Reed's eyesight is truly amazing, the way he calls off license plates far in the distance, even at night. He might actually be Superman, as he can see the Daily Planet (Los Angeles City Hall) all the way from the Valley.
From Log 56: Vice Versa, season 3, episode 23, aired March 11, 1971:
Was it all an in-joke? Was it "location comedy"? It's great that Adam-12 preserved so many areas of Los Angeles on film 1967 (the pilot) -1975, but a thematic approach would have been less jarring.
Here is a modern shot of Reed's view southwest on Broadway from Chinatown:
More things were visible behind them at Moorpark and Tujunga, AKA "Adam-12 Intersection" -- it should have a sign up! "Adam-12 Square"! "Squares" named after famous folks have popped up all over Los Angeles. Don't Adam-12 deserve one? [Not in a city that defunds the police I guess 😡]
WARNING: TRUE CRIME report
This all ties together in a tragic way. I said Reed was Superman because he could see all the way to LA City Hall, which was used as the Daily Planet on TV's Superman. And Adam-12 have just driven past Tyrrell Buick on Lankershim.
Buy a vowel for Employee please
Horrific murder and a senseless loss of life. Sadly, his grave doesn't even have a photo posted or flowers. I got out of Los Angeles (FINALLY) earlier this year, or I would go try to get a pic, as I am a findagrave contributor [I did many at Calvary in Los Angeles and Woodlawn in Santa Monica -- which has quite the Masonic display!] If you can get to Forest Lawn, consider posting a photograph for this young man.
I could not find any follow-up on the case. Was anyone arrested?
When Reed turns east on Hortense, there is a glimpse of Le Petit Chateau French restaurant. It only recently became "The Comedy Chateau" -- at least it's no Monster Box!
Hortense, east of Lankershim, however, is the site of a crushing outbreak of Monster Boxes. Exhibit A:
The first cross street you come to heading east is Denny. Denny has this lovely 1926 home, showing how people should live. Across the street is a Monster Box, showing how the greedy, "pack 'em in" crowd thinks humans should live -- in oversized boxes. Luckily Google's back-in-time feature let's us see the neighborhood-appropriate house that used to be there.
For me, this blog is as much about Valley nostalgia (and grieving) as it is about Adam-12. Adam-12 fortunately preserved a lot of things on film, even if only in passing in many cases. I originally thought the Valley was all mid-century homes with the rare genuinely old home designated an historical landmark. However, I now know many, many 1920s homes line Valley residential streets, and quite a few courtyard apartment (or "garden apartment") complexes from the 1940s are still around. [I've even found some pre-1920s homes, mostly in Van Nuys, and that shocked me!]
Los Angeles is a city of greedy politicians, greedy developers, and overpopulation, including people who do not grasp what "carrying capacity" is. Thus, single-family homes have been declared the enemy, and the Monster Box has eaten 21st century Los Angeles. I have a fledgling blog about this horror show. On the street Reed turned down, Hortense, Monster Boxes have devoured most everything in their path. This 1948 two-unit complex is holding on, but for how much longer?
Several things happen in this episode "Log 56:Vice Versa," but the woman in the dress that appears to be made of carpet is shooting at an impressive home on Valley Spring Lane -- a home that is no more. I went far down the rabbit hole with the home's society page owners, Mr. & Mrs. John Winn. Then I found Dick Whittinghill! We'll start with the Adam-12 part that preserved the house for the masses. Then I'll share what I learned about the house and the Winns, and later the Whittinghills.
A Mrs. Martha Heath took out the permit in April of 1936 for $4500. She must have planned to live in it herself because she lost her expensive watch in Hollywood and asked it to be returned here.
There is not one single house, not even one that is half burnt down and in a neighborhood with non-stop gunfire, that would list as "low" as $295K in the Valley today. Without going into Bubble Politics, just know the median Valley home price is now an unsustainable $955,000 [reported in mainstream media in July]. That is not a typo. That's just insanity in print.
The median household (not individual, household) income in the Valley is around $72,000. See the disconnect? Many homes are purchased by investors and corporations; there is also money laundering, both foreign and domestic. Real estate is a popular place to park ill-gotten gains. Alas!
Mr. and Mrs. John E. Winn (Mrs. Winn's name was Bernice) were the first long-time owners. The Winn Family ladies had quite a few mentions in the local paper. After Mr. Winn's death at only 58, the house was quickly put up for sale. A few of their newspaper appearances, including a photo of the ladies:
Mr. Winn must have had good insurance, being a successful insurance broker. By early 1964 Mrs. Winn (Bernice now!) was living in Toluca Lake! Upgrade from that North Hollywood address. He doesn't appear on Findagrave.
Who bought the house? Dick Whittinghill.
Do I have a true crime case at his restaurant? You know it!
Remember in the pilot episode when Art Gilmore played "Lt. Val Wangsgard"? Look who the actual Lt. was on this robbery case at Dick Whittinghill's Restaurant! Clearly they were giving a shout out to a real officer whom they met while making the show. Then he became "Captain Moore."
Not sure what happened with the house between the early 70s and this sale. Quite possibly the Whittinghill family were there the whole time. Dick Whittinghill passed away in January 2001, so I kind of suspect he had lived there since 1963.
It survived into the next century, but not for long, as Monsters keep eating LA.
Some helpful soul on imdb gave addresses for the house with the stolen furniture (4288 Elmer) and the ice cream truck drug pushers (4426 Kraft).
Time for another case. A whole house on nearby Elmer has been robbed.
The Elmer house was for sale a couple years after the episode.
21' living room?
Notice the corner house as it was then. (Yes, I've backed up in the story to show the original corner house.)
The robbery house has undergone some changes, but the neighbor house isn't even the same house! 11245 Valley Spring Lane was new in 2017.
And Grandma Walton was one of the burglars.
I know it's a thing to spot the gold Mustang in every scene, but have you noticed how frequently a 55, 56, or 57 Chevrolet gets some screen time? More, please!
Heading back toward Adam-12 Square at Moorpark and Tujunga -- I want to make it happen!
#Adam-12Square
"Credit Risk" episode shows the big brown apartment complex that took over this corner in 1971.
Kraft Avenue north of Moorpark has largely (not entirely!) retained its stretch of original Valley houses. Let's look!
Even the homes from the 20s-40s still had their original look on Adam-12, and having walls, fences, and massive amounts of thick greenery to block your home from view was just not the done thing then. Now it's all privacy hedges, gates, walls, and drastic remodeling or tear-down-to-monsterize altogether. Didn't Malloy tell a woman, during a safety check (with "Shaft Alley!" kid) that privacy hedges actually give criminals a place to hide?
At the beginning of this episode, Malloy realized Reed would be driving that day, and boy did he look P.O.'d. That's kind of his default look actually, but it intensified here with Buz 2.0 at the wheel. Then it ends with Reed driving over his hat. Poor Peeved Pete.
I haven't included a single Mac Moment this post, so let's flash back to how their day began.
