Lee’s World
Los Angeles 2003
I met Mark in the Summer of 2003 in Palm Springs and
we quickly became firm
friends. He used to live in a gorgeous home in Palm Springs but now lives in
a stunning apartment in downtown LA, close to the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
The view is spectacular.
When we weren't eating - more of that later - we spent time driving around the Los Angeles area either shopping in Rodeo Drive or Beverley Boulevard, or viewing some amazing sights which are just off the various freeways. Stick to the freeway and you miss them completely.
In Pasadena, for example, we visited the Huntington
Estate. The gardens and home, including an vast art collection, are worth
visiting and are an oasis of culture in some 150 acres of prime real estate.
The collection includes Gainsborough's The Blue Boy, amongst many others.
Whilst in Pasadena we also
took a look at the Gamble House, a home designed
by Greene and Greene as the retirement home of David Gamble, of Proctor and
Gamble. The Greene brothers being one of the main Arts and Crafts designers.
We also explored the Hollywood Hills and visited the
original Hollywoodland development on Beechwood Drive, as well as the
increasingly
popular neighbourhoods of Silverlake, Echo Park, and Hancock
Park. Some of the homes there are amazing. Whilst there we drove round two
of the famous homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright -
Hollyhock House and the
Ennis-Brown House.
We also took the chance to visit some of the museums
in Los Angeles, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the
La Brea Tar Pits Museum, and the
Museum of Television and Radio (MTR) in Beverley Hills.
Each of these were very
different from each other. LACMA contains an enormous collection of art
including the wonderful Mulholland Drive by David Hockney; MOCA in downtown
LA contains contemporary art as well as exhibitions. When I was there it was
an exhibition of designs by Frank Gehry, the architect behind the Disney
Concert Hall in Los
Angeles
and the Guggenheim in Bilbao. Contemporary culture of a different kind is
celebrated at MTR, where you can search their database for programmes,
actors, clips, etc and then view them in special booths. A fascinating
experience - Mark watched early Streisand performances including one with
Judy Garland; whilst I watched an early Cher performance with Bette Midler
and Elton John.
A visit to Los Angeles is now not complete without
visiting two new buildings in
downtown LA - the highly impressive
Walt Disney Concert
Hall, and at the other side of the Music Centre, the
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
The city is hoping that these two buildings will regenerate the downtown
area which is deserted at night, and place the city firmly on the
architectural map of the World.
We seemed to have packed so much into only a few days
- and so much of it cultural. The rest of the time seemed to be spent in
restaurants trying some of the vast range of different cuisines this
wonderful city offers. All of which we could recommend trying. These
included Cheebo, and Dinner, both on Sunset Boulevard, the first being in
Hollywood, and the latter in Silverlake, or on 3rd
Street
at Pastis, Toast or Orso, all between the Beverley Centre and Beverley
Hills.
The highpoint of the trip though wasn't the culture or the food, it was the companionship of Mark, a very special friend. I can't wait to do it again, Mark.