Bungalow Heaven

Bungalow Heaven is a lovely neighborhood in Pasadena comprised of almost 1000 one-story Arts and Crafts style bungalows. With its quiet tree-lined streets, pretty gardens, and centrally located park, Bungalow Heaven is one of L.A.'s most charming neighborhoods. Most of the houses in this area were built in the 1910s-1920s and include characteristics typical of the American Craftsman style including low-pitched roofs, overhanging eaves, and beautiful, handcrafted stonework and woodwork.





Bungalow Heaven is bordered by E. Washington Blvd. to the North, E. Orange Grove Blvd. to the South, N. Lake Ave. to the West, and N. Hill Ave. to the East. Every spring, the Bungalow Heaven Neighborhood Association organizes a home tour with 8 different restored bungalows open to the public. For more Pasadena Arts and Crafts pictures, check out my post on the Gamble House.


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Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve

Bright orange California poppies bloom at the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve, located in northern Los Angeles County, from late February through early May usually peaking in mid-April. Poppies are native to the Mojave Desert Grassland climate of the Antelope Valley and the Poppy Reserve does not plant, cultivate, or water the wildflowers.




The Poppy Reserve is only open during poppy season and is located near Lancaster - it took us about an hour and a half to drive there from Culver City with no traffic. More information about visiting the Reserve is available at the State Park website.


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Cat of the Week: Jasper

Jasper in the Palms neighborhood:

The Selig Retail Building

The Selig Clothing Store, built in 1931, is a small, one-story, black and gold Art Deco building on the corner of Western Avenue and Third Street. It housed a bank for several decades and is now being used as retail space again.
The street-level portion of the Selig Building is unremarkable, but the black and gold terracotta tiles, with their distinctive corn-cob pattern, are quite beautiful:



The Selig Building is of particular historical interest because it gives a sense of what the 12-story black and gold Art Deco masterpiece the Richfield Oil Building looked like before it was demolished in 1969 to make way for two modern office buildings in downtown Los Angeles. The demolition of the Richfield Oil Building, one of the most significant Art Deco buildings in the country, catalyzed the formation of the Los Angeles Conservancy which is dedicated to preserving L.A.'s historic buildings. To see more photos of L.A.'s many remaining Art Deco buildings, check out my posts on downtown L.A. Art Deco, the Wiltern Theater, and Bullocks-Wilshire.

Solstice Canyon

Solstice Canyon in Malibu has a number of easy trails that lead up to a waterfall and some old ruins. Here is a view of the canyon on a foggy spring day:

An old grotto near the waterfall:
Ruins of a house that used to look over the canyon:
Beautiful Coastal Live Oaks line the year-round creek:
All the wildflowers in bloom now seem to be yellow, white, blue, or purple.

The Solstice Canyon trailhead is right off the Pacific Coast Highway and is very easy to find. Parking is free and there are bathrooms and maps at the parking lot. A few of the trails, including one that goes to the ruins and waterfall, are paved and are fully accessible for strollers and wheelchairs.


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