Downtown Los Angeles - worth seeing

Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Universal Studios are the key tourist attractions in Los Angeles.  They visit Kodak Theatre, Rode Drive and stop at one of the beaches and run to see other parts of California.  Nobody bothers to stop downtown Los Angeles and most likely they do not know it exists.

At first sight downtown LA does not seem much different from other American downtowns.  But I think it is worth stopping there for a stroll.  It is definitely a place where history blends with modernity and affluence with poverty.
Let’s start from the beginning - El Pueblo, a place closest to the first settlement. But just a few steps further there is a railway station. Union Station is known as the last of the great railway stations. The building and its interiors have been beautifully restored.  They impress both travelers and visitors.  For full history of the station, visit Amtrak Great American Stations website.

Now let’s move to the center.  It had its best times as business, shopping and entertainment center between 1890 and 1930. Today the city is trying to restore the area to its former glory and life is slowly coming back there. Due to the restoration works buildings regain their splendor.  We can admire examples of beautiful architectural decoration of the epoch. For those interested in how interiors looked like stop by Bradbury Building.

Also theaters regain their former function.  They serve as places for performances and movie screenings, instead of warehouses and stores.
If it is just right time for lunch, stop at the Grand Central Market.  The right place for lunch and shopping for fruit and vegetables.

Imperial Dunes - California

The word “desert” always brings an image of impressive sand dunes to my mind.  But the variety of desert landscape is much wider.  And it really amazed me how fascinating it is to watch it while driving in West Coast states.  Just a few pictures do not show the whole beauty of the area.  I can admit I have plenty of them.

But now I realized that none of them truly pictures attractiveness of what you can see.  The only option is to “hit the road”.

The biggest surprise of the trip was Glamis Dunes / Algodones Dunes / Imperial Sand Dunes. A strip of sand dunes appeared unexpectedly.  It stretches over 45 miles long and it is approximately 6 mile wide. The dunes are the biggest mass sand dunes in California.  It supposed to be result of Colorado River floods and flow diverted over flat area.  I seldom use Wikipedia as a reference but I could not find a better source of information on Imperial Dunes.  It is also recreational area, for sport lovers. More information can be found at the website of the deserts of the United States.

Venice - Los Angeles

Each country has its own Venice

Venice Los Angeles is known for the famous beach - Venice Beach and Boardwalk. But the history of the district is much more interesting.  The idea was to have its own Venice with canals.

The construction of the canal network was launched in 1905 as part of Kinney Abbot's project the Venice of America. Kinney, during his trip to Europe and Italy fell in love with Venice.  When he returned to America he decided to create a similar place with canals, gondolas, pier and other attractions. Unfortunately only a small part of the project survived up to our times.  Some of the canals were flooded.  Other streets like Windward Ave. and Market St. were converted into streets.

Great revitalization project carried out in the 90s of the 20th century helped to restore Venice's charm and prestige.  The district was listed at the National Register of Historic Places. Today Venice is a perfect place for a picturesque stroll along canals and through bridges. The restored houses are good examples of original architecture. The most interesting part is between Strongs Dr. - S Venice Blvd - 28th Ave - Ocean Ave. There are many restaurants, design companies, film studios and other creative enterprises in the area.  Simply it is a place where one would like to live and work.

If you do not want to get stuck in a traffic jam and wade through the crowds it is worth to go there on a week day. On weekend everyone wants to relax over the water.