Macarthur Park

There's a great sort of calm that washes over me when I look at a beautifully made house or building. I truly believe I fell in love with architecture before I fell in love with people.

There are so many faded but gorgeous monuments of design where I live (Silverlake/ Echo Park) that it gets exciting when I find something new.

One of the greatest spots in LA (that is also one of the shadiest) is Macarthur Park. A lake surrounded by the buildings of downtown LA and apartment buildings that inspired noir writers like Raymond Chandler to create his stuff. Just look at the Asbury hotel. You can almost imagine one of his deadly dames smoking a cigarette and peering out the window.

When people think of LA they think of Santa Monica or Beverly Hills and Hollywood. What films and TV tell them to see. (Or that horrid Orange County "The OC" Trust me that place is a cultural WASTELAND) Nobody thinks of even coming to the Eastside.

The wealthy in LA have no class. Beverly Hills and Westwood look slapped together. Nob Hill in SF, now THAT'S class.

There is a world here. One that is rich with history.