There’s a triangle of dirt at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and North Crescent Heights.
Today I stood in the middle of that dirt triangle.
It was just me, two palm trees, a bus stop, dirt, and cars whizzing by on three sides.
But had a stood there in the early 1960s, I would have been standing in the nightclub, Pandora’s Box, along with lots of drunk hippies. Cool!
Pandora’s Box featured the likes of the Beach Boys, the Byrds, and Caesar and Cleo (who soon, thankfully, renamed themselves Sonny & Cher).
You see the problem, right? Too many people, drugs, booze, and rock ‘n’ roll in the middle of one of LA’s busiest intersections.
So in 1966, a strict 10:00 p.m. curfew was established along Sunset Strip (Boulevard). And oh boy, that really pissed-off the club’s patrons.
On Saturday, November 12, 1966, fliers were distributed along the Strip inviting people to demonstrate that night; and one of L.A.'s rock 'n' roll radio stations announced a rally at Pandora's Box.
1,000 demonstrators showed up, including Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda (who was handcuffed by the police). The police and media called the demonstration a “riot.”
But alas, despite best efforts, Pandora’s Box was soon closed, torn down and leveled, and then I showed up 56 years later.
Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth (Stop, Hey, What’s That Sound) was written by the band’s Stephen Stills in response to the Pandora’s Box riots. To quote Stills, "Riot is a ridiculous name, it was a funeral for Pandora's Box.”
The place was mistakenly featured in the film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which was set in 1969, long after the nightclub was gone, and nothing was there but weird people taking photos of satellites.
Plastic People, a song recorded by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, includes the lyrics, "I hear the sound of marching feet...down Sunset Boulevard to Crescent Heights and there at Pandora's box we are confronted with a vast quantity of plastic people.”
Cooler yet, the 1967 film, “Riot on Sunset Strip” is a fictionalized depiction of the events around the Pandora's Box riots.
Anyway, I took one of my lousy photos across the street from the triangle…
…then continued down Sunset Boulevard, went left on Sweetzer, took a right on Santa Monica and headed west. When, suddenly—holy crap!—some joint named “Rocco’s!”
Remember? Detective Rocco?! New York City’s finest who gunned down Aaron Green in Randy’s old loft? (This post.)
Yep, the very same Detective Rocco who threatened me if I wrote of what really happened.
And then like an idiot, I did. Days later I grabbed Sally and we fled to LA to hide out.
And now, Rocco’s!
Right in front of me!
What if this is her brother or cousin’s place? What if the Roccos are all networked. And the Roccos here also shoot annoying people like me? I bet it was a Rocco who handcuffed Peter Fonda up at Pandora’s Box. Damn it!
I quickly took a photo and headed back up Santa Monica, with my baseball cap pulled down low. What if I had bumped into this Rocco’s joint in the dark of the night? Phew! That was close.
I got home, bolted the door, and checked out Rocco’s website. At night the place has drag queen shows. I’ll be skipping those....