DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA: PART 12

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE
AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA

If you go:

• Randy’s Donuts: 805 W. Manchester Boulevard , Inglewood , 310-645-4707, www.randys-donuts.com

• The Getty Museum : 1200 Getty Center Drive, 310- 440-7330, www.getty.edu/museum

• The Hollyhock House: Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd. , 323/644-6269 . www.hollyhockhouse.net

• Astro Burger, 5601 Melrose Ave. , 323-469-1924, www.astroburger.com

• Paramount Studios, 5555 Melrose Ave.

• Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd. , 323-469-1181 www.hollywoodforever.com

• Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave. , 323-850-2000, http://wdch.laphil.com/home.cfm

• Santa Monica Pier, 310-458-8900; visit website for map and directions: www.santamonicapier.org

• Sowden House, 5121 Franklin Ave.

• Fred 62: 1850 N. Vermont Ave. , 323-667-0062, www.fred62.com

• Farmers Market, 6333 W. 3rd St. , 323-933-9211, www.farmersmarketla.com

• Mulholland Drive: visit website for detailed descriptions of overlooks and maps:
www.lamountains.com/parks.asp?parkid=37

• The Palm: 9001 Santa Monica Blvd. , 310.550.8811, www.thepalm.com

• Avalon Beverly Hills , 9400 West Olympic Blvd., Beverly Hills , 800-670 6183 or 310 277 5221; www.avalonbeverlyhills.com

• Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau: www.seemyla.com

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA: PART 11

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE
AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA

By Steve Wright

Atomic Age Avalon

The Avalon Hotel Beverly Hills is a primo spot for dinner, drinks or parties by the pool.

Located in the tranquil oasis of Beverly Hills, this mid-century modernist property once was home to Mae West and Marilyn Monroe.

Now retro-cool and Sputnik-chic, this boutique beauty features outdoor dining at its blue on blue restaurant, named one of Food & Wine's "50 Best Hotel Restaurants.”

Grab a poolside table, order up some fresh, innovative cuisine and enjoy the hep-cat West Coast high life, a la Frank, Dino and Sammy.

Wright frequently writes about Travel, Wheelchair Access, Smart Growth and sustainable communities. He recently participated in the prestigious Forum on Land and the Built Environment: The Reinvented City sponsored by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Contact him at: stevewright64@yahoo.com

TOMORROW: RESOURCES FOR WHEN YOU GO

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA: PART 10

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE
AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA

By Steve Wright

Beef, It’s What’s for Dinner

You know you must be in West Hollywood when you’re at a table in The Palm so perfectly located, you figure the maitre d must have mistaken you for someone with money and a Q Score.

The service is impeccable and could this steak be any more perfect?

Hey, is it him?

It’s gotta be the Strikeout King, Sandy Koufax, at the next table.

You’ve already spotted Larry King and trophy wife du jour, and you’re pretty darn sure Hellboy, aka Ron Perlman, is across the room.

TOMORROW: Atomic Age Avalon

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA: PART 9

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE
AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA

By Steve Wright

On a Smogless Day, You Can See To…

Few experiences match the sublime joy of cruising the 24 famous miles of Mulholland Drive in the evening when the sun's rays turn a soft, buttery yellow.

You get that "only in LA" feeling as you wind along the ridgeline of the Santa Monica Mountains and the Hollywood Hills.

You experience the same picturesque drive that has captivated land speculators in Model Ts, wannabe starlets in gunboat-sized `60s convertibles and the mega-wealthy in Maseratis.

They say the best views are between Encino and Hollywood, but any of the half-dozen overlooks inspire oohs and ahs with their views of everything from peaks, canyons and ocean to downtown LA and the Hollywood Bowl.

TOMORROW: Beef, It’s What’s for Dinner

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA: PART 8

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE
AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA

By Steve Wright

Farmers Market in Faux City

From the street, it’s hard to believe that this landmark at the corner of Fairfax Avenue and 3rd Street was ever anything but urban modernity. Yet the Farmers Market began humbly in 1934 here -- on an open stretch of land ¬ as a motley collection of farmers’ trucks filled with produce and flowers.

Step inside and be awed by the variety of restaurants and shops. Magically, the market retains a certain feeling of quaintness that provides a nice break from LA’s mall culture. You can sample many cuisines here, but if you’re partial to Cajun, you can’t go wrong with the Gumbo Pot. And at Bob’s Coffee and Donuts, you can savor a chocolate iced cake concoction that will make you see the face of God.

Once you’ve had your fill of quaintness, you can get your consumerism groove on at the Grove, an open-air mall just yards away that includes a Nordstrom anchor and a 14-screen cineplex.

TOMORROW: On a Smogless Day, You Can See To…

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA: PART 7

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE
AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA

By Steve Wright

Black Dahlia Confidential

It had the makings of a cinema thriller: a young, pretty actress-wannabe and a horrifically brutal unsolved killing. The mystery of the Black Dahlia murder provides glimpses into the seedy underbelly of post-World War II Los Angeles, the LA of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, a city of lost innocence and broken dreams.

If you haven’t seen the Brian De Palma film or read the books, Beth Short, aka the Black Dahlia, was a Massachusetts girl with striking features who came to LA with movie star dreams. Her plans never materialized and, at age 22, on a January morning in 1947, her nude, severed body was discovered in a vacant lot. While the murderer has never been caught, one man named Steve Hodel believes it was his own dear old, now deceased, dad who did the deed.

OK, so it’s not a picture postcard image, but what would Tinseltown be if some of the tinsel didn’t scrape off now and then? Take a drive to the trendy Los Feliz neighborhood of LA to have a look at Hodel’s boyhood home, where he believes daddy committed the infamous crime. Built in 1926 by Frank Lloyd Wright’s son, Lloyd Wright, the Sowden House is an incredible example of an architectural style called Mayan art deco. Built from earthen blocks in a geometric pattern, the structure conjures up images of a temple. If you watched Cycle 6 of the TV show, America’s Next Top Model, then you’ve seen this breathtaking home from the inside as well.

Now that you’ve had your daily dose of architectural history, coupled with LA’s sleazy side, find a parking space on North Vermont Avenue and have a look around this neighborhood with a mid-century retro feel. The comfortably walkable streets are made picturesque with citrus trees. Browse the boutiques or nurse a latte at an outdoor café. If you’re ready for some hearty, hip diner fare, stop in at Fred 62 and order up a stick-to-the-ribs breakfast or maybe a chili burger.


TOMORROW: Farmers Market in Faux City

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA: PART 6

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE
AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA

By Steve Wright

Peerless Pier

Although sunny SoCal has plenty of plastic (people, smiles, surgery) to go `round, you can still find some of those quaint, innocent thrills from another era.

Follow that epitome of Americana, Route 66, to its end and you’ll run smack dab into the Santa Monica Pier.

More than just a wooden boardwalk out over the majestic Pacific Ocean, the pier also plays host to the Pacific Park amusement park and Playland Arcade.

Your eyes will be drawn to the Byzantine-Moorish California architecture of the carousel building while you munch a carmel apple and go in search of skeeball and ringtoss.

Check out the he historic Looff Hippodrome, play giddy-up on that ornate merry-go-round and don’t miss that stunning Pacific Coast sunset.

TOMORROW: Black Dahlia Confidential

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA: PART 5

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE
AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA

By Steve Wright

Gehry Glitter

It used to be that Downtown Los Angeles architecture was symbolized by pointed, towering City Hall or the Italian-Renaissance-style Bradbury Building with its wrought-iron grillwork. But now the iconic downtown structure is the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the sculpted, stainless-steel meisterwerk designed by that rock star of architects, Frank Gehry.

Surrounded by a landscaped urban park, the Disney shimmers in the sunlight like a desert mirage, its magnificent curves taunting the eye to make sense of its colossal dimensions. Yet inside it offers an intimate experience with hardwood walls and seating that surrounds the performance platform.

Like anyone else, you could undoubtedly debate deconstructivism architecture ‘til the cows come home, but lighten up. Check out the Disney for its sheer sheen of shiny metal.

TOMORROW: Peerless Pier

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA: PART 4

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE
AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA

By Steve Wright

Graveyard Stomp

You’ve come all the way to LA, so you’re itching to catch some of that moviemaking magic. But you’ve also heard the naysayers claim that the Golden Age of Hollywood is dead and buried. Lucky for you, they’re right.

But first things first. Who wants to chase the ghosts of silver screen sirens on an empty stomach? Since LA is all about car culture, consider some dashboard dining at Astro Burger, the landmark, unassuming burger stand where Hilary Swank famously scarfed one down in front of paparazzi -- still in her designer gown -- right after winning her second Oscar in 2005. Consume your made-to-order veggie or traditional burger while piloting the rental past nearby Paramount Studios, the last major studio still in Hollywood. Look for the gorgeous entrance gate with the elegant cursive font spelling out “Paramount Pictures.”

Just around the corner is your final destination, so to speak. It’s a place perfect for stargazing. Did we happen to mention it’s a cemetery?

Hollywood Forever is the final resting place for a galaxy of stars. Nestled on several acres off busy Santa Monica Boulevard, the old cemetery is but a blur in the corner of the eye to most of the thousands of motorists who rush by. Though plotted in the epicenter of Hollywood, the stars gathered here aren’t dashing away into a waiting limo.

Rudolph Valentino, dead more than 70 years, still gets fresh red roses on his crypt every day. Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, the mobster who put Vegas on the map and became part of the movieland scene, is at peace in a surprisingly modest space in Beth Olam Mausoleum. Mel Blanc, the man who gave a voice to Bugs Bunny and so many other Warner Brothers cartoons, rests beneath a headstone with a simple and apropos epitaph: “That’s all folks.”

One last note: while at Hollywood Forever, turn to the north and look up. You’ll catch a glimpse of that great American icon: the Hollywood sign.

TOMORROW: Gehry Glitter

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA: PART 3

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE
AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA

By Steve Wright

Frank Lloyd Rites

For oh-so-many reasons, the City of Angels isn’t always what it seems, making it a delicious trompe-l’œil waiting to be deciphered. Sitting atop majestic Olive Hill off Hollywood Boulevard, is the beautifully restored Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece, Hollyhock House and its stunning views of the Los Angeles basin.

Wright built the Hollyhock House for an artsy heiress back in the early’20s, dubbing it California Romanza style. Whatever you call it, it’s a captivating marriage of home and gardens, transcendent and timeless.

There is a small gift shop plus a gallery with film about Hollyhock House that runs continuously. Visit at the right time, and you can attend a lecture or performance in the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre.

TOMORROW: Graveyard Stomp

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA: PART 2

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE
AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA

By Steve Wright

Modern Museum Marvel

LA may be America ’s pop culture capital, but it has its share of real culture, too. Get your dose by heading to the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains that spectacularly overlook the Pacific Coast Highway, the Getty has a magnificent collection of European paintings, drawings and sculpture, as well as European and American photographs.

Not only is the collection exquisite, so is the structure and grounds.
Architect Richard Meier used 1.2 million square feet of beige, fossilized travertine stone to construct the museum. The stone plays with that famous SoCal sunshine, creating brilliant beams or subtle glows, depending on the time of day.

Access is via a Space-Age feeling, smoothly gliding tram that takes you from the lower level parking to the museum at the top of the hill. If you’ve worked up a hunger after enjoying the collection and visiting the gift shop, there are four places to dine, from a full-service restaurant with excellent fare to a picturesque picnic area.

TOMORROW: Frank Lloyd Rites

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA

DEATH, GLAMOUR, MODERNIST ARCHITECTURE
AND GIANT DONUTS IN THE SKY – MUST BE LA

By Steve Wright

Your plane has just touched down on the tarmac and you’re jonsed to start exploring.

Once you’ve made that all-important pit stop in the terminal, grabbed your bags and taken the wheel of your rental, you realize you could use a little picker-upper. And nothing delivers quite like sugar.

What’s that giant levitating tire over there just off the 405? No, it’s a donut ¬ a 22 foot donut, to be exact. Soon you’re waiting in the drive-through line to place your order for ambrosia in the form of mind-bendingly tasty crullers and glazed with sprinkles.

You know you’re in LA when you’re munching on Randy’s Donuts at 3 a.m., drinking in one of the finest examples of mid-century Googie architecture west of the Rockies.

Los Angeles: the very name conjures up so many images, often contradictory. Splendor and seediness. Glamour and grime. Class and kitsch.

TOMORROW: Modern Museum Marvel