From the 1900s through the 1970s, large numbers of migrants to Los Angeles gathered in themed picnics organized around their states of origin known as State Society Picnics or just State Picnics (although that sounds confusingly to me like an outdoor state banquet). They were known as "State Society Picnics." The phenomenon was huge. One … Continue reading Southland Parks — Los Angeles’s State Society Picnics
Category: Southland Parks
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
Southland Parks — Visiting Elysian Park
INTRODUCTION The other day, I explored Elysian Park, because it was leading in the California Fool’s Gold neighborhood poll. When I created that poll, I hadn’t yet created Southland Parks. While Elysian Park is sometimes described as a neighborhood (e.g. the Los Angeles Times’ Mapping Los Angeles and Wikipedia) and there are a few homes … Continue reading Southland Parks — Visiting Elysian Park
Southland Parks — Visiting MacArthur Park
Neighborhoods often take their names from significant features within them, which in Los Angeles are often major street intersections and parks. Neighborhoods named after intersections include Vermont-Slauson, Broadway-Manchester, Central-Alameda, and Adams-Normandie. Neighborhoods named after parks include South Park, Alondra Park, Cypress Park, and, of course, MacArthur Park. MacArthur Park, however, was for half a century … Continue reading Southland Parks — Visiting MacArthur Park
Southland Parks — Visiting Granada Park
A week ago I visited O’Melveny Park, often said to be Los Angeles’s second largest park — but actually its fifth. A few days later I visited the actual second largest park, albeit of Alhambra, not Los Angeles. That community’s Granada Park is a pleasant community park second in size only to Almansor Park. ***** … Continue reading Southland Parks — Visiting Granada Park
Southland Parks — Visiting O’Melveny Park
I’d wanted to visit O’Melveny Park since first getting wind of its existence several years ago and seeing repeated references to its being the second largest park in Los Angeles (after much better known Griffith Park). However, whereas I can easily walk or ride my bicycle to Griffith Park, O’Melveny is about fifty kilometers from Pendersleigh and public … Continue reading Southland Parks — Visiting O’Melveny Park
Southland Parks — A Directory of Asian Gardens in Los Angeles
In Europe, there are several formalized traditions of botanical garden design including the Dutch, English, French, Greek, Italian, and Spanish. In Asia, there are at least long-established Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Persian schools and May being Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I'm focusing on Los Angeles's Asian-style gardens. The tradition of Japanese-American nurseries stretches back to the 1850s when Japanese … Continue reading Southland Parks — A Directory of Asian Gardens in Los Angeles
California Fool’s Gold Episode Guide… and links to related series
I thought that it might be useful to publish an "episode guide" of my California Fool's Gold series of explorations. When I explore a new community, I usually rely upon the vox populi which is why anyone may vote for what communities they'd like to become the subject of future articles by clicking here for Los Angeles … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold Episode Guide… and links to related series
Southland Parks — Exploring Dodger Stadium Without Baseball
I don't like baseball. Despite that fact, I have for some time entertained the idea of visiting and exploring Dodger Stadium. Dodger Stadium has long struck me as one of Los Angeles' greatest examples of monumental architecture, and I'm not completely sure why it's not more of an establishing shot cliché for films set in … Continue reading Southland Parks — Exploring Dodger Stadium Without Baseball
Eric Brightwell 