After yesterday’s short walk to Chinatown, I decided to take another walk, this time around downtown Los Angeles! I’ve never been a tourist in my own town before, but it is something everyone should do at least once. You can learn so much! Anyway, the plan today was to visit the famous bench at Angel’s Knoll, featured in (500) Days of Summer! In that movie, our protagonist sits on this bench all the time and finds that the person he’s been looking for has been there all along. I thought that maybe, if I sat on this bench, too, George might show up!
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Angel’s Knoll is located just under a plaza called Angel’s Landing. I had been here many times at night to frolic but never realized that I was so close to this park! It’s right next to the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Colburn School of Music, but it’s also closed before 9:00 in the morning! Early riser that I am, I had shown up at the gate at 7:30, only to meet the glare of a security guard in his truck. Most beavers don’t like to be watched, so I had to find something to do for the next hour and a half.
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The solution: start walking, of course! I turned around to visit the Walt Disney Concert Hall, a brand new landmark (only 12 years old!) that was designed by Frank Gehry to house the LA Philharmonic Orchestra. However, beautiful as it was reflecting the early light, it was also closed at this hour, which sent me back to wandering. One day, when I have the means, I should return for a night at the symphony. I do love a good symphony! Don’t you?
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I let gravity take hold and jogged down to Broadway, where the remains of old theaters are as abundant as the homeless folks yelling at themselves. It’s a beautiful area in the morning, but I wouldn’t recommend walking here, alone, at night. Also scary at night is the Biltmore Hotel, once the largest hotel west of Chicago and the former venue for the Academy Awards! It’s also rumored to be haunted by the Black Dahlia, a woman who was cut in half from her mouth all the way to her-
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I try not to linger in haunted places. There is a danger of possession, and we beavers do not like to be possessed! Instead, on my way back to Angel’s Knoll, I stopped to see the Bradbury Building, a National Historic Landmark that looks spooky but has no ghostly past. While it is the oldest commercial building in Los Angeles, the Bradbury Building is most known as the setting of such notable films as Double Indemnity, Chinatown, and Blade Runner. Hollywood may be the mecca of all things cinematic, but downtown Los Angeles is home to a more esoteric, even nostalgic, side of cinema.
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That was my thought as I returned to my original destination. Angel’s Knoll Park is a wonderful patch of greenery overlooking Grand Central Market, the oldest and largest open-air market in Los Angeles, overflowing with great (cheap) food. I skipped past the lackadaisical guard and approached the golden bench, glorious among the thorny silk-floss trees. It even had a plaque on the back to confirm its identity, but no matter how hard I looked, George was nowhere to be found.
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Perhaps such serendipitous encounters only happen in the movies, but even though I did not find George here, I was able to enjoy a lovely stroll around town, take in a bit of history, and finish with a great view and warm sunshine. What hidden surprises can you find in your town?
Happy touring!
