Temporary Hiatus

Sorry about the temporary break in my blog posts. I was out of town for a while and I just started a new job and moved houses. Hopefully, I will be settled in and have time to do some new posts in a few weeks.

Mugu Peak and La Jolla Valley Hike

Point Mugu State Park, north of Malibu, is another of the large parks in the Santa Monica Mountains. Here is a view across the native grassland of the La Jolla Valley Natural Preserve in Mugu State Park with the Boney Ridge Mountain in the background. In early spring, this valley is bright green and filled with native wildflowers. It has only rained once since I moved to L.A. in February and by the time I took this picture at the end of August, the landscape was dry and parched:

A patriotic view from the top of the peak. I think this flag is here because of the peak's proximity to the Point Mugu Naval Base.

The narrow highway along the coast in the photo below is Highway 1 (also known as the Pacific Coast Highway or the PCH). It extends over 600 miles along the coast from Southern to Northern California and is widely considered to be one of the most scenic highways in the world. On our way back down to the ocean from the peak, we saw two large pods of dolphins swimming and playing in the water.

When we did this hike, we started from the trailhead at the parking lot on the PCH across from the Naval shooting range just north of Mugu Rock (directions available on the Modern Hiker website). However, the first mile of the hike was a pretty unpleasant and very steep scramble up from the PCH into the La Jolla Valley. Next time, we are going to try an alternate version of this hike that starts from the Ray Miller trailhead (directions available on the GeekHiker website.) I've labeled both trailheads on the map below.



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Inglewood History of Transportation Mural

Southern California Modernist artist Helen Lundeberg (1908-1999) designed the History of Transportation Mural in Inglewood in 1939 as a project of the Works Progress Administration. The mural is 8 feet high, 240 feet long, and is comprised of 60 mosaic panels mounted on a curved cast concrete wall.


The mural depicts the historic inhabitants of the Centinela Valley including Native Americans, Spanish Missionaries, and Anglo settlers. The mural begins with people walking:

The mural uses a muted palette and includes particularly lovely depictions of animals including dogs, oxen, horses, and sheep:

The History of Transportation Mural is made with petrachrome mosaic, a process designed by the WPA specifically for California's hot, sunny climate. Petrachrome mosaics were made with colored, crushed stones embedded in tinted concrete mortar.


The WPA designed the petrachrome process to be labor intensive so that the projects would employ a large number of laborers and artisans. The Inglewood mural is one of the last remaining petrachrome artworks in the country.

Here is a detail depicting a boy on horseback waiving at two girls in an ox-drawn cart:
Spanish Missionaries on horseback in the background:

By the 1990s, the mural was severely damaged from weather, pollution, car collisions, and vandalism. The City of Inglewood and a variety of preservation groups raised $1 million in grants from the Getty, the California Heritage Fund, the California Cultural Historical Endowment, and other private donors for a major restoration and re-installation that began in 2001 and was completed in 2007.


The mural uses rhythmic, repeating forms:

The transition from horse-drawn to steam-train transportation:

Two automobiles in front of a streamlined train:

The mural ends with air transportation:

The Inglewood transportation mural is appropriately located just a few miles East of LAX International Airport.


Here are some closer details from the mosaic. Some of the color areas are delineated with thin, inlaid brass outlines.

Here is an even closer view which shows the crushed stone embedded in the tinted mortar:

The History of Transportation Mural is located at the corner of Manchester Boulevard and Grevallia Avenue across the street from Inglewood High School just a few blocks away from Randy's Donuts. There is more information about the mural, the restoration effort, the petrachrome process and artist Helen Lundeberg available on the City of Inglewood's website.

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The Wiltern Theater

The Wiltern Theater and the attached Pellissier Building are one of many beautiful Art Deco landmarks on L.A.'s Wilshire Boulevard. Architects Morgan, Walls, and Clements built the theater/office building in 1930-1931 and sheathed the structure in turquoise terracotta tiles.

The narrow windows and strong vertical lines of the facade create the illusion that the building is higher than its 12 stories:

The theater entrance is flanked by two vertical neon signs:

An elaborate white plaster starburst pattern above the ticket booth and a simple but more colorful starburst in faux-marble terrazo on the floor:
The carved mahogany doors are surrounded by intricate Art Deco detailing:

A detail from the carved doors:

The Wiltern's terracotta tiles use many common art deco motifs such as chevrons, zig-zags, scallops, and fronds. Here are a few details of the tiles:

The Wiltern is still a functioning theater and is operated by LiveNation.




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Zuma Beach

From the southernmost tip of Zuma Beach in Malibu, there is a nice 4-mile walk that goes over Point Dume peninsula and along several pretty coves. Here is the view south from the top of Point Dume:

When we did this walk, we saw spear fishermen, scuba divers, surfers, rock climbers, pelicans, anemones, two seals, a starfish, and a beach wedding. Here is a view from the top of the stairs down to Zuma Cove:

Directions to the Point Dume hike are available on the Local Hikes website.

The Fairfax Community Mural

Los Angeles muralist Art Mortimer painted the 7-panel Fairfax Community Mural on the wall in the Canter's Deli parking lot in 1985. The photo-collage style mural depicts the Jewish history of Los Angeles from 1841 to 1985.


The first panel of the mural includes the constitution and bylaws of the Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles, one of the first charitable groups formed in Los Angeles. The Benevolent Society provided religious services and founded a Jewish cemetery in Chavez Ravine (now the site of Dodger Stadium):

This panel of the mural depicts the Jacoby Brother's Department store in downtown Los Angeles. The black and white color scheme and the photo-collage style give the mural a nostalgic quality:

In 1914, Cecil B. DeMille and Jesse Lasky produced "The Squaw Man," the first feature length movie filmed in Hollywood. In early 20th century films, many Native American characters were played by Jewish actors in "redface."

The Canter brothers moved their delicatessen business from New Jersey to L.A.'s Boyle Heights in 1931. At that time, Boyle Heights, which is now primarily Latino, was the main Jewish neighborhood in Los Angeles. In 1948, another Canter's Deli location opened in the Fairfax district:

There have been Jewish residents in Los Angeles since the mid-1800s, but there was not a large influx of Jews to L.A. until the 1920s when Jewish immigrants who originally settled on the East Coast were drawn to economic opportunities in Southern California. Los Angeles now has the second largest Jewish population of any metropolitan area in the United States.
The detail below includes an image of Sandy Kofax pitching for the Dodgers. The curved bandstand in the upper left portion of this panel is the Hollywood Bowl:

Canter's Deli and Bakery is located at 419 N. Fairfax Avenue at Oakwood. It is open 24 hours everyday and I highly recommend a visit there for anyone who loves baked goods, traditional deli food, and classic 1950s diner decor.




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Cat of the Week: Frannie

Frannie of Los Feliz is the bookstore cat at Skylight Books:

Randy's Donuts

Randy's drive-through donut shop is one of the most iconic examples of mid-century "programmatic" architecture, in which the shape of a building represents the product sold at the location. This style of roadside architecture was particularly popular in Los Angeles in the 1950s and was designed to be easily readable from the freeway.


Randy's was built in 1953 as part of the Big Donut Chain, a series of drive-through donut shops which included locations in Culver City, Van Nuys, and North Hollywood. The Randy's giant donut is 32.5 feet high (9.9 meters) and is made of a steel frame with a sprayed concrete exterior.


Randy's has featured in countless movies, television shows, video games, and music videos. It's a good place to stop for a treat if you are on your way to or from LAX as it is located in Inglewood 1 mile from the airport, is open 24 hours a day, and sells delicious donuts at cheap prices.


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Downtown Art Deco

Los Angeles has a rich collection of Art Deco buildings because the city underwent a period of expansion in the 1920s and 1930s. This morning, I went on the L.A. Conservancy's downtown Art Deco walking tour and this post includes pictures of some of the buildings that we saw on the tour.

The Eastern Columbia Building (849 S. Broadway) was built by Architect Claude Beelman in 1930 as the headquarters and retail center for the Eastern & Columbia clothing and furniture companies. The building was converted into luxury residential condos in 2007. Bright blue terracotta tiles and gold trim decorate the building's exterior. The facade includes many zig-zag and chevron ("v" shape) patterns typical of the Art Deco style:

Art Deco architects sought to emphasize verticality as a symbol of modernity and progress. Strong vertical lines dominate the Eastern Columbia Building's facade and extend all the way up to the clock tower:

A turquoise and yellow terracotta sunburst decorates the vestibule over the front entrance of the building. The vestibule's ceiling also includes more of the ubiquitous Art Deco chevron patterns:

The Sun Realty Building (629 S. Hill St.) is another 1930 Claude Beelman building clad in colorful terracotta tiles and dominated by strong vertical lines:

Art Deco designs often drew inspiration from Mayan and Egyptian art and architecture. Here is a detail of the green terracotta tilework on the Sun Realty building that was inspired by an Egyptian papyrus motif:

Most of downtown L.A.'s Art Deco buildings are less brightly colored than the vibrant Eastern Columbia and Sun Realty Buildings. The Title Guarantee Building, located on the North-East corner of Pershing Square at 411 W. 5th St. and built by John and Donald Parkinson in 1929-1931, is clad in stone-colored terracotta tile:

The Title Guarantee Building's rooftop tower looks like a stylized, modern version of a Gothic structure and even includes flying buttresses:

Architects Allison and Allison built the Southern California Edison Building (601 W. 5th St.) in 1930-1931. The building's octagonal entrance is topped with beautiful bas-relief friezes by artist Merrell Gage. Below the reliefs are more of the common Art Deco zig-zag patterns.

Here is a detail of the frieze depicting hydroelectric power. I love the flow of water from the urn which is so stylized that it is almost a zig-zag:

Although this semi-nude figure in the central panel looks classical, his torch is illuminated with a modern light bulb rather than a flame:

The architectural details in these Art Deco buildings are beautifully designed and crafted. Here is a detail of the glass doors to the Oviatt Building (617 S. Olive St.), designed by architects Walker and Eisen in 1927-1928:

The exterior marquee and the interior of the Oviatt Building are decorated with glass made by French glass designer Rene Lalique. Here is a detail of a frosted glass panel from the interior of the building:

The terracotta grillework over the front entrance to Claude Beelmans' 1929 building at 850 S. Broadway uses stylized flower and vine motifs that were popular in Art Deco designs:

A detail from the beautiful bronzework over the front entrance to the William Fox Building (608 S. Hill St.) built by S. Tilden Norton in 1931:

Below is a map of the buildings included on the L.A. Conservancy's downtown Art Deco walking tour. The Art Deco tour leaves from Pershing Square at 10 AM every Saturday. The tours cost $5 for Conservancy members and $10 for non-members. If you participate in the tour, you also receive an excellent pamphlet from which I obtained much of the information in this post. I highly recommend the tour for anyone interested in architecture, Art Deco, or downtown Los Angeles.



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Santa Monica Mountains

The Santa Monica Mountains, which extend from the Hollywood Hills north into Ventura County, include many great hiking trails. Here is a picture from the 7 mile loop to Sandstone Peak, the highest point in the range:

This hike features unusual sandstone formations and sweeping views over the mountain range, the valley, the ocean, and the Catalina Islands. Below is a map with driving directions from downtown L.A. to the hike's trailhead. The Modern Hiker blog has more pictures and information about this hike and many other hikes in the L.A. area.


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