Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens

Last month my wife and kids and I were in Los Angeles for a little three day get-away. We had four  "free passes" to the Los Angeles Zoo that we had never used - and decided that now would be as good a time as any.

We had bought an annual pass for the family back in 2006, six months after moving to L.A. There was a lot of construction going on, which was too bad. I don't know if I'd call the L.A. Zoo "great" - but it's made vast improvements since 2006, and is an enjoyable place - especially with kids. 

Back in the day, my daughter was so small she couldn't even see over this hedge at the flamingos by the entrance. What the difference seven years makes! 

The Koala Bears - native to Australia - are amazing. Technically not bears, the L.A. Zoo is one of just eight zoos in the U.S. with koalas. 

This guy looked up and around for a few minutes, and I quickly snapped off a couple of shots.

I minute or two later he was back asleep. The other koalas had their backs to us ... even less photogenic. 

The Zoo has opened up several new enclosures since we were there last, including something called LAIR: "Living Amphibians, Invertebrates, and Reptiles."

Both of my kids with their cameras, having a good time. 

What's behind the glass. Like any zoo, it's hit and miss in terms of seeing the animals up close. In some ways, it's more special when you do get a good view like this. 

A couple of elephants in the new Indian Elephant enclosure. This was taken from the viewing area. 

Mountain Goats found elsewhere the park. I grew up in Los Angeles, and remember this enclosure as a kid. These animals ability to navigate super steep ledges still continues to impress

Even sleeping, the Zoo's tigers are awesome. 

One of the gorillas in the new "Campo Gorilla Reserve." 

Giraffes. 

The L.A. Zoo's official title is the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens. I was impressed by many of the now mature trees, and tropical foliage. Nice. 

My wife and kids and I - we were there March 25th during Spring Break. Aside from some crowds (which I conveniently left out of these pictures), we had a good time. Of course, it helped that we had free passes. 

I wish they still had those silly little wax mold machines that I remeber as a kid. Did they even exist? It's stuff like that parents remember fondly, and want to get for their kids. 

It's a good zoo. Maybe not a great zoo, but a good zoo. And it's certainly made some great strides over the past few years. If you live in Los Angeles and have young children, the annual pass ($114 for the entire family) might be a good deal. Actually, it's a great deal if you have a large family. 

Oh, and the L.A. Zoo doesn't charge for parking (not a given in Los Angeles). 

Here's a link to their website with more information. 

© 2013 www.experiencingla.com

Christos Anesti: Easter in Hollywood

Anyone who has driven along the 101 Hollywood Freeway in the last few years has no doubt noticed the spires of the Russian Orthodox Church visible near the intersection of Sunset Blvd. & Western Avenue. A couple years back I was driving by and decided to stop and take a look.

The church building is located in a commercial and very urban part of Hollywood. Don't mind the barbed wire, it's pretty much everywhere in Los Angeles.

I parked and took a walk around the neighborhood. Gas Station & Russian Church = Los Angeles, or more precisely Hollywood.

This needs a caption, but I'm not sure what. Definitely an "experiencing L.A." moment.

I finally found the entrance. The church is located at 5436 Fernwood Avenue, a half a block east of Western Avenue in Hollywood. Apparently, the church building has been around for many years. The cupola project - the massive golden onion domes - were added afterwards. 

In fact, they're still working on them. The crew (who spoke English, not a given in L.A.) was taking a break - and said they've been working on the domes for over nine years. Wow. Above is the scaffolding used on the project. That was two years ago. I'm guessing they're done. 


Aside from the guys working on the domes, no one else was around - and the church was locked. I saw this sign, which would be great - if I spoke Russian.

Walking around I finally found something in English: Holy Transfiguration Russian Orthodox Church. I tried to get some information off their website - but it seems to be "stuck." 

According to the City of West Hollywood's website, nearby West Hollywood is "the most concentrated single Russian-speaking region in US outside of New York." Who knew? Like other immigrant church's around the US, I think it's safe to assume that Holy Transfiguration is working to meet the spiritual and cultural needs of the area's Russian speaking community. 

If you're looking for an English speaking church in Hollywood, I recommend either Reality Los Angeles, or Hollywood Presbyterian Church. 

I don't have any personal experience with the Orthodox faith, although I would assume it has some similarities to Roman Catholicism. Regardless, I can certainly appreciate their church's building - it's very impressive, and certainly stands out. Hey, it got me to stop.

With Easter approaching, I would certainly wish them a greeting shared by believers around the world: Christos Anesti - Christ is Risen.

Directly across the street from Holy Transfiguration Church was the "Deluxe" lab. You know how at the end of every movie it says "Color by Deluxe"? Well, this is the lab where every Hollywood film is sent for final production. 


A half a block away from the church, looking across Western Avenue with the Hollywood sign in the distance. Most visitors from out of town are surprised how urban and industrial parts of Hollywood are. 

Another part of Hollywood. April 2011, my wife and I were at UCLA to hear Oxford professor John Lennox. Near the corner of Melrose and La Brea, we saw a billboard for "Easter At the Bowl".

"Easter at the Bowl" is an annual event free and open to the public. This year, Easter Sunday March 31, 2013, the event is being co-sponsored by Bel Air Presbyterian Church and Christian Assembly Church of Eagle Rock. 

My wife and kids and I went with friends a couple years ago; it's a great experience - highly recommended.

Happy Easter. Christos Anesti - Christ is Risen.

Even in Hollywood.

Perhaps especially in Hollywood.

View Hollywood in a larger map

© 2013 www.experiencingla.com - originally posted 4/21/2011

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Blue Light Special: Chase Bank, Sepulveda & Artesia

A year ago I was in L.A. staying with friends in Manhattan Beach - before catching a plane out of LAX early the next morning. The Chase Bank, located on the corner of Sepulveda and Artesia caught my eye. Had to stop. 

The architecture looks similar to the "Fabulous Forum" (former home of the Los Angeles Lakers) in nearby Inglewood .... 

.... with a little bit of Disneyland's "1967 Tomorrowland" thrown in. 

 It's the blue lighting that really is able to give the building it's distinctive look at night. Very simple - but the effect is dramatic.

I like the clean lines, reflecting optimism of the mid-century "futuristic" architecture - and the fact that the building is distinct and different from what's around it. 

Not worth making any sort of special trip to see - but if you're in the neighborhood, worth stopping by for five minutes. 

© 2013 www.experiencingla.com

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Carsland on Wilshire: Petersen Automotive Museum

Is Los Angeles the "car capital of the world"? L.A. can arm wrestle Detroit for that title, but automobiles have certainly shaped the culture, growth, and design of Los Angeles. So it's no surprise that the city is home to one of the largest automobile museums in the world, the Petersen Automotive Museum. 

The Petersen is located on the western edge of the Miracle Mile District, on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.

The Petersen is housed in the former Orbach's Department Store. The building was designed by architect Welton Becket and opened as the Seibu Department Store back in 1962. It was an Orbach's Department Store from 1965-1986. Six years later, the Petersen moved in. 

What does Los Angeles do with it's old department stores? Turns them into museums. The entrance to the Petersen is off of Fairfax. Across Wilshire, you can see the gold corner of the former May Company Department Store, now part of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). More on that in a bit. 

A closeup of the entrance sign. Let's head on in. 

Parking is o the right - the entrance is to the left. Parking is $12 (about normal for Los Angeles). There is also limited meter parking in the neighborhoods if you're only going to be there for a couple hours. 

One of the many schools groups waiting to get in. The Petersen is a privately owned museum and receives no state or local funding. 

They do a fantastic job opening up their facility to schools: public, private, and homeschool groups. Teachers, including homeschool educators, can get in for free. Nice. 

They even have a their own bus to transport kids from under-served schools to the museum. 

The first floor is dedicated to to the history of the automobile in Los Angeles, with permanent displays and wonderful period "streetscape" representing various periods of the 20th Century. 

Not to be missed is the Bulldog Cafe -  a wonderful replica of "Roadside Vernacular Architecture" - also called "California Crazy Architecture", also called "Programmatic Architecture". Not sure if this is the set piece, or a replica of the set piece, from the 1991 Disney film The Rocketeer. 

photo credit: mothgirlwings.tumblr.com

Here's a photo of the original Bulldog Cafe, located at 1153 West Washington Blvd in Los Angeles. This little roadside cafe was built in 1927 and - unfortunately - torn down in 1955.  

More "streetscape" displays.

The displays move into the 1950's and 1960's - and advent of the Freeway - a development which changed Los Angeles forever. There's a lot more to see than I'm covering here. 

Upstairs is the museum's special and changing exhibits. I was here just a few minutes after the museum opened - normally, you'd see guests wandering about. 

The Hollywood "Star Cars" section has vehicles from Batman, Bonnie & Clyde, The Green Hornet, and more. Above: "Grease Lighting" from the 1978 film Grease.

. . . and professor Fate's wacky "Hannibal Eight" from the 1965 comedy The Great Race. Again, there's a lot more to see than I'm posting here. 

There's a couple of display cases with a collection of cars from the Disney/Pixar film "Cars." If you want to see more that a couple of little models, folks in Anaheim are happy to oblige, and have recently opened up a "Carsland" section at the California Adventure Park, next to Disneyland. 

A selection of vintage motorcycles. 

Apparently, the Petersen only displays about half of 300 cars in their collection at any one time. The other half is down in the museum's basement, their "vault." 

"Gypsy Rose" is actually from a previous visit a few years earlier. The car was one of several  on loan as part of the Petersen's La Vida Lowrider exhibit back in 2007-2008. It is such a great car - just had to repost this picture. 

There were also several cool concept cars . . . 

 . . . including this solar panel car. 

All in all, a great place for school field trips, for car buffs, or for anyone who wants to learn a bit more about how the automobile has shaped life in Southern California. 

Back outside, here another view of the Petersen from across the street. Apparently, the museum is suffering from a lack of "brand identity." Despite the fact of being located on the third busiest intersection in Los Angeles, the majority of people driving by have no idea that a world class automotive museum is inside. 

I wonder if a little "Roadside Vernacular Architecture" would help? You know, an updated version of the Bulldog cafe. Perhaps a giant fiberglass classic car on the roof? 

Call it an advertisement, everyone'll hate it. Call it avant guard art, and everyone will wonder how they could have lived without it. 

Or, maybe just putting a second entrance in off of Wilshire Blvd?

Above: a view in front of the museum looking east towards the Miracle Mile District. Los Angeles' Purple Line - the subway down Wilshire Blvd - has a stopped planned for the corner of Wilshire & Fairfax slated sometime in the next ten years. Ironically, it'll be a new subway stop that will give a huge boost to foot traffic, and museum attendance. 

Here's a link to a previous blog post of a four mile walk along this section of Wilshire back in September 2009. 

Across the street from the Petersen, another view of the old May Company Department Store, now part of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art - LACMA. 

Another view looking east up Wilshire towards downtown. The Peterssen is across the street (out of view). The main entrance to LACMA is just to the left, featuring Chris Burden's Urban Light. Across the street, just in front of the large office tower, is the Wende Museum's The Wall on Wilshire, featuring the largest section of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany. Nearby is Michael Heizer's Levitated Mass, the La Brea Tar Pits ... as well as the Original Farmer's Market, and The Grove. 

LACMA has just added an incredible art display that gives new meaning to the idea of this corner of L.A. being "carsland." 

photo credit: www.thefamilysavvy.com

Above is Metropolis II - one of the most amazing, kinetic pieces of art in the world. 

Designed by Chris Burden (who also gave us the Urban Light display out front), Metropolis II is an active, working model featuring 13 electric trains, 25 buildings and 1100 model cars whizzing along.

Click on this link for a fantastic two minute You Tube video. 

It's operative on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I'd love to see it sometime in the future. 

Back outside, here's a final view of the Petersen, and a link to the museum's website. 

© 2013 www.experiencingla.com

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