Surrealist Tour of Historic L.A.:
El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula
Next turn left on Crescent Heights (Laurel Canyon), and an immediate right on Hollywood Blvd. See the Walk of Fame, then stop by the Hollywood Bowl (north on Highland Avenue, park behind the stage if there's no show going on). Then return to Hollywood, continue east, merge back into Sunset and head for Silver Lake, Echo Park, and Downtown L.A.
End your day with a meal in Chinatown or Little Tokyo. If you have any time left, go up to Elysian Park and see Dodger's Stadium. Of course, it would take you more than one day to really see all these places, but Sunset will get you to most of the world's favorite parts of the City.
Other great drives: Los Feliz Blvd., Griffith Park, Fountain or Santa Monica Blvd., at the beach, go north on Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu. Other canyons off the beach are Temescal and Topanga. Canyons of Sunset: Sepulveda, Benedict Canyon, Beverly Glen, Laurel Canyon. The Hindu temple is on the Valley side of Malibu Canyon. Also, check out Lakeshrine at PCH and Sunset. Recommended hotel: Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Blvd. - be right in the middle of it all
Hollywood Links
Capitol Records the official website of the company
Capitol History interviews with Nori's relatives and related links.
Things to do: L.A. Times Calendar Section
Pamela Jaye Smith script consultant, author speaker
Hollywood Affirmations affirm a positive relationship with our story capital.
Bodhi Tree The iconic indi bookstore from West Hollywood is now an online bookstore.
Red Line Travel Group see the sights of Los Angeles with this tour company.
Pray for Peace Affirmations for Hollywood a free upgrade for your thoughts about this historic American neighborhood.
Los Angeles Architecture Books and City Guides learn more through looking a great photos of L.A.
In 2002, developers tried to split the San Fernando Valley off from the City of Los Angeles, but voters put a big road block in front of the developers when it came time to go to the polls. I made this graphic and wrote a long explanation for why that would be a bad idea. Privatizing cities usually puts a lot of money in the developers' pockets, but the ordinary residents just get a lot of grief.
Who Says Downtown has to be Confusing?
Street names: Here is an early 20th Century rhyme to help school children remember the streets in the City (from East to West): "From Main I Spring to Broadway, and over the Hill to Olive, and wouldn't it be Grand to Hope to pick a Flower on Figueroa."
Here's a modern version, provided by an L.A. Times reader:
"The Main thing I hate about driving in L.A. is the way other drivers seem to Spring out of nowhere. Broadway is filled with over-the-Hill drivers and those who have had a few too many Olive-topped martinis. A Grand idea would be to go to work with the Hope that none of those former Flower children in their BMWs will cut you off while trying to find Figueroa."
Here is the traditional West-to-East version that includes streets further East:
"Figueroa is the Flower of Hope on the Grand Olive Hill of Broadway where the Spring flows from the Main Los Angeles Wall to San Pedro Central near Alameda."
Warning! They say that you can take all the sincerity in Hollywood and put it in a flea's navel and still have room for six caraway seeds and an agent's heart. (This may or may not be literally true, but at least we warned you!)
Who Reads What and Why?
1. The Wall Street Journal is read by people who run the country.
2. The New York Times is read by people who think they run the country.
3. The Washington Post is read by people who think they should run the country.
4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand the Washington Post. They do, however, like their smog statistics shown in pie charts.
5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country, if they could spare the time, and if they didn't have to leave L.A. to do it.
A new book on the history of Capitol Records
75 Years of Capitol Records
by Barney Hoskyns
