Landmark in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California…read more.. I've had this historical building bookmarked for years. I finally had time to checkout: Crossroads of the World. Designed with a nautical theme, this complex used to be an outdoor shopping mall (the first in America) back in 1936. It's shaped to look like an ocean liner with a globe on the top. A replica was made at Disney World in Florida! It was featured in many movies (L.A. Confidential, The Muppets, Argo, Nancy Drew, Skincare, Café Society, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, and Indecent Proposal), commercials (Ford, Mattel, McDonald's), television shows (Bosch, RemingtonSteele, Dragnet, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe), video games (L.A. Noire, The Crew, and Midnight Club), and music videos (Big Audio Dynamite, and The xx) Now, it's closed to the public and is used as office spaces. A nice security guard escorted me off the property. He said, "Have a blessed day" as I walked to my car which was parked on the street. Note: I didn't park in the gated, private parking lot.

Has a lot of history. It currently doesn't have much going on. Crossroads Of The World was a big…read moreshopping center. One of the biggest in fact. This was then used for offices, but it's being turned into something else it seems. Even though it's closed you can still look through the gates. It still has the buildings here. There's just no more public access though. It was opened in 1936 as the country's first outdoor shopping mall. The central building resembles an ocean liner, with smaller buildings that resemble cottages surrounding this. In the 1950s it became an office complex. This is now about to become apartments, a hotel, and restaurants. Cool thing to check out because it's still here. It's not what it used to be, but they're making use of it. The old buildings are cool to see and soon it should be open again to look around and to buy things.

I've been a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright's work for many years now, and when I caught wind of a FLW…read morehome - "Hollyhock House" in LA that could be visited, I had to drive up from SD and check it out. This was the sort of adventure that needed a sidekick, so of course, I brought my PIC, my mom. I bought tickets in advance from the website ($12/adult & $6 for seniors over 62) and we made an 11:30pm reservation for 7/30/2026. We arrived at the park a bit early, got one of the last upper parking lot parking spaces, and strolled around the grounds for a bit. Then about 15 minutes before our appointed time, we asked if we could enter prior to our time slot. We were granted early admission, put on our shoe covers, and entered through the 250# concrete doors into the unique & grand home of Oil Heiress and Patron of the Arts, Aline Barnsdell and her daughter, Betty. I am so glad that this house was saved and restored, and I look forward to coming back in a year or two to see what it looks like when the construction is (hopefully) finished. Hollyhock House, completed in 1921, is LA's only UNESCO World Heritage Site and what a beauty it is... from the gorgeous living room with a phenomenal view to the well-appointed dining room and the modern kitchen, every aspect of this house was so thoughtfully rendered. The terrace is stunning and the inner courtyard is so peaceful. My favorite room of all was the incredibly serene and cozy library where I could picture myself happily curled up in a comfy chair with a great book and my faithful pup by my side. I loved the combination of design styles in this house including Mayan, Aztec, Asian, Egyptian and "California Romanza" as described by FLW himself. We utilized the information booklet provided to enhance our self-guided tour, and we had a marvelous time. This home is not magnificent by some standards, but imho, it was everything someone could need, and so much more. The clever repetition of design elements such as the stylized Hollyhock and myriad built-ins helped streamline the house and ensure the continuous flow and cohesiveness of the home from room to room. The view from the top of Olive Hill is STUNNING, and I can only imagine how clear and pristine that view must have been 100+ years ago. The docents and volunteers here were all so nice and well-informed. We spoke to a lovely volunteer named Denise who shared some stories about the house, and clearly seemed to enjoy what she was doing. We loved the house so much that we had to take our time to really experience it. We stayed inside the house for about 45 minutes which was sufficient. I was sad to have to leave, but alas as we know, all good things must come to an end, but other good things are sure to follow! Mahalo! Additional notes: The house is at the top of the hill in Barnsdell Park. The signage for the park is subtle. There is a small visitors center next to the house, and the grounds at the top of the hill are available for anyone to visit, but you need a ticket to go inside the HH. The good news is that if you don't have ready access to the email with your ticket, the volunteer at the door can find your reservation on the iPad, so no worries there. There is no bathroom inside HH, but there is a port-a-potty in the park not too far away.

Being from Arizona, I have been a longtime fan of Frank Lloyd Wright for years. We are fortunate to…read morehave many of his structures in our state. I love how his architecture blends in with the environment. I have been to Los Angeles many times in my life and was looking for something new to explore while in town. This was my first visit to the Hollyhock House. I have visited many of Frank Lloyd Wright's house museums and seen many of his structures over the years. But this place was a new one for me to see in person. Hollyhock House is located in Barnsdall Art Park and was completed in 1921. Hollyhock is a type of flower that inspired the motifs in this house's design. Aline Barnsdall hired Frank Lloyd Wright to design this house for her. Today it is owned by the Los Angeles Government. Hollyhock House is located on top of a hill and has a nice view of the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory. I enjoyed my tour through the Hollyhock House. It was affordable and took me about an hour to go through. They require you to wear protective shoe coverings while inside and ask that you don't use flash photography. The kitchen and living room were my favorite rooms. There is also a cool study with lots of books that I also enjoyed. There are a few rooms in this house that are off limits. The back outside patio area has a nice view of Los Angeles. The tour is self-guided, but there is staff on hand that will answer questions if you have some. Barnsdall Art Park is a nice park to relax and have a picnic. It has great views of the surrounding Los Angeles area if you want to hang around this area.

I am taking this steps pretty often. Great step. Solid build. Not slippery even during the rain.read more

I am a fan of John Fante and have been fascinated for years with Bunker Hill and its tragic…read morehistory. It's nice to see a John Fante place near Bunker Hill since his books create the best description of what it used to be a fascinated part of town that was destroyed with brutality. All it's left are these steps, which are nicely redone, with water fountains working again. Go up and down, check the area and the views. This should be on your itinerary of you visit downtown LA!

Iconic along the Avenue in every way…read more Carroll Ave is a place filled with lots of scenic as well as historic history. This dazzling slice of Victorian homes in Echo Park, Los Angeles' Angelino Heights area encompasses the 1300s block and tip of the 1400s. Cinema, Music Entertainment & Television and various digital mediums have been capture on this landmark Avenue from Teen Witch and Grandma's Boy to the original Charmed television series and Michael Jackson's Thriller music video film. You can park on this street, stroll and even photo op (just be mindful of properties as they belong to actual home owners who help preserve their homes that are apart of the National Register of Historic Places with several official Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments listed among these homes. It's a 10 to 15 minute walk from Echo Park Lake if close by. Definitely a great place to be a local tourist, show your tourists and enjoy as an LA native/native Angelino.

Beautiful Victorian homes. I enjoyed strolling down the street. Definitely worth visiting and…read moretaking in the beautiful architecture.

We've never been to Heritage Square Museum before, so this was our first time as we attended Street…read moreFood Cinema's Boo-ze, Bites and Frights: Half-O-Ween event. Their VIP parking was down a one-way dirt road at the entrance, but we opted for general parking across the street at the Heritage Square metro station. Part of the event was touring the Victorian houses, which was pretty interesting to see. Each house had guides to give insight into how people lived in the olden times. We also got to check out the giftshop for Heritage Square Museum which had souvenirs and mementos if you wanted to support them. Street Food Cinema hosted a special outdoor screening of Sinners. There were two screening areas so don't worry if you can't find a spot at the first one - juts walk aways further and you'll find more seats for the other screen (the movie plays simultaneously on both). Fyi - you don't need to bring your own chairs as they provide lawn chairs for screenings. There's several specialty things to see so it's worth coming early so you can take it all in. There was a Spookeasy with a musician playing songs from the movie, an Oddities Bazaar that offered tarot readings and aura photography, vendors selling goodies/clothes/etc, and of course plenty of food! We had delicious pizza from Angeleno's Wood Fired Pizza, had some cookies from Brady's Bakery, and topped it off with hella strong drinks! It was a 21+ event and they sure had heavy pours! Of course if you don't drink they also offered water, soda, and mocktails. If you get the opportunity to attend an event at Heritage Square Museum, don't miss out on it! The grounds are well-maintained, the employees are all informative and friendly, and we had an absolute blast! Two more things to know before you go - (1) it gets seriously cold at night, so bring a blanket and bundle up. Pro tip: it also comes in handy to secure your seat while you walk around. (2) Outside is mostly dirt and it gets windy, so dress accordingly and be sure to blow your nose thoroughly afterwards because you're going to be breathing it in!

I went to Heritage Square Museum for a movie screening and was genuinely surprised because I didn't…read moreeven know this place existed. It's actually pretty interesting to walk through and see a piece of Los Angeles history preserved like that. I'd say it's especially worth visiting if the event or entry is free, since it's a nice way to experience something different without committing a full day to it. The staff were extremely friendly and very enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge, which honestly made the experience better. You can tell they care about the history and enjoy talking about it. Some of the homes did have a noticeable old house smell, which isn't shocking given their age, but it's something you'll probably notice as you walk through. Overall, it was a cool and unexpected experience and a nice reminder that LA has pockets of history hiding in plain sight.

Visually, this is one of the most interesting and beautiful new architectural additions to the…read morecity, and I love how it balances what was there before with the new elements. It takes a beautiful picture, and there's so much to love about it when you're walking over it around sunset when the colors are right in the sky. I got to walk over the bridge a couple of times in the past month, and haven't driven over it, so I can't speak for the driving experience. Walking over it was overall a decent experience. It can be dirty, and there were parts of the bridge that felt a little dicey here and there, so my advice would be to be cautious if you're walking alone at night. I also think it might be nice to have a more direct way down, rather than walking in that downward spiral they built. It takes quite some time to make your way down to street level if you walk that ramp, and it might be nice to have a stairwell that is easily accessible for pedestrians.

The 6th Street Bridge is this vast architectural pathway merging the west side of Los Angeles to…read morethe east side. Obviously, this bridge is not the first bridge to transverse across the LA river and the railroad tracks, but, it is certainly the newest. This bridge has been around for a couple of years now. It's really quite a sight. Pretty, in its own way. Mostly, what I like about this bridge is that it has two very nice walkways on either side of the bridge, as well as a very well defined bike path. Thus, at least for me, I enjoy taking a walk across the bridge when I've eaten in one of the nearby restaurants. Since it was first open, there's been a lot of goings-on on this bridge. Certainly, you can see by the skidmarks and donuts, commonly seen all across the bridge, a lot of street racers love to come up on the bridge and do what they do with their cars. Over the past year or so, I've also noticed that there's becoming a lot of graffiti that they're not removing and/or cleaning up on this bridge. I guess the city just has other priorities now. One of the main things that I've noticed about this bridge, now a couple of years into its full actualization, is that there's a lot of stair paths that have never been completed. Obviously, what they were initially intending to do was to make this a whole walking and biking and lifestyle area of DTLA. But, for whatever reason, they've never actualize this. Thus, a lot of these stairways, leading to sidewalks, that have not been completed, and other structural areas around the bridge, have just become overrun with trash and graffiti. The thing to keep in mind about this bridge, due to where it's located. and its generalized lack of policing, it has attracted a certain element of the undesirables of society. Just keep that in mind if you plan to walk solo on this bridge; especially on off-hours. This being said, it is a very pretty bridge. And, if you want to take a walk, or you need to get between the west side and the east side of LA, this is a great way to do it.

History is on these steps in Silver Lake, or at one time it used to be. If you like old Hollywood…read morehistory, you have to come look. The Music Box Steps for sure don't look like anything special. Forgettable except for the plaque and signs around it. You still need to talk a walk up these. An important piece of classic Hollywood. If you know anything about Laurel and Hardy, it's probably that film of them moving a piano. This is where it was. It was in 1932, and the steps look a lot like they did then for the most part. There's a plaque near the foot, and nearby there's a sign as well as another one at the top. Finding it can be hard, but the people who live here don't mind that of course. This is in a residential area between a few houses. Certainly a piece of Hollywood that has to be checked out by any film buff. It's in a residential area so mind the residents to be sure. This is located just off Sunset on Vendome.

My parents were huuuuuuuuge film buffs as far back as I can remember, so it isn't a surprise that…read moremy 2 brothers and I adopted this same love for all things movies... esp. living in the movie capital of the world. We were exposed to every genre of film and definitely dating back to the beginning of when film makers first emerged. Sure, I have my favorite movies that came out since I've been around, but I also have a strong love for movies of a bygone era. Charlie Chaplin's movies are probably my favorite, but I also adore Harold Lloyd films, and I can't go without mentioning Laurel & Hardy, Marx Bros, the list is truly endless. I grew up with these people, and they all are near and dear to my heart. The thing about loving movies and living in Los Angeles is that every now and again, I hear about something (related to a specific movie I might like), and then, I take myself on a wild goose chase to track it down, see it, experience it, whatever it is. It might be where a particular celebrity is known to hang out. I would never bother any of them, but the momentary chance to see one in person, well, I'm a sucker for that. It might also be where they now live, or if it was a film star of yesteryear, then maybe where they once lived. I love doing that, too. Then again, it might be where a famous scene from a favorite movie was filmed, and that brings me to what I did a few days ago. One of the greatest films I've ever seen is a Laurel & Hardy short, entitled THE MUSIC BOX. Many of you have probably heard of it, and maybe you haven't..... but if you haven't, do yourself a favor and watch it. (It's on YouTube.) It's brilliant, it's hilarious, and it's short, so you can go on about your day without too much commitment this movie. It involves a piano and some 133 steep steps, and it involved Laurel & Hardy hoisting this piano up these steps with hilarity, comedic gags, and that's all you need to know. The rest is a visual joy. It was filmed in 1932 (!!) at a real location in the Silverlake district of Los Angeles where the hills were amazingly steep, the homes were (and some still are) VERY VERY old, street paths extremely narrow, and as you drive around this area, you get caught in a definite time warp, hurling you back in time to 1932 (and likely earlier). Just imagine those old cars trying to navigate this area. So, we found these steps thanks to WAZE, and they are marked with a street sign, and there's even a plaque at the bottom of these steps on Vendome Street (albeit an extremely scratched up plaque... (who felt the need to vandalize it? Seriously?) If you are looking up the stairs towards Descanso Drive, the building on the RIGHT of it was there in 1932 and part of the movie. The building to the left of it has since been added because it was a grassy open hill when the movie was made..... but ALL 133 steps are there, and that wonderful, funny movie was filmed RIGHT THERE !!!!!! My love for this movie is not isolated to just me because it's clearly marked (if one is looking for it), and it's been identified by film societies, movie geeks like me who love finding stuff like this, and well, it was a bucket list moment for me. I immediately texted my brothers the pictures of my discovery, and just as I had expected, they were totally excited by it. I knew they would be. I'm just sorry my parents aren't alive for me to share this with them. After all, it was because of them that this was all a moment of joy for me. Who knows, maybe they're up in heaven with Laurel & Hardy watching down as we paid homage to the once great comedy team and their wonderful film short, The Music Box.

We stopped by the iconic Colorado Street Bridge while exploring Pasadena, and it's easily one of…read morethe most photogenic spots in the city. The massive arches, classic design, and sweeping views make it a must-visit whether you're walking, taking photos, or just enjoying a quiet moment outdoors. Film fans will instantly recognize it as a filming location from La La Land, which adds a fun Hollywood touch to the experience. Standing beneath the bridge and looking up really highlights its scale and craftsmanship--especially with the light and shadows shifting throughout the day. The area underneath and around the bridge is peaceful and well-kept, with plenty of spots to stop and admire the architecture from different perspectives. Near the public restroom and parking lot, there's also a clear view of what used to be the historic Vista del Arroyo Hotel, now the Richard H. Chambers United States Court of Appeals, which adds another layer of history to the visit. It's a great stop whether you're a local, visiting Pasadena for the first time, or just exploring with a camera in hand. Between the scenery, history, and movie connection, this is an easy 5-star spot to recommend.

An Iconic Pasadena Landmark with Timeless Beauty…read more The Colorado Street Bridge is a true architectural gem--elegant, historic, and absolutely stunning from every angle. Built in 1913, this Beaux-Arts style bridge gracefully spans the Arroyo Seco and remains one of Pasadena's most beloved and photogenic landmarks. Walking across the bridge is a beautiful experience, especially around sunset when the vintage streetlamps begin to glow and the San Gabriel Mountains light up in the background. The gentle curve and soaring arches give the whole structure a romantic, almost cinematic feel. It's no wonder it's been featured in films and local lore for generations. Pro tip: Head down to Desiderio Neighborhood Park, directly below the bridge, for incredible views of the full span and those magnificent arches. It's one of the best vantage points for appreciating the bridge's scale and design--and perfect for photos. From there, you can also connect to the Arroyo Seco walking paths for even more scenic exploration. There's easy pedestrian access via Defenders Park, and parking nearby isn't too difficult. While safety fencing has been added in recent years, it doesn't take away much from the overall experience. Whether you're a local or just visiting Pasadena, the Colorado Street Bridge is a must-see--romantic, historic, and absolutely unforgettable. One of those rare spots that feels magical every time you visit.