By Tequila Mockingbird
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 9/26/25 –
Los Angeles has always been more than palm trees and movie stars. Beneath the gloss lies an extraordinary history of design — homes that are not just residences but monuments to vision, artistry, and living history. This is the soul of FORT: Friends of Residential Treasures, Los Angeles (FORT: LA), a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the city’s architectural gems and sharing them with the public.
The Founders & Their Vision
At the heart of FORT: LA is Russell Brown, its Founder and Board Chair. A filmmaker, writer, and producer, Russell has long been driven by a love of Los Angeles — not just its people, but its buildings, neighborhoods, and history. His work in film is preserved at UCLA, but with FORT, his mission extends beyond the screen: he wants Angelenos to see their homes as part of a living story.
Through the MaddocksBrown Foundation, Russell has supported higher education, the arts, the environment, wellness, and even animal welfare. His passion for civic identity and culture naturally blossomed into FORT, where architecture is not just aesthetic but community. “Our homes tell our history,” Russell often says. “If we don’t preserve them, we erase ourselves.”
The Tours & Their Purpose
I had the privilege of narrating one of their tours, and let me tell you — it’s not just about walking through pretty houses. It’s about unlocking stories. Every home tells of the hands that built it, the minds that designed it, and the lives that unfolded inside its walls.
FORT’s tours serve several vital purposes:
- Preservation through awareness: By opening doors or guiding people through façades, these tours build respect for the homes and their survival.
- Community & connection: They gather architects, historians, homeowners, and curious explorers in one shared moment of appreciation.
- Education: Guests learn about architectural styles — Spanish Colonial, Hollywood Regency, Mid-Century, Organic Modernism — and the cultural eras that shaped them.
- Celebration: Each tour is more than a lecture. They are immersive experiences — themed trails, seasonal events, and evenings that feel alive.
As a narrator, I found myself not as a guide, but as a storyteller. The light on cantilevered balconies, the whimsy of a “witch house,” or the drama of Regency flourishes — they all become characters in Los Angeles’ long, ongoing story.
Upcoming Tours, Neighborhoods & Tickets
What makes FORT: LA unique is how it turns neighborhoods into open-air museums. You don’t just look at homes — you enter a dialogue with the city. Here are some of the upcoming highlights:
- John Elgin Woolf Hollywood Regency Trail — West Hollywood
Explore the glamour of Woolf’s Regency homes, where Hollywood’s golden age collided with bold design.
Tickets via FORT: LA website. Dates released seasonally. - Against the Grain: The Organic Modernism of Herb Brownell Trail — Hillsides & Canyon Neighborhoods
A journey into homes built into nature itself, blending modernist lines with organic terrain.
Ticketed, often limited; early access for members. - Witch Houses 2 Trail — Across Los Angeles
A Halloween-season trail that explores LA’s most whimsical, storybook-style homes.
Tickets available in fall, with member pre-sale priority. - Architecture Uncorked! — Barnsdall Art Park, East Hollywood
A festive evening blending architecture talks with curated wine pairings. Recent events featured architects Frederick Fisher and Thom Mayne.
Some free, with premium ticket upgrades for wine pairings.
For tickets, memberships, and schedules, visit FORT: LA.
Why These Neighborhoods Matter
From West Hollywood’s Regency glamour to Silver Lake’s modernist experiments, from canyon homes that embrace rugged hillsides to Hollywood Hills estates that once hosted the stars, each neighborhood tells part of LA’s sprawling tale. Architecture here is never just form and function — it’s identity, aspiration, and memory.
When you walk these neighborhoods with FORT, you see Los Angeles not as a city of endless reinvention, but as a layered storybook where every building is a page.
Final Reflections
As I stood narrating, I realized FORT tours are about more than houses. They are about connection: to history, to place, to one another. In Los Angeles — a city too often dismissed as shallow — FORT reminds us that beauty has roots, and that preservation is a form of love.
