TOULOUSE LAUTREC HIDES OUT IN THE NO HO

2010 - The Year of Valley Adventures
Detail of exterior mural - former Iliad Bookstore site in North Hollywood, California - Photo by Gerald Fecht for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley. (click on image to enlarge)

A year passes and the Iliad Bookstore has moved to a new location in North Hollywood. For the time being, the murals designed to entice readers into its old location still weather on its stuccoed walls, but soon a dress shop or medical marijuana store will come along and desire a sign of its own. This wonderful little image of an Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec sketch pad will disappear under coats of exterior latex paint - to be forever lost, or hidden away for some future generation. In the meanwhile it hides away in a mural not long for viewing.

Become an agent of Valley history and culture in 2010. Explore our Valley and share you discoveries with the Museum Community. Digital cameras are perfect companions for your own walking tours. Even better - become a member of the Friends of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley. The Friends are forming in February. Call 1 (818) 347-9665 and let us know you are interested in the past with your eyes on the future.
Have a Happy and Healthy New Year
PS - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec lived from 1864 to 190. If you know the name of the mural painter, your Museum would like to know.

THE ILIAD BOOKSHOP RELOCATES IN THE NO HO

2009 The Year of Valley History

The Iliad Bookshop Relocated - Photo take for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gerald Fecht July 2009 (click on image to enlarge)

By the time that I heard that Dutton's Bookstore in North Hollywood was closing, it was too late. The California history and San Fernando Valley/Los Angeles sections were already pillaged. So, when I heard rumor that the great old Iliad Bookshop was closed I was really disheartened. But, The Iliad didn't close its doors at all!
Here, long time bookstore worker Ricky Grove (who discovered his first bookstore at the age of 13 - and never left the profession) keeps tract of The Iliad's treasures while a new air conditioning unit is installed - in what area of the store? The Los Angeles / San Fernando Valley history section, of course.
I had an appointment, so I settled into the $3 to $10 section, where I bought The Museum's library a well illustrated work called Hollywood Goes To War. So, I'll just have to get back soon.
The Illiad Bookstore
5400 Cahuenga Boulevard North Hollywood, CA 91601
(corner of Cahuenga and Chandler) 1 (818) 509-book

The San Fernando Valley, in the heart of the Creative Capital of the World, deserves a great Museum of history and culture.