The Brownstone building at 1318 Poplar Avenue is a well recognised landmark in the Alhambra area. One of a few stone buildings that date back to the early 19th century, the building has survived the quake of 1902 and the Fire of 1912.It has been privately owned by a trust for over 100 years and held in stewardship until the turn of the 21st century. It was sold at auction to an Edwina White who passed away shortly after acquiring it.
It is now owned by a non-profit organization who uses it as their headquarters.
The Circle of Osiris was barely a blink of the great eye of spiritual history. More of a socail club than a serious order, they dabbled in magical and mystical forces from the comfort of their communal residence. They are notable for only two things: Their discovery of the ancient art of preserving life force (see 'longevity' pg 1489) and the genius of the Order's founder Hyron Gerhardt.
Gerhardt is known for his study of Ley Lines having penned what is still considered the definitive chart of world lines. He insisted that there was a pentad* under the location of the Circle's commune. He had the house built to precice alignment and warded specially to take advantage of the axes of power.
While many of Hyron's theories are brilliant only a very few of them have ever been proven. His death in 1905 in the first traffic accident fatality in California is still considered a tragedy.* from the footnotes:
A pentad is the convergence of five ley lines and is quite rare. There are known convergences of the triad (three) and quadrad(four) orders in places of power but only three ley lines have ever been verified to be close. On H. Gerhardt's maps pentad lines are shown to converse in Sunnydale California and Alhambra, California. Many experts consider the coincidence of two such convergences of a pentad order in the same area to be preposterous.
Local police are baffled at the disappearance of nine families living in the tenant building at 1318 Poplar Avenue. There are no leads to explain what might have happened to the residents. The landlord of the building could not be reached for comment.Neighbors called the police when they spotted smoke coming from the building. Suspecting a fire, local police and firefighters broke into the building only to find an iron left on had started a small fire which had burned out before causing any damage.
A further search of the building discovered ovens on, stovetops active, and telvisions playing, but no evidence of any residents. Police are suspecting that the small fire may have panicked the residents who fled the building and have yet to return. If any residents of 1318 Poplar Avenue would like to report the events of that day, please contact....
Jan 4 1963
Those weirdos at 1318 are at it again. Last night I saw all kinds of strange smoke and lights coming from the third floor again. I can only surmise they are having some kind of hippie party up there!Jan 5 1963
I called the police after I heard an explosion coming from 1318. There were a lot of cops there and a couple of ambulances. They took out bodies! I don't want to know what kind of strange substances those hippies were into but I'll be glad for the peace.
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Places in La By Night
There are a few gaps in the 'places' section on the home page - so I finally got around to doing a 'write-up' on Club Asylum (gee that only took me... what? three months since creating the place??) :D Anyway it occured to me that if anyone had any places they wanted to 'open' - not just any old place but a proper location for all characters to use like the Expresso Pump or The Magic Box on Buffy.
Instead of having a bunch of seperate posts littering the forums I thought it would be a good idea to put them in one single thread.
So here it is... I'm starting out with Club Asylum and I know that there also needs to be a write up for 1318 Poplar Avenue too.
Club Asylum
Club Asylum
Club Asylum was opened in February 2005. The club is owned and run by a lifelong Angeleno, Benedict (Ben) Morrison.
The club is actually an old converted aviation warehouse, consisting of two floors – the upper of which is the management office. The main area of the club is all open plan. The bar is located in the centre of the club with a stage area towards the far end where live bands and singers perform. There is a large dance floor to the front of the stage and towards the opposite end of the building is ample space for patrons to sit and enjoy a drink. The recesses of the club are lined with many intimate booths lit with artificial candlelight. The decor is what would be called industrial-gothic, very dark with lots of exposed stone and metal work.
Since the launch in February 2005, business has been very good, there is normally always a queue of patrons outside – the place is always full as the music caters to many age groups, although the mainstay tends to be what would be termed ‘alternative’ R&B pop.
Despite the rumours of the various ‘gang elements’ in the area, the club has managed to remain fairly untouched. Perhaps this has just been a matter of good fortune, or maybe it’s because Benedict isn’t as naive as he seems… why else would all his door and bar staff carry stakes and vials of holy water?
‘Asylum’ is Ben’s vision – a place of safe asylum for the human element of Los Angeles, and if he makes a buck or two in the process, all the better.
Bibliophile
Bibliophile
Bibliophile is a bookshop and café located across the street from Bob’s Bar. The main shop area consists of row upon row of books, organized by subject, with fiction and non-fiction works intermixed. Among these is a very large section on the occult and supernatural phenomenon. In the rear of the store is a small case. This case is under lock and key. It contains the rare, out-of-print volumes that Bibliophile is best known for. This case can only be accessed by two people, Daye and Mrs. Wyldling.
The shop also offers a service for seeking out volumes. The staff will attempt to assist in locating any works that are not already in stock for a nominal fee. The shop also has a small selection of candles, incense, and other wiccan type paraphernalia. There is a small table against the back wall of the shop which houses two computer terminals and a printer. These can be used for research or whatever other needs the customers may have.
The other function of Bibliophile is that of a café. Inside the shop, just outside of the shelving area is a small space devoted to serving coffees, and pastries. There are two large, overstuffed armchairs and a sofa facing a small round table. There are also two antique table and chair sets.
Near the seating area is a counter with a couple of stools. There are various coffee and espresso machines behind the counter, and a swinging door leading to the small kitchen area. The kitchen area is where the simple menu is prepared. Along with the pastries served inside, there are a variety of soups, salads, and sandwiches available for the patrons who make use of the pretty outdoor sidewalk café area in front of the shop. It is a popular spot with young professionals in the area for its atmosphere and food.
The outdoor seating area is enclosed by a decorative wrought iron fence and furnished with more of the dainty, antique, wrought iron tables like the ones found inside. There are three part-time servers employed by the shop that take care of the sidewalk café patrons. The shop also employs a full-time chef, and two part-time counterpersons. The only other staff is the current manager, Mrs. Wyldling, and her assistant, Amanda Blaise (Daye).
The shop is also a way station for members of the Watchers Council arriving in or passing through the city of Los Angeles. There is a small room in the rear of the shop with a door marked “Employees Only.” This room serves as an office and also as a break area for the staff. Stock is kept in boxes here until it is shelved. There is a table, a couple of shelves of books, a small refrigerator, and a microwave. There is also a desk in the corner containing ledgers and various papers with a modern looking computer set up on it. On the wall behind the desk hangs a lovely impressionist painting hiding the shops wall safe. It is in this room that most of the council business takes place.
The shop is cozy and attractive. The walls are brick and there is an eclectic collection of art on them. Usually, there is a fairly steady stream of customers to be found in both the shop and the café. Many of the students from the local University use the shop as a source for their research papers and other class work.
Places in La By Night
Club Asylum Pages and (new) Bibliophile writeup are online in the Places section of the site.
I promise to get a good write up of 1318 Poplar done soon...
Places in La By Night
I would greatly be helped by some definite decisions about where these places are located. For instance, Bob's Bar is in the poor part of town. Where is that? Is there a neighborhood name?
This may seem trivial, but for example, if my character wants to walk to After Dark, it would be nice to know if it's in walking distance from his neighbhorhood located around Bob's Bar.
As Dave once said, my questions lead to more work. But the answers to the question will give a concreteness to the story. A solid foundation makes fantastic yarns much easier to swallow.
Places in La By Night
Much of this was placed online, and I have a gallery of maps here
Poplar Ave is located in Alhambra, just outside the urban center of LA. Bob's Bar, XY, and Bibliophile all share a corner on the edge of the commercial district of Alhambra.
Travelling east about 3 blocks from there is the 'bad' part of town where Narcosis is located, and about 6 blocks from there is the warehouse district where the Beazor Complex is located.
Travelling west (well, southwest towards LA) from the busiest corner in La By Night is the trendy part of town where at least one graveyard is located and Club Asylum. Somewhat north of there (a couple of blocks) is the Historic district where After Dark is located on a back alleyway.
Continuing Southwest takes you to the snooty part of town where Ivy Street is located (and where Mantheana lives on a winding tree covered road).
North of Narcosis and about a 30 minute walk from Poplar is a large park where huge oak trees stand in silent witness to the urbanization. Another graveyard is east of that a few blocks (where Black Jem and company hang out).
The freeway is quite close (only 3 blocks from Poplar Ave) and the local streets are very busy in the morning but by night they are quite deserted.
The closest hospital is about 30 minutes, and there is at least one school and a Irish pub.
I think that about sums up where things are located. If you need a place, make it up. We don't stand on accuracy, just consistency.
Pictures
I found a couple of pictures of my favourite on-line magic shop - they had some photos of their store down in Chilwell, i thought they might be a good source of inspiration for Bibliophile or XY
Let me know what you think...
Packed Bookselves in Bibliophile?
The Cash Desk at XY?
Magical Supplies at XY?
Places in La By Night
I like the pics for Bibliophile. Thanks, Lou. :)
1318 Poplar Avenue
1318 Poplar Avenue
The tenement building at 1318 Poplar Ave, Alhambra, California has become the center for “The Foundation” and its associate members. The location of the building itself has a history that stretches back millennia before the earliest human settlements.
Prior to the arrival of mankind as the dominant species on the planet there was a world of magic. Demons roamed the earth until rather abruptly most of them left. Around this time the first Slayer was created on the continent of Africa.
In what would become known as North America Humans were unseen. The Ice Age that would create the bridge between Siberia and Alaska had yet to be formed. The continent was a harsh place of predators like lions and bears and saber-toothed tigers. California was awash with predatory mammals that fed on proto-horses and wild boars.
An evil entity from another universe noticed a small pinprick of a hole between his universe and ours. His universe had become a prison that he had filled with his protomatter. A universe that was no longer infinite, but was now bounded only by this entity. The entity had filled several universes and now began to focus on ours.
It began to infiltrate our universe a small drop of protomatter at a time. Each drop emulated something it could see. A saber toothed tiger. A mammoth. A beast or a predatory bird. Each doppelganger it created lived a short while, but was not better than its peers. So soon they expired as all things do. They were captured in the circle of life and not allowed to continue.
Soon demons began to arrive here. They were fleeing the Slayer who pursued them. But there were no men here, and so no girls to be chosen. North America became a haven for the forces of evil. The Evil Entity was overjoyed. It began to duplicate the demons and they survived, many of them for thousands of years. Each duplicate passed it life experiences to the Evil entity.
Suddenly its prison became an auditorium where it could watch and manipulate the actions of those it considered beneath it. It craved new experience. It began to seek out conflict and drama…until men arrived.
Mankind was clever and adaptive in a way that the demons were not. Demons did not change their ways often. Once a killer always a killer. Man had a more fluid nature, it adapted. A killer might hide or blend with non killers for decades. Or never reveal its true nature. It puzzled the Entity so it began to duplicate man.
Man’s adaptivity unmasked the fakes quickly. The Entity, like the demons, was not part of Nature. It’s unchanging nature made it obvious to those who were attentive to the true way of things.
These Champions placed a protector over the pinhole portal to watch it. This guardian monster would devouer all the drops of protomatter that might seep into our world. But the presence of the portal and the guardian placed upon it would be forgotten. Because it is also in the nature of man to forget his past and repeat his mistakes…
Thousands of years later in the 19th century a new town began to appear. Alhambra, the gateway to the San Gabriel valley was a bustling town in the early days of the gold rush in California. The railroads and stagecoaches headed to Los Angeles ofeten passed through that way.
The guardian beast and the portal it had been set to guard had been dormant both for a long long time. The beast began to forget what it was it had been charged to do, and the Entity, frustrated at being thwarted constantly had turned its attentions to other things.
A secret society called the Circle of Osirus gathered in Alhambra at the behest of their leader, Hyron Gerhardt. Hyron was a magical genious. He had been able to discern the patterns of ley lines (lines of magical power that connect places of significance throughout the world). Although his theories were controversial (crazy some called them) he had nevertheless been able to unlock one ancient mystery: Immortality. He and his disciples had settled here because of a convergence; a pentad.
A pentad was where five ley lines crossed. They had met previously at a pentad site in nearby Sunnydale, but the Hellmouth there made it an unusable area. This site was to become the site of their new coven headquarters.
Early in the construction, they encountered the guardian beast. Hyron correctly discerned it had been placed there. Soon they began to discover other enchantments and mystical energies. Hyron, mapped these energies and redesigned his headquarters to both take advantage of the pentad, and to allow the existing enchantments to continue unabated.
The building was dedicated in 1813. It was completed by 1814 and soon the members of the Circle of Osirus were living there full-time. In the 1840s for a short time they rented rooms. Vrithetek rented one for a while.
In the early 1900’s (1905) Hyron was killed (at the age of 402) in the first automobile fatality in California. For decades the Circle of Osirus continued to exist but without Hyron they had little guidance. By the 1960s they had degenerated into a commune of peace-loving mystics. While still exploring magic as a viable force they also experimented in mind altering substances and free love. During an orgiastic ritual one night in the 3rd floor conjuring chamber they touched the mind of the Evil Entity.
Many of the Circle were driven mad and some even took their own lives. The blood and fear and frenzy destroyed the spirit of the remaining members of the Circle and they disbanded. Only the foresight of a former member, Edwina White, managed to preserve the ownership of the building.
Edwina had forsaken immortality and magic for a mortal life with her love. But she knew many of the secrets of Poplar Avenue. She cut a deal with the Sorcerer’s guild to have them enchant the property. From that time forth the property bustled with life. Families came and left. Babies were born and children grew up and played on the sidewalk. The neighbors knew the people wo lived in Poplar as bright cheery folks who lived their lives.
But there were no people living in Poplar. From 1972 to 2005 the building had only one occupant. A Wise woman who lived on the third floor. The Sorcerer’s guild maintained the illusion while using Poplar as a base of operations to watch supernatural activity. The illusion to maintain the appearance of normalcy kept curious strangers away from the house and kept maintenance costs down.
Edwina continued to hold the deed, and when her husband died in 2004 she went back to Poplar. The Sorcerer’s guild felt no reason to maintain the illusion and disrupted it, leading many to report that all of the tenants of Poplar had disappeared.
A new Wisewoman was appointed 9 months later and Edwina began once more to rent out the apartments of Poplar to visitors in the winter of 2005. Her tenants, however, were inexplicably drawn to the building. Victor, Jade, Tash, Stalker, and others soon moved in.
The spiritual activity began to awaken the guardian beast and the evil entity. Outside influences cased many strange effects. Even Edwina’s life was claimed. Victor, the reformed demon, purchased the building from her estate and began renovations.
Unfortunately, not knowing the full history of the building, and the nature of Hyron’s original plan they erringly interfered with the enchantments that protected the guardian beast (now known as the basement monster) from the Evil Entity. Soon the Entity was extruding protomatter into our universe again. But this modern society with its layers of anonymity allowed it to quicky infiltrate into our society. It grew very strong in a very short period of time, widening the pinhole to a gaping portal.
Once the errors were discovered the building was restored and the basement monster once again became the watchdog for the portal, devouring any protomatter that escaped.
The Building is now listed on the United States historic registry as a national treasure, and is maintained by the “Poplar Avenue Foundation” a non-profit organization that maintains the property. However, like many things at Poplar, there is more than face value.
Poplar Avenue is also the headquarters for “The Foundation” a group of supernatural evil-fighters. Funded privately as well as partially by the US Government they fight supernatural threats to the LA area. They act as independent agents in their duties and have ties with many other supernatural groups.
Places in La By Night
should i put something in here for the laughing dog's and the building behind laughing dogs?
Places in La By Night
As a rule of thumb if it is a place that will feature heavily in the game for ALL PC's (such as Bob's Bar or Asylum) or serve as a place for congregation (such as Bibliophile, XY or 1318 Poplar Avenue) it should have a write up.
So the question to ask would be, does the Laughing Dogs and Tarix's new home qualify as such a place? If so then go ahead...
Places in La By Night
Well i don't think Tarix's home will have too much relevance but the Laughing Dog's will be appearing a few many times.
Places in La By Night
Laughing Dogs
In 1989, a German restaurant called the Hummer ist kline was established by Henry Costell, who was 51 at that time. The Hummer ist kline was situated on the corner of Popular Avenue. After the restaurant was established it was obvious that it wasn’t going to last very long. The food was terrible and nothing like German food had ever been, or will be. Before the restaurant could go into bankruptcy, Henry closed the place for two months. He borrowed some money and changed it entirely in the hope of making a fresh start and when it open again it was now Legend of Greek: a Greek restaurant. Some of it’s customers, in the hope that it would be different then before, made their way to the place to find out that the food hadn’t changed. Even though the name of the dishes had changed the end result was still a crispy burnt piece of inedible slop that could make a goat lose its appetite on a diet.
Three months later, Henry died of a heart attack and the business was now handed over to his son, Jonathan Costell, 43. In summer 1990, Jonny (as he was usually called) made the restaurant go through another transformation. After two more months of renovation the restaurant was now the Laughing Dogs. Even though the name was far worse then the previous names but the food was better, slightly. The food was slightly edible and as it was a fast food burger restaurant situated in a nice location, the sales were higher then before, however they weren’t that high, but high enough to let the restaurant pay its debts and run on a fairly small profit.
Jonny, so that he could earn more, accuired the land behind Laughing Dog's, which had a building on it. He wanted to break it down and extend the reastaurant as soon as the sales were up, but the sales never rose. So Jonny kept the building as a residential area, which was 5 storeys high. He himself decided to live on the fifth floor.
Jonny designed the uniform of the Laughing Dog’s and as his favorite colours were red and yellow, so were the theme colours of the restaurant. He also designed the logo, which had a picture of a dog (which didn’t look like it was laughing) with his tongue sticking out, pasted on to something that looked like a red and yellow looneytoons circle with the words Laughing Dogs on it.
Places in La By Night
Club Vosrazhenie
Club Vosrazhenie was opened in the summer of 1992 in LA. It is owned by big time Russian mob boss Yuri Polyakov and is run by his two sons: Brody and Peter, neither, of which, live in America. They also happen to be recovering cocaine addicts. Well, at least Brody is recovering. Peter is still at large in his binges, according to reports from the Russian government
It is a Russian themed club, with a majority of its writing is in Cyrillic. The inside interior has an industrial look and is painted a metallic blue, with little white tables scattered around the large dance floor. Strobe lights are always on and florescent lights are the only other source of light.
All the music that is played there is Russian techno, which has said to be the best techno is the world. Russian music groups often come here to get exposure in America. Afterwards, they are allowed to sell albums to the patrons, but not without give a percentage of the grosses to the club.
When the Soviet fell in 1991, Yuri saw a world of opportunities open up. Although he gained a great amount of power from controlling a respectable number of banks in Russia, Yuri knew that if he was going to gain any real power, he should set up business in America.
He began setting up a string of strip clubs along the Southern California coast when he thought up the idea of a dance club. It would attract hordes of young people and would be a good way to traffic drugs. Wanting the club to stay as close to his homeland of Russia as possible, Yuri picked Los Angeles.
When it was finished, Yuri gave it the name, Vosrazhenie, which, in Russian, means “objection”. It was opened to the public, including demons and vampires. The latter would come to haunt Polyakov.
Its first two years ran smoothly, without much event. Then, the attacks began. Not from rival mobsters, but from local vampire gangs. The attacks angered Yuri, who saw it as an attack on his credibility. He ordered security to be tightened on the club. Still, the attacks continued.
Then, in the summer of 2006, a vampire attack on the club occurred like no other. The Brotherhood, which was running at large in LA, attacked the club and its patrons. If it weren’t for the threat of daylight, Club Vosrazhenie would have been destroyed. Word reached Polyakov, who was (and still is) on trial in Moscow, about the serious attack. He was so infuriated about it that they postponed the trial for a week until he cooled down.
Yuri then enforced the current “no vampires” rule by setting up a test at the entrance when getting in. It was simply spraying each patron’s hand with holy water. If their hand doesn’t smoke, they are allowed in. If they do, they are staked immediately. It has been working ever since.
Bonne Santé
Bonne Santé
History ~
Catherine (Kate) Eldridge purchased Bonne Santé in November 2006, reviving the site of a previous coven of witches called The Circle of Hecate. In 2005, the entire coven was slaughtered by a vampire warrior called Cian and several months later after a failed police investigation into the murders, Kate happened upon the building while searching for members of the disassembled coven. Eight months later Kate purchased the property and began refurbishment’s to the building. The renovation was completed in early 2007 and lay abandoned due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’ until mid-June when it was finally opened for business.
Description ~
Bonne Santé (meaning ‘Good Health’) is a small, modest building in a commercial precinct in the Pasadena district of Los Angeles. The outside blends in well with the surrounding shops, bars and boutiques with its high windows and white wood panelled fascias. Inside, the area is divided into two main sections, the waiting area and a separate treatment room for clients only. There is also a small storeroom out back where Kate keeps all her most potent spell components under lock and key, and a small Wiccan shrine where Kate takes her daily meditations.
The décor is very homely, reflecting Kate’s own eclectic style. The waiting area looking more like a living room with big comfortable sofas, side tables and lamps – giving the premises a very intimate and relaxed feel. The treatment area is decorated in a similar manner although the shelves in this room are filled with various healing accoutrements such as crystals, candles, amulets, bundles of herbs, etc. There is massage table set up against the far wall along with comfortable seating and also ample floor space to conduct group workings such as meditation.
Treatments ~
Bonne Santé offers a range of holistic and complementary therapies from Reiki and accupressure to herbology, aromatherapy massage, and many other forms of healing based on Kate’s years of training in The Craft. She also performs more potent healing spells for those clients who need extra attention though she usually disguises the supernatural bent of these sessions beneath the glamour of New Age treatments.
Because of its history as an old coven house the building has acquired a certain amount of magical energy and thus makes it an excellent place for conducting mystical workings.
Places in La By Night
A few years ago, I offered some maps of L.A. Many of those maps are now broken links. I offer a new map. It's really nice, allowing you to zoom out for a bird's eye perspective and zoom for a near-first person street view.
http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=Los+Angeles,+CA
Places in La By Night
Cool. :) You can even find Poplar Blvd in Alhambra (which we renamed to Poplar Ave). :D
Places in La By Night
Great map, Sid. We'll have to do a LABN scavenger hunt :)
I never really noticed it, oddly enough, but Benji's ol' home in Chinatown is almost smack
in between Pasadena and Alhambra. He's closer to the White Hats than I realized...:twisted:
Places in La By Night
Thanks.
I know what you mean. When I write, I picture vague locations in my head, all relative to one another, but when I see an actual map, it blows my mind. It is a tight, closely matched tug of war when you write fiction. The right side of your brain pulls toward fantasy, and the left pulls toward the accurate placement of landmarks.
I usually lean into the right-brain goal. But it's still nice to see a map, once and awhile, to give us focus and a sense of reality.