Mike & Maria over at FranklinAvenue bring up a good point: L.A. turns 225 years old on September 4, 2006.
They ask where the party is going to be. (They're waiting for a reply from Council President Eric Garcetti.)
I say, don't wait for the City to put a bash together. With as large as the City is and the many things that make this City great, the celebration is all year and starts now. So, over the next 21 weeks, I'll give you the "225 ways to Celebrate Los Angeles" in no particular order.
Let's start now:
1. Hike to the top of Mount Hollywood and view the City below.
2. Visit Olvera Street; go into each shop and building to understand how it all started.
3. Walk from Mission San Gabriel to Olvera Street to retrace the steps of the original 44 Los Pobladores. They stage this event every year on or around September 4th.
4. Have a Philipe's French Dip, a Tommy's Burger, a Pink's Hot Dog, an El Cholo Green Corn Tamale (May through October only), and a Diddy Reese Ice Cream Sandwich in that order and within 3 hours. (It's been done before, so I say: do it again!)
5. Put your feet in the footprints of Mayor Tom Bradley and 200 other Hollywood elites at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. (His is in the center of the courtyard near the front, #29 on the map)
6. Explore the Venice Canals.
7. Drive Mulholland Drive from the east side of the 101 Hollywood Freeway in the Cahuenga Pass until it becomes dirt. Make sure you stop at each turnout and view the City his water made happen.
8. Visit the Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro.
9. Go into every store on Melrose and pretend your cool like it was in the 80s.
10. See the "Freeway in the Lake" at Hollenbeck Park in Boyle Heights.
11. Pick oranges in West Hills at Orcutt Ranch, the last, largest citrus grove in the City.
12. Visit the Rodia Towers in Watts.
13. See the elephants at the LA Zoo before they're gone.
14. Eat a traditional Ethiopian meal in Little Ethiopia on Fairfax.
15. Visit the Mission San Fernando, the only mission in the City.
This should get you going for the week. Check back again next week for another installment. (These were the easy ones, the get better!)
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5 comments:
Great idea! We've put 5 up on LAist and hope our readers suggest some, too.
I deleted my original comment as I see you are planning to come up with the entire list. I can't wait and hope to try some of the things I haven't done!
I'm sorry I'm not there to try all of these, but my suggestions to add would include dinner at Gardens of Taxco just for having your menu sung to you, visiting the WeHo Coffee Bean on Santa Monica the morning after Halloween, going to a Moon Tribe party in Silver Lake, a bonfire at Point Magoo, films at the RedCat Theater, and what about midnight movies at the place on Santa Monica at the 405?
Also, a tour of the ethnic towns (ie, Thai Town, Little Armenia, the Russian area around WeHo, the old Jewish quarter, Little India, Little Tokyo, Little Saigon...) might yield some good food. LA's a great food town. What about Zenkoo(sp?) Chicken, 24 hour taco stands, La Brea Bakery, etc...
Dammit I miss LA!
Take a hike up to Mt Wilson and enjoy the view of Catalina.
Take the bus from Avalon to the airport in the sky on Catalina and enjoy the view of mt Wilson
Take in a feature at the Egyption, the Cinerama Dome, The Directors Guild, or AFI.
While in Hollywood dine at Musso and Franks or the Pig and Whistle; for extra points take the subway to the Pantry; finish with a drink at the Standard.
Ride your bicycle from the valley, thru the Sepulveda Pass and all the way to Kings Harbor in Rdeondo Beach/Torrance.
Check out the the Petersen, the Temporary Contemporay, the Gettys, LACMA, the Brewery, Bergamot Station, Norton Simon.
Check out the Wiltern theatre, the Bradbury bldg, Grand Central Market, Union Station.
Take a bicycle or motorcycle ride along Mulholland Hiway from the Cahuenga Pass until it becomes dirt.
Ride out to the Rock Store in Malibu.
Visit the Tree People in Coldwater Canyon.
Visit bookstores: Vromans, Skylight, Midnight Special, Erehwon, Duttons (sorry, NoHO no longer, RIP), Odydssey, Opamp, Golden Apple.
Do jury service in LA Criminal Courts.
Visit the Huntington Museum and Gardens.
Visit old Chinatown (too bad Little Joe's is gone) for lunch, and new Chinatown (Monterey Park) for dinner (dim sum at Ocean Star).
Visit the Eagle Rock mall (the first mall in the US) and have lunch at Ernie's; drive up Hwy 2 to Angeles Crest and visit the observatory or drive to Palmdale.
Tour the Museum of Science and Industry, visit the USC campus, the Rose Garden, the Coliseum, and take in IMAX.
Go skeet shooting at the outdoor range in Burro Canyon (Azusa), visit one of the many junk yards in Irwindale, and take in an evening motorsport event at Irwindale raceway.
Oh I could go on...
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