See if there is a show at the Hollywood Bowl you want to see. The trick is to get a ticket for a bus to take you. Not RTD, but there is a company that has busses from all over the city that take you there, drop you off and take you back to your part of the city. When we lived there the bus price was very cheap and worth getting chaffeured.
Ooh, that place looks fun. Although on whatever random dates Google is showing rates for it looks a little more than I wanted to spend – I was hoping to stay under $200/night, Google is saying their rate is $229/night. Not that I can’t afford to spend that much, I just would prefer not to. But it is tempting just for that sign. And Curbed included it on their list of California’s best mid-century motels. Maybe I will splurge.
Amusingly, Google’s AI generated summary of the reviews says “Guests liked the large, clean rooms, though some commented they were dated” (bolding mine). I think if you complain that a place like that is “dated” you’re missing the point. Although in the pictures on their website the rooms actually look pretty modern, which I find kind of disappointing. In a place like that I’d like the insides of the rooms to look just as “retro” as the outside.
ETA: I was also mildly amused that under amenities they list “Complimentary local phone call”, singular. I’m sure that’s just a typo and they meant “calls”, but in my mind I interpret it as you get one phone call, like prison.
Too late to edit, but that $229 rate was just for some random dates in May. Looking at dates in July, when I’m actually planning on going, they do have better rates. And a AAA discount. So they actually do fall within my original planned budget. Which makes them my first choice for lodging now. Thank you, @Elmer_J.Fudd, for suggesting that very Googie motel.
Head out to Pasadena/San Marino and send an afternoon at the Huntington Library. Catch a Dodger game. Maybe you’ll see Otani hit. Drop me a line and tell me when you’ll be where and I’ll buy you lunch at the nearest Hat.
@silenus reminded me …
The Santa Anita horserace track is quite beautiful. And the LA botanical gardens nearby are one of the very best gardens on the whole Earth. Other museums are between Pasadena and Arcadia and are quite worthwhile.
Original Tommy’s. 2 am, mis-matched shoes and a stranger’s shirt. What you do with the rest of your time, eh. up to you.
Don’t piss Tommy off. Just sayin’
A couple of minor, off-beat options if you like that kind of thing and have the time:
“The Music Box” stairs. The famous long staircase featured in Laurel & Hardy’s Oscar-winning short of that name.
Angel’s Flight Railway, “a landmark and historic 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles, California.”
Disclaimer: I’ve been interested in both of these sites for years, if not decades, but haven’t been to either. You’d have to be a pretty serious L&H fan to go out of your way just to see the stairs. Although for much of my life I considered myself one, now I’m not sure I’d bother unless I was pretty nearby anyway, or had more time in L.A. than I have had on most of my trips there. I mean, it’s just an old staircase.
But Angel’s Flight looks like fun, especially if you’re in the general area.
I’ll add to the recommendations of the Petersen, Jurassic Technology, Griffith Planetarium, and the Academy Museum. I’ve been to all of them except the last, which opened since my last trip there. I’m dying to see it.
I rode the Angel’s Flight Railway and saw the Academy Museum a couple of months ago. (I was introduced to the railway by the first season of the HBO series Perry Mason, where it was the setting of a critical scene.) To be honest, I was underwhelmed by the Academy Museum. It was fun enough but I think I saw everything there was to see in just a few hours. One interesting exhibit was a collection of optical toys and viewing devices from before motion pictures were invented.
And another thing. I recommend wearing or having ear buds or a headset with you at the museums. Several of the museums had information about exhibits that could be heard, usually via a QR code.
In addition to the other museums mentioned, there’s also the Grammy Museum. It’s down the street from the convention center and the Staples Center.
I’ve been on Angel’s Flight quite a few times. It’s fun but short. The thing is, there’s not much else in the area for a tourist, unless you’re going to one of the downtown museums or theaters.
Now that you mention it, I’m pretty sure that’s where I first heard about it, too. I was pleased to learn it was still operating (although in a different location from where it was originally built), and thought it would be fun to ride it someday. Unfortunately, I have no plans to go back to L.A. in the foreseeable future.
Really? It was moved? I assumed it was still in the same location but for the television show (set in 1932), they faked the background to show different buildings.
The funicular has operated on two different sites, using the same cars and station elements. The original Angels Flight location, with trackage along the side of Third Street Tunnel and connecting Hill Street and Olive Street, operated from 1901 until it was closed in 1969, when its site was cleared for redevelopment.
The second Angels Flight location opened half a block south of the original location in 1996, mid-block between 3rd and 4th Streets, with tracks connecting Hill Street and California Plaza.[3] It was shut down in 2001, following a fatal accident, and reopened nine years later on March 15, 2010.[4] It was closed again from June 10, 2011, to July 5, 2011, and then again after a minor derailment incident on September 5, 2013. The investigation of this 2013 incident led to the discovery of potentially serious safety problems in both the design and the operation of the funicular.[5][6]
Before the 2013 service suspension, the cost of a one-way ride was 50 cents (25 cents for Metro pass holders). Although it was marketed primarily as a tourist novelty, it was frequently used by local workers to travel between the Downtown Historic Core and Bunker Hill. In 2015, the executive director of the nearby REDCAT arts center described the railroad as an important “economic link”, and there was pressure for the city to fund and re-open the railroad.[3] After safety enhancements were completed, Angels Flight reopened for public service on August 31, 2017, now charging $1 for a one-way ride (50 cents for TAP card users).[7][8]
For the biblio-inclined, The Last Bookstore and the main LA library are in the general vicinity of Angels Flight (which was also featured location in the 4th season of Bosch)
Man, does that bring back memories. And gaps where memories once belonged.
Seconding the Nethercutt Collection. A good thing about the Collection is the lack of velvet ropes or anything else keeping you away from the cars. You can look right in the windows! The vehicles on display change. When I visited, they had a 70’s lowrider in the basement! You need a reservation for the tour. Admission: $10 and well worth it.
Across the street is the Nethercutt Museum. The cars are packed in and have velvet ropes to keep you away. Admission: Free.
Well, I have pulled the trigger and reserved a room for one week and the Safari Inn in Burbank for the first week in July. I used to avoid traveling on the week of July 4 because that’s when everyone else travels, but now I kind of figure tourist spots will be crowded no matter when I go, so I might as well save a vacation day.
Thanks again for recommending that motel. It looks really cool.
You’re in luck! There is a Hat location just down the freeway in Pasadena (on Lake) and the Dodgers are in town all week. You are also very near the original Bob’s Big Boy and the oldest remaining Big Boy in the US.