WHAT: Esotouric, L.A.'s most eclectic tour company, reveals the criminal history of L.A.'s fascinating neighborhoods with the PASADENA CONFIDENTIAL / EAST SIDE BABYLON crime bus tour weekend
WHEN: "Pasadena Confidential with Crimebo the Clown" tour Saturday, October 6, 12-4pm; "East Side Babylon" tour Sunday, October 7, 12pm-4pm
WHERE: "Pasadena Confidential with Crimebo the Clown" departs from Fair Oaks and Arlington Street, Pasadena, CA 91105; "East Side Babylon" tour departs from The Daily Dose, 1820 Industrial St., Los Angeles, CA 90021
COST: Pasadena Confidential or East Side Babylon tickets $58/person;. Weekend pass for both tours $90/person.
INFO: http://www.esotouric.com, 213-373-1947
LOS ANGELES- Ask the average person to name a true crime location in Los Angeles and you'll hear about Nicole Brown's Brentwood condo, the Manson Murders scene in the Hollywood Hills, the Black Dahlia's disappearance from the Biltmore Hotel or Bugsy Siegel's Beverly Hills death house.
But when the crack researchers of Esotouric, L.A.'s most eclectic bus tour company, go crime hunting, they throw out the map to the stars homes and cast their eye to less glamorous L.A. neighborhoods that prove to be packed with bizarre crime histories. True crime buffs have already heard the famous stories a dozen times before on cable TV, but the forgotten crimes Esotouric digs up are fresh, fascinating and truly chilling. And now, Esotouric offers a weekend double feature packed with the weirdest crimes ever committed in two of L.A.'s most iconic communities: the old money suburb of Pasadena and the gritty working class neighborhoods on the East Side of the L.A. River.
TOUR #1:
First up, on Saturday, October 6, it's Esotouric's very popular PASADENA CONFIDENTIAL WITH CRIMEBO THE CLOWN tour, a true crime bus adventure delving deep into the weird and horrible past of one of L.A.'s most exclusive suburbs. Our special guest host on this tour is Daily Candy's favorite strange entertainer, Crimebo the Crime Clown capering as only Crimebo can.
Crime fiends will enjoy a four-hour guided luxury bus tour to the darkest recesses of Pasadena history, with vintage photos and film clips show to set the scene. From celebrated cases like the Robert Kennedy assassination (Sirhan Sirhan was a local Pasadena resident), "Eraserhead" star Jack Nance's strange end, black magician/rocket scientist Jack Parsons' death-by-misadventure and the 1926 Rose Parade grand stand collapse, to fascinating obscurities, the tour's multitude of murders, arsons, kidnappings, robberies, suicides, auto wrecks and oddball happenings provide an alternate history of Pasadena that's as fascinating as it is creepy. Crime Bus passengers will tour the old Millionaire's Row on Orange Grove, boggle at the shocking Sphinx Murder on the steps of the downtown Masonic Hall, thrill to the misadventures of one very poorly-behaved (but beautifully dressed!) chimpanzee and discover why people named Judd and rocket scientists should think twice before moving to Pasadena. They'll also enjoy the offbeat charms of Crimebo the Crime Clown as he leads passengers out onto Suicide Bridge for a personal look down into the gorge that tempted dozens of tormented souls to their demise. Riders on this eye-opening, funny and informative tour will forever see Pasadena in a new light. It is highly recommended for natives and newcomers alike, crime and history buffs and anyone who likes to seek out the unexpected.
Tour guide Kim Cooper, who researches and writes all of Esotouric's true crime tours, says, "I believe every neighborhood gets the crimes it deserves, and Pasadena's dark side is suitably rife with rocket scientists driven mad by their work, wealthy eccentrics spoiling their pet chimps and bears, seemingly respectable families misbehaving behind tall hedges and a general air of genteel psychic decay."
TOUR #2:
Then on Sunday, October 7, a select crew of urban explorers will climb aboard for EAST SIDE BABYLON, the latest addition to Esotouric's popular crime bus tour series. Passengers on this unusual bus adventure will discover fascinating, little-known historic neighborhoods and the grim memories they hold. With crimes spanning the 20th Century, some hideously gruesome, others weird and frankly unbelievable, the tour provides a new way of discovering the city, via crime scenes and oddities that make ordinary houses and intersections seem to vibrate with a mysterious energy. Come visit Boyle Heights, where Night Stalker Richard Ramirez was captured and a mad dad ran amok. Roam the hallowed lawns of Evergreen, L.A.'s oldest cemetery and home of some memorable haunts and strange burials. Visit East Los Angeles, where a deranged radio shop employee made mince meat of his boss and bride--and you can get your hair done in a building shaped like a giant tamale. Explore the ghastly streets of Commerce, where one small neighborhood's myriad crimes will shock and surprise. Visit Montebello, for scrumptious milk, eggnog and cookies at Broguiere's Farm Fresh Dairy washed down with a horrifying case of child murder. All this, and so much more on EAST SIDE BABYLON, Esotouric's exploration of L.A.'s most horrifying forgotten crimes and offbeat oddities.
Upcoming Esotouric bus tour and special event schedule (free events starred)
Sat September 22 - Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice
Sat September 29 - The Real Black Dahlia
Sat October 6 - Pasadena Confidential (weekend pass available)
Sun October 7 - Eastside Babylon (weekend pass available)
Sat October 13 - The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's Southern California Nightmare
*Sun October 14 – Jim Tully's Hollywood walking tour (info at lavatransforms.org)
Mon October 15- The LAVA Salon at Musso & Frank: Jim Tully: A Hobo in Hollywood (info at lavatransforms.org)
*Thurs October 25 - Union Rescue Mission Walking Tour (info at lavatransforms.org)
*Thurs October 25 - Of Scrap & Steel screening (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat October 27 - Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles
Sun October 28 - Crime lab seminar: The Wisdom of Teeth (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat November 3 - Charles Bukowski's Los Angeles
Sun November 4 – Blood & Dumplings crime bus tour
*Wed November 14 - George Mann's Los Los Angeles (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat December 1 - Pasadena Confidential crime bus tour (weekend pass available)
Sun December 2 - Eastside Babylon crime bus tour (weekend pass available)
Sat December 8 - Weird West Adams crime bus tour
Sat December 15 – Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice crime bus tour
Sat January 5 - The Real Black Dahlia
Sat January 12 - Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles
Sat January 19 - Charles Bukowski's LA
Sat January 26 - The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's Southern California Nightmare
Esotouric's Richard Schave, Kim Cooper, Joan Renner and Michael "Crimebo the Clown" Perrick are proud members of LAVA - The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. http://www.lavatransforms.org
For more info on Esotouric, visit http://www.esotouric.com
Official Website: http://www.esotouric.com
Added by esotouric on September 21, 2012