Metro Los Angeles boasts numerous varieties of apartments and other multi-tenant housing types. Bungalow courts and garden apartments all have always enjoyed a healthy following. I'm sure I'm not the only Angeleno who loves a nice courtyard apartment or those hotel-style mid-rises topped with neon signs that are found throughout Midtown and Westlake. Even the … Continue reading Homes Fit for Heroes — Motel-Style Apartments
Author: Eric Brightwell
Eric Brightwell is an essayist, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener. He lives in Los Angeles because he loves it -- not because he was born there. He doesn't really care about street art, sleb culture, sunshine, and prefers mass and active transit to cars.
Swinging Doors — Los Angeles Mead and Meaderies
Happy Mead Day! Yes, 6 August is Mead Day -- not that I expect anyone to know that. Nor did I know it until I searched up "mead day" a couple of weeks ago and discovered that it was already coming up. Why this date? I don't know. There are certainly other days more associated … Continue reading Swinging Doors — Los Angeles Mead and Meaderies
Greater Streets — Street Vacations: When Streets Get Taken Away
About a month ago, following the introduction of a car-free section of Griffith Park Drive in Griffith Park, I wrote a piece celebrating ten Los Angeles streets that have been reclaimed from automobiles over the past century. After that, I wrote about open streets events, like CicLAvia, that have for 20 years provided tantalizing if … Continue reading Greater Streets — Street Vacations: When Streets Get Taken Away
Homes Fit For Heroes — Visiting Riverside’s Mission Inn
In April, when many transit agencies were free in recognition of Earth Day, I rode Metrolink to and from four of Southern California's county seats. I called it The Great Metrolink Four Counties Ride. It was my first time really exploring San Bernardino and Riverside. Downtown San Bernardino was concerning -- although I would love … Continue reading Homes Fit For Heroes — Visiting Riverside’s Mission Inn
Take ’em to the Bridge — Visiting the 6th Street Viaduct
On Sunday, my friend and frequent exploration companion Mike Morgan and I visited the newly opened 6th Street Viaduct -- which replaces the old 6th Street Viaduct. The 6th Street Viaduct, also known as the 6th Street Bridge, is, as the name suggests, a viaduct bridge. For those that don't know, a viaduct is a … Continue reading Take ’em to the Bridge — Visiting the 6th Street Viaduct
Nobody Drives in LA — Los Angeles’s Open Streets
For decades since the introduction of the automobile to Los Angeles, the trend was to accommodate them more and more. Sidewalks were shaved away to all for more cars. Beautiful historic buildings were leveled and replace with surface parking lots. Interstate freeways were allowed not just to connect states but to slice through working class … Continue reading Nobody Drives in LA — Los Angeles’s Open Streets
Nobody Drives in LA — Re-Claiming Los Angeles’s Streets
GRIFFITH PARK DRIVE CLOSURE IN GRIFFITH PARK A map of Griffith Park with the less-than-one-mile stretch of Griffith Park Drive closed to cars highlighted in red On 27 June, a small stretch of Griffith Park Drive is being closed to cars as part of a pilot program. Inevitably, there were the NIMPS (Not In My … Continue reading Nobody Drives in LA — Re-Claiming Los Angeles’s Streets
Thoughts on Interactive Fiction and Fantasy Cartography on the Anniversary of the Publication of the First Gamebook
Edward Packard's Sugarcane Island, is largely credited with kicking off the 1980s gamebook craze, exemplified by the beloved Choose Your Own Adventure series. Gamebooks, along with other forms of interactive fiction (including text-based computer games, fantasy cartography, and fantasy role-playing games) all flourished during my formative years and had a profound influence on my choice … Continue reading Thoughts on Interactive Fiction and Fantasy Cartography on the Anniversary of the Publication of the First Gamebook
Happy 626, or, San Gabriel Valley Day!
Pendersleigh & Sons Cartography's watercolor and ink map of the San Gabriel Valley, available in art prints and on an array of merchandise Last year, on 18 August, I published a piece celebrating San Fernando Valley Day. You see, in the US (and nowhere else, really), people write dates month/day/year. I know, it makes no … Continue reading Happy 626, or, San Gabriel Valley Day!
California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Pioneertown
INTRODUCTION Penderersleigh & Sons Cartography's Map of Pioneertown, available in art prints and a variety of merchandise This entry into the California Fool's Gold series is about Pioneertown. Pioneertown has actually received zero votes or requests from readers, and that's usually how I determine which communities to cover. However, a friend's band was playing there, … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Pioneertown
Eric Brightwell 