The Wilshire Grand, Los Angeles

This past Spring, my wife, teenage kids, and I were in Los Angeles for a three day get-away. It was a chance to enjoy memories from when we lived in L.A. - and experience a few new things.

Here's links to Part I and Part II - starting our time at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. Above, the historic Felix Chevrolet dealership, on the corner of South Figueroa and West Jefferson, a block or two from the museum. The neon Felix the Cat sign has been around since 1957.

 

St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, on the corner of South Figueroa and West Adams.The funding for the construction of the 1925 church gave primary from oilman Edward J. Doheny, whose estate - now Mt Saint Mary's College - was just a few blocks away. The church, built in 1925, is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 90).

 

The Wilshire Grand, located on the corner of Wilshire and Figueroa. Here's a link to a previous visit back in January 2018. The hotel's lobby is located on the 70th floor, and is open to the public.

 

 We parked nearby and walked over, passing by the 1976 Westin Bonaventure. I have great memories of walking around and visiting (but never staying at) the Bonaventure with my kids. But at "just" 35 stories, it's feels much smaller than compared to the Wilshire Grand a few blocks away.

 

View from the 70th story lobby, looking towards the Hollywood Sign. The view was good, but there was a bit of haze. Again, here's a link to my January 2018 visit, when the visibility was excellent.

 

Looking down at the Harbor Freeway. The Wilshire Grand is outstanding place to enjoy a view of the city. And I'm reminded of the words of Jeremiah:

וְדִרְשׁוּ אֶת-שְׁלוֹם הָעִיר, אֲשֶׁר הִגְלֵיתִי אֶתְכֶם שָׁמָּה, וְהִתְפַּלְלוּ בַעֲדָהּ, אֶל-יְהוָה:  כִּי בִשְׁלוֹמָהּ,יִהְיֶה לָכֶם שָׁלוֹם

"Seek the peace and prosperity of the city ... pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." 29:7

  

Looking northeast towards the US Bank Tower. With all due respect to the Wilshire Grand, the US Bank Tower is - and remains - the tallest building in Los Angeles. In assessing it's total height, the Wilshire Grand decided to it's large spire as part of the building, rather than just number of floors. Which is kind of a cheat. Spires don't count, at least in my opinion.

 

 My son, who just finished up his first year at San Diego State, and I enjoying the view.

Our family hung out for about 10 minutes, and then headed back to the car.

 

We cut through Koreatown to the apartment where we were staying. In some ways this building really feels like typical LA. Here's a link to a previous post on Koreatown from back in 2012.

 

We opted for an AirBnB, located in Beverly Hills, located about a block from Wilshire & San Vincente. A two bedroom, two bath apartment was the same price as a moderate hotel room - so why not?

 

While everyone else wanted naps (this was a vacation, after all) I decided to explore the area a bit. 

This is a block from our apartment, on the corner Wilshire Blvd and San Vincente, walking east towards the Miracle Mile district. 

Los Angeles is in the process of extending the Purple Line subway from Koreatown to Beverly Hills, and on to Westwood (here's a link to a map). The first segment from Wilshire/Western to Wilshire/La Cienega - directly underneath where I was walking - is scheduled to open in four years.

 

The Petersen Automotive Museum, on the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax. With over 300 exotic and historic automobiles, the Petersen is one of the world's largest collections of automobiles.

 

The exterior of the museum got an extreme makeover a in 2015. Here's a link to some photos from a previous visit (and it's original exterior).

 

The La Brea Tar Pits, located on the corner of Wilshire and Curson. Similar to the Natural History Museum, the La Brea Tar Pits Museum was also offering a free day (the first Tuesday of the month). More next time.

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