Farmer's Market, The Grove, Holmby Park, Diddy Riese (Los Angeles Family Vacation, Part 12)

In March 2013 our family was back in Los Angeles for a little three day get-away. Day One we saw the sights in Hollywood, Day Two downtown Los Angeles and the Space Shuttle Endeavor at the California Science Center, and Day Three in the Mid-Wilshire district and the Westside. Here's a link to a list of everything we saw and did. 

After seeing Levitated Mass, Urban Light, the Wall on Wilshire, and the La Brea Tar Pits, we drove a few blocks over to the Original Farmer's Market, located at 3rd and Fairfax in the Mid-Wilshire district. 

Farmer's Market, also known at "Original Farmer's Market," has been around since 1934 when Los Angeles area farmer's set up a makeshift produce stand on the corner of 3rd and Fairfax. Here's a link to a previous post from 2011 - with a lot more photos and information. 

Farmer's Market has a wonderful, nostalgic feel - I have good memories of going here with my grandparents. But we already ate breakfast, and it was too early for lunch. So walked over the The Grove, the much newer outdoor shopping center immediately adjacent. 

photo credit: en.wikipedia.org

The Grove, which opened in 2002, is a two block outdoor shopping center complete with an animated outdoor fountain (think The Bellagio in Las Vegas, only on a much smaller scale) and a double decker electric trolley - pictured above. It has the usual suspects you'd find at most any outdoor shopping center. 

When my kids were younger, they loved the fountain, street car and playing in the little statue water feature (above). For them, this short time was more of a "remember when we use to ...." than seeing something new. The Grove is fine - I'm not a huge fan of outdoor (or indoor) malls. But it's hugely popular, and led to the larger "American at Brand" development in Glendale. 

After The Grove, we drove to see the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. I blogged about this last week, which you can read about here. 

Driving along Sunset Blvd, we passed the historic Beverly Hills Hotel, and I grabbed a quick photo through the windshield. This was in March 2013, before the current controversy (and subsequent boycott) of the hotel. 

If you want to see the stars home, I'd recommend trying one of many open-top mini vans we saw driving around. This is on Roxbury Drive, which apparently has the highest concentration of movie stars homes in the world. It was interesting - sort of - drive by large homes ... but they were just very nice houses - and we missed was the background story. In many cases, especially with more current celebrities, homes are not even visible from the street. Frankly, who can blame them? By the way, if I was on my own, I think I'd just park and walk around for an hour or two. 

We drove over to Holmby Park, located in Holmby Hills. Holmby Hils is technically located in the city limits of Los Angeles, next to Bel Air and Beverly Hills. This park is only a few blocks away from UCLA, but worlds apart. 

How does a public park, located across the street from multi-million dollar homes (we're talking $5 million and up - way up) stay "nice?" It's a public park. So anyone can just come over and use it, right?  

As the local homeowners couldn't simply fence off a city park, they did - for them - the next best thing. The park is technically a "public golf course." No skateboards, rollerskates, bike, etc. So, if you have a set of golf clubs - come on over. Otherwise - stay out. OK, maybe I'm being a little harsh. Having a small public "pitch and putt" course is amazing. But it'd be nice to have a traditonal park "open to everyone" as well. 

There actually is a play structure, but my kids thought it was too much for "little kids" - so they just used the water fountain.  

By the way, immediately behind my kids is the 56,000 square foot Spelling mansion - which is apprently the largest single family resident in Los Angeles.

Above, a Bird of Paradise, which is the offical flower of the City of Los Angeles. Here's a link to a previous post with some thoughts this amazing flower. 

While my kids burned off some steam, I took a few minutes to walk around the park. I wasn't playing golf, so I may have been "breaking the rules." Again, if you want to play golf on a pitch and putt, it's great. Otherwise, you'll probably need to look elsewhere. 

We took a quick detour to see the Spadena House, also knows as the Witch's House, located on the corner of Walden Drive & Carmelita in Beverly Hills. More on this next week. 

Driving along Wilshire Blvd. The two miles between Beverly Hills and Westwood Village are often referred to "Condo Canyon" because of the numerous 20 story condo towers along the street. Immediately behind these buildings you'll find very expensive one and two story single family homes. 

Wilshire Blvd, heading into Westwood Village. My dad's old office building in on the right (the white building with green and gold windows). This is a few blocks from Wilshire & Westwood Blvd - the busiest intersection in Los Angeles.

L.A. has the distinction of having the nation's worst traffic congestion. Los Angles has a lot of great things going for it, but traffic is terrible. Think your city is bad? No matter what - Los Angeles is worse. 

Long term plans call for the Purple Line subway to be extended under Wilshire all the way from Koreatown to Westwood Village. Awesome plan, but it's not expected to be completed for another twenty years - sometime around 2035!

Diddy Riese, Westwood Village. There is two hours free parking during the day at the Broxton Avenue Parking Garage. If you're driving - I highly recommend it! Watch the signs, because after 2 hours, the prices REALLY go up. If you park after 6pm, it's just a flat rate of $3 - which for Westwood is an incredible bargin. 

Diddy Riese is located less than a block from UCLA - and almost always has a line. They feature awesome ice-cream sandwiches for just $1.75. Less than half what you'd pay anyplace else. When they opened back in 1983, the ice cream sandwiches were just $1.00 - and an immediate hit. I checked an on-line inflation calculator. $1.00 in 1983 would be $2.37 today. So, so adjusted for inflation, their ice cream sandwiches are even a better deal than there were when they first opened! 

Seating is very limited - we were able to score some of the few chairs out front. 

I know people who've driven up from Orange County (50 miles south) to do to Diddy Riese. Personally, I think that's crazy - but it shows what a loyal following it has. But if you're in the area, I would say stop off any enjoy what has to be the best ice sandwich (certainly the best value) in Los Angeles. 

More on the Spadena House next week, and finishing up with the Skirball Center after that. 

© 2014 www.experiencingla.com

Experiencing L.A. at the Beverly Center

The Beverly Center is an eight story enclosed shopping center located at the corner of La Cienega Blvd. and 3rd Street in Los Angeles. Despite it's name, it's actually not located in Beverly Hills.

The Beverly Center is near Beverly Hills, but technically located in the city of Los Angeles.

I mentioned driving by the Beverly Center in a blog post a couple weeks back.

The building consists of a massive five story parking garage, topped by a three story shopping mall.

But wait, there's more: according to our friends at wikipedia, "The mall's unusual shape and lack of street frontage along San Vincent Blvd is due to it's location on top of the Salt Lake Oil Field. The western portion of the mall property contains a cluster of oil wells, all operated by Plains Exploration & Production, in a drilling enclosure that is active to this date."

Yep, the entire complex is built on top of an opperating oil field.

Another feature is the massive and, personally what I find very ugly, power lines up and down both La Cienega Blvd. and 3rd Street. But enough on the outside, let's head in and take a look, shall we?

My wife Molly and I were having an anniversary dinner in Beverly Hills in May of 2009, back when we lived in L.A. I had driven by the Beverly Center a zillion times, but never been inside. My wife hadn't been inside since the early 1990's when she was working at UCLA. We decided to take a look. We found street parking (yes!) a block away and headed over.

Looks like if I'm going to take a picture of a Rolls Royce, I gonna have to hold my camera still. Sorry it's blurry; took in while running across the street.

Despite the massive parking garage, we still saw a lot of people coming an going via the street entrances, which consists of a series of elevators along the side of the building. Yes, you have to take five different elevators up just to get inside. It reminded me slightly of the George Pompidou Center in Paris.

The inside was OK, but felt a little . . . . underwhelming.

The Beverly Center opened in 1982, making it thirty years old this year.

I guess this was all state of the art back in the day, but it looks like pretty much every other mall in America.

I'm curious, what's the normal "life span" of a mall?

It also felt really empty, especially being in center of a big town like L.A.

My guess is that Steve Caruiso's "The Grove" complex - located just one mile to the east - has taken up all the slack, and (unfortunately for the Beverly Center) the crowds.

Here's a link to some thoughts from a previous blog post on "The Grove."

This was the view off the outdoor dining patio on the 8th floor, looking northwest towards the Hollywood Hills - and the Hollywood Sign around 7pm.

Los Angeles (and the rest of coastal Southern California) experiences a unique weather pattern in late Spring and early Summer called "June Gloom" - or, in this case, "May Gray" - with late night and early morning fog. Really nice view of the city; I bet this patio would be great when it's sunny.

Another view of the Beverly Center, standing on the southeast corner of La Cienega Blvd. and 3rd Street. What I didn't know was that just one block from here, at the corner of La Cienega and Beverly Blvds is the epicenter of the Hollywood entertainment industry.

A friend from the church we were part of in L.A., who works at Sony, explained that there is a thirty mile radius from the intersection of La Cienega and Beverly Blvds, called the Thirty Mile Zone or Studio Zone. The entertainment industry labor unions use this to determine the labor rates. Filming anything outside the zone is much, much more expensive. That explains why, for example, it was so much cheaper for a studio to turn two block of Sunset Blvd in L.A. into Santa Barbara, than actually go to Santa Barbara (here's a link to a previous blog post on that).

Out and about, heading back to our car.

Anybody remember that old song by Missing Persons "Walking in L.A."?

I don't know - I did a lot of walking in L.A. (here's a link to a good personal example). And we saw a lot of people out and about.

OK, so these people aren't walking. They're waiting for the bus.

But this feels like just as much as experiencing L.A. as walking around the Beverly Center.

View Beverly Center, Los Angeles in a larger map

The Beverly Center is located three miles north of the Santa Monica Freeway on La Cienega Blvd in the heart of Los Angeles.

Here's a link to their website.

© 2012 www.ExperiencingLA.com

Original Farmers Market: 3rd and Fairfax

One of my favorite spots in Los Angeles is Farmers Market, located in the Fairfax District.

In July 1934, during the height of the Great Depression, a group of farmers set up some stands at Third and Fairfax. It quickly caught on as a cheap (and unique) place to get something to eat with the Hollywood crowd, and the rest - as they say - is history. Here's a link to more about the history.

California produce: what is today so common in super markets across the country (and the world) was really unique back in the 1930's. My mom, who was born just a few years after Farmers Market first opened, use to look forward to getting one orange around Christmas. It's not that they were poor, it's just that fresh fruit in the middle of winter was really unique. As a Christian, I'm reminded of the words of King David "You [God] crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance" Psalm 65:11.

More fruits and vegtables. My grandfather - who was from the Midwest and didn't move to California until he retired in the 1970's - used to take me to Farmers Market all the time. I think he like the fact the historic feel and vibe. 

I've jokingly called Farmers Market "Olvera Street for White People" - please don't take this in the wrong way. I'm just comparing it to Olvera Street, which opened in 1930 (here's a link to a previous blogpost on the history of Olvera Street). Farmers Market opened four years later. 

One of my favorite spots in all of Los Angeles is this little outdoor court yard - even better when the noon lunch crowd shows up.

Like this. Going through some of my grandmothers' old photos, I found this from the summer of 1967. The year before my family and I moved to Los Angeles from Chicago, my grandparents drove out just to "see the sights" (as they would say) and visit relatives. In a town that's constantly changing, I love the fact that this little courtyard looks pretty much the same.

Found this on-line somewhere. Just an old photo of Farmers Market back in the day. 

While there are several fruit and vegetable stands, and speciality stores selling nuts and candy, there are also numerous food stands. Loteria grill has Mexican food. 

My wife and I really enjoy the little French Crepe stand. 

We discovered it back in 2002, when our family was Los Angeles for six week work related trip, and we try to make it back here every time we're in the area. 

These gas meters overhead.

A group of ladies having breakfast with the five gas meters right over their heads. This is what gives Farmers Market it's funky charm. 

Ice Cream Stand: "We've Been Here Since 1963!!! Where Were You?" (I was living in Chicago!). Most of the rest of you reading this blog weren't even born. 

Deano's Gourmet Pizza. Above, a photo of the owner with Frank (Sinatra) and other celebraties. 

Walking around, you'll see numerous photos of what it was like in the early years. 

A recreation of the Gilmore Gas Station at was once here on the property. 

Much of this area was oil fields. More on that in a future post. 

In 2002, The Grove outdoor shopping mall (maul) opened up immediately adjacent to Farmers Market. The Grove is "OK" - it's a little fake for me, but it's hugely popular and the increased foot traffic has really helped introduce a whole new generation to Farmers Market. In that sense, it's a win/win. Here's a link to a previous blog post, with some additional thoughts - and night time photos.

Kips Toys at Farmers Market. A huge FAO Shwartz opened up a hundred yards from here as part of the massive "Grove" development. I figured that Kips Toys (above) would never survive. But guess what? FAO Shwartz is out (it's now an American Girl store). Little Kips Toys: still going strong. 

One of the four hundred fiberglass angels that were around Los Angeles in 2000. Here's a link to a previous blog post on these statues. I've got a photo of my son when he was 2 1/2 next to this angel. If I find it, I'll scan it and post it. 

A final view of the clocktower. A great taste - and experience - of L.A. 

Here's a link to their website. Enjoy. 

View Original Farmers Market in a larger map

.© 2011 www.experiencingla.com

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