American Legion of Super Heroes
Last week, my friend Mitch invited a few of us to the American Legion in Hollywood for a few drinks. She is an auxillary member of the Legion. Her brother is a member and she was able to join by family ties. Apparently, for the low cost of $15 a year anyone who is in or had been in the military can become a member. Can't beat getting beers for $1.50. Even as a guest I was treated to $2.50 beers. What a bargain!
The place is fascinating though...a real living piece of Hollywood history. It's the type of place you walk into and think "man, there must be like 500 ghosts living here at any one time." It's just that kind of place. MY friend Todd was actually a "ghost hunter" at one point in his life and told us some tales from different experiences he had. Fascinating stuff, that.
The place is huge. We got a tour of the upstairs libraries and museum with old fight bills from the Hollywood Fight Club and memorabilia from Hollywood's Golden Age. Pics of Marilyn Monroe (who was "introduced to Hollywood" at the Legion), Howard Hughes and Shirley Temple adorn the walls. There was even this gorgeous ballroom/auditorium that could double as a movie theater with a projection booth high above looking down.
I was expecting the bar/lounge area to be like any random VFW, Elks, Moose, Imperial Order of Water Buffalo type lodge I've seen before. The bar at the Legion was very cool and beautiful. Totally renovated from an old fallout shelter (needless to say, cell reception was at a premium) and completey redone, the bar was something you might see at any trendy LA bar. But instead of young hipsters, around this bar you find veterans, real people with their own fascinating histories and stories to tell. One of the women there was an actress back in the radio days and was even in Alfred Hitchcock's VERTIGO. It's getting to talk to people like that, people that have seen so much, that makes me love living out here. It's amazing to think of the changes in technology, and the world in general, that they've experienced.
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