Frenchtown Confidential

It's hard to believe that the pocket of downtown containing the LA Convention Center, Staples Center, and LA Live was ever quiet and rur...

I love music more than life itself, and have been to many, MANY shows. Consequently, I know Southern California venues pretty well. I was ...

While Frenchtown's residents were mostly decent people, a few bad grapes did get into the wine vat. Michel Lachenais was one of them. ...

Los Angeles proper has never had its own mission (200+ years ago, the San Gabriel and San Fernando missions were about a day's journey f...

Jean-Louis Vignes (pronounced "vines") was born in Béguey, France (in Bordeaux's wine country) in 1780. In 1827, at the age of...

This is, obviously, a pretty new blog covering a complex subject: the history of Southern California's forgotten French community. I o...

Quick history lesson: After French emperor Napoleon had his dérriere handed to him at Waterloo in 1815, a lot of French soldiers found t...

The French have loved California ever since they found out it existed. Theodore de Croix, Captain General of northwestern Mexico under Kin...

Look at a map of Los Angeles that includes the names of its many neighborhoods. Take the time to scrutinize it thoroughly. Something is mi...