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Lost L.A.: A bachelor pad for swinging, and survival

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Our latest Lost L.A. column: Sam Watters on Hal B. Hayes’ 1950s bachelor pad, built not only for swinging but also for survival in the event of A-bomb attack. Writes Watters:

The ne plus ultra of nuke chic was an indoor-outdoor pool, winding from a tropical lanai through entertainment rooms. At one end was an underwater tunnel leading to a sealed, underground cave aerated with oxygen tanks. ... At a housewarming party in May 1953, the groomed, silver-haired builder and swimsuited socialite/starlet Kay Spreckels watched actress Roxanne Arlen take a radiation-free dip in the pool, churned by a 40-foot waterfall.

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Read the full column or see other glimpses of homes and garden past.

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