Nobody Drives in LA — Bicycling in Los Angeles

INTRODUCTION I don't know about you but I'm feeling "pain at the pump." You see, I've had a slow leak in the front tire of my bike, Cream Soda, for months. So I have to inflate it once a week and when doing so, there's a slight burning in my triceps. Of course, I could … Continue reading Nobody Drives in LA — Bicycling in Los Angeles

Nobody Drives in LA — Silver Lake Stairs – Street View

In the 1920s, Los Angeles boomed. At the beginning of the decade, Los Angeles had a population of 576,673. By the end of the decade, it had more than doubled to 1,238,048. Basically, it went from the size of modern-day Milwaukee to modern-day San Diego in just ten years. Somewhere during that decade, Los Angeles's … Continue reading Nobody Drives in LA — Silver Lake Stairs – Street View

Foods Invented in Los Angeles

What you are about to read could probably be considered, if you're uncharitable, a "listicle." "But wait," you say, "you hate listicles!" You are correct, and yet here I am, offering you the lowest form of clickbait -- the sort of trash one expects to read in respectable, click-driven mainstream media outlets, not this fair … Continue reading Foods Invented in Los Angeles

California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Larchmont Village

INTRODUCTION Pendersleigh & Sons Cartography's map of Larchmont Village, available in art prints and on a variety of merchandise This edition of California Fool's Gold is about Larchmont Village. It was nominated by readers who let me know which communities they'd like me to explore in the comment section. Larchmont Village is not, despite what … Continue reading California Fool’s Gold — Exploring Larchmont Village

Swinging Doors — Los Angeles’s Early Houses

Say what you will about Los Angeles but it's unlikely that anyone has ever described it in earnest as a "city that never sleeps." It is not, in other words, Barcelona, New York City, New Orleans, or Las Vegas. There are 24-hour businesses in Los Angeles, of course, mostly restaurants. When I was younger, I … Continue reading Swinging Doors — Los Angeles’s Early Houses

Los Angeles’s Corner Drugstores & Independent Pharmacies

The corner drug store isn't what it used to be, although I'm not sure when it stopped. Probably quite a few years before I was born... although there are still a few hanging 'round. I'm talking about the drugstores that Norman Rockwell celebrated in his characteristic manner and Edward Hopper naturally managed to make seem … Continue reading Los Angeles’s Corner Drugstores & Independent Pharmacies

Swinging Doors — Los Angeles’s Oldest Bars

INTRODUCTION In 2018, I made a map of Los Angeles's oldest restaurants and wrote a bit about them. It proved relatively easy because there was lots already written on the subject. When I started writing about Los Angeles's oldest bars, it proved much more difficult. Not only could I find no serious effort to draw … Continue reading Swinging Doors — Los Angeles’s Oldest Bars

No Enclave — Exploring Honduran Los Angeles

Hondurans are the eighth largest group of Latin Americans living in the US in the US and, after Salvadorans and Guatemalans, the third largest population of Central Americans in the US. However, whereas Los Angeles is home to the largest populations of Salvadorans and Guatemalans outside of El Salvador and Guatemala, the same cannot be … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Honduran Los Angeles

Nobody Drives In LA — Celebrating Ten Years Since Kicking My Car Habit

Today marks the tenth anniversary of my not owning a car. On 18 July 2011, my 1990 Suburu Loyale nicknamed the C.A.R.D.I.S. (Car And Relative Dimensions In Space) blew a head gasket or two somewhere around Niland. It sputtered its last just past North Palm Springs, near the windmills. I had it towed to Desert … Continue reading Nobody Drives In LA — Celebrating Ten Years Since Kicking My Car Habit

Eric Brightwell for Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Region 6 Representative

ABOUT ME My name is Eric Brightwell. I was born in Iowa City but mostly grew up in the country, outside of Columbia, Missouri. I first visited Los Angeles in 1998, during a road trip across Western US. At the time "knowing" Los Angeles only through distorted media representations and tired stereotypes, I had almost … Continue reading Eric Brightwell for Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Region 6 Representative