In its various editions since (the last one taking place in 2010), the Watts Happening Ride’s destinations have grown well beyond the iconic towers to include a variety of landmarks involving people, places and events in and around South Los Angeles.

The 2012 incarnation of the Watts Happening Ride will be departing from Silver Lake on Saturday, February 18 at 9 a.m., and will include the addition of a couple locations I’ve recently found. So if you’re not heading out of town for the long weekend and have a hankering to get your bike-riding discovery on, I hope you’ll join me.

For the latest info and any updates, the ride’s Facebook page is here.

When: February 18, gathering at 8:30 for a 9 a.m. departure
Start/Finish: Silver Lake’s Happy Foot/Sad Foot sign (northwest corner of Sunset Boulevard & Benton Way)
Distance: 32.95 miles (route map)
Pace: Casual
Terrain: Flat
Weather: In the event of rain that morning, the ride will be canceled and rescheduled to a later date.
Approximate Time: 5-6 hours
Optional Partial Ride: If doing the full route isn’t feasible, consider joining the ride at approximately 9:30 a.m. downtown on Spring Street (anywhere between 2nd & 9th streets) for the roughly 9-mile portion to the Watts Towers. The 103rd Street Blue Line station is near to the towers and can be an alternative to get you back into downtown.
Things You’ll Need (in no particular order): A functioning bicycle; $7 for the half-hour optional tour of Watts Towers; snacks and water for along the way; money for a late lunch at King Taco.

Hollyhock House was built for oil heiress and single mom Aline Barnsdall just after World War I. The setting was a stunning hilltop olive grove surrounded by 36 acres, with 360-degree views of a then very picturesque, perhaps even quaint, Los Angeles. Barnsdall designed her homestead as a multi-structure arts complex, complete with theaters for both live performances and films. Today, that spirit remains, as the property is now the Barnsdall Art Park, housing the Los Angeles Municipal Art gallery, theater, and art center where numerous art and music classes are held.

The front of the house

Pulling into the park off of Hollywood Blvd., you proceed up a windy road and are immediately transported back in time. Wright called the style of the Hollyhock House “California Romanza”. That’s a made-up term which apparently means “I’ll do whatever I want”. Some people refer to the style as “Mayan” due to the geometric shapes, especially the slant of the roof line. However, that’s a bit of a misrepresentation. For example, the details around the roof are not Mayan gods, but rather, modernized portrayals of the Hollyhock flower which Aline Barnsdall liked so much, and which gave the house its name.

Anyway, it works. The Hollyhock House must have been radically modern when built, just a few years after fru-fru Victorian homes were still being constructed and stuffed with chintz. Hollyhock is full of hard surfaces, skylights, and out-of-the-box concepts like the ultra-modern carved living room fireplace with its lily pond moat. Everywhere you look, whether on the walls, the ceilings, or the windows, there’s a fascinating and largely functional detail. For example, in the child’s play room, Wright pioneered his glass-on-glass window corners that create a nearly seamless transition between indoors and outdoors.

View of living room windows, with lily pond that flowed inside

Unfortunately, as with other Wright homes, proper function sometimes falls victim to form at the Hollyhock House. The design and materials trapped moisture and cold, and Hollyhock reportedly was too cool, dark, and drafty to be a truly comfortable home for Aline Barnsdall and her daughter. Indeed, it feels rather uninviting upon entry. The moisture also wreaked considerable damage on Hollyhock over the years, and a major three-year repair and renovation is now underway, with two more years to go. As a result, any tour taken during this time is abbreviated.

The play room, with it's glass-on-glass window corners

Still, touring the Hollyhock House is like walking into a three-dimensional painting by one of the masters. It’s a spectacular way to enter the mind of a genius, and to take a step back into the Los Angeles of nearly a century ago.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock flower design

Hollyhock's rooftops are accessible via stairways and foot bridges

A few weeks ago I did manage to brush my intimidation aside and pay a first-time visit to MOCA to see the cool exhibition of Weegee’s Hollywood period photographs, but — pardon the digression — then I wandered around the museum’s permanent exhibit and found this piece of crap stuck to the wall, which reinforced both my abject disdain for “contemporary art” and my urge to punish whoever curated it with an extended indian-burn session to the forearm of his or her choosing.

Detail from the 1938 Kirkman-Harriman map depicting Los Angeles County in 1860.

So instead of getting all wound up trying to eenie-meanie-miney-mo to which big box the next I’d go, instead I brought along my inner map geek and together we ventured yesterday to the first floor galleries of the Central Library downtown where I spent an extended segment of the afternoon marveling at the selection of kick-ass cartography displayed as part of  its “As The City Grew: Historical Maps of Los Angeles” exhibit.

The 34 maps arrayed go back to the mid-1800s and offer an awesome and up-close glimpse back into our city as it was and as it became. Unlike the aforementioned contemporary bullshit I encountered, some of the maps are true and intricate works of art, and I would highly recommend paying them a visit whether you just find yourself in the library’s vicinity or are in between far better-decided visits than mine to the myriad Pacific Standard Time venues.

WHERE: Los Angeles Public Library, Central Branch, 630 W. 5th St, 90071
WHEN: Through November 4, 2012
COST: Free

Click the above to enlargify it a bit, but if you wanna truly pore over aaaaall those details* in their high-resolution glory than boogie on over to its Big Map Blog page and download away!

* Such as a very interesting omission: the entire Los Angeles River.

The Red Lion Tavern in Silver Lake is a German Gasthaus and Beer Garden that was established in 1959 as an English pub. When the ownership changed in 1963, it took on its German theme. There’s food, lots of beer, and atmosphere at the Red Lion. Come out this Saturday, November 19th at 6:30pm to have a bite to eat, a drink, and hang out with writers and readers of Blogging.la. If you missed a chance to celebrate Oktoberfest, now you can!

Classic Eats #15
Saturday, November 19th at 6:30pm

Red Lion Tavern
2366 Glendale Blvd 
Los Angeles, CA 90039-3209

The Red Lion Tavern is about 5 miles north of downtown L.A. It’s located just south of Silver Lake Boulevard. Limited parking is available in lots on either side of the building. There is also plenty of street parking in the vicinity. Leave a comment or drop me a line if you plan to attend so I know how many seats to snag.

I’ve accessed those steps easily a couple dozen times over the last few years, but it was only today that I looked down and found this odd permanent record of the existence of George, Bobby and Robert. That crack running around it like a frame is interesting, but I’m at little more than a guess at the significance of the comma-delineated numbers that follow each name: 28, 1969; 27, 1969; 29, 1969. Birthday date and birth year, maybe? Or their ages during that fateful year? Or perhaps a year yet to come in the lives of these future thinkers?

What’s most curious is the decidedly more faint shapes scrawled at the bottom: a five-pointed star bookended on either side of it by swastikas that mirror each other. Three names, three figures. Kinda makes you go hmmmm.

The Red Lion Tavern in Silver Lake is a German Gasthaus and Beer Garden that was established in 1959 as an English pub. When the ownership changed in 1963, it took on its German theme. There’s food, lots of beer, and atmosphere at the Red Lion. Come out this Friday, November 4th at 7pm to have a bite to eat, a drink, and hang out with writers and readers of Blogging.la. If you missed a chance to celebrate Oktoberfest, now you can!

Classic Eats #15
Friday, November 4th at 7pm

Red Lion Tavern
2366 Glendale Blvd 
Los Angeles, CA 90039-3209

The Red Lion Tavern is about 5 miles north of downtown L.A. It’s located just south of Silver Lake Boulevard. Limited parking is available in lots on either side of the building. There is also plenty of street parking in the vicinity. Leave a comment or drop me a line if you plan to attend.

Rally event poster, used with permission

Admission to the rally is free. If you want to enter a vintage bike in the judging, the cost is $10 and includes VIP parking. Others arriving by motorcycle can park for $5. According to The Argonaut newspaper, proceeds from the rally will benefit the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA). I plan to arrive on foot, but if there are bikes for sale, then who knows, I may be leaving in a different manner.

The cover of the LA Times yesterday featured a story about Ruben Pardo, the elevator operator at the building I work in at 5514 Wilshire Blvd. Ruben is one of the coolest cats in town and is always in a good mood despite being in an elevator for 35 years. Check out the video and accompanying story. And yes, that’s me carrying the case of Corona…

Photo by Mel Melcon

1930 Ford Model A

It always amazes me the old cars that get used around here.  This sure is a nice 1930 Ford Model A but its not your typical trailer queen this driver actually pops up around town every now and then just being driven and enjoyed.  I spotted it yesterday afternoon at the Celebrate the Arts here in Monrovia (an art festival I participate in every year at this time).  They owner just popped into Library Park to check out the art exhibits leaving it unattended to draw a crowd all on its own.