MOST people like to sleep in on vacation, luxuriating in their bed and waking up whenever they feel like it. This is just something I cannot do. When I go to another city, my mind is ablaze with "what can I photograph and what will it look like at different times of the day?" At my recent Chateau Marmont stay I was up at the crack of dawn, warming my camera up on Sunset Boulevard, catching the few cars that were out as they sped by.
As I ran west on Sunset with camera in hand (literally), I cut south on Alta Loma to get a shot of the Sunset Marquis Hotel before the front lights were turned off for the day. I stayed here once in 2008 when the Chateau was full. It's a beautiful property and was very well maintained. I have gone through 2 cameras since I stayed there, so it was time for this new exterior shot:
Down on Santa Monica Boulevard, I was in the heart of West Hollywood. The Revolver Bar looked great in the early morning with the red accent lighting still framing it.
Just down the street heading west is the iconic Beverly Hills sign:
The highlight of my run was stumbling upon the studio and residence of Lloyd Wright, eldest son of Frank Lloyd Wright, on Doheny Drive.
It was for sale in 2009 for $1.495 million. If only I hadn't been squandering all my money away on vintage Disneyland slides.
One of Lloyd Wright's most famous homes is the John Sowden home in Los Feliz aka the "Jaws House." One of its owners was Dr. George Hodel, an L.A. physician whose son claims that his father murdered the Black Dahlia inside of the house.
Back up on Sunset, the sun was pretty much out, and I couldn't resist getting a shot of the kitschy Pink Dot and its delivery car:
This billboard for Paul Anderson's latest film, "Inherent Vice" was screaming out for an animated gif:
Are you craving more Sunset Boulevard? See the rest of my photos at my main website.
When traveling, I want to explore, not luxuriate in a hotel or waste time shopping. I also like to get up just before the crack of dawn as it's my favorite time of the day. There's a peacefulness and feeling of renewal as you watch and hear the world slowly wake up and come to life. And that's whether I'm at home or traveling.
ReplyDeleteI like the Revolver Bar image with the red accent light. Very nice. Great capture of the Sowden home. Absolutely love the image of the dead vines clinging to the building. I always enjoy and welcome your architectural photos. Look forward to more. Thanks, dave.
We are much the same way on our travels, except I never go anywhere early unless it's unavoidable.
ReplyDeleteI'm always anxious to see what's different about a new place, and that extends to the evenings.
Echoing Ken's comments. I do enjoy the LA architecture.
I have recently found a twitter account called @LostLA posting many vintage pictures of SoCal in general and Sunset Blvd/Hollywood in particular. Very enjoyable. I think of Daveland whenever I see a post. She has a YouTube channel also with vintage video.
Definitely worth a look to fans of old LA.
Thank you, Dave.
JG
Though I haven't lived there in years I do love the look of L.A. and I don't' live so far away that I don't get to enjoy these kinds of scenes from time to time.
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