Los Angeles Landmarks

Before I throw out a brochure of a $4,000 National Trust for Historic Preservation tour I didn't take, I thought I make a note of some of the highlights. The tour was sponsored by two local groups Los Angeles Conservancy and Pasadena Heritage.


Tour participants stayed at the Hilton Checkers Hotel. Built in 1927 in downtown Los Angeles, the 12-story boutique hotel has been beautifully restored with a rooftop pool and restaurant. The hotel offers a guided tour of the nearby fashion district.

On the first day, a walking tour highlighted the historic core of downtown Los Angeles including Pershing Square, the Central Library, Angels Flight, and the Bradbury Building.

Historic restaurants featured in the tours were Smoke House Restaurant, founded in 1946 in Burbank and later moved to a 1947 building, and Yamashiro in the Hollywood Hills, originally a private residence of the Bernheimers that was restored as a restaurant in 1960.



A walking tour of Hancock Park winds through the elegant homes in various revival styles constructed for some of Los Angeles most prominent families in the early 1930s. A half-day in Pasadena includes tours of Gamble House, the masterpiece of the Arts and Crafts designers Greene and Greene built in 1908, as well as the Mediterranean-style City Hall and the Rose Bowl, both constructed in 1927, followed by lunch in Old Pasadena. The city's historic neighborhoods are rich in architectural gems, easily spotted from the sidewalk.

Another neighborhood full of residential landmarks is Silver Lake with homes designed by modernist pioneers like Gregory Ain, John Lautner, and Richard Neutra. Neutra's VDL Research House II is open for tours on Saturdays. On the other side of the city in Pacific Palisades, the Eames House offers another glimpse into a mid-century modern icon.

So many museums in L.A. would make great architectural specimens. This tour narrowed the choice down to a VIP cart tour of Warner Brothers Studios including a visit to the Warner Brothers Museum , the Art Deco gem Griffith Observatory, and the Getty Center as well as a Neon Tour conducted by the Museum of Neon Art.

These Missions are Possible

Westways Magazine featured three great travel books in the most recent issue: Saints of California, A Guide to Places and Their Patrons by Edward and Lorna Mornin, The California Missions: History, Art, and Perservation by Edna E. Kimbor and Julia G. Costello, and Yosemite & the Southern Sierra Nevada by David T. Page. They look like great sources for two of my dream vacations: walking from one mission to another and climbing Mount Whitney. Speaking of walks, an interesting tour in Poway is described on the same page of Westways. The Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center offers guided walks in the preserved site of an ancient Kumeyaay village on Saturday from 9 am to ll:30 am.

A Whale of a Walk

The grey whale migration has probably peaked but the views from the cliffs of Palos Verdes is still stunning. I didn't know that a volunteer group, Los Serenos de Point Vicente, leads walks on the rugged coast throughout the year, besides their annual Whale of a Day held in early March. The docents share information about the natural and cultural history of the area on tours of Abalone Cove Shoreline Park, Forrestal Nature Preserve/Ladera Linda Community Center and the Trails at Trump National.

More Walking Action

Read about walking clubs in this month's AARP Magazine. The American Volkssport Association lists lots of clubs in the U.S., including the South Bay Striders in the San Jose area and the Bay Bandits Volksmarch Club around San Francisco and the Sacramento Walking Sticks Club out of Sacramento. The article also mentions a British group, The Ramblers, and the European Ramblers' Association. Two walking tours, ranging from $350 to $500 per day, are featured too: Country Walkers and The Wayfarers. Create the Good has a video on starting a walking group

Eating and Walking, a perfect combination

L.A. Times had an interesting article today of a unique business called Melting Pot Food Tours. It's run by two sisters who lead dining events and also have two regularly scheduled 3 hour walking tours centered around food. One tour focuses on the historic Farmers Market at Third and Fairfax, and the other one features ethnic eateries in old Pasadena. The tours cost $49.

Free walking tour this Saturday

Stroll around the historic Hellman neighborhood or the Craftsman Village historic district this Saturday. It starts at 9 am and it's free. The area north of 7th Street between Walnut and Orange features lots of 1920s era bungalows, some painstakingly restored. Meet in front of the Museum of Latin American Art.

Downtown Walking Tours are Back

Long Beach Heritage has reinstated its downtown walking tour in June. The tour begins at 3rd and The Promenade near the historic mural taken from the old Civic Auditorium at 10 am, and is held on the last Saturday of the month. The tour features both Art Deco and modern classics and lasts about an hour and a half for a cost of $10.