THE HIGH SCHOOL where Stephen King’s horror story Carrie was filmed, Will Rogers’ ranch house and a museum dedicated to bunnies are among some of the famous structures that have been badly damaged or destroyed by the wildfires that have swept southern California.
Los Angeles, home to more than a century of television and film, is a city full of landmarks.
The destruction to the buildings is not as devastating as the loss of life and homes in recent days but is another blow to the city as it reels from the impacts of the fires, amplifying the sense of loss and despair felt by residents.
There was “significant damage” to Palisades Charter High School, though the main campus building stands. The functioning high school is currently attended by around 3,000 students, though they were not in session this week, but has also served as a TV and film set.
The 1976 adaptation of horror story Carrie starring Sissy Spacek is the school’s most known credit.
It also featured in the 2003 remake of Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, the Kirsten Dunst movie Crazy/Beautiful, the Anne Hathaway film Havoc, the television series Teen Wolf and American Vandal and the music video for Olivia Rodrigo’s good 4 u.
A 1915 mansion that featured in the current HBO series Hacks was almost entirely destroyed by the Eaton fire.
The show, which is currently filming its fourth season, won Best Television Series in the comedy category at the Golden Globes only on Monday, with star Jean Smart taking home the Best Actress award.
The Andrew McNally House, a Queen Anne-style mansion in Altadena that dated back to 1887, was also lost in the Eaton Fire.
The house featured in the 2001 Whoopi Goldberg and Jada Pinkett Smith movie Kingdom Come.
It had hand-carved woodwork, stained glass windows and an opulent Turkish Room decorated with Moorish influences. The grounds of the House also had an aviary. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
Will Rogers’ Western Ranch House, a property dating back to the 1920s, was completely destroyed by the Palisades Fire.
It was where actor and radio personality Will Rogers would ride horses and practice roping before his death in 1935. His widow, Betty Rogers, gave the property to the state in 1944 and it became a historic state park.
The state park was featured in the 1975 Barbra Streisand sequel Funny Lady.
The Palisades Fire likewise destroyed the Topanga Ranch Motel, which was built in 1929. The property had been uninhabited and deteriorating for nearly 20 years but plans had been developed for it to be restored and reopened.
The motel featured in the 1970s television series Mannix, an episode of Remington Steele, the 1986 Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy movie Blue City and the 1991 Bridget Fonda movie Leather Jackets.
Reel Inn Malibu, a seafood shack on the Pacific Coast Highway that opened in 1986, has burned to the ground.
Its owners wrote on social media that they are not sure what will remain of the beloved spot. “Hopefully the state parks will let us rebuild when the dust settles,” Teddy and Andy Leonard said on Instagram.
The eatery featured on shows including Man vs Food and The Chew and counted the likes of Cindy Crawford, Paris Hilton and Jerry Seinfeld as fans of its fried seafood fare.
It also featured briefly in the popular drama-thriller series 24.
A quirky local attraction called The Bunny Museum was also destroyed.
Wall art featuring bunnies on a charred wall at the destroyed Bunny Museum Alamy
Alamy
The beloved museum had various bunny-themed items, from Trix boxes and bottles of Nesquik, Bugs Bunny paraphernalia and magazine covers of performer Bad Bunny. There was also a Chamber of Hop Horrors detailing the historical abuse of bunnies.
It made the Guinness Book of World Records and had been featured in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!, the Smithsonian Magazine and an episode of Visiting… With Huell Howser.
At least 11 people have died due to the wildfires, which have also destroyed thousands of homes. US President Joe Biden likened the destruction to a “war scene”.
Five distinct fires have so far burned more than 37,000 acres of land in the Los Angeles area.
In Pacific Palisades and Malibu at the biggest blazes, firefighters have said they are starting to get the fire under control, but only eight percent of its perimeter is so far contained.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered a “full independent review” of the city’s utilities, labelling a lack of water supplies during the initial fires as “deeply troubling.”
Additional reporting by Press Association and AFP
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