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IDLE HOUR

When I first drove past it last month, I did a double take then turned my focus back to the road to prevent a fender bender in a busy intersection. Did I just see a wooden barrel the size of a building? Or what if it WAS the building? A little…odd. 

So, of course I asked Drew to help investigate. We packed up some gear on Sunday morning and went in search of a large barrel. The intersection of my almost-hit-the-brakes double-take is Lankershim and Vineland. We spotted the barrel instantly and parked on a side street called Peach Grove. 

​It was a beautiful day.  Walking down Peach Grove and seeing some lovely architecture of the homes would have been worth the visit. But we were also out to see a large barrel. And there it was…in between Fringe Hair Studio and Mark’s Paint Shop.  The “large barrel” is called Idle Hour.

Back in the era of World War II, a architecture called “programmatic’ was the hype. It’s a type of architecture in which a building was designed to resemble what it sells. I would be happy to see a massive coffee cup pop up on my block.  In the bloom of novelty buildings popping up, Michael D. Connolly and engineer George F. Fordyk combined forces and put up a taproom in the shape of a whiskey barrel. Unfortunately, with the economy becoming problematic, different ownerships and building quality, the business closed. But luckily for all of us, Idle Hour was rebuilt and stands strong. It has even been named Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #977. ​

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