Well, ER, it seems that Betty Danko lived at 652
2 La Mirada all those years,
next door to 6526. (This block of La Mirada Ave was once Sherwood Ave.) 6522 was demo'ed in 1988 and replaced with an apartment building.... I was wondering how long the other small houses on the block might last, given that so many appear to have been replaced by similar apartments--but then I see that 6526 has received some TLC in recent years:
![](https://s22.postimg.cc/u3bb7vd3l/6526lamirad_A.bmp.jpg)
GSV
I sort of like the old mattress, full of stories of its own no doubt, propped up against the porch-cracking tree.
Re the "secret escape"...was Lila Lee a big enough star to need to need one? I doubt it, but it's a fun idea-- Lila lived at the swc of Western Ave & La Mirada (1227 N Western) in a house that had been moved there by a woman named Moss in 1919 from 1633 S Hope Street. In 1948, this house would be moved
again--
back toward downtown, to 407½ N Bixel...and, amazingly, it still stands (see next post)
PS...just came across this re Lila Lee...maybe there
was a secret passage somewhere on La Mirada. The actress was one of Houdini's leading ladies in one of the silents he made ca 1920. Another source of the rumor may have been Lee's appearance in a 1919 version of "The Secret Garden".... Of course La Mirada & Western was a long way from 6526.... Who knows?
Another building with some La Mirada frontage was the Mandarin Bakery, part of the Mandarin Market that you helped bring to our attention almost 8 years ago in
post 1685...