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Shabby House: After, 1935. Last week's historic photo showed this house before it was remodeled. If you look carefully, you can see the Veterans War Memorial eagle statue, so we know the house stood temporarily right in front of the original Plaza Bakery, or today's Jamba Juice. Read below about the thrilling search for where this house is today.
Bruce Bratton
LOST HOUSE? The "Dream House," as it was called back in 1935 (shown above), was a four-room bungalow won by John Hadfield of Younglove Avenue. Little Rita Panattoini selected his ticket from 8,000 entered in a drawing held onstage at the New Santa Cruz Theatre (Walnut Street Cafe/Stephen's Jewelry corner) on March 16, 1935, according to the Santa Cruz News. Hadfield worked at the Davenport Cement plant. The house was supposed to be moved to a lot in the Miramar Heights tract, wherever that was. Hadfield also won $10 worth of mowless lawn from the Pinehurst Nursery. Four days later, Hadfield sold his dream house and the lot for $1,500 in cash to Everett L. Moore of 192 Pelton Ave. The actual value of the house--including all lights, hot water, curtains and drapes--was closer to $2,300. Mr. Moore was a brother-in-law of County Farm Adviser Henry Washburn and had been buying and selling several Santa Cruz properties. The question is: Where is this house? It's only 68 years old. Also, where was the Miramar Tract? Whoever finds this home can probably win a copy of Images of America: Santa Cruz, California, the historical photo book by Sheila O'Hare and Irene Berry of UCSC's McHenry Library, Special Collections.
KUSP CHANGES. As listeners probably know, KUSP-FM is starting its biggest schedule change in 20 years on Feb. 3. There's a new lineup of programs from 9am to 9:30pm weekdays, including the canceling of the seniors' Prime Time program. (Full disclosure: that show contained my little eight-minute movie critiques that used to be aired every other week.) The station is cutting out Johnny Simmons' Lost Highway and Wallace Baine's Talking Pictures on Sundays. It's adding Pacifica's Democracy Now at 3pm on weekdays and expanding a lot of NPR programming, such as All Things Considered and Fresh Air. Changes in any medium (even newspapers) are rarely taken lightly, and KUSP's changes have caused a near civil war among programmers, supporters and volunteers. Station manager Peter Troxell, who has seven months left (if he leaves on schedule), says these are tough financial times for the station. Along with KAZU's recent switch to NPR programming, which cost some amount of KUSP listeners, the debt from an expensive station remodeling has also hurt KUSP's budget. So KUSP has reduced staff hours, not replaced some staff members who've left and even gotten a discount on NPR's program costs. Grants and station-sponsoring clients have dwindled, and now program director Howard Feldstein and Troxell say the station's healthy. "We're not going away; we'll stay here. Membership is OK; these are just program changes that were overdue," Troxell and Feldstein add. What you need to do is go online to www.kusp.org and see the complete new schedule.
KINGDOM OF SHADOWS. Intacto has Max von Sydow in it, and it's a film about luck. You'll be lucky if you can figure out the plot. Even so, the film seems good, but after you leave, you'll realize that it was probably cut to ribbons and makes no sense at all. It's a Spanish film. So is Talk to Her, Pedro Almodóvar's newest. This is one excellent piece of cinema. It won the Golden Globe award for best foreign film, and it should have. It's about male egos and love and communication with women, and is nearly the best film Almodóvar has ever done. Don't miss it. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is the movie version of Chuck Barris' supposedly true autobiography. George Clooney and Julia Roberts are in it, too. It's good fun. Go see it and see if you detect a meaning or comment behind all this froufrou.
LAST WEEK'S CATALYST LETTER. Mark Graham's letter last week was right on the money--and thanks. What I tried to write about greed and the original Catalyst/St. George Hotel building came out all botched. I was going to write about the Cooper House, the Trust Building, the Casa del Rey and other buildings that were destroyed more by greed than disasters. I have regarded Catalyst owner Randall Kane as a friend for almost 30 years and would never associate him with greed. Matter of fact, John Tuck and I bought the very first drinks served at the new Catalyst. John and I did the same first-drink ceremony at the Poet and Patriot, Clouds and Rosie McCann's, but those are other stories, and other times.
MUSIC EVERYWHERE, AND TONIGHT, TOO. UCSC's Music Department presents Mary Jan Cope, Erika Arul and Amy Beal, who will play 20th-century music written for two pianos tonight (Wednesday) at UCSC's Music Recital Hall at 8pm. They'll play works by such composers as Stravinsky, Debussy and Witold Lutoslawski. Call 459.2159 for tickets. UCSC Arts & Lectures brings back the Arden Trio on Friday night to play Beethoven, Brahms and Haydn. They'll also be at the UCSC Recital Hall, and you can again phone 459.2159 for tickets. New Music Works is presenting its annual Night of the Living Composers Saturday at the same venue. William Wynant, William Trimble, Yueh Chou, Michael McGushin and the omnipresent Phil Collins will play three works by Lou Harrison and pieces by Manly Romero, Linda Bouchard and others. Call that same number, 459.2159, for tickets, or call 687.0770 for information on New Music Works.
PRIVATES IN PUBLIC. Sure, I'm going to see Puppetry of the Penis at the Rio. After actually photographing their poster in Berlin last year because I couldn't believe it, I gotta see what they do. After seeing the Chuck Barris film, I was going to call Puppetry of the Penis "The Dong Show," but Wallace Baine loaned me "Privates in Public" because he couldn't use it where he works. Last-minute tickets may be available at the Book Loft, next door to the Rio. Yes, thanks to all who cared: I did see Laurence Bedford's clever use of Puppetry and Vagina Monologues on the marquee (only in Santa Cruz?).
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