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On Tuesday, July 23, 2013, the Los Angeles Visionary Association (LAVA) will host a party to celebrate Raymond Chandler’s 125th birthday. Reservations for this free event will open at 10 a.m. on Monday, July 8th, at the LAVA website. The festivities will take place  in the historic spaces where the legendary noir novelist learned first-hand about civic corruption, wealth, and vice.

The evening will begin at the Los Angeles Athletic Club (corner of 7th and Olive Street) — Chandler’s old stomping grounds — in the club’s newly redecorated third-floor bar, Invention, where the young oil executive played bridge and avoided returning to the offices of the Dabney Oil Syndicate, visible through the bar’s tall windows. The party will then move down the block to the Oviatt Building, the seat of power for Chandler’s greatest villain — Derace Kingsley (not-so-loosely based on James Oviatt) in the novel The Lady in the Lake — before returning to the club for a last toast to the great author.

The evening will include readings and musings on Chandler’s legacy and his impact on how people view Los Angeles—past, present, and future.

WHAT: Raymond Chandler’s 125th birthday celebration

WHEN: Tuesday, July 23, 2013, 7-10 p.m

WHERE: Los Angeles Athletic Club, 431 West 7th Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90014

ADMISSION PRICE: Free (with cash bar)

RSVP: Starting Monday, July 8, 2013 at 10 a.m., at this link