OT: 4 Days in LA...

[buldogge]

Good stuff...Thanks again guys!

We don't get to the beach often, so staying by the beach would probably be a good idea...Thoughts?

-Mark

Originally Posted by cadence90

A drive up Hwy 1 to Ventura (beach); then east on Hwy 33 to Ojai (beautiful); then south on Hwy 150 (stop at Boccali's Ojai (not the Oak View location) at 150/Reeves Road for pizza/beer); then back to Pasadena (150 to 126 to 5-South to Pasadena), is a great, if day-long drive. Beach, California oaks, and pizza is not a bad combo.

In Pasadena, since you like Arts and Crafts architecture, the Gamble House, Greene and Greene is a must-see. You can visit the outside/grounds any time, but call ahead to see when they offer tours of the interior.

In Santa Monica, the other iconic LA home must-see is the Eames House. As above, one can visit the grounds any time, but you must call ahead for interior visits/tour.

I agree with beeatnik re: Long Beach, and the 2 restaurants. Good, but nothing so great unless they are convenient to you.
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Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

This is exactly what I was talking about. Adding in Boccali is brilliant. Amazing mom and pop Italian food. And, the drive is one I have done many times in my Porsche.

Not sure I agree with Beatnik on many of his takes on things. I think because we are one or two generations apart. I'm old. But again, this is what is so amazing about LA. It is very diverse.

Originally Posted by beeatnik

^I don't think it's a generational thing. It may be a transplant thing. There's native LA and there's the LA where people with great jobs end up (Santa Monica, Brentwood, Lincoln Corridor, PDR.

Also, there's the "Photographed/Filmed LA" and the "Real LA." A generation past, people were looking to SEE the few sights (Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood Sign, Studios) and now people are looking to have experiences (eat, play, people watch).

If I were a kid (who will probably not own a car until her late 20s), I'd rather watch the Silver Lake streetscape than stare at the ocean from a restaurant in Marina Del Rey.

In any case, OP, the architectural tour thing is tough. You'll be driving 30 min to see half a block of interesting buildings. If I were you, I'd explore the West Adams area. The University of Southern California has helped revitalize that community more than any developer or politician. Tons of architectural diversity as well.

Originally Posted by beeatnik

http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/...-adams-terrace

The first significant wave of residential development in West Adams consisted of businessmen and their families, who wanted to move out of central Los Angeles, yet remain within easy commuting distance of downtown. Single family homes in the HPOZ range in size and style from modest Victorian-era cottages to early 20th century Craftsman and Mission Revival bungalows to larger Period Revival and Classical styles. Many of the houses were designed by recognized architects and builders including Frank Tyler, Hunt and Burns, Frank Meline, Paul R. Williams, and E.L. Petitfils.

http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/jefferson-park

Often referred to by locals as “The Bungalows,” the Jefferson Park neighborhood is perhaps one of the City’s finest examples of both an early street car suburb, and the proliferation of the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 1900s, in the form of simple, yet elegant, single-story bungalows for the growing middle class. Fanciful eaves, intricate wood work, turrets, stone, masonry and shingle are displayed in ways that defy the modest scale of these houses and make the many streets of this vast district instantly charming.

http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/harvard-heights

Harvard Heights HPOZ is predominantly characterized by two-story Craftsman-style residences built from 1902 to 1908. The large and somewhat grand scale of architecture is due to a land covenant that stipulated that houses built within the tract cost more than $2,500, a substantial sum at the turn of the century.

Boyle Heights was never a suburb, btw.