spratley
Roy Lanterman spent the remainder of his life at El Refugio alongside Emily and their two sons, Lloyd and Frank. Roy died in 1948. Emily followed one year later. Their sons carried the family legacy in very different directions.
Lloyd became an engineer in the automotive industry and helped design the engine that won the Indianapolis 500 in 1930. Frank pursued music, politics, and public service. He played organ accompaniment during the silent film era, worked extensively in civic leadership, and later helped author two landmark California laws: the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act of 1967 and the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act of 1969, both of which transformed care and rights for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Frank also rescued the famed 1929 Wurlitzer organ now housed inside Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre. Neither brother married.
When the last of the Lanterman family passed away, the home itself remained almost untouched; preserved with original furnishings, clothing, artifacts, and echoes of another era. In 1993, the estate officially became a museum.
Today, visiting the Lanterman House feels less like touring a historic home and more like stepping carefully into suspended time. The walls remember everything. The ambition. The disgrace. The reinvention. The silence afterward.
Beneath the filtered California sunlight passing through those endless French doors, history still presses inward from every room.

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