WHY UNION STATION IS SPECIAL

Los Angeles main train station is Union Station, built in 1939. It is called "the last of the great railway stations". 

  In the city of the car, it has for decades played a low profile role.....until today, when people in LA are getting tired of the long commutes and going towards public transportation in droves. Also the City, through Metro, has bought the station from the rail company that owned it and has given it a more prominent role in the transportation grid. With all this attention, the station is changing. For the better?  We will see. 

Why is it special?  Because it is one of the few places in LA where you can breath "old America"  You really are "transported" in time.  And the Art Deco style is fantastic!  

So yes, it is certainly worth a visit.  Olvera Street is just across the street, so you can kill two birds with the same trip.   

  For the big fans, the Los Angeles Conservancy has 2 hour detailed tours, third Saturday of each month, at 10am.  (323) 623-2489    $10.  www.laconservancy.org

  

THE BAYWATCH BEACH....TODAY

Will Rodgers State Beach, Pacific Palisades

Millions of people became familiar with this beach through the hit program Baywatch in the 90s.  And it wasn't just fiction, the director of the series worked as a lifeguard on this particular beach. 

Yet today, it is almost a secret beach....OK, nothing is secret in LA......Let's just put it this way. No-one talks about this beach. It gets much less publicity than Santa Monica Beach, Venice, Manhattan, Redondo Beach...... 

Why? Because it is in low-profile Pacific Palisades. 

Just north of Santa Monica on the Pacific Coast Highway, the beach is easy to reach. One just has to go to Santa Monica on the 10 Freeway, and from Santa Monica one gets directly to the Pacific Coast Highway.  Travel a few miles north, and the beach is off the highway, with two large parking lots.   

  But here is the thing. In LA, people don't just go to Pacific Palisades....unless you have something to do there. It is not exactly in the way (the 405 is miles away) , and the exclusive residential area does little to attract people.  So the beach remains relatively quiet. 

It is a pity, because it is one of the best beaches in Los Angeles. 

Photos: Andrés Raab

HOLLYWOOD SIGN: WANT A GOOD PHOTO?

The sign is probably the most famous thing about LA.....after Disneyland!!!  But while the theme park has official imitators around the world, there is only ONE sign. It is our Big Ben, our Eiffel Tower.

The Big Ben, The Eiffel Tower, the tower of Pisa.....are all very accesible. They have avenues, parks around them. Not the sign. You can see it from many places, but it is far away. Specially when you want to take a picture. The zoom? Yes, but you lose some quality. And you cannot get a good picture of the sign with a person in front.

So the question is. Where can I go to get a decent picture of myself with the sign?

Lots of places advertise that they are "the best place to see the sign" but we know as Angelenos that they are wrong. They just want your money.   Here is our advise.

It is difficult to get a photo op close to the sign because the area is full of hills, and constructions. You end up driving round and round in the residential area around N Beachwood.....and fail to find a spot. There are just a few places to get a really good picture (like the one you see.....)

The best places.

Lake Hollywood Dr. The area round the resevoir has some spots. 

Deronda Drive.  Not easy, but you can find a good spot.

Griffith Park Observatory

One of the main tourist attractions anyway, so you can do both things with one trip. This is not the best spot. You are taking the picture from one side, and "hill to hill" But you can do so in comfort, and the pictures will be OK.  

HOW TO HIKE TO THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN

Updated  November 2016
 

Want to reach the famous HOLLYWOOD sign? 

 Before you do, remember that to avoid damage and vandalism, it is off limits.  The best you can do is see the back of the sign from just a few yards away and take a picture from behind the fence, as shown above. Also, the hike will not improve your chances of taking a good picture with the sign.

If you just want to take a good picture in front of the sign, click the link below

HOW TO TAKE A PICTURE WITH THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN.

http://lainfoblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/hollywood-sign-want-good-photo.html

In other words, for many people it is simply not worthwhile to hike up to the sign.  But you still want to hike up?

OK, OK.....

From Franklin, drive up N Beachwood Drive. Keep going,  keep going..... All the way to the end, to where it meets Hollyridge Dr.   Park around there Monday to Friday, but on the weekends and holidays it is not allowed.  You have to park much further down on Beachwood Dr, near the stone arches,  where there are no signs.     

Enter the park as if going to the ranch. From the parking clearance, start out on the trail. Do not go in the direction of the "Ranch" unless you want to do business with them. The trail we want seems to go away and round the ranch. 

This is the sign you want. It is the beginning of the trail.

The first part is relatively steep. And unmarked. There are no signs to make things easy for you......just some horse droppings.....

About ten minutes later along the dirt road, you will see an intersection, TURN LEFT....you sort of go back in the direction you were coming from, but then you go round the hill. There is small sign, but it is sort of confusing.

DO THE SAME AS THE HIKER.   DO A U.....




 

TURN RIGHT HERE!!!

Another 10-15 minutes of hiking uphill, and you will come to a paved road. Turn Right here.  You are now on Mt Lee Dr, and from now on the going is a little easier. Another 15 minutes, and you will see the fence on your right hand side. 

Congratulations!  You have made it!