A Penny Saved…

Remember penny press machines? You know, the ones where you put a penny (and a quarter or two) in the slot, turn the crank, and get a flattened penny with a picture on it – a teeny, tiny souvenir of your adventure. Man, I loved those. I ALWAYS wanted to smoosh a penny. Sadly, I don’t know where most of mine ended up. I have a few but, truthfully, I purchased them as an adult. It’s a cheap souvenir!

Recently I heard about a project by the artist Diana Meyer that involved the very same penny press machines I’ve loved since childhood. The project is called Flattened Los Angeles – Souvenirs of Disappeared Neighborhoods. For it, Ms. Meyers has created designs of lost Los Angeles and added them to a hand cranked penny press. Currently the designs are of the former Bunker Hill neighborhood of Downtown LA.

A word about Bunker Hill. In the early part of the last century it was home to an exclusive neighborhood of Victorian Homes. The historic Angels Flight would transport citizens to and from these residences. From historic photos it appears to have been a beautiful place.

from the Library of Congress

In the 1950’s the houses were demolished, the top of the hill was flattened and skyscrapers began to go up. Today it’s home to the massive but hardly picturesque California Plaza. But, Angels Flight does endure and continues to ferry passengers up and down (what’s left of) the hill.

As Angels Flight is one of the last vestiges of the historic Bunker Hill it’s the perfect location for Ms. Meyer’s penny press. And that is where you’ll find it – at the top of the tracks a few feet from the ticket booth.

Last week, I happened to be in Downtown and made sure to stop by. I was happy to find that there were three options of designs for me to choose from –

I would have gladly gone for all three but I was short of change and barely came up with the required two quarters and a penny! It was so hard to chose just one. I finally went for the top one that presented a view of Bunker Hill and Angels Flight. I loved that it contained an image of historic sites both lost and saved.

I then popped my coins in, turned the crank

and out came my pressed penny.

I felt like a kid again! I had a brand new souvenir. A little token that gave me a nostalgia for my own past as well as a past I’d never known. Although, I never had a chance to visit the original neighborhood of Bunker Hill I still long for the days of it’s existence. I believe historic preservation is of vital importance to Los Angeles and society as a whole. The past shapes who we were, who we are, and who we will be. If we continue to destroy our historic structures, how will we ever grow?

The penny press currently resides next to Angels Flight. In the future, it will travel around the city highlighting various sites that have also been lost to history. I hope I’ll come across it again.