111 Places in Los Angeles that you must not miss E-Book

Laurel Moglen

• Herausgeber: Emons Verlag
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: 111 Places ...
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Seitenzahl: 253

Beschreibung

The ultimate insider's guide to Los Angeles Features interesting and unusual places not found in traditional travel guides "In Los Angeles, everyone is a star." — Denzel Washington For more than a century, seekers of sun and celebrity from around the world have flocked to this sprawling metropolis on the Pacific, which Dorothy Parker once described as "72 suburbs in search of a city." But beyond the red-carpet reputation and Tinseltown trappings is a west coast wonderland teeming with unexpected cultural experiences, iconic architecture, gorgeous open spaces, quirky museums, hidden vistas, unconventional art, and obscure stories about the starlets, moguls, personalities, and players who have made Los Angeles their playground. This unusual guidebook explores 111 of the city's most interesting and unknown places and experiences: wander a serpentine path in a spiritual quest of your own making; channel your inner cowboy at a tried and true honky tonk bar; pay homage to the Dude at the bungalow where the big Lebowski lived; turn your car tires into musical instruments on the country's only "musical" road; sleep with the ghosts of Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin; view a constellation of stars more vivid than anything Hollywood Boulevard has to offer. From the San Gabriel Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, Angelenos and vistors will fall in love with the real Los Angeles. Adventures beckon. Surprises await. Just imagine how much more scintillating your dinner-party storytelling will be… »In Los Angeles, everyone is a star.« – Denzel Washington Seit mehr als einem Jahrhundert strömen Menschen auf der Suche nach Sonne und Prominenz in die riesige Metropole am Pazifik. Doch findet sich hinter dem ganzen Glamour ein unerwartetes Wunderland, in dem es von beeindruckender Architektur, hinreißenden Parks, schrulligen Museen, versteckten Aussichtspunkten, unkonventioneller Kunst und unbekannten Geschichten über Starlets, Filmmogule und Playboys nur so wimmelt.

Leseprobe

111 Places in Los Angeles That You Must Not Miss

Laurel Moglen and Julia Posey

emons: Verlag

Imprint

© Emons Verlag GmbH // 2016 All rights reserved Text: Laurel Moglen and Julia Posey All photos © Lyudmila Zotova, except: Boone Children’s Gallery (p. 31) – Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA; Kayaking on LA River (p. 123) – LA River Kayak Safari; L.A. Derby Dolls (p. 125) – Photo by Marc Campos, L.A. Derby Dolls; Machine Project (p. 133, top image) – Photo of Josh Beckman’s Sea Nymphcourtesy of Machine Project; Museum of Broken Relationships (p. 141) – Courtesy of the Museum of Broken Relationships; Norton Simon Museum (p. 157) – Norton Simon Art Foundation; The Source Restaurant (p. 195, top image) – The Source Family aftermorning meditation, photo by Isis Aquarian courtesy of Isis Aquarian Source Archives; Wildlife Waystation (p. 227) – Photo by Billy V Vaughn, Wildlife Waystation Art credits: Machine Project (p. 133, top image) – Sea Nymph by the artist Josh Beckman; Velveteria (p. 217) – artwork pictured reprinted by permission of the artists: Caren Anderson (Liberace in blue vest); Caren Anderson & Cenon (center Liberace); Jennifer Kenworthaka Juanita’s Velvets (Liberace with red cape); CeCe Rodriguez (poodle in square frame, left of center Liberace) Design: Emons Verlag Maps based on data by Openstreetmap, © Openstreet Map-participants, ODbL ISBN 978-3-96041-018-8 eBook of the original print edition published by Emons Verlag

Did you enjoy it? Do you want more? Join us in uncovering new places around the world on: www.111places.com

Table of contents

Foreword

1_The 2nd Street Tunnel | Basking in the glow of traffic

2_Adams Pack Station | “Haulin’ ass since 1936”

3_Amèrica Tropical | A long-lost triumph rediscovered

4_Angelus Temple | Step right up to hear a tale both wondrous and true

5_Audubon Center | Into the wild

6_Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook | A different point of view

7_Berendo Stairs to the Griffith Observatory | Stairway to the stars

8_Biddy Mason Memorial | From slave to wealthy landowner

9_Bluewhale | Hitting all the right notes

10_The Bob Baker Marionette Theater | The art of pulling strings

11_Boone Children’s Gallery | Where anyone can make their mark

12_Brady Bunch House | Here’s the story of a house called Brady

13_Bukowski’s Bungalow | Home of a dirty old man

14_Bulgarini Gelato | A taste of Rome in LA

15_The Bunny Museum | Hare hoarding

16_California Institute of Abnormalarts | Gaffs! Wonders! Truth! Illusion!

17_Candelas Guitars | Guitar heroes

18_Catalina Tile | Chewing gum, red clay, sun, and sea

19_The Charlie Hotel | If only the walls could talk

20_CicLAvia | Pedal power

21_Cindy’s Diner | Site of the original cheeseburger

22_Clifton’s Cafeteria | An homage to kitsch and kindness

23_Corita Art Center | Nun with a mission

24_The Cowboy Palace Saloon | Where honky-tonk and horses still reign

25_Demonstration Gardens at Theodore Payne | Go native!

26_Descanso’s Ancient Forest | The land before flowers

27_Discovery Room at the NHM | Don’t just look – touch

28_Drum Barracks Civil War Museum | When camels roamed the west

29_The Dude’s Bungalow | “Does this place look like I’m married?”

30_Echo Mountain Resort | Los Angeles has ruins too! Seriously, it does!

31_Echo Park Lake | A heartwarming tale of stealing the right thing

32_Edelweiss Chocolates | Where Lucy’s lightbulb lit up

33_The Edison | Like stepping into a glass of whiskey

34_Egyptian Theatre | Home of the first movie premiere

35_El Segundo Butterfly Preserve | A site for winged creatures, great and small

36_Evergreen Cemetery | All comers accepted

37_Fast and Furious Home | Living life a quarter mile at a time

38_Fire Pits at Dockweiler Beach | Vanity of the bonfire

39_Frank Gehry’s Residence | Where the master architect makes his bed

40_Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation | Home is where the art is

41_Front Porch Farmstand | Family farming in the city

42_Gaam Karaoke | Noreabang until the sun comes up

43_Gower Gulch | Calling all cowboys!

44_Griffith J. Griffith Statue | Ode to a deranged philanthropist

45_Hare Krishna Cultural Center | A feast for the soul

46_Harvey House | The last stop for a groundbreaking designer

47_Heritage Square Museum | A sanctuary for homes

48_Highland Gardens Hotel | Where Joplin spent her final night

49_Highland Park Bowl | Booze and a bowl, no prescription required

50_Holyland Exhibition | Treasures of the real Indiana Jones?

51_Homestead Museum | The saga of an old LA family

52_Idle Hour | A barrel of fun

53_Inspiration Point at Will Rogers State Park | A ranch to riches story

54_Institute for Art and Olfaction | Making scents

55_It’s a Wrap! | As seen on TV

56_Judson Studios | A light shines through it

57_Kayaking on the Los Angeles River | Big-city rapids

58_L.A. Derby Dolls | Classic banked roller derby with a modern twist

59_Leo Politi Mural | Painting over the past

60_Libros Schmibros | A book and a cozy nook

61_Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society | Where Ray Bradbury got his start

62_Machine Project | The art of making

63_Moore Lab of Zoology | Birds of a feather flocked together

64_Mosaic Tile House | A million little pieces

65_Mount Wilson Observatory | A star-studded event

66_Museum of Broken Relationships | Art of the broken heart

67_Museum of Death | To live and die in LA

68_Museum of Jurassic Technology | A cabinet of curiosities

69_Music Box Staircase | What goes up must come down

70_The Musical Road | Hi-yo Silver!

71_Neon Retro Arcade | The greatest hits of coin-op video games

72_The Nethercutt Collection and Museum | Every car will break your heart

73_New Beverly Cinema | Something old, new, borrowed, and blue

74_Norton Simon Museum | Portrait of a lady, by a lady

75_Orcutt Ranch | The oldest citrus orchard in town

76_The Original Los Angeles Subway Terminal | Lost but not forgotten

77_Pasadena City College Flea Market | Trash and treasure

78_Pasadena Model Railroad Club | A giant miniature world

79_Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens | Find your self

80_Philippe’s | Send in the clowns!

81_Plaza | Where machismo is a wallflower

82_Poketo at the Line Hotel | Art for your everyday

83_Royal Palms Beach Tide Pools | Down by the sea

84_Runyon Canyon | A walk above it all

85_San Antonio Winery | Prohibition survivor

86_Santa Anita Stables & Jockey Clubhouse | Follow in the hoofsteps of Seabiscuit

87_Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area | Dam it all

88_The Schindler House | Quintessential California living

89_Serra Springs | Where sacred waters still flow

90_Shumei Retreat House | From literary nest to spiritually blessed

91_Silent Movie Theatre | [Scream!]

92_Skeletons in the Closet | Macabre merch

93_The Source Restaurant | Peace, love, and sprouts

94_Stoney Point | The boulder approach

95_Sugihara Sculpture | The power of one

96_Surfrider Beach | Dude, here rolls the perfect wave

97_Tam’s Burgers #21 | Come for the gangsta history, stay for the fries

98_Terminal Annex Murals | Perfectly preserved government-funded art

99_Time Travel Mart | “Wherever you are, we’re already then.”

100_Tonga Hut | Return of the killer zombie

101_Trapeze School New York | Look Ma, no hands!

102_VDL Research House II | Ashes to ashes

103_The Velaslavasay Panorama | The precursor to motion pictures

104_Velveteria | Plush art gets fresh start

105_Venice Art Walls | Where it’s okay to spray

106_Vineland Drive-In | Just like when Grandma and Grandpa were kids

107_Walt’s Barn | Where Mr. Disney’s imagination wandered

108_West Hollywood Park Tennis Courts | Practice your groundstrokes on a rooftop

109_Wildlife Waystation | Lions and tigers and bears

110_The Wishing Well | A symbol of renewal

111_York Boulevard | The coolest shopping street you’ve never heard of

Gallery

Maps

Foreword

Dear Los Angeles,

So often you are misunderstood, viewed by the world through thenarrow lenses of the media and outsiders. Their images portray afame-obsessed metropolis filled with beautiful people in sceniclocations wearing seriously curated wardrobes. There’s also the trafficof course, so thick at times, drivers may as well turn their ignitions off.But we devoted Angelenos know that much more is going on outsideof the picture frame. Beneath your gridlock and glitzy veneer lies amarvelously sprawling city filled with experiences diverse, strange,titillating, nutritious, and imperfect.

We know you as a place of opportunity; of big dreams, searingdisappointments, and painful ideals. A city where the wild mesheswith the urban, the beautiful with the ugly, the magical with thereal. Brimming with surprises, you offer access to wildly contrastingplaces and experiences: a club where Mexican drag queens lip syncto 1970s hits, a punk-rock DIY perfume lab, a museum housing thecollection of the real Indiana Jones – and always close by is a hike ona chaparral-scented trail.

And the people! Angelenos speak 224 different languages andcome from more than 140 countries. You harbor deep thinkersand innovators, contributing to the world cutting-edge art andarchitecture, scientific advancements, and brave new ideas. To exploreyour deepest secrets we hung out with surfers, rock climbers, nichecollectors, two-steppers, artists, and historians – all of whom helpedus discover and divulge the rich and unexpected tales and localesdisclosed within these pages.

Sweet LA, this book is our humble attempt to celebrate your depthand complexity. You’re the city so many love to hate, and hate to love.But we know the explorers who read this authentic chronicle will,like us, come to adore you, and that means all of you.

– Laurel Moglen & Julia Posey

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1_The 2nd Street Tunnel

Basking in the glow of traffic

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Philip K. Dick fans, get your Blade Runner on and see something truly beautiful by entering the 2nd Street Tunnel in the evening at Figueroa Street and heading east. Watch the red reflections of brake lights illuminate the rainbow-shaped tunnel in a glittering spectacle. In the movie, solitary replicant hunter Rick Deckard drives through the tunnel awash in blue hues, the entrance and exits dripping with the constant acid rain of the futuristic city of Los Angeles.

Although Deckard is a loner, he’s not alone. The white tiles that line the 2nd Street Tunnel and the ability to easily cordon off the area to traffic and lookie-loos have made it a favorite location for car commercials and fashion shoots as well as other films like the notable sci-fi cousins Terminator and Gattica. The tunnel may be one of the most filmed unknown icons in Los Angeles. And it almost didn’t happen.

Info

Address 2nd Street between Figueroa and Hill Streets, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (enter by car from Figueroa Street heading east toward Hill Street for the best view) | Hours Always open. Reflections are most dazzling from dusk to dawn.| Tip The Blue Ribbon Garden atop nearby Disney Concert Hall (111 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012) is almost an acre of tranquility amid the business of Downtown. Enter via the stairs on Grand Avenue near 2nd Street.

Construction began on the 2nd Street Tunnel in 1916. Downtown Los Angeles wasn’t the cluster of emerald skyscrapers it is today. It was Bunker Hill, primarily a residential wealthy suburb of opulent Victorian mansions, which separated Downtown from the rest of Los Angeles. That is, until the tunnel came through. The signature white tiles were sourced from Germany and as anti-German sentiment during World War I grew, so did opposition to using a German product. But the architect of the tunnel stood his aesthetic ground and the tunnel was completed, Teutonic tiles and all. Ironically, many of the wealthy inhabitants of the Bunker Hill enclave began to leave the area as the war came to an end and urbanism encroached on their formerly suburban lifestyle.

Many of the Victorians were later partitioned into apartments, two of which became home to writer John Fante and artist Leo Politi (see p. 126), who both went on to champion the new working class of Bunker Hill in their work.

Nearby

The Original Los Angeles Subway Terminal (0.441 mi)

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater (0.51 mi)

Biddy Mason Memorial (0.541 mi)

The Edison (0.597 mi)

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2_Adams Pack Station

“Haulin’ ass since 1936”

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In the foothills where Sierra Madre, Arcadia, and Monrovia meet, the Adams Pack Station in Chantry Flat has been providing asses, as in pack mules, since 1936, and cold beer and other sundries since 1953, to Angeles National Forest hikers and the 81 recreational cabins (serving as private vacation residences) that populate the area around and leading to Sturtevant Camp.

A walk in Big Santa Anita Canyon is like stepping back in time. Trails of varying difficulty start from the Adams Pack Station parking lot. A 3.8-mile round-trip hike past some of the cabins to Sturtevant Falls will make the bottle of icy suds awaiting your return feel like a well-deserved reward. The rustic cottages that dot the trails near Chantry Flat were built between 1907 and 1936 with materials carried in by mules and humans. The cabins exist on a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service and cabin owners lease the land upon which the dwellings sit.

Info

Address One Chantry Flat Road, Arcadia, CA 91024, +1 626.447.7356, www.adamspackstation.com, [email protected] | Getting there On-site lot and street parking along Chantry Flat Road. Adventure Pass required for parking. Passes can be purchased at Adams Pack Station or at other adventure retailers. | Hours Fri–Sun 7am–5pm| Tip Like camping? Millard Campground (4041 Chaney Trail, Altadena, CA 91001) is like a mini-Big Santa Anita Canyon with fewer recreational cabins. A handful of sites sits next to a small stream. No potable water.

For those looking to spend the night, primitive campsites at Hoegee and Spruce Grove Campgrounds, about a two- and four-mile hike, respectively, from Chantry Flat, operate on a first-come-first-serve basis. If that seems too hardy, Adams Pack Station’s proprietress, Deb Burgess, recently acquired Sturtevant Camp. The nostalgic mountain resort offers cabins for rent on the weekends with flushable toilets and hot showers (learn more at www.sturtevantcamp.com). All food and supplies must be brought in. Make arrangements at least a week in advance with Adams Pack Station to have a mule do the heavy lifting.

Friday to Sunday, the station grills hot food on outdoor barbecues next to the main building, offering excellent burgers and fries and sometimes pulled-pork sandwiches. Live music is performed on Sundays from noon to 5:30pm. Get to the station by 8am on Friday morning for the best chance of seeing the mule team head out on their weekly canyon haul.

Nearby

Mount Wilson Observatory (2.871 mi)

Santa Anita Stables & Jockey Clubhouse (4.033 mi)

The Bunny Museum (5.3 mi)

Echo Mountain Resort (5.686 mi)

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3_Amèrica Tropical

A long-lost triumph rediscovered

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In the late 1960s, just as the Chicano political movement was establishing its identity, hints of a mural were found bleeding through a whitewashed wall just off Olvera Street in Los Angeles. Originally created in 1932 by revered Mexican muralist and activist David Alfaro Siqueiros, the painting’s discovery was perfectly timed. Siqueiros, along with artists Diego Rivera and Josè Clemente Orozco, had become an inspiration for the then burgeoning Chicano art movement.

Siqueiros had been commissioned to create an image of America as the land of plenty. But the artist had other plans. Amèrica Tropical depicts two soldiers in the Mexican Revolution aiming at an American eagle sitting atop a double cross on which a Mexican Indian is being crucified. The painting was an enraged criticism of United States oppression and immediately sparked controversy. About a month after his shocking mural was unveiled, Siqueiros was deported from the United States. Within a year, the work was completely covered over. Later, Siqueiros said he’d never intended to paint “a continent of happy men, surrounded by palms and parrots, where the fruit voluntarily detached itself to fall into the mouths of the happy mortals.” It’s said he often painted at night to keep his artistic choices secret.

Info

Address Amèrica Tropical Interpretive Center, 125 Paseo De La Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012, +1 213.485.6855 | Public Transport Any means of public transit to Union Station; the center is across the street. | Getting there Paid lots and metered street parking | Hours Tue–Sun 10am–3pm| Tip Explore the Art Deco-era Los Angeles Central Library (630 W 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071), which has a gorgeous rotunda ceiling and a children’s reading room that’s been restored to its original splendor.

Effective protection, not restoration, of the mural began in the 1990s by the Getty Conservation Institute. It took more than 20 years to clean and preserve the discovery. The choice to restore was rejected because experts believed the original colors and artist’s hand would be impossible to duplicate.

The mural can be viewed from a rooftop landing quite a distance away. Still, it’s profound to gaze upon, especially knowing its history. The building beneath houses the Amèrica Tropical Interpretive Center. It’s full of interactive features with rich insight into the times, Siqueiros, and his nearly forgotten masterpiece.

Nearby

Harvey House (0.149 mi)

Philippe’s (0.155 mi)

Terminal Annex Murals (0.155 mi)

Velveteria (0.193 mi)

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4_Angelus Temple

Step right up to hear a tale both wondrous and true

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Showman. Preacher. Charlatan. Healer. Aimee Semple McPherson is tough to define. Today, most Angelenos have never heard her name, but it was quite a different story in the 1920s. Her popularity at one point was so great that 10 percent of Los Angeles belonged to her Angelus Temple, which she designed with her mother in 1923.

Widowed at age 19, McPherson remarried at 22. Her call to preach was so strong, she got her start broadcasting sermons through a loudspeaker from the back of her “gospel car,” touring up and down the Eastern seaboard with her two children as passengers and her mother at the wheel. Outrageous behavior for a woman in those days. Like any good showman, she traveled, set up tents, held boisterous sermons, and inspired “speaking in tongues.” As her fame grew, so did her bank account, and she soon made her way to Los Angeles. Her philosophy focused on the rapture that comes from serving God rather than the torment suffered for forsaking Him. When preaching, she told relatable anecdotes with a permanent smile, a girlish giggle, and down-to-earth humor. Sometimes she spiced up her sermons with theatrics – like when she rode a motorcycle down the church aisle. Apparently she spent bank on Parisian gowns and kept her dyed-blond hair fashionably styled.

Info

Address 1100 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026, +1 213.816.1109 www.angelustemple.org, [email protected] | Getting there Metered and unmetered street parking | Hours Sermons: Sun 9:30 & 11:30; Thu 7pm. Be advised that some proselytizing will likely take place.| Tip Keeping up the religious theme, cruise over to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (555 W Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012) and absorb the airy interior featuring fresco-like tapestries depicting saints standing with anonymous people from around the world.

After she purportedly healed a wheelchair-bound woman, word of her faith-healing powers spread exponentially. She was the first woman granted a broadcast license from the FCC and the first to preach on the radio. She purchased the radio station KFSG and aired sermons and programs directly from the temple, leveraging the then-modern medium to reach millions.

But along the rise to stardom were also scandals: a kidnapping; a disappearance; and a walk, Jesus-style, through a Mexican desert. There were nervous breakdowns, a falling-out with her daughter and mother, and finally an accidental fatal overdose, in 1944.

Nearby

Time Travel Mart (0.124 mi)

Machine Project (0.174 mi)

Echo Park Lake (0.236 mi)

Fast and Furious Home (0.746 mi)

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