Follow Us
Archive for the ‘Just the Facts’ Category
Where’s the Wine?
Where's the wine? You get to choose which winery to visit on the Sideways private tour.
Bzzzzz, What Is Trebek Open Space?
62 wide open acres of walking/hiking and leash-free doggie fun right in Hollywood. If you have brought your puppies on a private canine tour of Los Angeles this is the perfect place to have your guide take you. The spot, donated by Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, is a natural parkland only a quick drive up Nichols Canyon Road off of Hollywood Boulevard.
The Legend Never Dies
In a tiny cemetery in a small Los Angeles village is the crypt of one of Hollywood's biggest screen legends.
Makeup to Made Up — The Hollywood Museum
This beautiful art deco building has gone from make up (Max Factor) to a museum of the made up (Hollywood Museum)
Pacific Standard Time – Spend Hours at the Getty
Backyards in Diamond Bar and Other Oddities
In 1980, Joe Deal photographed backyards in Diamond Bar. The images, all black-and-white and clinical, make suburbia seem absolutely absurd. Among his strangest is a photo of a swimming pool–shaped island of perfectly green grass, empty but surrounded by lawn furniture, cacti and other brush arranged in dirt. It’s on view in the Getty’s “In Focus” show along with about two dozen other silver gelatin prints that examine SoCal from the ’50s until 1980. The show feels like an Errol Morris documentary — skeptical but almost eagerly so, and all strung together with understated, dry humor.
The Getty Museum is just one of the many southern California museums and galleries participating in Pacific Standard Time. If you just flew over this incredible structure overlooking the Los Angeles basin during one of your Los Angeles helicopter tours then you should make it a point to visit the museum and see what they have inside.
Pacific Standard Time is a collaboration of numerous southern California museums and galleries curating exhibits to celebrate the vision and history of California artists.
1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood
through May 6
getty.edu
Secret Stairway to Heaven (Shhhh!)
Los Angeles is famous for its gym culture. But if you’re intimidated by all the hard bods at Gold’s — or if you just want to take the jogging path less traveled — the city’s network of historic staircases is an ideal way to stay fit.
Not going anywhere but enjoying the walk
City planners originally installed the public staircases in the 1920s as direct routes for hillside residents to get down to urban areas and transit lines. They fell out of use once the motor car came along, but the stairs still serve as direct paths into stately L.A. neighborhoods unseen by many Angelenos. Stairstreets they are called. Great ways to work up an appetite before chowing down in a neighborhood cafe. When you are looking for things to do in Hollywood you should find the nearest stairway going up. Who says Los Angeles isn’t a walkable city?
Hollywood’s Own Wilshire Boulevard Temple
Established in 1862, Congregation B’nai B’rith is the oldest reform synagogue in Los Angeles. Its home is the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, a striking, stately structure on the edge of what’s now a congested stretch in Koreatown. Built in 1929, the temple was designed by A.M. Edelman, son of the congregation’s first rabbi, Abraham Edelman. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, the temple was the go-to place of worship for scores of movie-industry professionals who wanted to assimilate into American culture without sacrificing their Jewish identity. The building’s enormous Byzantine revival-style dome was funded by Hollywood producer Irving Thalberg, while Louis B. Mayer donated funds for the temple’s art glass windows. Carl Laemmle donated spice box chandeliers, and the temple’s biblical murals were commissioned by Jack, Harry and Albert Warner, aka the Warner Bros. The Wilshire Boulevard Temple is in the midst of an ambitious $150 million overhaul, but with such a dazzling history, its future looks just as bright as its starry past. Places of worship and cemeteries are popular sightseeing themes when you create your own best Los Angeles tour.
3663 Wilshire Boulevard, Koreatown
(213) 388-2401
wilshireboulevardtemple.org
Angels Flight Out of Commission
The historic Angels Flight railway, “the shortest railway in the world,” in downtown Los Angeles is grounded for several weeks for routine maintenance and will likely reopen with a slightly higher ticket fare.
Starting Tuesday, January 10th, the railway was closed to replace worn rails and complete some carpentry and paint work on the 110-year-old rail cars, authorities said.
After the improvements, the fare likely will rise from a quarter to 50 cents.
Metro pass holders will receive a half-off discount if the nonprofit increases the cost for the one-minute trip up and down Bunker Hill, Angels Flight Railway President John Welborne told City News Service.
Angels Flight, dubbed “the shortest railway in the world,”‘ was closed in 2001 following an accident that killed one person and seriously injured seven. It reopened in 2010. When you are on one of the fantastic sightseeing tours of Los Angeles be sure to have your guide take you for a ride on Angels Flight (when it reopens, of course).
World's Shortest Railway
Wicked
Through Jan 29. Back by popular demand! L.A.’s favorite musical flies back to the Pantages this holiday season after a record-breaking two-year run. I loved this and so happy it’s back, it is the best place and should be first on your list to visit while touring LA. Called “A phenomenon that keeps growing” by The Los Angeles Times and “Broadway’s biggest blockbuster” by The New York Times, “Wicked” is the untold story of the witches of Oz and how they became known as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.
Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., L.A., 323.468.1770. www.broadwayla.org
Venison Fair
Through Dec. 11. Chaya Venice pays homage to game season with a two-week limited-engagement Venison Fair menu. Dine on succulent venison dinner fare, paired with sweet and spicy ingredients and flavors. Such a cool and exciting location for hanging out and eating out while taking a sightseeing tour of LA. The dinner menu showcases dishes such as venison chile con carne, venison burger, venison meatballs and more.
Mon.-Thurs. Chaya Venice, 110 Navy St., Venice, 310.396.1179.