A Walk Up Wilshire (Santa Monica to Beverly Hills)

Earlier this year I took a long walk up Wilshire Blvd; mostly I was just curious how far I could get. I enjoy hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains (especially Topanga State Park). What would it be like to do an urban hike?


I started by walking about four miles from my home to where Wilshire Blvd begins in Santa Monica. Santa Monica is named after Saint Monica of Hippo (A.D. 333-387). Here's her statue. She's remembered for praying for the conversion of her non-Christian son, Augustine (who went to become Saint Augustine).



Across the street is this office tower. When I figure out the name, I'll come back and add it. It use to be called the "Lawrence Welk Plaza" (seriously!) but that was over 30 years ago. A friend of mine is a stock broker up on the 14th floor - nice view.



What in the world? Hundreds of people were lined up at Wilshire & 3rd Street (aka the 3rd Street Promenade) at 6:30am. The line started at the Apple Store and was at least a full city block long. Why? The new iPhones were being released that morning when the store opened.



A half a mile up Wilshire (Wilshire & Lincoln) another iPhone line, this time at the AT&T store. I feel so out of it.



Not all of Wilshire is high rises. I'm not a big fan of liquor stores, but there was something so "typical" So Cal about this place, I had to get a photo. Santa Monica and much of Los Angeles is in weird place of being too crowded to feel suburban, but spread out to feel urban (does that make sense?).



I don't know why I took this picture. Maybe just a normal guy waiting for his bus.



Santa Monica is a separate, unique city from Los Angeles. Once you hit 26th Street, you're actually back in the City of Los Angeles. North of Wilshire is Brentwood, south of Wilshire is West L.A. The zoning is noticeably different.



Big mess out side of the KFC in West L.A. At first I thought this was just a late night party gone bad, but more likely it was some transient digging through the trash looking for cans. Sad, really - and, of course, we have all live with this.



Wilshire & San Vincente looking back, with the Pacific Ocean in the distance. Brentwood to the right, West L.A. to the left. No, this was NOT a Sunday morning, traffic was just amazingly light. Chalk it up to being a late Friday morning in the middle of the summer .... with gas about $4.75 a gallon.



World Savings Tower, on the corner of Wilshire & San Vincente. Back around 1984 I actually climbed up inside and got on the roof just before it was completed. Note: I would NOT recommend doing that today!



I never really thought about what happens to old limos, guess they just get parked in Brentwood somewhere. I think someone is living out of it. Wonder if it even runs? I can't imagine trying to squeeze out of that parking space!



Finally, some traffic (I was getting worried there for a moment). Heading towards Westwood, home of UCLA. Despite the 20 story buildings, it's still called "Westwood Village". Not sure if the Mayor's "Subway to the Sea" down Wilshire will ever make it all the way to the ocean - but thanks to Measure R (1/2% sales tax increase) getting to Westwood & UCLA looks like a reality.



Metro Rapid. My son really wants me to take him on one of these buses, because they've got the accordion fold in the center. Behind the bus is the Avco Cinema, where I saw "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980. Westwood Village has the largest concentration of single screen movie theaters in the world.



Transient sleeping at the Westwood United Methodist Church. See my previous blog about some thoughts about the homeless.

I've been to a couple of weddings at this church - beautiful, historic building.

Only 2% of people living on the westside of Los Angeles attend any sort of religious service on a weekly basis (this includes churches, synagogues, mosques, etc.). Because of the proximity and connection to the entertainment industry (and it's global influence) this is especially sobering.

Fortunately, several new churches have started here on the westside in the past few years:

• Pacific Crossroads Church (meeting at University High School)
• Mosaic Church (meeting at Beverly Hills High School)
• Shoreline Church (meeting in at the Regent Theater in Westwood Village)
• Shepherd of the Hills (meeting at the Wadsworth Theater)

These new, evangelical churches are seeking to impact the westside with the gospel of Jesus Christ (topic for a future blog entry).



Condo towers continue to be built along Wilshire. What's amazing is that right behind these towers are single family homes, with backyards and everything.




This is my favorite condominium building located at Wilshire & Westholme. A bit of Manhattan plunked down on the westside. Not like I could/would ever live there: like everything else on the westside, these are extremely expensive.




One of many synagogues found here on the westside. This is at the corner of Wilshire & Beverly Glen; there's another large synagogue a block away. Los Angeles has the largest American Jewish community outside of New York City.



Amazing how powerful artwork can be. Preserving and passing on the Torah to the next generation.


Welcome to Beverly Hills. Fountain at the corner of Wilshire & Santa Monica Blvd. There was some transient using the fountain to wash his feet, but decided not to include that.



I cut through a residential neighborhood (Canon Drive) and headed north. Not all of Beverly Hills are high end mansions. This home would be pretty typical in a of neighborhoods in the United States.



Same street, just a few houses up. This is what most people think of when they think of Beverly Hills. The style of these large, opulent homes are often referred to as "Persian Palaces" due to their popularity by the community's large, and influential, Persian (Iranian) community.



Picked up a MTA bus where Sunset Blvd intersects with Canon & Rodeo (next to the Beverly Hills Hotel).

Taking a bus back worked great. I was able to get a one way hike in (about 13 miles) and see and experience a lot of the city from street level.

I'd really like to walk the entire length eighteen mile length of Wilshire Blvd someday, but don't know if I want to try that alone. It'd want to time it right, too. Some neighborhoods (esp around MacArthur Park) are a little dicey.

The book of Jonah is the only book in the Bible that ends in a question. 2,400 years ago God asked Jonah - and the people of Israel - a question which is just as relevant for us today:

"Should I not be concerned about that great city?" Jonah 4:11

A Perspective on the Homeless

The poor you will always have among you." Jesus to his disciples

Living in Los Angeles, we see homeless men and women (but mostly men) every day. We see them downtown, on the bus, on the streets, in our community, at the park, at the beach, in front of the supermarket, panhandling at stop lights, going through the dumpsters at our condo complex, camped out on sidewalks, around our church. And by the way, we live in what everyone considers a “good part of town.”

What’s our response?

Really, to do nothing isn’t an option for someone who considers himself or herself a follower of Jesus Christ.

I’ve wanted this blog to be “photos and commentary about life in Los Angeles from a Christian world-view.” It’s been fun to post my own photos, sort of the “I get to live in a city where people from around the world want to visit.” I’ve also taken the liberty to use photos from other sites to tell a story.

It’s easy talking about the beach, the mountains, the weather, the attractions, the diversity, various neighborhoods, weird stuff like the Los Angeles River or Venice Beach … the fun stuff, the reason why people choose to visit or live in Los Angeles. Issues like traffic, graffiti, smog, trash – easy, too. Who is in favor of trash?

It’s a lot harder talking about crime, gangs, racism, immigration, poverty, loss of manufacturing jobs, “elephants in the room” like the fact that Los Angeles is the center of the porn film industry, or homelessness. Who wants to read a blog about the loss of manufacturing jobs in L.A.? Maybe someone. Who wants to write it? Not me.

Going back to the homeless. Whatever we’ve been doing for the past 30 years hasn’t been working. I’d really love a discussion on biblically based social policy to really tackle homelessness in our city. Our outgoing President tried some things, but “compassionate conservative” was mocked on both the left and right. Perhaps our next President can tackle this (giving new meaning to the expression “only Nixon can go to China”) but he has his hands full with other issues – the economy and a war or two.

Christian non-profits (the Salvation Army, the various skid row ministries, the hundreds of small urban churches) are awesome. Life in Los Angeles – really any city – would be hell without them. But what would it take to reduce the number of homeless in Los Angeles from 70,000 (current estimates) to 7,000?

There’s so many directions I could go, but I’d like to focus on an issue that Christians (I speak for myself) have been guilty of ignoring: the mentally ill. Over a third, possibly half of the homeless in Los Angeles are mentally ill. That’s 25,000-35,000 men and women walking around who should be in mental hospitals.

Remember “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”? Won Best Picture in 1975 and stared Jack Nicholson. Danny DiVito and Christopher Lloyd have small parts. My wife and I recently watched it. It’s not a family film, but it is worth viewing.

The film helped influence public opinion = mental hospitals bad. According to advocate E. Fuller Torrey, here in California while Ronald Reagan was Governor, a very odd coalition of politically left-leaning civil libertarians, who believed that nobody should ever be involuntarily hospitalized, and politically right-leaning fiscal conservatives who saw closing the hospitals as a way to reduce state expenditures and thus reduce taxes implemented the Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act in 1969 which made it exceptionally difficult to involuntarily hospitalize psychiatric patients.

The Camarillo State Mental Hospital doesn’t exist anymore. It was closed in the 1990’s and is today of California State University campus (nice looking campus, by the way). So where are the mentally ill who use to be in hospitals like Camarillo? For the most part, on the street. Going back to homeless, I try to ask “why are they homeless”?

Is it a choice? Believe it or not, some people (mostly men) enjoy a “carefree” life without responsibility. Kind of like being permanently on a bad vacation.

Are they an alcoholic or an addict?

Are they fleeing an abusive relationship?

Are they mentally ill?

I don’t advocate ever giving money to panhandlers. I become an "enabler" as the vast majority of the time the money goes to drugs or alcohol. The LAPD told us some homeless “who are good” and know how the work the system make $200 - $800 a day (and I don’t think these guys are filling out W-2s).

I want to continue to support the incredible work of places like the Union Rescue Mission and others. http://www.urm.org/

But as I Christian living in L.A., I also want to re-think our society’s moral obligation to the mentally ill. Amazing how a Hollywood film critical of an institution makes we wish we still had it.

“It's been over a hundred years since this society was so cruel as not to try to take care of the true victims, people who are incapacitated by mental illness and really can't take care of themselves.” Myron Magnet, New York City – author & editor of the conservative “City Journal” www.city-journal.org







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City of Angels

In October of 2000 four hundred painted fiberglass angels were displayed in public places throughout the city of Los Angeles. They were on display for about six months, and then auctioned off to benifit a couple of local charities. You may have seen or or two around the city - there's one at Farmer's Market at 3rd & Fairfax (next to "The Grove").

I found this great website (put together by Ruth Wallach) featuring dozens of these angels: http://www.publicartinla.com/Community_of_Angels/

Here are my favorites pulled from the site:


Susan Manders "Angelica de Espero" - Sponsored by Anti-Defamation League



Gwen Cates "Angelscape" - Sponsored by William Morris Agency



Jonye Feldman "Fat Charlie" - Sponsored by Southern California Gas Co



Cindy Suriyani "The Garden" - Sponsored by Nonprofit Art Corporation



Barbara Ashton "Palisades Angel" - Sponsored by Sidley & Austin



Lura Schmiedeke "Guardian Angel of the Skies" - Sponsored by Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton, LLP



Annmarie Socash: "Gladys Glass" - Sponsored by Kevin & Britta Shannon

It’s really too bad this project wasn’t a permanent thing. These fiberglass angels are bright, creative, engaging, and – in many cases – beautiful.

I wish I could say that about most public art. Much of it is either bland, weird, political, overly sensual, and sometimes just plain ugly.

The subject “angels” is a very familiar one to Christians (as well as Jews and Muslims).

Seeing a dozen or more angels around the entrance to an office tower downtown is a subtle (or not so subtle) reminder to both believers and non-believers that there is more, much more, than our 70 or 80 years here on earth. There is a spiritual dimension to life that is often ignored, or simply compartmentalized (i.e. "I don't let my faith influence my public life" - what's that about?).

I appreciate the fact that the many artists engaged in this project brought a timeless subject to the 21st century. Looking at the website, I certainly don’t like them all … that’s OK. It was overall a great display.

I heard someone say that Christians are better at criticizing art than producing it. As the Apostle Paul was fond of saying “brothers, this should not be.”

Art, music, film, theater.

They all influence culture. They leave a legacy.

But what kind of influence are they making? What kind of legacy are they leaving?

Perhaps better questions are: what kind of influence am I making? What kind of legacy am I leaving?

This town is known for making sequels.

I'd love to see "Community of Angels - Part II" sometime in the future.

It'd be very well received.

Not the Getty

High above the Pacific Coast Highway, sporting incredible ocean views, sits the Getty Villa. It's the former home of billionaire J. Paul Getty, and was the original Getty Museum. The much larger Getty Center in Brentwood now houses most of the artwork, but the Getty Villa Malibu (technically in Pacific Palisades) still features the Getty Greek and Roman Collection. You can easily spot the Getty Villa driving up or down the PCH. It's a recognizable landmark to both visitors and residents alike. There's just one problem.


It's not the Getty.

The building you're looking at is known as Villa de Leon. Built in 1926, it's a large private residence overlooking the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades. Ever since J. Paul Getty began opening up his estate to the public in the mid 1950's, people have assumed that the huge mansion perched on the hill is "the Getty." Even among people who live in the area, it's probably one of the most mis-identified buildings in Los Angeles.


Villa de Leon sits above the entrance to the Getty Villa, hence the confusion. The Getty Villa is actually not visible from the street and is located up a private road off PCH. Here's a link to the Getty Villa's website: http://www.getty.edu/visit/.


GETTY VILLA photo credit: http://www.skyscrapercity.com

The Getty Villa (topic for a future post) is in an incredible setting, with amazing Greek and Roman artifacts, and best of all - free admission.

Meanwhile, Villa de Leon sits overlooking the Pacific, continuing it's job as one of the most mis-identified landmarks in Los Angeles. According a local paper, it was listed for sale in 2005 for $15 million. A closer inspection reveals:

Major cracks in the foundation. Click on the image below, and you'll see what I'm talking about.


The problem ultimately isn't the house - it's the hillside it was built on, part of which has collapsed during a winter storm, taking an entire garden terrace with it. Ouch. Reminders of "building your house on the rock" (see the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:24-27) come to mind.

The home is located at 17948 Porto Marina Way, Pacific Palisades, 90272. Here's a view from the top showing the extent of the collapse of one of the hillsides.


www.zillow.com gave the home an estimate between $3-$5 million since 2001. It apparently sold for $10 million dollars in 2007. Zillow currently has it valued at around $6.6 million.


Looks like a lot of work is still being done on it. $6.6 million seems like a lot of money for a "fixer upper" - but obviously the owners of this property are in a completely different league than most of us.

Thanks to image.google.com (which I've used many times on this blog) mere mortals like us can have an idea what the interior looks like.

Click on this link http://www.intlistings.com/listing/10000062.html if you'd like to see more interior photos.

Apparently it's still for sale? Not sure. Maybe the owners are planning on "flipping" it.


Can't argue that the street it's on, Porto Marina Way, has a great view of the Pacific Ocean. This is looking south towards the PCH with Santa Monica in the distance.

Getting back to the original idea - calling 17948 Porto Marina Way "the Getty Villa" doesn't make it the Getty, even if a majority of people do so.

As a Christian, I'm reminded that Christianity isn't based on popular opinion, or what a majority of people think, but on historic fact. Almost two thousand years ago, St. Peter, an eyewitness to Jesus' life, ministry, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension wrote:

"We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." (II Peter 1:16).

Christianity isn't true because we believe it, we believe it because it's true.

I just found yet another website incorrectly listing Villa de Leon as the Getty Villa: http://www.angelcityart.com/so-cal-ACA.html


And while on-line "stories" and (much more common) "word of mouth" continue to perpetuate that the big house on the hill is the Getty Villa, the facts reveal something else.

A trip to the actual Getty Villa is worth your time (visit the website ahead of time - you need a parking reservation). And be sure and give a shout out to Villa de Leon when you visit.

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"R" Spells "Relief"

Two weeks ago today voters in Los Angeles approved Measure R, which increases the sales tax in Los Angeles by 1/2 a percent. As a tax increase, the measure needed a "super majority" (66.67%) and passed - barely - with 67.22%.


view from inside the No. 2 MTA bus (heading north on Sepulveda) - stuck in traffic along with everyone else. At least the bus' windshields are clean, right? The concept of "getting people out of their cars" happens naturally when it's quicker to take a subway or light rail than your car.

While not necessarily providing a visionary mass transit system for Los Angeles, the passage of Measure R will provide some relief, and complete several of the light rail projects in the works.


[Photo (September 2006): L. Henry] www.lightrailnow.org

It will also provide the needed funding for the Purple Line - the Wilshire Blvd. "Subway to the Sea" - which now ends at Western Ave. in Koreatown.


photo credit: www.railway-technology.com

Unfortunately, the tax doesn't take effect until July of next year. Voters approved this measure - why is it taking another half a year to start funding the projects we need?


This is just one of a dozen various proposals for light rail and the Wilshire subway extension into the westside. Fortunately, doing nothing is no longer an option. I'm not holding my breath that the Wilshire Subway will go all the way to the ocean, but it probably will get to Westwood/UCLA. image: www.lacurbed.com

Stuck in gridlock traffic is NOT my idea of political leadership. Either is taking money earmarked for transportation to pay for other things.

cheaper gas = less incentive to conserve. Stuck on San Diego Frwy near Westwood last week .

Ironically, this past summer when gasoline was peaking out at $4.50 a gallon - it made a dent in traffic. In most places, you actually noticed the difference. Now that gas is down to around $2.50 a gallon, traffic is again terrible.

A few days after writting this post, I saw an article in the Los Angeles Times by Steve Hymon and Ruben Vives basically saying the same thing: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-backtocars20-2008nov20,0,4531243.story. Now you know where these guys get their ideas for stories ...

I may be in the minority here, but I wouldn't mind paying more for gas is the difference went directly to immediate traffic relief. I only take the bus when I'm going to UCLA, but how many more Angelenos would ride the MTA if the fare was just 50 cents? Just wondering.

What is our time worth? Obviously something.

Thanks, Los Angeles, for passing Measure R ... so we can all do a better job of making the most of our time.

"Therefore, be careful how you live. not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time." Ephesian 5:15,16

Not a Desert

Occasionally, I hear someone refer to Los Angeles (or Southern California) as a "desert." We lived in Arizona for four years: Los Angeles is NOT a desert.

None the less, a couple of recent rainstorms caused me to pull out the camera and snap some pictures. Taken through the windshield while driving is an interesting effect. Is it legal to take pictures while driving? I guess as long as you're not on a cell phone.


Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice


Main Street, Venice


Long's Drugs, Venice (I think every drugstore needs a clown)



Main Street, Ocean Park


from a fireroad in the Santa Monica Mountains, Pacific Palisades & Santa Monica

Los Angeles has a Mediterranean climate with the vast majority of the precipitation coming from mid-December to mid-April. It's actually an ideal climate, at least, I like to think it is (otherwise, why would I even be writing about it?) It's found in only four other places on earth: the Mediterranean (hence the name), the central coast of Chile, south Africa, and western Australia. If you're new to Los Angeles, here's an interesting link to our understanding the weather here: http://www.you-are-here.com/info/weather.html

The weather in Los Angeles has influenced everything from our center of the motion picture industry, to the paving over of the Los Angeles River (topic for another blog), to our imported water via the Los Angeles aqueduct (topic for still another blog), to what is often referred to as the L.A. "lifestyle." There are few other places on earth where you can go skiing, surfing (and, according to this Los Angeles Times link, hiking) in one day http://www.latimes.com/theguide/outdoors/la-trw-oneday03-2008may03,0,4703866,full.story

Sunshine and rain. God gives us both. Theologians refer to this as "common grace."

"He [God] causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:45)

Making an early rainstorm even more appreciated.

Congratulations from Los Angeles

"For those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I will be your president, too."
President-Elect Barack Obama


"This is a historic election, and I recognize the significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight."
Senator John McCain in his concession speech



While conservatives may disagree with much of Obama's policies and political philosophy, I hope we can agree with McCain's comment: the election of an African American to our nation's highest office is an incredibly historic, amazing event.

Congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama.

There are plenty of political blogs out there, some good - some not so good.

Should Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, be involved in politics? I certainly hope so. But what does that look like - or perhaps a better question, what should that look like?

Cal Thomas is no lightweight. He is America’s most widely syndicated op-ed columnist, appearing in more than 600 national newspapers. He was the vice-president of an organization known at the "Moral Majority" from 1980-85, and later co-authored "Blinded by Might" - a critique of that experience.

In light of that, I came across his most recent column. Here's a clip:

Evangelicals are at a junction. They can take the path that will lead them to more futility and ineffective attempts to reform culture through government, or they can embrace the far more powerful methods outlined by the One they claim to follow. By following His example, they will decrease, but He will increase. They will get no credit, but they will see results. If conservative Evangelicals choose obscurity and seek to glorify God, they will get much of what they hope for, but can never achieve, in and through politics.

The entire article can be found at:
http://www.calthomas.com/index.php?news=2419


Regardless of how you feel about the outcome of Tuesday's election, Christians - those who consider themselves politically conservative, liberal, or somewhere in between - should remember the words of St. Paul:

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Give everyone what you owe him ... if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." Romans 13:1,7

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." I Timothy 2:1-2