Holmby Hills in Los Angeles

5 March 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area Reading Time:  8 minutes

View of Holmby Park © Zigzig20s/cc-by-sa-3.0

View of Holmby Park © Zigzig20s/cc-by-sa-3.0

Holmby Hills is a neighborhood in the district of Westwood in western Los Angeles. The neighborhood was developed in the early twentieth century by the Janss Investment Company, which developed the rest of Westwood as well as other Los Angeles neighborhoods. With the expansion of Sunset Boulevard, Holmby Hills was split into two northern and southern sections, each lying within a different community plan area designated by the City of Los Angeles: The portion south of Sunset Boulevard is the area north of Wilshire Boulevard and east of both Beverly Glen Boulevard and Comstock Avenue, and west of the Los Angeles Country Club; it is located within the Westwood Community Plan Area. The portion north of Sunset is the area east of Beverly Glen Boulevard and west of the city limits of Beverly Hills, with Greendale Drive and Brooklawn Drive as its northernmost streets; it is located within the Bel AirBeverly Crest Community Plan Area, though it is historically distinct from the neighborhoods of both Bel Air and Beverly Crest.   read more…

Hermosa Beach in California

3 January 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Estrategy/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Estrategy/cc-by-sa-3.0

Hermosa Beach is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County. Its population is at 20,000. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area and is one of the three Beach Cities. Hermosa Beach is bordered by the other two, Manhattan Beach to the north and Redondo Beach to the south and east. The city’s beach is popular for sunbathing, beach volleyball, surfing, paddleboarding and bars. The city itself extends only about 15 blocks from east to west and 40 blocks from north to south, with the Pacific Coast Highway running down the middle. A paved path, called The Strand, runs along Hermosa’s beach from Torrance Beach in the south approximately twenty miles north to Santa Monica and the Hermosa Beach pier is at the end of Pier Avenue, which is one of the beach community’s main shopping, eating and partying areas. Hermosa is a Spanish word meaning “beautiful”.   read more…

The Sunset Strip in West Hollywood

1 September 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area Reading Time:  8 minutes

Famous for its wall-to-wall advertising © Soulreaper

Famous for its wall-to-wall advertising © Soulreaper

The Sunset Strip is the mile-and-a-half (2.4 km) stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood’s eastern border with Hollywood at Crescent Heights Boulevard, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive. The Strip is probably the best-known portion of Sunset, embracing boutiques, restaurants, rock clubs, and nightclubs that are on the cutting edge of the entertainment industry. It is also known for its trademark array of huge, colorful billboards. As the Strip lies outside of the Los Angeles city limits and was an unincorporated area under the jurisdiction of the County of Los Angeles, the area fell under the less-vigilant jurisdiction of the Sheriff’s Department rather than the heavy hand of the LAPD. It was illegal to gamble in the city, but legal in the county. This fostered the building of a rather wilder concentration of nightlife than Los Angeles would tolerate.   read more…

Santa Monica in California

26 June 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area Reading Time:  8 minutes

Santa Monica © flickr.com - specchio.nero/cc-by-sa-2.0

Santa Monica © flickr.com – specchio.nero/cc-by-sa-2.0

Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County with a population of 93,000. The city is named after the Christian saint Monica. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is bordered on three sides by the city of Los AngelesPacific Palisades to the north, Brentwood on the northeast, Sawtelle on the east, Mar Vista on the southeast, and Venice on the south. Partly because of its agreeable climate, Santa Monica had become a famed resort town by the early 20th century. The city has experienced a boom since the late 1980s through the revitalization of its downtown core, significant job growth and increased tourism. The Santa Monica Pier remains a popular and iconic destination. Santa Monica has three main shopping districts, Montana Avenue on the north side of the city, the Downtown District in the city’s core, and Main Street on the south end of the city. Each of these districts has its own unique feel and personality. Montana Avenue is a stretch of luxury boutique stores, restaurants, and small offices that generally features more upscale shopping. The Main Street district offers an eclectic mix of clothing, restaurants, and other specialty retail.   read more…

Costa Mesa in Orange County

15 May 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area Reading Time:  6 minutes

South Coast Plaza entrance © Coolcaesar/cc-by-sa-3.0

South Coast Plaza entrance © Coolcaesar/cc-by-sa-3.0

Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County in California. The population is at 110,000. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and edge city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light manufacturing. Costa Mesa is located 37 miles (60 km) southeast of Los Angeles, 88 miles (142 km) north of San Diego and 425 miles (684 km) south of San Francisco, Costa Mesa encompasses a total of 16 square miles (41 km²) with its southernmost border only 1-mile (1.6 km) from the Pacific Ocean. Costa Mesa offers 26 parks, a municipal golf course, 26 public schools and 2 libraries.   read more…

Anaheim in Orange County

17 April 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area Reading Time:  7 minutes

Sleeping Beauty Castle © Cd637/cc-by-sa-3.0

Sleeping Beauty Castle © Cd637/cc-by-sa-3.0

Anaheim is a city in Orange County in California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The city has a population of 350,000, making it the most populous city in Orange County and the 10th most populous city in California. Anaheim is the second largest city in Orange County in terms of land area (after Irvine) and is known for its theme parks, sports teams, and convention center. Anaheim was founded by fifty German families in 1857 and incorporated as the second city in Los Angeles County on March 18, 1876. The city developed into an industrial center, producing electronics, aircraft parts and canned fruit. It is the site of the Disneyland Resort, a world-famous grouping of theme parks and hotels which opened in 1955, Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Honda Center and the Anaheim Convention Center.   read more…

Theme Week Los Angeles – Downtown Los Angeles

24 March 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area Reading Time:  17 minutes

© flickr.com - BrianLiao/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – BrianLiao/cc-by-2.0

Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, as well as a diverse residential neighborhood of some 58,000 people. A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. A heritage of the city’s founding in 1781, Downtown Los Angeles today is composed of different areas ranging from a fashion district to a
skid row, and it is the hub of the city’s Metro rapid transit system. Banks, department stores and movie palaces at one time drew residents and visitors into the area, but the district declined economically and suffered a downturn for decades until its recent renaissance starting in the early 2000s: Old buildings are being modified for new uses, and skyscrapers have been built. Downtown Los Angeles is known for its government buildings, parks, theaters and other public places.   read more…

Theme Week Los Angeles – Dolby Theatre

27 February 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries Reading Time:  7 minutes

© flickr.com - Adam Fagen/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – Adam Fagen/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Dolby Theatre (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre) is a live-performance auditorium in the Hollywood and Highland Center shopping mall and entertainment complex, on Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Since its opening on November 9, 2001, the theater has hosted the Academy Awards ceremonies (the Oscars), initially held there in March 2002. It is the first permanent home for these annual awards ceremonies. The front of the theater is a part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The theater was designed by David Rockwell of the Rockwell Group, with Theatre Projects Consultants, specifically with the Oscar ceremonies in mind. Though the stage is one of the largest in the United States — roughly tied with the Elliott Hall of Music at Purdue University — measuring 113 ft (34 m) wide and 60 ft (18 m) deep, its seating capacity is only about half the Hall of Music’s, accommodating 3,332 people.   read more…

Theme Week Los Angeles – Griffith Park

10 February 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  10 minutes

Griffith Observatory © Matthew Field/cc-by-2.5

Griffith Observatory © Matthew Field/cc-by-2.5

Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. The park covers 4,310 acres (1,740 ha) of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America. It is the second-largest city park in California, after Mission Trails Preserve in San Diego, and the 11th largest municipally owned park in the United States. It has also been referred to as the Central Park of Los Angeles but is much larger, more untamed, and rugged than its New York City counterpart. After successfully investing in mining, Colonel Griffith J. Griffith purchased Rancho Los Feliz (near the Los Angeles River) in 1882 and started an ostrich farm there. Although ostrich feathers were commonly used in making women’s hats in the late-19th century, Griffith’s purpose was primarily to lure residents of Los Angeles to his nearby property developments, which supposedly were haunted by the ghost of Antonio Feliz (a previous owner of the property). After the property rush peaked, Griffith donated 3,015 acres (1,220 ha) to the city of Los Angeles on December 16, 1896. Afterward Griffith was tried and convicted for shooting and severely wounding his wife in a 1903 incident. When released from prison, he attempted to fund the construction of an amphitheater, observatory, planetarium, and a girls’ camp and boys’ camp in the park. His reputation in the city was tainted by his crime, however, so the city refused his money.   read more…

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