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April 2012 EPOCH Los Angeles 3

Sprinkles Cupcakes Explains Its 24-Hour

‘Cupcake ATM’

The Beverly Hills location of Sprinkles Cupcakes is opening a 24-hour, cupcake-dispensing “ATM.” What’s more, a representative for the company says it plans to deploy similar automatons in every city it’s located in – that would be 10 cities, in all. That means that tourists in Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood will soon not only be able to queue around the block for their frosting-slathered treats, but form a second line for the novelty of purchasing a cupcake from a banking machine, as well. It means that Houston, the fattest city

in America, could be getting even larger with its round-the-clock access to cupcakes.

Here’s the company statement on this startling development:For Sprinkles addicts on the go, 24-Hour Sprinkles debuts as the world’s first cupcake automat! This automatic cupcake machine dispenses freshly baked cupcakes, cupcake mixes, apparel and even cupcakes for Fido! In the heart of Beverly Hills nestled between Sprinkles Cupcakes and the brand new Sprinkles Ice Cream, 24-Hour Sprinkles will be continuously restocked day and night with a variety of freshly baked cupcake flavors.The questions this concept provokes are many and mind-boggling. How will these cupcakes be “freshly baked” when the store is closed? Will there be a subsequent rise in crime as drooling cakeheads stake out the ATMs for easy marks? What if a doggie cupcake accidentally gets dispensed instead of a human cupcake – will people know the difference?

Candace Nelson, the founder of Sprinkles (and now a judge on “Cupcake Wars”), e-mailed this answer to perhaps the most critical question: WHY? “I conceived the idea of an automatic cupcake machine after having late-night sugar cravings while pregnant with my second son. Even as Sprinkles’ founder, I couldn’t get my midnight cupcake fix!” Nelson says. “I thought, ‘There has to be a way,’ and so the concept of 24-Hour Sprinkles was born!” Obviously, that covers some ground but not nearly enough. So Nicole Schwartz, who handles marketing at Sprinkles, folded in these responses to my food-based inquiries. Enjoy, and stock up on your insulin now.

How is this machine going to be able to deliver fresh cupcakes 24 hours a day? Is somebody always manning it? The machine is attached to our bakery, which is essentially a 24-hour operation. By the time our closers leave at night, it’s 11 p.m. and our bakers arrive in the wee hours of the morning (2 or 3 a.m.!). We’ll constantly be restocking the automat with freshly baked cupcakes so the cupcake you receive will only have been baked a couple hours earlier.

What demographic is Sprinkles hoping to capture with this device? Late-night bar hoppers? People who don’t want to wait in line inside?We want to target anyone who has a sugar craving, whether it’s midnight and you need your sugar fix or 6 a.m. and you’re on your way to work but need a cupcake for a coworker’s birthday. The automat will also offer doggie cupcakes (health department regulations will unfortunately not allow dogs in our bakery) so you don’t have to tie up Fido while you head inside.

How many flavors of cupcake will be available, and what’s the price?Cupcakes will cost $4 each and the machine can hold up to 600 at a time. You will be able to purchase cupcakes of the day (we’ll offer approximately eight flavors in the automat). So if it is a Tuesday, you’ll find our most popular Tuesday flavors and so forth.

Are there plans to open other cupcake ATMs in different cities?Yes, we plan to launch automats in all cities in which we have Sprinkles bakeries (the automats are dependent on our bakeries to receive fresh cupcakes).

When will this ATM be operational?We are working hard to get it working within the next 2 weeks!

by John Metcalfe

« This credit crunch is located at 9635 South Santa Monica Boulevard,Beverly Hills, CA 90210

A Neighborhood is Worth a Thousand Words....


Neighborhood Project: Angelino Heights

Photos by Lindsay William-RossWritten by BarbaraPritzak

The Haskins House This house is the neighborhood’s ultimate ‘painted lady.” This was the last Victorian house built on Carroll avenue, and was done so in 1894 for real estate developer Charles C. Haskins.


How does the idea of hilltop vistas and the quiet charm of tree-lined streets grab you? Well, it certainly proved an effective lure for the fresh-off-the-train Midwesterners

settling in Los Angeles who flocked to our city’s first suburb in the late 1880s. A real estate boom in 1887 saw the construction of numerous majestic Victorian homes in the new neighborhood, but a recession halted the development a few short years later, and once the pace resumed in the early 1900s, the more reserved Craftsman style was in vogue. All this development was in vain, however, as the rapid growth of the city encroached on the idyllic hillside community, and by mid-century its once regal homes were suffering from disdain and disrepair. Named LA’s first Historic Preservation Overlay Zone in 1983, the present-day Angelino

Heights continues to fight for its recognition and the restoration of its original architecture, while its residents work together to define what it means to be a neighborhood.

In 1866, William W. Stilson and Everett E. Hall filed for ownership of a tract of land called “Angeleno Heights”—the hill’s elevation was attractive to homebuilders who desired both a pleasant view and the peace and quiet of suburban living.

Construction began in 1887 and that same year saw the arrival of many splendid Victorian styled homes on the hilly streets, most of which were owned by prosperous business men who had come out West as part of the real estate boom of the late 19th century and the massive westward migration. However, the following year brought with it a banking recession, which put construction of more new homes at a standstill. By the time the economy was more flush towards the end of the 1890s, other Los Angeles-area neighborhoods had gained in popularity and those who could afford to build homes opted to build them in other subdivisions

and in other architectural styles. This extraordinarily brief period of development left Angelino Heights home to a sort of island of elaborate homes, many of which still stand today.

Between approximately 1900 and 1915, a sort of second phase of development took place in Angelino Heights, but this time the aesthetic was distinctly more subdued, and was in the vein of the then-popular Craftsman style.

Concurrently, Los Angeles was now home to the burgeoning moving picture industry, and nearby studios made full use of the Heights’ sloping streets, like Kensington Road, in their silent productions. Look closely at some of the chase scenes in the Keystone Cops series of films and you might recognize Angelino Heights. In fact, many of that era’s stars chose to call Angelino Heights home, such as Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. Filming in the area has remained extremely popular;

many individual homes may spark recognition from having been featured in various films, videos, commercials, and television shows. In fact, much of Angelino Heights has the feel of a set. Stepping onto the historic sidewalks of Carroll Avenue is like stepping into a motion picture.

As the City of Los Angeles began its earliest movement towards an outward reach of urban sprawl, the Angelino Heights neighborhood began to dwindle. By the 1940s and 1950s many people considered the look and style of the Victorian showplace homes to be old-fashioned and outmoded, not to mention their owners were finding them extremely expensive to repair. While formulaic boxy homes were dotting the streets of the new post-war planned suburban communities, residents in Angelino Heights were cutting costs by removing much of their homes’ ornamentation, and carving larger properties into rent-able rooming houses.

The homes on Carroll Avenue did not begin to pique preservationists’ interest until the 1960s, and it was not until the mid-seventies when residents

“Victorian architecture is actually the result of the industrial age and the advent of technology to the field of construction.”

united to form the Carroll Avenue Restoration Foundation and subsequently began the proceedings to have the entire block named to the National Register of Historic Places.Angelino Heights was the city’s first area to be designated as Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) which took place on Aug 10 1983. An HPOZ means that several buildings in one area are related in some manner and that, as a whole, the buildings in the area reflect an architectural integrity that calls for preservation and/or restoration. Much of the effort to have an area such as Angelino Heights designated at such takes place at the community level, although ultimately the designation is up to the City. According to the information provided by the Los Angeles Conservancy, “a five-member board, including an architect and at least one member with real estate or construction experience, oversee each HPOZ. Three of the five must be residents of the HPOZ.” This board sets guidelines that all residents must adhere to, and these govern only the exteriors of the buildings. For example, if you reside in an HPOZ and would like to paint the outside of your home, your paint color must be approved by the board. In order to preserve authenticity of the colors of the Victorians in Angelino heights oftentimes a single molecule of original paint is isolated and analyzed and matched so that the contemporary paint job aligns with the original owner and/or builder’s vision.

Angelino Heights is primarily renowwned for its many examples of Victorian architecture, as evidenced in the high concentration of homes designed and erected at the height of the movement here in the 1880s. Some of the homes were built on lots elsewhere, and have subsequently been moved into the neighborhood, which can account for those that pre-date the 1886 subdivision of the area. More than a dozen homes in the area are classified as Los Angeles cultural historical monuments, and all, of course, are protected by the guidelines of the HPOZ.

Angelino Heights boasts the largest concentration of Queen Anne and Eastlake style Victorian homes in the city, most of which are on Kellam and Carroll Avenues. It is curious to note that most homes do not have garages,

because, of course, in the 1880s people did not have cars, but some do have carriage houses on the property, and some had carriage houses brought on site from elsewhere; these structures are also covered by the HPOZ. Further, most of the chimneys on the homes have been capped off or “roofed” over--because they tended to be tall and slender by design they were also easy victims of earthquakes.


The Foy House was built in 1872, before the founding of Angleno

Heights, its original home was in Bunker Hill at 7th and Figueroa.

Victorian architecture is actually the result of the industrial age and the advent of technology to the field of construction. Eager to put new mechanized lathes and cutting machines to work, wealthy homeowners could then build large-scale homes and see them erected with relative ease in comparison to the arduous task of handcrafting every piece as they had before. Along with the invention of the wire nail, building these balloon-framed homes became much more efficient, and so much went into their ornamentation from top to bottom.

Victorian homes are asymetrical, have many stories, porches (usually wraparound), bay windows, multiple entrances, and are painted vibrant colors. It

has been reported, though, that new homeowners in Angelino Heights first painted their homes white, as they had been in the Midwest, only to find the reflection from the endless California sun unbearable.

There are basically three eras of Victorian architecture, the first being Italianate, then Eastlake, then Queen Anne. Because Italianate Victorian style was popular pre-1887 (when construction began in Angelino Heights) there aren’t any buildings original to the area that are predominantly of that styling. There is, however, one home that was moved onto Carroll Avenue, the Foy House at 1337, that was built in 1872.

This late Queen Anne was built around 1899 for painter John Fon-nell, who paid $450 in gold coins for the lot. Fonnell was a native of

Germany and his wife of Sweden.


Eastlake style (also known as “Stick” style) is named for architech Charles Eastlake. Houses in this mode are more rectangular and have sharp angles. The next style is Queen Anne, of which there are many in Angelino Heights. This is probably the most bold kind of Victorian aesthetic design, and these homes aremore rounded in their features and incorporate more variety in their ornamentation.

The Stilson- Botsford HouseWilliam Stilson was one of the two initial

developers of the neighborhood, and he chose for himself this rather impressive piece of land on the corner, upon which he built a rather impressive home in 1887. This house combined Eastlake and Queen Anne features, and had thirty rooms, including a ballroom on the third floor. Stilson died in the early 1890s, however, while still a young man in his thirties, and the home’s next occupant was California Bank president William Botsford. As was common practice in the mid-20th century, this building was stripped of much of its ornamentation, covered in stucco because of fire code regulations, and converted into a multi-unit rooming house.

The Heim House Ferdinand Heim was a brewer and saloon

owner here in Los Angeles, and built this home in 1887. His namesake son assumed occupancy and remained there until his death in 1943. It is a Queen Anne style Victorian, although there are hints of Italianate influence in the bracketing. The interior boasts typical Victorian features like sliding pocket doors, leaded glass, detailed wood trim, themed tiles on the fireplace, and hardwood floors.

The Scheerer House During this era, many people opted to buy

their homes from a catalog, and it is believed that this home is one of such homes. It is a smaller Queen Anne styled cottage and was bought and built for businessman John Scheerer in 1887. Oftentimes current owners of these

The Phillips House was built in 1887 and was

the resident of merchant Aaron P. Philips.


kinds of homes discover that they were purchased from a Sears or Montgomery Ward catalog and factory made because a telltale piece of wood they encounter may still be imprinted with its original numbering--think “paint by numbers” kind of instructions.

The Innes House This beautiful red home is done in the Eastlake

style and was built in 1887 for City Councilman Daniel Innes. The house has some hints of Japanese architecture in the decorative porch woodwork. It was used as the exterior (and some interiors) for Halliwell Manor, the house those witchy sisters lived in on the television show Charmed.

The Sessions House San Francisco-based architect Joseph Carter

Newsom designed this 12-room house in 1889 for dairyman Charles Sessions. It merges Queen Anne style with Moorish and Oriental elements--look at the cutout on the second floor styled after the Chinese gateway to paradise, for example.

The Foy House This house has seen three different Los Angeles

addresses; first it was built in 1872 at 7th and Figueroa, then moved in 1920 to Witmer Street (across from the Good Samaritan Hospital), then to this Carroll Avenue lot in 1992. The house was designed for the prominent Foy family, of which

“Oftentimes current owners of these kinds of homes discover that they were purchased from a Sears or Montgomery Ward catalog and factory made because a telltale piece of wood they encounter may still be imprinted with its original numbering--think “paint by numbers” kind of instructions.”

the well-known Mary was a member. She was the city’s first female Chief Librarian and was a key figure in the suffrage movement. This large home is Italianate in style, and may have been designed by Ezra Kysor, who also designed our city’s St. Vibiana’s Cathedral.

The Haskins House This house is the neighborhood’s ultimate

“painted lady” (as many of the legendary San Franciscan Victorian homes are called). This was the last Victorian house built on Carroll Avenue, and was done so in 1894 for real estate developer Charles C. Haskins. The exterior offers and abundance of Victorian features, such as the shingles, spindles, railings, and Mansard roof, to name a few.

The Pinney House The Pinney house merges Italiante influence

with a dominant Eastlake style design, and was built in 1887. First owner Henry L. Pinney’s son Charles was the occupant of the house until his death in 1980 at 106 years old, and was listed in 1894 as one of LA’s most eligible bachelors in the old “Blue Book” social register (The MySpace of a bygone era?) f

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