Last year, I think, I made a map of some of my favorite places -- and places I've still yet to visit but am eager to -- in Metro Los Angeles. I don't remember what the occasion was -- or even whether or not there was one. I think that I just wanted to visualize … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — The Best of Los Angeles
Author: Eric Brightwell
Eric Brightwell is an essayist, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener. He lives in Los Angeles, not because he was born here, but because he chose to... for all of the things for which its famous: its verticality, its mass transit, its diversity, its schools, its liminal spaces, its architecture, its wildlife, its museums, its night markets, its cinemas, its theaters, its enclaves, its restaurants, its bars, its libraries, &c
Those Useless Trees — The Southern California Black Walnut
One of the most iconic trees of Southern California is the Juglans californica, commonly known as the Southern California black walnut. As trees go, it is fairly small, usually reaching a height and radius that tops out around fifteen meters. It could, alternately, be described as a large shrub -- as many specimens have up … Continue reading Those Useless Trees — The Southern California Black Walnut
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Greater Streets — Visiting Silver Lake’s Sunset Triangle Plaza
It’s the tenth anniversary of Silver Lake’s Sunset Triangle Plaza. In its first decade, Silver Lake’s first (and thus far, only) street-to-plaza conversion has truly emerged as one of the primary hubs of the community. That's no small feet when the actual center of the neighborhood is a giant, fenced-off reservoir and none of the … Continue reading Greater Streets — Visiting Silver Lake’s Sunset Triangle Plaza
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Homes Fit for Heroes — Motel-Style Apartments
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Nobody Drives in LA — Re-Claiming Los Angeles’s Streets from Cars with Pedestrian Plazas
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 [UPDATE: It's permanent now]. Inevitably, there were the … Continue reading Nobody Drives in LA — Re-Claiming Los Angeles’s Streets from Cars with Pedestrian Plazas
Eric Brightwell 