Griffith Park, Merry-Go-Round, Los Angeles, Ca

Located in Park Center between the Los Angeles Zoo and the Los Feliz park entrance, the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round has been a Los Angeles family attraction for over five generations. Built in 1926 by the Spillman Engineering Company and brought to Griffith Park in 1937, the Merry-Go-Round boasts 68 horses, everyone a jumper. Each horse is finely carved with jewel-encrusted bridles, detailed draped blankets and decorated with sunflowers and lion's heads. A Stinson 165 Military Band Organ, reputed to be the largest band organ accompanying a carousel on the West Coast, plays over 1500 selections of marches and waltz music.

"In August, 1976 fire gutted the 1924 historic carousel at Lincoln Park, destroying priceless carousel carvings, and spelling the end of an era.

But not all was lost. Three horses from the 1924 masterpiece created by the famous Spillman Engineering Company survived and remain, installed on the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round, the Lincoln Park's sister carousel built just a few years later.

The Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round is a survivor in it's own right. Built in 1926 by Spillman, it was originally part of the amusements at Mission Beach, San Diego, and was moved to Griffith Park in 1937. The 68 intricately carved horses and the bucolic scenes on the canopy and backdrop have seen better days, but the gently worn feeling is offset beautifully by the extraordinary level of craftsmanship and the rare opportunity to ride a vintage carousel surrounded by parkland.

According to signage at the carousel, some of the jeweled horses date from as far back as 1887, and the carousel is said to have inspired a young Walt Disney dreaming of Disneyland.

A vintage looking, but relatively new Stinson 165 Military Band Organ cranks out festive tunes at an impressive volume and tempo, its organ notes punctuated with drums, bells, and cymbal crashes. Like fairground contraptions of old, the organ plays over 1500 selections of marches and waltzes, and features animated figures on its decorated facade."-Atlas Obscura

 Luis Alvarado, the Honorary Mayor of Griffith Park, reportedly encountered a ghost on two occasions by the merry go round. One night, while checking to help ensure all visitors had left the park at the sunset closing time, Alvarado watched as a man descended a staircase in the vicinity only to disappear when hitting the last step. Alvarado looked around to see if perhaps the man had disappeared into behind a tree, but could find no trace. A few nights later, Alvarado was spooked when the scene repeated itself.

The Castle Green, Pasadena, Ca

"There have been door knobs that turned when no one was in the hall, shadows passing under the doors, footsteps heard, faucets turned on in some apartments, heavy perfume smells and chains rattling. Some apartments are said to be more haunted than others."

I know an individual that lived in this building that is a credible witness to many paranormal incidences here in this structure. He lived on the top floor adjacent to the grand ballroom inside this maze of apartments. On many occasions he would hear a shuffled set of footsteps approaching his door, and then stopping outside his door. No sounds could be heard after. Also sometimes he would feel the steps and tweaking of floorboards come inside his room, when he went to look around; nobody could be found. He said this building is very haunted.

"The castle was built at the end of the 19th century as a retreat for rich Easterners, seeking a break from snow or a sun light cure of their Victorian maladies, fainting, fevers, "sadnesses" (the "depression" of the era) and prolonged invalid states. They came in droves by rail (trains), when rail was elegant and an adventure in itself. Some people were cured and eventually made their lives in California, but some people were not and despite its luxury, languished and died in Castle Green. In addition to the ill, those now permanently on vacation at Castle Green, we have tales of tragedy. A servant boy crushed in the downstairs laundry apparatus. One can still see the machinery that killed him today. Ironically they've placed the new laundry room at the site of the old, and people claim to hear whispers as they're permanent pressing their pants. We can't have washers and dryers in our own apartments (what were once the hotel suites), so everyone does their laundry downstairs. That's where the gossip takes place."- Rebecca "Tales of Castle Green. blogspot"

 "The Castle Green Apartments that stand on Raymond Avenue in historic old town Pasadena were built in 1887 and officially opened to the public in 1889, however this wasn't the first portion of the Green empire. The first portion of the hotel complex that sits on the southwest corner of Raymond Avenue and Green Street with its hand cut granite facing, bay windows and retail space, was known as the Webster Hotel. Mr. Webster became nearly bankrupt while trying to finish his lavish hotel in time for its opening. It opened its doors to the public in the 1880s and was only open a few months before he sold it to Mr. Green, who finished the construction and changed its name to the Hotel Green. Green soon felt the need for another building as an annex to house the hundreds of guests who came to the resort town of Pasadena. The second building could be built near the railroad depot and property was available. Soon construction was underway and the six-story complex was built of wood. Pasadena was one of the most famous resort communities in Southern California during these times and a place for those suffering from tuberculosis. Doctors advised patients to go to dry and warmer climates and Pasadena became a boom town for snowbirds, those who desired a warmer climate during the harsh winters back east. The second building stood on the southeast corner of Raymond Avenue and Green Street and was a huge success when it opened in the mid 1870s. Green soon saw the advantage of building a more permanent residence within his hotel empire and a third building was designed and underway in 1887 as apartments, where those who wished to could rent for a week or a year or longer. The building has distinctive exterior elements in the Mediterranean Revival style and several interior spaces in the Moorish Revival style. It was decided that a bridge could be built over Raymond Avenue to annex the Castle Green Apartments or the new Hotel by visitors or long renting guests with easier access between the two buildings."

 "The Castle Green Apartments were built of concrete and rebar for sturdier construction. Both had large ballrooms and dining rooms, a gentleman's smoking salon, a woman's salon, foyers, crystal chandeliers, a grand staircase in Cararra marble and the finest wrought and cast iron made for each of the buildings. Pasadena had 14 resort hotels by 1900, but the Hotel Green complex was one of the most famous and well patronized. Sitting across the street from Central Park with its rose gardens, fountains, paths, a zoo, lion and alligator and ostrich farms and a place for both locals and visitors to enjoy themselves. In the mid 1920s, the second hotel, built of wood, suffered a fire when a guest fell asleep with a lit cigar, catching the drapes and furniture on fire in the first floor smoking parlor. Evidence of the damage can still be seen on the square columns at the top where the plaster melted from the heat and the water from the fire hoses."

"The building was heavily damaged and a few people died. The building sat derelict until the 1935 Long Beach Earthquake, which brought more of it down; it was decided to tear the wooden building down completely. The only original portion sits on the corner facing Green Street and is used as the Christmas tree room for the decorating store Stats, which has owned the building since the 1960s. A tunnel runs from the old wooden Hotel Green under Raymond Avenue and connects to the earliest portion of the hotel and the apartments."

Some of the Information about Castle Green quoted from this blogspot  http://talesofcastlegreen.blogspot.com/

Pickwick Bowl, Burbank, Ca

 Just down the street from my place stands a recreation center with an ominous past, Pickwick Bowling Alley and Gardens.

"The recreation center known today as The Pickwick Bowl, in the 1940's, was just a trailer park with a community swimming pool. Despite the innocuous slogan "For 'fun in the sun' meet me at the Pickwick Pool," this small body of water had more than its share of scandal and urban legends. Not only did a "squeaky clean" teen-age celebrity reputedly get caught exposing himself to the other swimmers (leading to his firing at Disney Studios, and essentially the end of his career), but for some strange reason the pool area seemed to attract fatal injuries as children died from drownings and diving board accidents. Safety concerns were most likely the reason the pool was eventually filled in with dirt (creating the Pickwick Gardens).

 In 1958, construction began on the bowling alleys and adjacent ice rink. However, they may have built over the old "death magnet" at that site, but apparently they didn't get rid out it. Employees have told GHOULA confidentially that the management doesn't want it known (and denies) that many people have died (accidentally) on the ice rink. Strangely, all the death that seems to swarm around the premises has nothing to do with Pickwick's ghost story. The employees claim (and the management denies) that the ghost of a former manager haunts the upstairs office. Papers and other objects have been seen sliding forcefully across the desk for no apparent reason, as well as the door to that office seems to close by itself."-ghoula

 "That said, this recreation center has another claim to fame in the local ghost culture. Pickwick Bowl was the inspiration for one of the audio-animatronic "happy haunts" from Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. There used to be a sign in front of this leisure complex that featured a caricature of "Pickwick," the Dickens character (and this establishment's mascot). It seems that Imagineers that would commute to work at WED enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering) just a few blocks away decided to pay tribute to the cheerful fellow on the sign they past everyday. Thus, in the ballroom scene of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, a ghost hanging from a chandelier (also known by the name "Pickwick") was created to match the one at Pickwick Bowl."-ghoula

                                       The Pickwick Pool before being filled in in 1960's

                               Just after being filled in and converted into Pickwick Bowl

                                                                Pickwick Bowl Today

The Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles

Griffith Observatory is in Los Angeles, California. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. The observatory is a popular tourist attraction with an extensive array of space and science-related displays. View from a trail in Griffith Park from the south, looking north. 3,015 acres (12.20 km2) of land surrounding the observatory was donated to the City of Los Angeles by Colonel Griffith J. Griffith on December 16, 1896. In his will Griffith donated funds to build an observatory, exhibit hall, and planetarium on the donated land. As a Works Progress Administration project,construction began on June 20, 1933, using a design developed by architect John C. Austin based on preliminary sketches by Russell W. Porter. The observatory and accompanying exhibits were opened to the public on May 14, 1935. In its first five days of operation the observatory logged more than 13,000 visitors. Dinsmore Alter was the museum's director during its first years; today, Dr. Ed Krupp is the director of the Observatory.

 Two people have committed suicide of the Hollywood sign and there have been many sightings of weird looking figures and lights by the sign late at night. From the Griffith observatory you can see the sign very well and employees there have reported sightings of ghosts by the sign.

The Griffith Park Observatory has placed a large bronze bust of James Dean just outside the domed building (on the sidewalk to the west of the main lawn). The bust sits atop a white column, which contains a gold star and the words "James Dean" written large, plus a bronze plaque commemorating the making of key scenes of "Rebel Without a Cause." People say they have seen the apparition of James Dean himself standing looking out toward the basin of Los Angeles.