” src=”https://palipost.com/story_photos/kreitler.jpg” width=”199″ /> Palisades resident Peter Kreitler spent 15 years collecting photographs of the Flatiron Building, recenty republished in “Flatiron.”
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer

As Broadway crosses Fifth Avenue in New York, it forms a small triangular patch between 23rd and 22nd streets that has become known around the world as the location of the appropriately shaped Flatiron Building. Commanding this small triangle of land, the 285-ft. Flatiron lunges forward like a ship plowing through the heart of downtown, its six-foot-wide apex expanding into a richly detailed limestone wedge.
The iconic edifice is the subject of Palisadian Peter Kreitler’s coffee-table book “Flatiron” (Leonardo International, $134), which has been reprinted in Italian and English by the building’s owners, the Sorgente Group.
The Flatiron is both an architectural and cultural landmark in Manhattan, a permanent stop on the city tour route. Not only has the 21-story skyscraper been featured in the “Spider-Man” movies (as the Daily Bugle building) its juxtaposition with Madison Square Park across Broadway spawned the once-popular slang expression “23 skidoo.” Lore has it that the wind-tunnel effect that caused women’s dresses to flare, exposing their ankles, attracted men to watch the show on 23rd Street. Police barked “23 skidoo” to disperse the voyeurs.
Built in 1901-1902, the Flatiron is the work of Chicago-based architect Daniel H. Burnham, who combined elements of French and Italian Renaissance architecture in the façade—meant to evoke a classical column with a protruding and ornamented base and top.
There were so few tall buildings in turn-of-the-century New York that you could see the Flatiron Building from Central Park. In fact, its extreme shape and height aroused concern among New Yorkers, who feared it might fall down, and dubbed it “Burnham‘s Folly.” And yet, the building, one of the first skyscrapers in New York City, achieved its height by employing a steel skeleton frame, heralding a look to the future more than the past.
Burnham is mostly remembered for his huge influence on the skyline of Chicago, designing over 200 buildings in the city, including the Monadnock and Rookery buildings, the Marshall Field department store, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
If Burnham hadn’t detoured to New York for the Fuller Construction Company’s new headquarters, photographers through the 20th century would have been robbed of this subject of great fascination.
In fact, the history of the Flatiron as captured through the photographer’s lens parallels the history of photography itself.
“I have concluded that this blunt-nosed, funny-looking building is the most photographed structure in the world,” Kreitler says. The author notes that the building has offered endless possibilities for interpretation by the greats of American photography, from Berenice Abbott and Alfred Stieglitz to modern masters such as Lee Freidlander, and even to the casual amateur. “Its size and shape and romantic façade achieve a human scale so that you could almost hug it,” says Kreitler, an Episcopal minister and environmental talk-show host.
“Flatiron,” originally printed 20 years ago, is the result of a 15-year search that began with Kreitler’s acquisition in the 1970s of Berenice Abbott’s image, which he purchased for $125.
“I started collecting photography in 1974,” Kreitler says. “I had always liked to take photos, but I didn’t see the value in the medium, where you could pull 1,000 prints from one negative.”
His attitude changed as he began to visit galleries and fell in love with the work of Imogen Cunningham and Berenice Abbott.
“I bought photography books and learned to appreciate photos,” Kreitler says. “I saw Steiglitz’s and Abbott’s Flatiron images and realized that if the greats have photographed this building 30 years apart, there must be something about the building.”
He started looking at catalogues and calling dealers, which led to a cross-country chase for Flatiron images, using honoraria from performing weddings and memorials to build his collection.
An inveterate stamp collector as a child, Kreitler sees the value of collections not only as historical records but also as a way to preserve a part of American culture.
The 200 images in this book are arranged chronologically, accompanied by quotations from historical and literary sources.
“Peter Kreitler’s collection tells us a great deal about the evolution of photography in the 20th century,” says Palisadian Weston Naef, curator of photographs at The Getty Museum, who contributed one of several illuminating essays in the book.
The history of photography can be traced in images, from platinum and silver prints, to photogravure, hand-colored, Polaroid and digital reproductions, Kreitler says. Naef adds “Steichen and Stieglitz, and other photographers––attracted perhaps by the way the building’s design cleverly reconciled tradition and innovation—used the Flatiron as an armature on which to form their experimental treatments.”
Although now dwarfed by many taller and more grandiose Manhattan skyscrapers, the Flatiron was unique for its time, and yet, as photographer Thomas Hines says, “Its ‘time’ seems just as much now as then.”

By ALYSSA BRICKLIN
Palisadian-Post Intern

I recognize the trendy blonde and brunette pair the moment they walk through the door of the Pacific Palisades Starbucks on Sunset. The last time I saw them, they were sitting in a crowded bar bickering over the only attractive man in the corner. The next time I saw them was in a video online.
Melissa Hunter and Jennifer Cron—two PaliHi graduates and now recent graduates of Northwestern University—wrote, produced, and starred in a Web series called “Let’s Get Laid!” The show follows the life of characters Jenn and Melissa, recent college grads, experiencing the Los Angeles dating scene and life in transition.
Although they were part of the PaliHi drama program, and both graduated with a B.A. in theater and a minor in sociology from Northwestern, the pair, a year apart in school, did not become close friends until they began working on this project. The girls joke about their parallel lives. “We even got the same SAT scores,” Hunter says, with a laugh. Their paths finally crossed, fueled by the desire to pursue their entertainment ambitions. “As an actor it is easy to be passive about your career, and wait for agents and outside sources,” Hunter says. “We wanted to take it into our own hands,” Cron finishes.
The girls decided to jump on the trend of web series. “It’s a platform to reach our audience directly,” Hunter says, expressing excitement over the possibilities and resources available on the Internet. “We could never release a pilot so quickly if we waited for a TV network,” continues Cron. Hunter adds, “It’s the opposite. Now networks can knock on our door if they see something they like.”
The storyline of “Let’s Get Laid!” was inspired by one of the pair’s own dating experiences. One night, Hunter and Cron met Mr. Perfect, complete with a handsome face and British accent. He asked them both to dinner and said he would bring a friend. The question was: which girl did Mr. Perfect want the date with? The girls came up with strategies and code words to approach the situation. What ensued was a hilarious date night (but to find out how it ended, you’ll have to watch the show).
Everything in the series is based on the experiences of the producers and their friends.
“The best stories are ones that are based on reality,” Cron believes.
Of course, the scenarios are dramatized. Hunter and Cron didn’t want to get caught up in the angst so common in young dramas today. Instead, they address serious issues in a humorous way.
“Audiences on the Web want to be entertained,” they tell the Palisadian-Post.
However, the ladies of “Let’s Get Laid!” had more on their mind than entertainment.
“We wanted to break down gender barriers,” Cron says. “Girls and guys really aren’t that different.”
Hunter agrees, “The way the script is written, it could have been two guys talking.”
“Lets Get Laid!” will appeal to both male and female audiences. Men will get insights into the mind of women, and enjoy the sex appeal of the show. And as the characters of Jenn and Melissa search L.A. for dates, women will get exposure not as the prim and proper prey of the dating world, but as predators. Cron and Hunter want to show that women also go out looking for a good time in a stereotypically male fashion.
The main goal of “Let’s Get Laid!” is to accurately capture Hunter and Cron’s current stage of life. They found that, as actors, they were constantly auditioning for parts either older or younger than their actual age. There is not a wealth of entertainment being made about the lives of recent college graduates. Hunter and Cron wanted to express to a target audience of peers that life isn’t about having everything figured out, but rather the experience. “We want to stress that the show is not just about dating,” Cron says.
With money raised from friends and family, the girls started shooting the series in February on a budget of $8,000. The cast and crew included a few friends and many people contacted via craigslist and Facebook. Cron and Hunter explain that excitement about the project, not pay, was the incentive for the participants. They shot the footage locally, including in the Palisades and a Culver City bar. The show will debut with four 6-to-8-minute-long episodes. The release date is still pending.
“Lets Get Laid!” became more than a creative outlet for Cron and Hunter. The two actors developed interests in new parts of the entertainment industry. Hunter says she discovered she loves producing. She explains to the Post that the role gives one more creative control than acting. Cron also expresses interest in the overall process. She especially enjoyed the new experience of writing. The two say they worked well together. “When we got stuck we had each other to bounce ideas off of,” Hunter explains.
Hunter is currently employed at GOOD magazine, and Cron recently completed work as assistant to the executive producer of “The Amazing Race”. The soon-to-be roommates are both members of the Screen Actors Guild and are actively pursuing acting careers. The two say they want to continue “Let’s Get Laid!” and are exploring different avenues of how. Web series can get picked up by networks to use during commercials or put onto advertising-subsidized sites. Ideally, they say, the show would remain on its own Web site and they would add an interactive component. People could blog about their wild dating stories, inspiring new episodes for Hunter and Cron to produce. For Hunter and Cron, “Let’s Get Laid!” is a project that is in an exciting state of free-fall, just like its main characters and the actors themselves.
The trailer for “Let’s Get Laid!” can be viewed at youtube.com/letsgetlaid. By subscribing to the page, viewers will be contacted when new videos are posted. Hunter and Cron can be contacted at unattachedproductions@gmail.com. The girls also created their own website: www.letsgetlaid.tv.

Judith Carr and Joanne Cullen, Pacific Palisades Art Association members, will exhibit six of their paintings in Affinity Bank on Sunset Boulevard. This will be the first installment of the “Art in Our Community” program, through which merchants will display work by local artists.
Working on behalf of the Art Association, Carr says that she visited many merchants in the Village and received positive feedback on the idea of exhibiting artwork from Association members. She found Affinity Bank Branch Manager Shela Winston to be receptive to the idea, “community-minded and very encouraging to our art association.” She also received an enthusiastic response from Denton Jewelers.
Cullen, resident of the Palisades since 1952, spent many years as a therapist and art teacher. Her commissioned mural is at St. Matthew’s Church, and a painting of hers is also on display at the Museum of Tolerance in West Los Angeles.
Carr, a 20-year Palisadian, sells and rents art through LACMA’s Art Rental Gallery. She also produces and exhibits in the annual Pacific Palisades Art Association art show on the Village Green.
The paintings will be up and for sale for two months at Affinity Bank, 15310 Sunset.
A reception for the artists will be held Friday, July 25, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Affinity Bank, 15310 Sunset Blvd.

This month, Celeste plays 14 Below in Santa Monica and The Viper Room in West Hollywood. Photo: Edwin Beckenbach/Sunlight Wings Studio.
” src=”https://palipost.com/story_photos/celeste1.jpg” width=”199″ />

This month, Celeste plays 14 Below in Santa Monica and The Viper Room in West Hollywood. Photo: Edwin Beckenbach/Sunlight Wings Studio.

On the night before talking to the Palisadian-Post, Celeste had performed at Air Conditioned in Venice. It was one of four shows the singer has played since May, after a two-year sabbatical from performing.
It’s been a long road getting to this point for Celeste. In 1998, the Palisades-raised pop singer lost her sister, Sabrina, who was killed by a drunk driver on PCH. Yet out of tragedy came professional focus.
“Before I was writing with different writers,” Celeste remembers. “At that point I picked up a guitar and I wrote songs myself and they just started coming out. [Sabrina’s death] did push me to do things on my own and realize that I do have the ability to write my own songs.”
Born Celeste Csato to Peter and Alexia Csato, Celeste grew up in the Palisades, where her parents have, for decades, run hair salons in town, including Le Studio on Via de la Paz. She attended Corpus Christi and various high schools in Malibu. Celeste, now in her late 20s, has been singing since age 10. At 19, she recorded an album that was unreleased, then an EP called “Angel.”
Celeste describes herself as a practitioner of soul-infused pop-rock; singer-driven music a la Christina Aguilera. Her sound did not ferment overnight. “I was trying out different bands,” Celeste says of that post-tragic period. “It was a tough time. There was a break for a while. But I did keep playing. That’s when I met Paul in 1999.”
That would be Paul Grundman, her fiancé and the son of Bernie Grundman (proprietor of the Hollywood recording studio Bernie Grundman Mastering), a sound engineer on blockbuster albums by Michael Jackson and Herbie Hancock.
“I have a new band and they’re all from the Palisades,” she says of Paul Grundman on drums, guitarist James McCrone, and bassist Robert Richards.
Back in April, Celeste and Grundman found their ax-man McCrone at a local watering hole: the Pearl Dragon on Sunset.
“That’s where we actually met our guitar player,” Celeste says. “We were just playing there at a birthday party and he came up and played during an open jam.”
Since she and Grundman have assembled their current ensemble, the songs have been coming, and they will perform many of them in concert, including up-tempo numbers such as “Misunderstood,” an upbeat rocker, the soaring love song “Falling For You,” the mid-tempo ballad “Get It Right.”
Celeste, with Grundman producing, is working on a new album planned for a release at year’s end. She’s looking forward to seeing where her new band’s lineup will take their sound.
“The connection with the players is much different from anyone I’ve ever played with,” Celeste says. “Now it’s just jelling perfectly.”
Grundman believes that, after several difficult years on a personal and professional level, Celeste has finally found a way to channel that turbulent energy into propelling her art forward creatively.
“Sabrina’s on the other side helping now,” Grundman says. “That’s what one must see. Sabrina has indeed been that fuel to help Celeste rise from the ashes.
“This is a powerful time for musicians,” Grundman continues, “in that, all record labels are breaking down and there has never been a better time to be independent. Which Celeste is.”
Celeste performs on Saturday, July 19 at 14 Below in Santa Monica at 10:30 p.m., on Thursday, July 31 at The Viper Room in West Hollywood, opening for Rehab, at 8 p.m., and at the Malibu Chili Cook-Off and Carnival on Sunday, August 31 at 4 p.m. For more information on Celeste, visit www.celeste.us and www.myspace.com/starceleste.