Our first two visits to Los Angeles were enjoyable enough, but the city didn’t really grab us.
A few years ago, though, we paid another visit and devoted the majority of our time to tracking down the burg’s past — classic Hollywood haunts, homes of the stars (and I don’t mean Tom Hanks and Mandy Moore), sites where some of our favorite pictures were filmed, and studio tours. We also familiarized ourselves a bit with the downtown area, which we have the distinct impression many locals don’t even visit. And after that SoCal sojourn, we were hooked.
We love the city’s classic residential and commercial architecture. We can spend hours slowly motoring the streets of Hollywood, Hancock Park, Beverly Hills, et al. just taking in the beautiful homes, palatial and otherwise. And the aforementioned downtown area has some beautiful classic office towers from the 1930s and ’40s. And then there are the vintage movie palaces.
No doubt about it, for a movie buff who also appreciates the architecture of the first half of the 20th century, L.A. has a great deal to offer.
This vintage linen postcard booklet captures some of the appeal Los Angeles holds for us; see if it works for you:
