metro area: san diego / carlsbad / san marcos, CA
heaven’s gate house
from cults posted in history by pete_nice
In March of 1997, thirty-nine bodies were found in this 7-room, 9,200 sq ft mansion north of San Diego.
The grisly scene was the result of a mass suicide by the Heaven's Gate cult. A mixture of Christianity and science fiction, the cult was led by Marshall Applewhite. Partially influenced by Star Trek, the group killed themselves so their souls could join an alien spaceship hidden in the tail of the passing Hale-Bopp comet.
view full location details...san diego zoo
from the beach boys, pet sounds posted in music by crabapple
The cover for The Beach Boys experimental 1966 album Pet Sounds was shot at the San Diego Zoo. The shot was taken by photographer George Jerman on Feb 15, 1966.
From the liner notes: "The photos of The Beach Boys feeding an assortment of goats was a play on the album's chosen title, Pet Sounds."
view full location details...u.s. grant hotel
from comic-con posted in comic books by speedy_dee
The precursor to the San Diego Comic-Con International, known as the Golden State Comic-Con, was first held at the U.S. Grant Hotel from August 1–3, 1970.
The hotel was originally built in 1922 by Ulysses S. Grant, Jr. (son of president Ulysses S. Grant) who named the hotel after his father. The hotel is now on the U.S. National Register for Historic Places (probably not for its role in comic history, but should be).
view full location details...spring valley inn
from beat farmers posted in music by corporate_sunshine
The Beat Farmers were a cowpunk/rockabilly/Americana band that formed in 1983 and played around the San Diego State campus area, especially at the Spring Valley Inn. In that year, the Beat Farmers recorded a live album there, Live at the Spring Valley Inn, 1983 that wasn't released until 2003.
The Beat Farmers's big hit was Happy Boy, which is still played every Friday at 3 pm on the Pittsburgh radio station WDVE to signal the end of the work week.
Beat Farmer songs have been featured in a number of cinematic masterpieces, including Rad, Teen Wolf Too, Major League, and The Garbage Pail Kids Movie.
view full location details...hotel del coronado
from l. frank baum, the wizard of oz posted in literature by elvis_crabs
At the time of its opening in 1888, the Hotel del Coronado (a.k.a. "The Del" or "Hotel del") was the largest resort hotel in the world. It has been featured in several books and films.
L. Frank Baum wrote many of his Oz books at the resort.
Stephen King wrote his story 1408 (film release in 2007) from a collection of real-life news stories about parapsychologist Christopher Chacon's investigation of a notoriously haunted room at the hotel.
It also was the setting for the 1975 novel Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson; however, for the movie version, Somewhere in Time (1980), the story setting and filming were moved to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan.
The hotel is featured on a US Postage Stamp honoring director Billy Wilder, with images of Marilyn Monroe and the hotel from Some Like It Hot (1959). Other films shot here include My Blue Heaven (1990), The Stunt Man (1980), and Wicked, Wicked (1973).
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