The visionary utopian colony Krotona was founded by the Theosophical Society in Beachwood Canyon in 1919. It’s purpose was to ” build a community without discrimination; study religion, philosophy and science; explore the inexplicable.” The colony, along with an eccentric cast of characters, thrived in the Hollywood Hills from 1919-1924. Krotona seized the day in the undeveloped idyllic Hollywood Hills, and became a Disneyfied re-visioning of a Moorish oasis, a center where the curious and committed could live in peaceful and contemplative study of eastern and western esoteric traditions. Krotona crumbled under the growing urbanization of Los Angeles, and as more like-minded seekers flooded the area, the reality of urban sprawl overtaking Los Angeles shattered its Utopian myth of tranquility and abundant sequestration. It moved north to the more pastoral town of Ojai, where it has stayed since.