So many times those of us who live in LA play host to out-of-town visitors who want to see all the sights that our amazing city has to offer. It's pretty routine to get asked if and how one can get up to the iconic Hollywood Sign to see it up close, and, sadly, it must be admitted that the sign is off-limits to regular folk. This means that looky-loos, locals, and pranksters who......

Could you imagine Los Angeles without the Getty Museum? If that serene white chunk of Italian marble nestled above the 405 suddenly removed its bulk to some other parts, would you notice? Would you care? An article in yesterday morning's LA Times reconsiders the Richard Meier-designed edifice in the light of its 10th anniversary, and in doing so, asks some important questions about the nature and integrity of architecture in Los Angeles. "there is......

Judith Freeman's just-out book, The Long Embrace: Raymond Chandler and The Woman He Loved is a must-read for any Angeleno worth their salt. Why? Not only does Freeman detail the fascinating life of Chandler, one of L.A.'s most famous writers, but she documents, researches and visits almost every one of the thirty-five homes he lived in during his life in Southern California. Twenty-four of those homes are in Los Angeles. Twenty-four! Chandler and his wife......

Earlier this week I made a right turn out of a parking lot in order to avoid waiting a lifetime to make a near-impossible left turn. I found myself on a quiet side street in lovely Toluca Lake, and eyeballed my trusty GPS navigation screen in order to see if the road I'd taken would connect me through to a street I knew would hook me up with Riverside Drive and send me on my......

We've been looking forward to the "big day" for a long time. Tomorrow was going to be a "big day" because the Cultural Heritage Commission was going to decide whether or not to declare Buk's De Longpre residence a historic landmark. Why should such a residence be declared a landmark? It's where he wrote Post Office & Factotum and was the very residence that plays a central role in Women. Since we're in love......

Last weekend we were happy to take part in the Harvest Festival, as part of a year-long 90th Anniversary celebration for the historic San Antonio Winery, a place much loved by LAist. The gracious Riboli family hosted the event, which was held at the winery, which has been in its same location on Lamar Street in East Los Angeles since 1917. There was food provided by the winery's onsite Maddalena restaurant, and wine aplenty......

Lace up those tennies and grab that trusty iPod! Our good friends over at Metro and LADOT in conjunction with the Confederation of Downtown Assoc. are now offering free podcast tours of downtown L.A. through the program Downtown LA Walks. Downtown LA Walks describes itself as an urban “way-finder”, and was designed to help people navigate their way around via new signage noting landmarks, and historical facts. The fun and informative podcasts offer several......

Somewhere inside the archives of my storage closet resides one of those relics of yesteryear--a recordable audiocassette that, on one Saturday night about fifteen years ago, I stuck in my "boom box" and pressed down the play and record buttons together to capture the KROQ DJ giving his shout-outs to all the folks who'd just called in, including me and one of my partners-in-crime. "And Lindsay and Laurie in La Crescenta are going to Rocky......

Reds 1, Dodgers 0 - Life is wacky in Dodgertown. The pitching staff has been riddled with injuries, but held Cincinnati to one run. This was just days after shutting down Barry Bonds, who has smashed three homers and set the career record since departing LA. Meanwhile, the offense has a catcher hitting almost .300 but they've been shutout in three straight games. They actually haven't scored in 28 innings, making the Angel's post All-Star......

The Watts area of Los Angeles is located in South LA, and is fighting to change the infamous reputation the area has for gang violence, and riots. Named after Charles H. Watts, the area has always been a haven of affordable housing that attracts mostly the working class. With small single story one or two bedroom houses, and housing projects, the Watts community is tightly knit. And being home to the Watts Towers, one......

The Board of Directors of Campo de Cahuenga, the 217 year-old North Hollywood historical site, is locked in a battle with a development firm over the future of the landmark....

Happy Father's Day! For those of you who have dads, are dads, or know dads, this one's for you, from all of us at the Gothamist network. It was a week of bizarre, embarassing headlines at DCist. The trial of the local administrative law judge who sued his cleaners for $54 million over a pair of missing pants left everyone shaking their heads. Then the capital city was nearly brought to its knees, twice, by......

- So many horror movies, so little time. Or is it that the 42 horror films this year are not as killer as the past has shown. - Whole Foods anticipated buyout of Wild Oats is not going come and go without a fight. While the two largest organic supermarkets talk, the USDA is considering relaxing some organic food standards. - Grocery Strike Watch: "We've been negotiating for six months," said Rick Icaza, president of......

Ever since I went on vacation in March and found myself flying through four books in four days, I've realized how much I miss actually sitting down and reading real books. Not magazines, not updates on my RSS feed, but a real book. In that regard, I've been fairly indiscriminating in making every effort to cross the gamut from classic to bestseller to inspirational. But even better, I've found the first great beach read......

Why is this man smiling? Because he doesn't know that he's in ur Google Maps as part of the Street View feature, a new addition to the already-perfect map tool. Now one can see a birds-eye view like a traditional map, a satellite view, a hybrid view of both, and with this new feature one can see what the front of the building looks like and the whole damn block. With the new “Street......

All across the Ist-A-Verse (or at least the American parts thereof), writers and editors are in the midst of enjoying their three-day weekend. But after the week we've all had, we feel like the break is not only needed, but deserved. Just look at everything we've been doing! Gothamist headed into the Memorial Day weekend with a number of tasks accomplished. They worried about Long Islanders giving New Yorkers a bad name. They tried......

The Ford Amphitheatre opened its 2007 season last weekend with local favorite Charles Phoenix and yet another one of his slide show presentations culled from thrift shops in and around Los Angeles. Locally famous for his "Disneyland Tour of Los Angeles," Charles Phoenix knows his way around a good number of the city's landmarks, past and present. Opening entertainment was provided by an original roller rink organist who was then followed by a world......

LAist reader Joseph Tsai, who we believe may have been a contest winner way back when, sent us this video of various famous LA landmarks used in film. There are locations from Die Hard, The Big Lebowski, Back to the Future, Chinatown, and many many more. Sorta makes you wonder how many more nooks and crannies the rest of the world would have learned about LA if the film industry wasn't so happy to......

While we're unaware of any specific damage to the Greek Theatre, we're certain it's littered with ash and smells-like-burning. So is Nederlander, the production company that books shows at the Greek. Tomorrow night's Loreena McKennitt concert has been moved to the Gibson Amphitheatre. Today's cooler temps helped firefighters get the Griffith Park fire under control. After consuming over 800 acres, the fire is 50 75 percent contained and will hopefully be entirely contained within......

See that little house squooshed between multi story apartments and condos? That one-story cottage is over 100 years old and just like our newspaper, people from Illinois have somehow gotten ownership of it and want to ruin it. According to this Craigslist post, the home at 2219 Ocean Avenue is the last beach-facing single story cottage left in Santa Monica. Last year the house was deemed a landmark, but the University of Illinois Foundation,......

In the next several weeks, LAist will embark on a series of hikes and present to you an ambitious 8-part photo essay. This is the second one. As always, LAist encourages you to get out and take advantage of and experience the beautiful landscape of Southern California. Most of us forget that we are fortunate to live in such a diverse and ecologically unique locale that offers breathtaking sites at spectacular heights -- hike......

Today is the Times LA Times publisher, David Hiller, will engage in a discussion with journalism professor Bryce Nelson about the changes at the newspaper. It's a lunchtime affair at USC, but if you can make it, they say lunch will be served. More... Tomorrow is Yesterday's Earthquakes Harbinger We love this slogan: Shift Happens – Secure Your Space. So the question is if you dare to prepare. "There are actions we all can......

Perhaps those of you who frequent Wilshire Boulevard along the La Brea Tar Pits noticed the new location of the trapped Woolly Mammoth near the streetside enclosure, as pictured above. Around December of last year, the fiberglass mammoth wrangled loose of its tether and drifted Southward, spurring this writer to wonder whether a new narrative was being constructed for the 40-ish year-old display. It would appear the middle-aged pachyderm merely broke free of her......

Horse racing season has just begun at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, and from now until April 22, SoCal hopefuls (with $5 for general admission fee) can step up to tellered windows and pick the ponies to win, place or show. But there’s a lot of history behind them horses: Santa Anita opened on Christmas Day in 1934, and still now traditionally opens on Dec. 26 each year. Seabiscuit brought the park more notoriety,......

Oops. Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover A 35-year-old woman was kidnapped yesterday afternoon as she left her nurse's job at a patient's house near Vanowen and Whitsett in North Hollywood. A few hours later she was abandoned in the backseat of her car, still alive and bound with duct tape, in the parking lot of the Los Angeles Valley College, near Fulton Avenue and Burbank Boulevard. During the kidnap, she was stripped......

Some of these restaurants made their debut this year, and some are perennial faves. Some are wallet-breakers, and some are low-budget. So we didn't make it there this year...maybe this can be our restaurant resolution list for 2-0-0-7. (I can, however, say I have eaten at any given listed location if anyone wants to volunteer to take me there for my 30th birthday, which so conveniently happens to take place just before 2006 comes......

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is one of Downtown Los Angeles' most beautiful landmarks. Enjoy these photos but understand that you should experience the Cathedral in person. We recommend a visit from all, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. More photos after the jump.......

Friday, November 3rd will see the long awaited reopening of the Griffith Observatory. Last night, City Council invited members from their districts to a preview (thank you Jack Weiss!). While LA Observed saw it last week, we walked it last night and bumped into Metroblogging Los Angeles. The sweetest moment of the night was overhearing a conversation between a friend who lived here and a friend who didn't. "See why this city is so......

Ok look, when aliens land in your back yard and eat all your Reese's Pieces and dress up in your sister’s clothing and break your favorite Speak and Spell, they don’t give you any notice either. My apologies nonetheless for not finding this sooner... Atwater Movie Night proudly presents: E.T., The Extra Terrestrial TONIGHT @ 7pm Red Car River Park Atwater Village Free On their website you’ll find a helpful map and some info......

Our pallie Mike over at Franklin Avenue has discovered something that he likes but LAist doesn't -- new signs, new font, and a new way to write I's... with a dot on them. Whisky Tango Foxtrot! Why must people insist on changing things for no good reason? Anyway, if you head over to Franklin Avenue you will see a progression of various LA street signs, including the new design that LAist gives thumbs down......