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

Pan-Asian Metropolis — Orange County’s Lost Chinatowns

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 3 Comments

INTRODUCTION TO ASIAN ORANGE COUNTY Today, Orange County is widely recognized for its prominent Asian-American population. There are significant numbers of of Vietnamese, Koreans, Taiwanese, Filipinos, Indians, Japanese, Cambodians, Chinese, Pakistanis, Thais, Indonesians, and Laotians living there, as well as many smaller groups. Metro Los Angeles (which includes Los Angeles and Orange counties) is in fact home … Continue reading Pan-Asian Metropolis — Orange County’s Lost Chinatowns

No Enclave — Emerging and Unofficial Ethnic Enclaves of Los Angeles

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 10 Comments

The Los Angeles metropolitan area is widely recognized for its diversity, something which is reflected in its many ethnic enclaves. Those ethnic enclaves include ones that have been officially recognized, as well as ones that have only been colloquially recognized, and they've risen and fallen on waves of immigration and assimilation. The earliest of Los … Continue reading No Enclave — Emerging and Unofficial Ethnic Enclaves of Los Angeles

California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Santa Cruz Island

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 5 Comments

A few weeks ago, I visited Santa Cruz Island for the first time and spent a few days exploring and camping with some good folks from Maptime LA. I’ve only visited one of the Channel Islands previously, Santa Catalina Island, which I first visited with Una on my birthday and then again with Maptime LA. … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Santa Cruz Island

Greater Streets — Los Angeles Squares, or When is a Square Not a Square?

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 10 Comments

If you ever walk, bicycle, or take public transit in Los Angeles, you’ve no doubt noticed those nearly ubiquitous tan or beige-colored signs with brown lettering, a City of Los Angeles seal, and text designating an intersection or section of road a “square.” If you’re a motorist, you may’ very well have missed them, because … Continue reading Greater Streets — Los Angeles Squares, or When is a Square Not a Square?

Los Angeles’s Oldest Surviving Restaurants

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 21 Comments

I made a map of Metro Los Angeles's oldest extant eateries based on a piece written by Nikki Kreuzer for The Los Angeles Beat titled "Offbeat L.A.: The Oldest Surviving Los Angeles Restaurants... a Master List of the Vintage, Historic and Old School." The Los Angeles Beat piece seems to have received a fair amount … Continue reading Los Angeles’s Oldest Surviving Restaurants

Houses of the Hallows — The Self Realization Fellowship Mother Center

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 13 Comments

Last Monday I visited the Self Realization Fellowship Mother Center (headquarters) with my friends Tammy Jean Park and Mike Morgan. I first explored the center's grounds in 2012, as part of a California Fool’s Gold exploration of the Mount Washington neighborhood of Northeast Los Angeles. The historic building, long home to the Self-Realization Fellowship, was built … Continue reading Houses of the Hallows — The Self Realization Fellowship Mother Center

The Music of Mr. Rogers

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 3 Comments

INTRODUCTION I started researching this piece a while ago. I've been a fan of Mr. Rogers's music since I was a young child. It turned out to be surprisingly difficult to write because just as the depth of Mr. Rogers's television program wasn't always appreciated, the brilliance of his music has largely been overlooked. You … Continue reading The Music of Mr. Rogers

California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Big Bear City

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 2 Comments

  After eleven years of exploring Los Angeles County, and eight of exploring Orange County, I finally explored elsewhere in Southern California for California Fool's Gold a week ago, when I visited the small San Bernardino County town of Big Bear City with my friend, Mike. We first stopped at Running Springs for a bathroom … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Big Bear City

Mini-Mallism — What’s in a Name?

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 4 Comments

I might be the only person who's tickled by mini-malls with names. The idea, I assume, is to create a sense of space... albeit for a place in which no one thinks of as a space. Aside from panhandlers, pimps, pushers, and prostitutes; I doubt that anyone has ever made a day of hanging out at … Continue reading Mini-Mallism — What’s in a Name?

California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Westwood

~ Eric Brightwell ~ 10 Comments

INTRODUCTION TO WESTWOOD Westwood is a neighborhood in Los Angeles’s Westside. It’s widely known for being home to the University of California, Los Angeles although locally it's almost equally well known for its small shopping district, Westwood Village. People who've lived in Los Angeles longer than I are prone to speaking about Westwood with an elegiac tone normally … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Westwood