Wilshire Blvd Walk?

[davidk6]

A westside friend long ago suggested walking the length of Wilshire Blvd, in order to get far better views of interesting detail than one gets when driving.

Early this January, on a week-long visit to LA, Lisa and I, on a whim, started walking east on Wilshire, from Fairfax. The idea was to walk to the eastern end of Wilshire...and to do the Fairfax to SM part at a later date. We only made it to Alvarado, because a friend who works downtown was waiting for us to get together for lunch at Clifton's.

The walk was definitely worthwhile; we saw quite a few things that I'd never noticed on hundreds of drives from Fairfax to the start of Wilshire, and got to see quite a few more in far more detail than before.

How about getting together a group of members of this bulletin board to do the downtown-to-Fairfax walk, or a Fairfax-to-SM walk some Sat. or Sun? Wouldn't it be especially nice if a certain member who writes for LA Magazine and another who's writing a book on The Blvd were part of the group?

Dave

PS We'll be in LA from 6/23 to 7/15; many of our Sats are already committed, but we're free virtually every Sun.

[Lynxwiler]

Funny you should mention it, I did the Wilshire walk several years ago and it changed my life. Besides the temporary blisters from tackling it from Grand Ave all the way to Saint Monica, it was the inspiration for my growing Wilshire ephemera collection, the Wilshire history book and (indirectly) the Wilshire driving tour I'm helping the LAConservancy with.

The idea to tackle it from downtown to Fairfax covers the best parts as it's Eastern end is more rich in visual history and still-standing landmarks. Sunday may open a few more church doors, so that would be a good day to take another long walk through what used to be Mr. Wilshire's barley field.

FYI: I saw some of the still-in-progress pages for the Wilshire book today. Great photos!

[davidk6]

Funny you should mention it, I did the Wilshire walk several years ago and it changed my life. Besides the temporary blisters from tackling it from Grand Ave all the way to Saint Monica, it was the inspiration for my growing Wilshire ephemera collection, the Wilshire history book and (indirectly) the Wilshire driving tour I'm helping the LAConservancy with.

The idea to tackle it from downtown to Fairfax covers the best parts as it's Eastern end is more rich in visual history and still-standing landmarks. Sunday may open a few more church doors, so that would be a good day to take another long walk through what used to be Mr. Wilshire's barley field.

FYI: I saw some of the still-in-progress pages for the Wilshire book today. Great photos!

...so, any interest in picking a Sunday, assembling a small group, and doing the walk?

Regards

Dave

PS Will the Wilshire driving tour be on a bus, with you as guide, like the Neon Cruise? Will it be a one-shot deal, or will it be like the Conservancy's walking tour?

PPS When will the book come out? I bought a copy of Hancock's books, read the first 40-50 pages, and found it pretty bad

[Lynxwiler]

Hmmm,
As much as I'd like to join you on the walk, I don't think I can afford the time to do it. Sure, the Wilshire book is almost done and is now scheduled to hit stands in September, but the LAConservancy has asked me to do A LOT of writing for their website and the October Wilshire driving tour.

The LAConservancy's Wilshire tour will be self-guided to allow guests to grab a guidebook at an appointed end of the bouelvard. By bus or car, the options will be yours. There will be docent-guided stops along the route and a guidebook of sights to help along the way. It's going to be a big, a once in a lifetime type of event.

As for Hancock's 1949 "Fabulous Boulevard", it's not that great. I see that book pop up on ebay occasionally and it's not worth it. During the research for the Wilshire book, Kevin Roderick and I discovered Hancock's original sources and discovered he basically plagerized other's work in an attempt at boosterism. Of course the largest disappointment in Hancock's book is the lack of photos.

[davidk6]

Featured Outing

Wilshire Walk XXIV

Sunday, October 30 2005, 8am
Sponsor: Wilderness Adventures
Downtown
Starting Downtown
Santa Monica
Ending in Santa Monica

Come celebrate our 24th year as we walk from One Wilshire in downtown L.A. to the sea at Santa Monica. Pass through multicultural L.A. city blocks. Tired feet may sign out anywhere along the route and board a bus back to parking.

Directions: Meet at 8am at Figueroa and Wilshire in downtown Los Angeles. Bring money for lunch and the bus. Rain cancels.

Leader: Bobbie Peyser


http://angeles.sierraclub.org/outings/Featured.asp

[Futura Girl]

and don't forget to pick up a copy of lynxwiler's Wilshire book before you walk...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 8556/ll-20

[davidk6]

and don't forget to pick up a copy of lynxwiler's Wilshire book before you walk...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 8556/ll-20

I did...after Eric gave us a preview of the illustrations, over lunch, one Sunday in July.

Thanks again Eric.

Regards
Dave

[Lynxwiler]

That was a great lunch. Thanks again Dave. Sorry you couldn't make it out here for the LAConservancy's tour -- it was wonderful! I think I spent at least two hours at Johnie's alone!

So far, Amazon still has the best price on the Wilshire book. That price will go up after the book hits general bookstores so pre-order it sooner rather than later.

[davidk6]

That was a great lunch. Thanks again Dave. Sorry you couldn't make it out here for the LAConservancy's tour -- it was wonderful! I think I spent at least two hours at Johnie's alone!

So far, Amazon still has the best price on the Wilshire book. That price will go up after the book hits general bookstores so pre-order it sooner rather than later.

It's already ordered -- with lickety-split shipping; can't wait to read it...and to look at the great photos.

Regards
Dave

[davidk6]

A westside friend long ago suggested walking the length of Wilshire Blvd, in order to get far better views of interesting detail than one gets when driving.

Early this January, on a week-long visit to LA, Lisa and I, on a whim, started walking east on Wilshire, from Fairfax. The idea was to walk to the eastern end of Wilshire...and to do the Fairfax to SM part at a later date. We only made it to Alvarado, because a friend who works downtown was waiting for us to get together for lunch at Clifton's.

The walk was definitely worthwhile; we saw quite a few things that I'd never noticed on hundreds of drives from Fairfax to the start of Wilshire, and got to see quite a few more in far more detail than before.

We finally finished all of Wilshire Blvd -- in 5 parts -- by walking from Barrington to the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica!!!
Dave

[Lynxwiler]

Congratulations! It's quite a trek no matter how you tackle it.

[davidk6]

Congratulations! It's quite a trek no matter how you tackle it.

Thanks. We're starting to think about Sunset...

Regards
Dave