Photo Expedition: Raymond Chandler Home in La Jolla - 2009-06-03 03:31:59
<<< Previous - Amusment Over Search Results | Next - Iceplants are not Triffids - or at least, I don't think so... >>>So way back in February I
posted about
Raymond Chandler, and about how we would make a day of it and track down his home in La Jolla as well as other places he'd been to. We ended up not making an entire day of it, so there are still several places on the list I posted that I still want to track down. Eventually.
But it's long overdue for me to post the house photos - because I did take plenty of them. We set out on an intensely sunny day. And as usual I had forgotten to clean the windshield of the car off, so anything I took a photo of out the front of the car looked a bit smudged.
But I wanted to give you an idea of the neighborhood that the Chandler house is in. Note there are children riding bikes on the right. There were also a lot of workmen apparently doing something to the exteriors or interiors of several homes nearby, so there were cars parked all along the street.
Before I natter on - here's the location for those trying to track it down:
6005 Camino de la Costa
La Jolla, California
Directions: Mapquest, Google maps
View Larger Map
There's no notice anywhere that this was Chandler's home - and it's significant in that it's the only home he ever purchased. He lived in many places in California, but all the other homes and apartments were rentals. Also this is a private home - there are no tours, and I wouldn't think of bothering the people who live there.
Here's a view of the house from where we parked - you can see the ocean in the distance. I wouldn't advise parking anywhere here for long because I have the feeling you'll get towed.
The house itself really looks very little like the one Chandler lived in. It's been repainted and almost entirely redone. Note the curb painted red - because of the fire hydrant that means no parking anywhere along this sidewalk.
It's a nice looking house - but I have to admit I wish I could have seen it before they mucked about with it. Here's
a blog entry with photos of it during the remodel.
That large picture window is apparently in the same place it was in the original home - so Chandler would probably have been able to look out of it and see the ocean.
Here's a look from farther away - note how the streets are fully parked with cars all along the sidewalk.
Next to this car there was a flower bed and the sun was hitting the plants full on. I'm not sure what the yellow and red daisy-like flowers are called, but the really vibrant purple flower is an Iceplant. (Or
Carpobrotus edulsi - though it could be any one of
these.) It's a really popular ground cover near the ocean, and someday I hope we can plant some of our own - though I'm not planning on us living too near the ocean. (Waaay too expensive. I'm not one to need a view that badly - we can always go visit a nice view.)
Randomly someone had scrawled this on the sidewalk. I have no idea what it means, it's just one of those "document and find out later" moments. It might be someone's name - otherwise Google's not giving me any hints.
You can take these steps down to the beach...
But because I didn't know how long we'd be able to park in the area I didn't want to wander too far from our car.
You can get a nice look at the other houses in the neighborhood and their great ocean views. Which I'm sure cost an amazing amount of money. Even in a bad economy I'm pretty sure these are still holding their value.
And this is the view as we drive out of the neighborhood. Camino de la Costa is a street that runs a long way through many blocks, so it makes for a nice scenic drive. I'm one of those people who enjoys looking at yards and homes, so it's the kind of thing I can do for hours. And after growing up in the midwest and in Texas these sorts of homes still seem exotic.
We had planned to eat at the La Valencia Hotel...
...because Chandler apparently "used La Valencia under a thinly disguised fictitious name as a backdrop for the thriller, "Playback."" Or so they say on their
website.
But parking was rather full that day and we didn't want to spend more time looking for a spot than actually seeing things. So the meal at La Valencia was put off for another time. (Adding it to the long list of places we keep meaning to go eat!) When we finally manage to eat there I'll make a point of asking around to see if anyone knows which area of the place would have been open in Chandler's day. There are more than one dining area/restaurant in the place, so it may take a bit of asking around. But all the more reason to wait until after a nice meal.
I'm still planning to go back and try and find the location of Chandler's other apartments in La Jolla, although I think almost all have been torn down and built over. Not entirely sure about that though. Will take a bit more research. (I listed the addresses
here. Since parking in this whole area is a bit of a pain, and street signs take a bit of hunting for here and there, it's not something that will be a quick scope and find.)
If you've dropped in here from Google or Flickr and have an idea of where I can find more Chandler info - do advise me in the comments. I'm particularly looking for reviews/opinions of
The Long Embrace: Raymond Chandler and the Woman He Loved, by Judith Freeman - which apparently has a lot of info on places Chandler lived. But any other books and websites anyone could recommend would be of interest.
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