yk

I have been on Fodors' forums for close to 5 years now, and I've noticed that Trip Reports on Los Angeles are few and far between, compared to other cities like San Francisco, NYC, Boston, San Diego, Chicago etc.

Why is that? Is it because LA is not a tourist destination (except Disneyland)?

My decision to visit LA was mostly because I wanted to come see my brother, who relocated here a few months ago. Initially, I only planned to stay here for 1 week, but as some of you know already, my "vacation" extended for a few weeks because of rather unexpected urgent surgery that my brother had to undergo. In fact, I am still in LA right now, but I decided to post the places I've visited so far.

If you've read my other trip reports, you'll realize that my interests lie in art, design, architecture. Does LA offer these given that I have already been to Getty Villa, Getty Center, and LACMA on previous visits?

Thanks to helpful Fodorites who answered to my thread here:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=35170093
I'm finding plenty of fascinating places to visit so far.

Getting there
I flew AA nonstop BOS-LAX. Enroute, our plane flew over Grand Canyon and I was able to have a good view of it from my window seat.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2767.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2769.jpg

Welcome to LA!
My flight landed around 11am on a Saturday. I walked out of the terminal to the sidewalk at LAX, waiting for my brother to arrive. I saw a man next to me, dressed in a suit with ear buds, signaled a limo to stop just 3 feet short of where I was standing. Next thing I saw, was a thin young lady with huge sunglasses, getting into the limo, chased by 2 paparazzi! Even though I had a good look at her, I couldn't figure out who she was. One of the traffic guards there told me that she must not be that famous since there were only 2 paparazzi. It is so surreal, for someone like me who live in Boston, to come face-to-face with the glitzy Hollywood scene here!

yk

Half-day trip to Santa Barbara

Since I've never been to Santa Barbara, I requested my brother to drive us there.

We first stopped at the harbor where the breakwater and yacht club is. We ate lunch @ Minnow cafe, a place which I read about on Chowhound. It's a small shop with outdoor picnic benches. We both ordered the fish and chips. It was excellent. The batter is light and crispy, and fish is delicious.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2772.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2773.jpg

After lunch, we walked along the breakwater http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2774.jpg before we drove over to downtown Santa Barbara.

The downtown area is basically one long street with shops on both sides extending about 8 blocks long. Some are your usual chain stores, but there are also lots of unique shops. There were carolers along the street, some even dressed in period clothing.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2775.jpg
We walked for over an hour, and bought a fresh apple strudel as we were invited to dinner that night. (The apple strudel was excellent, BTW.)

DebitNM

yk - you are most definitely your brothers' sister! Trip reports and loads of pictures, especially in the plane!
Love the picture of the fish and chips!

Deb

yk

A day in Pasadena

Gamble House & Huntington Library

On Sunday morning, we drove over to Pasadena and ate brunch at Le Pain Quotidien on Colorado Blvd.

At 11:30am, we arrived at Gamble House. The house doesn't open until 12 noon, but the ticket office opens 30 minutes earlier. I was able to get in line soon enough to get ourselves onto the first tour of the day.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2776.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2779.jpg
(Not photography allowed inside the house.)

It was incredible. I think I enjoy the US Arts & Crafts Movement more than the UK one. The house is a Craftsman bungalow, designed by Greene & Greene. They were not only the architects, they also designed every detail inside the house: from which type of wood to use in which room, to every light fixture. Every piece in the house was handcrafted and specifically designed for that particular room in the Gamble House. Each piece is one-of-a-kind tailored to its purpose, so you won't be able to find it anywhere else in the world.

Our guide is wonderful. He has been involved with the Gamble House for over 25 years and is in charge of training docents. As a result, our supposedly one-hour tour turned into 90 minutes long.
http://www.gamblehouse.org/

Nearby Gamble House are many other Arts & Crafts Movement houses built around the same time. Alhough they are all private residences, it still would make a nice walking tour of the neighborhood.

We didn't have time for that, so instead we quickly drove around, before we headed to Huntington Library and Gardens.

I had no idea how huge this place is. It probably takes a full day to see it all. The gardens is vast and varied, from desert landscape to Australian to Chinese to Japanese to English to rose garden.

We began in the desert garden which is fascinating. The greenhouse/conservatory is jam packed with odd-looking succulents and cacti. Since we are there in winter, many of these are in bloom.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2782.jpg

Some pics of the Japanese & Chinese Gardens:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2789.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2791.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2793.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2795.jpg

We spent so much time in the gardens that we left very little time for the art galleries. We visited one of them, which currently hosts an exhibition on Greene & Greene (see a theme here?). But since we had just visited Gamble House, this exhibition doesn't measure up. It actually will to Boston's MFA in 2009, so I will go back for a second look then.

Right before closing, we rushed into the library building which holds rare books and manuscripts. We were able to view the Gutenberg Bible, one of the 11 existing vellum copies in the world.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2799.jpg

Sadly, we didn't have time for the art galleries. I think the most famous painting there is Gainsborough's The Blue Boy.
http://www.huntington.org/

yk

Farmers Market & LACMA

On Monday, I headed to the Farmers Market @ 3rd & Fairfax for lunch.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2800.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2803.jpg

I walked around for some time before settling on lunch at Singapore's Banana Leaf. I had a laksa which was okay. (I asked for mild, which was too mild for me.) Because I wasn't quite full, I had a coffee & donut at Bob's Coffee & Doughnuts. Bob's is a famous institution, and I (coming from the land of Dunkin' Donuts) was very impressed by the quality of the donut.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2802.jpg

http://www.farmersmarketla.com/

The Farmers Market is about a 10-min walk from LACMA. I'm truly surprised by how many people actually walk and take public transportation in LA! My impression of LA has always been cars and sprawl.

While I last visited LACMA less than 2 years ago, I wanted to return because of a few exhibitions, plus the new BCAM (Broad Contemporary Art Museum) opened this year.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2806.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2811.jpg

I started with their current exhibition, Hearst the Collector. Though not huge, it has some great pieces, including a gorgeous and enormous ebony cabinet attributed to Pierre Gole.

Afterwards, I joined a free guided tour of Modern Art, which covered French and Germany art from 1900-1950s.

Then, I visited the Vanity Fair: Portraits exhibit, followed by the European galleries and revisited the Modern Art section.

Lastly, I went to BCAM. The top floor galleries have a lovely collection of works by Johns, Rauschenberg, Ruscha and many more. Another gallery is filled with Jeff Koons, many of which I had seen recently at the Koons at Versailles exhibit.

The ground floor is filled with 2 huge pieces by Richard Serra. Each one is a large steel sculpture which forms a serpentine shape with changing angles. From afar, it looks like a piece of ribbon. How Serra was able to make large pieces of steel look so weightless I do not know.

Altogether, I must have spent at least 4 hours there. I easily could have spent even more time there, but this was quite enough.
http://www.lacma.org/

yk

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

As promised, I'm posting some pictures from the hospital and views from the room.

The new hospital opened in July of this year, so everything is brand new.

Entrance
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2823.jpg
Lobby
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2822.jpg

View from room on 7th floor (facing West)
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2821.jpg
Getty Center
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2820.jpg
Sunset
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2830.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2833.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2835.jpg

DalaiLlama

yk - many thanks! For somebody like me who loves L.A., who used to live there long enough to get to know it really well, and who visits several times a year for weeks at a time, it's so great to read about just some of the good stuff L.A. has to offer!

There are so many nay-sayers, and so many people who go to Anaheim, are disappointed, and then blame LA., or who think Hollywood is the bee's knees, when the Huntington, the LACMA, the Norton Simon (have you been?), the Farmer's Market - when it's those places that are worth talking about.

And Griffith Park for a picnic and drive up to the observatory, the Santa Monica pier for a retro experience, Venice Beach (muscle beach and the roller girls) for eccentricity, Disney Hall and the exquisite concerts for the highbrow quotient, and so much more!

Thanks again!

yk

UCLA Hammer Museum & Westwood Village

One of the days I was at the Medical Center, I decided to go over to the Hammer Museum, named after its founder, Armand Hammer.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2826.jpg

It is mostly a venue for contemporary art, though several galleries are reserved for paintings collected by Dr. Hammer, which includes French Impressionists, several Van Goghs, and a handful of Old Masters (Rembrandt & Titian).

I wasn't too impressed with the current exhibited works by the contemporary artists, however, one of the paintings on view is a Red Painting by Ad Reinhardt. I have seen several of his black paintings, but this is the first time I've seen a red one.

The day I went, it looks like the museum was setting for an evening soiree, and I really like what they did.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2828.jpg

http://hammer.ucla.edu/

Westwood Village is right next to the UCLA campus. It has plenty of cheap eats and stores aimed at college-aged kids, eg Urban Outfitters.

One more upscale restaurant looks like it is housed in a former church.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2825.jpg

A famous landmarks there is the Mann Village Theatre (built 1930). I happened to walk by it one evening and saw something similar to a Red Carpet event. It turns out it was getting ready for the premier of Marley & Me starring Owen Wilson & Jennifer Aniston. I decided not to wait around, as I doubt I would be able to see anything without a press pass.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2829.jpg

http://www.manntheatres.com/premiere...es/village.php

Next up: L.A. Historic Downtown Walk

cmcfong

Delightful report, yk. thank you! I am glad Ray is doing well and that you are able to be with him. Best wishes to both of you.

fdecarlo

Ok, dumb question time...

Why is photography prohibited inside the Gamble House, when photos (and virtual 360-degree tours) are on their website? Just bizarre.

yk

fdecarlo - I don't know the reason, but I find this (no photography policy) very common at small museums & historic houses. I assume that helps boost their guidebook & postcard sales but I don't know if that's the sole reason.

MBnancy

"One more upscale restaurant looks like it is housed in a former church."

The photo looks like the old King's Tropical Inn, Chicken Dinner Restaurant building, in the Culver City area. Used to go there with my parents, but it is long gone.

yk

I looked it up. The restaurant is now called Yamato. It's at the corner of Westwood & Kinross (1099 Westwood Blvd)
http://tinyurl.com/9r66yf

vivi

Great report! I have a super-duper Huntington membership which allows me early entry into all the gardens before it's open to the public. I walk there several days a week, it's like my own private holiday! The desert garden is my favorite.

So glad you got to Farmers Market, the Broad, and the Gamble House. Excellent choices!

Try to get up to Griffith Observatory at the end of a crisp clear day (later in the week?) Time it for just before dusk so you can see the sunset and watch the city lights start twinkling. Spectacular.
Plus the Observatory itself is stunning. And it's free! The holiday lights in Griffith Park are a treat, too.

LOL, I flew into LAX a few weeks ago and our flight was met by paparrazzi, too. But I never figured out who they were paparazz-ing!

Hope your brother is on the mend.

Jean

The Yamato restaurant (Westwood and Kinross) is housed in what was once a Bank of America branch. I worked there part-time while a student for two years at UCLA. When the Isla Vista branch was bombed by war protesters in 1970, we had the National Guard at the door in Westwood for a couple of weeks, and things were pretty tense.

I wish you could have seen Westwood Village the way it was back then. (Yikes, 40 years ago next year!) It was a true college town with many student-oriented stores, typical village shops and not one but two old-style movie palaces (The Bruin and The Village). It was a Really Big Deal when the grocery store closed (in the late 1970s I think), but as the years passed there was little reaction to the disappearance of the used textbook store, the barber shop (complete with barber pole on the sidewalk), the shoe repair, etc.

Jean

Here's an old picture of the Bank of America in the 1940s:

http://www.yesterdayla.com/Graphics/westwood1.jpg

and in the distance in the 1930s:

http://www.yesterdayla.com/Graphics/westwood9.jpg

yk

Jean - Thanks for filling in the blanks and your input. Love those pics, and I can see the Mann Village Theatre very well in the 1930s photo.

I found out more about that building. It was built in 1929 by Allison and Allison to house the Janss Corporation; aka Janss Dome.
http://wikimapia.org/1881029/The-Westwood-Building

One thing I forgot to mention @ the Hammer Museum. In one of the contemporary art galleries, there are about 10 Wolfgang Tillmans' photographs on the wall. But they are not framed. Instead, they are attached to the wall by double-sided tape. I thought that was very odd. I assume that was deliberately done by the curator? It looks very "cheap" to me, and AFAIK, Tillmans' prints are anything but "cheap".

5alive

yk, if you are still there I have read that the new/remodeled Catholic cathedral downtown is very interesting architecture.

For more traditional architecture, see if you can get in to St. Augustine's in Culver City, between Washington and Venice Boulevards... It is large enough that you would think it was a cathedral if you didn't know. The organ in it was amazing too.

Jean

Regarding the new cathedral downtown, "interesting" is one way to describe the architecture. "Ugly" is another. Just MO. Many call it Taj Mahoney after the archbishop (now cardinal) who built it.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/u...the-angels.htm

Here's a photo of St. Augustine's in Culver City. Now that's a pretty church.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St...alifornia).JPG

If you're into historical architecture, you might want to spend some time in the West Adams area near USC. Lots to see.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Ad...es,_California

yk

Merry Christmas!

L.A. Historic Downtown Walk

Earlier this week, I went for a 4-hr walk in the historic core of downtown L.A. Thanks to Fodorite lvk who mentioned the LA Conservancy, I found a self-guided walking tour (with map and description) on their website.
http://www.laconservancy.org/tours/downtown/index.php4
which I followed loosely.

If you were to ask me, say 1 month ago, what I think downtown LA is like, I would have described it as a conglomerate of modern skyscrapers. Never in my wildest dream would I have imagined there to be so many historic gems located in LA!

Part of my walk led me onto Broadway, and I was shocked by the sheer number of historic theatres (1920/1930s) on every block. Doh! I guess that's why it's called Broadway... not unlike the Broadway in NYC now. It was strange to walk around, imagining the glitz and glamor of that bygone era. This whole area is now surrounded by el cheap clothing stores, 99 cents shops, taco stands etc, with mostly Latino clientele.

Part I of Walk - Broadway
I began my walk at corner of 9th & Broadway.

Stop #1
United Artists Building, 1927
933 S Broadway, in Spanish Gothic Style
C. Howard Crane designed the theatre, Walker & Eisen building architects
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2838.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2839.jpg

Stop #2
Eastern Columbia Building, 1930
849 S. Broadway, Art Deco
Architect Claud Beelman

[T]he Eastern Columbia Building is thirteen stories high. It is built of steel reinforced concrete and clad in glossy turquoise terra cotta trimmed with deep blue and gold terra cotta.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2840.jpg

The building's vertical emphasis is accentuated by deeply recessed bands of paired windows and spandrels with copper panels separated by vertical columns.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2841.jpg

The central main entrance has a spectacular recessed two-story vestibule adorned with a blue and gold terra cotta sunburst.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2842.jpg

Stop #3
Orpheum Theatre, 1926
842 South Broadway
Architect G. Albert Lansburgh

Not open to public, but I was able to get a photo of the ticket booth and entrance doors.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2844.jpg

Stop #4
Wurlitzer Building, 1924
818 S Broadway
Architect Walker & Eisen
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2845.jpg

Stop #5
Tower Theatre, 1927
802 S Broadway
Architect S. Charles Lee
Not open to public
http://www.towertheaterla.com/

Stop #6
Palace Theatre, 1911
630 South Broadway, in Italian Renaissance Style
Architect G. Albert Lansburgh

Not open to public. Built in 1911 as the third home of the Orpheum vaudeville circuit in Los Angeles, this theatre is now the oldest remaining original Orpheum theatre in the country.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2847.jpg

Loosely styled after a Florentine early Renaissance palazzo, the façade features multicolored terra-cotta swags, flowers, fairies, and theatrical masks illustrating the spirit of entertainment.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2848.jpg

Entrance foyer
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2851.jpg

Stop #7
Los Angeles Theatre, 1931
615 S Broadway, in French Baroque Style
Architect S. Charles Lee

Not open to public.
http://www.losangelestheatre.com/lahist01.html

Stop #8
Sun Drug Company Building
555 S Broadway

Now a warehouse. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2853.jpg
Love the facade. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...8/IMG_2854.jpg

Part II of Walking Tour next