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Navigating the City

NAVIGATION IS ABOUT THE VARIED WAYS URBAN DWELLERS MOVE THROUGH SPACE TO EXPERIENCE THE CITY AND TO CONSTRUCT MEANING IN THEIR LIVES.

We begin our search to discover “the soul of a city” by intentional acts of navigation, finding our way to some of the places that are iconic, places that create a spirit of community, places that tell the city’s story (including its hidden story), places of nourishment and places that are engaged in transforming the life of the city.

Spiritual Navigation

I use the term “spiritual navigation” to describe ways we strive to see the city through the eyes of others, especially people we don’t encounter in our everyday lives. Our human spirit can be enlarged as we open ourselves to the world of those who differ from us in their life experience. These places and personal encounters will inevitably raise questions, pose challenges, yield insights and perhaps even move us to action. One resource I turn to in Los Angeles is A People’s Guide to Los Angeles by Laura Pulido. This guide has introduced me to some of the places where significant struggles involving race, class, gender and sexuality have taken place. 

“Spiritual navigation” also involves seeking out places for inspiration and personal renewal. These "spiritual places" might include designated sacred sites (a church, temple, mosque or synagogue) as well as places of natural beauty (an urban park, a fountain or even a river view). 

Hopefully, over time, some of these places we discover in intentional acts of spiritual navigation will lead us to new habits and routines and to a more engaged and enriched life.

Now a brief word about LA Freeways

Los Angeles is a city of freeways. To really discover the city, you need to get to know these freeways.  They can sometimes be terrifying, with traffic often passing you by and darting in front of you at what feels like warp speed. On other occasions, cars may be reduced to moving at a crawl. When I was growing up in the area, all the freeways had names. Every Sunday we drove to church on the Arroyo Seco Parkway (also known as the Pasadena Freeway) and once as a small child I stood on top of a linear mound of dirt that became the Harbor Freeway (now the Interstate 110). Today most of the freeways have become better known by their numbers. You will need to memorize some of those numbers if you want to talk intelligently with Angelinos about where you’re going. To get better oriented to LA freeways, you might want to check out this freeway guide.

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Discovering the City

Discovering the City

DISCOVERY IS ABOUT  LEARNING HOW TO "READ THE CITY" AS A NATURAL, HUMAN, BUILT AND SPIRITUAL ENVIRONMENT.

This kind of discovery takes us to places that mark the identity of the city, places that awaken us to the city's story or narrative (including its "shadow stories") and places that offer us us experiences of community. In pursuing the city as spiritual geography we seek out places that take us beyond the familiar to places where we can exercise compassion or work for justice.  We also explore places of hidden beauty and "sacred spaces" that can renew the spirit.

I have organized these places in the following groupings: iconic places; museums; bookstores; parks, lakes and squares; and places to eat.

Eight Iconic Places

1.  WATTS TOWERS  [South Los Angeles]

The Watts Towers are one of the most significant works of public art in Southern California. Located at 1727 E 107th Street, the towers are the creative lifework of Simon Rodia, an Italian immigrant who between 1921 and 1954 created 17 interconnected structures out of scrap rebar and decorated with pottery shards, bottles and shells.  The noted artist Sister Corita Kent brought many of us to an awareness of the art of the Watts Towers in the late 1960s. She understood that they were a soaring achievement of the human spirit. The towers are a protected public space that for many of us believe should be considered "a sacred space." Adjacent to the towers is the Watts Towers Art Center which has featured over the years outstanding exhibitions by African American artists. The Watts Towers Campus is one of the many cultural centers administered by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

2. EL PUEBLO DE LOS ANGELES HISTORICAL MONUMENT [Downtown]

The El Pueblo District is the historic heart of the City of Los Angeles. While the Tongva peoples were the original inhabitants of the land, in 1781, 44 settlers (pobladores) of Native American, African, and European heritage founded the pueblo that became the City of Los Angeles, In the center of the pueblo is the plaza which was the social and commercial center of El Pueblo and where celebrations and festivities continue to take place. A beautiful gazebo is the most prominent feature of the plaza. Surrounding the plaza are a number of museums and other sites that help to tell the story of the city.

LA ECCLESIA NUESTRA SENORA DE REINA DE LOS ANGELES

The Plaza Church, known commonly as La Placita, is the oldest church in Los Angeles. With origins dating to 1784, the present church was founded in 1814 and dedicated in 1822. In addition to a regular schedule of masses, La Placita is popular place for weddings, baptisms, and quinceanares.

LA PLAZA DE CULTURA Y ARTES (THE PLACE OF CULTURE AND ARTS)

So often the early history of Los Angeles and of California has been understood through a romanticized telling of the story of the California Missions.La Plaza de Cultura y Artes provides a corrective to this reading of history. "The mission of LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes is to celebrate and cultivate an appreciation for the enduring and evolving influence of Mexican and Mexican-American culture, with a specific focus upon the unique Mexican-American experience in Los Angeles and Southern California."  Located near the historic plaza, Olvera Street and Plaza Church   (The Church of Our Lady the Queen of Angels), The Plaza of Culture and Arts provides a rich cultural immersion and contains a variety of interactive exhibitions including "LA Starts Here."

OLVERA STREET

Olvera Street is a historic street and popular tourist destination. The street was restored and reimagined beginning in 1926 as the result of the vision of Christine Sterling who wanted to preserve the Avila Adobe (the oldest standing house in Los Angeles) and to create a marketplace.

A visit to Olvera Street should also include seeing the Tropicale America, a controversial mural by one of the leading Mexican muralists, David Sequieros. Nearby is the Italian Hall, one of the remaining early structures from the city’s Little Italy and contains the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles.

3.  THE BRADBURY BUILDING [Downtown]

The Bradbury Building, located at 304 S. Broadway, is one of the most architecturally distinguished buildings in Los Angeles and has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. The exterior is fairly unremarkable. It is the interior that dazzles the eye with  “bird cage elevators," Italian marble, ornamental cast iron and a skylight atrium. A frequently used  movie and television location, Blade Runner was filmed here. More personally, in the late 1960s a friend and I rented an office in the Bradbury Building which was at the time largely occupied by the piece-work garment industry. From our office window we could see the facade of the Million Dollar Theater, the first of the great movie palaces built in Los Angeles and built in the Spanish Churrigueresque style.

Not far from the Bradbury Building is the Biddy Mason Memorial Park, a tribute to Biddy Mason, an African American woman and former slawho was a nurse, real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist. She founded the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles.

While you’re in the area stop over at the Grand Central Market for a bite to eat.

4.  THE HUNTINGTON LIBRARY, ART COLLECTIONS AND BOTANICAL GARDENS [San Marino]

The Huntington is a unique institution that has exquisite gardens (the desert garden is my favorite), a notable art collection (“Blue Boy” and “Pinkie” are there) along with changing art exhibits and a rare book collection in the library where you can see a copy of the Gutenberg Bible. In recent years The Huntington has been diversifying its collections, commissioning, for example, A Portrait of a Young Gentleman by Kehinde Wiley. A comfortable restaurant with affordable prices is located inside The Huntington complex.

5. THE GAMBLE HOUSE [Pasadena]

The Gamble House is quite simply the most beautifully preserved Arts and Crafts home in the world.  The house was designed by the Greene and Greene brothers (exemplar architects of the American Arts and Crafts movement) for the Gamble family (of “Procter and Gamble” fame) to be their winter home. If a home can ever lay claim to being a sanctuary, this would be that home.

6.  UNION STATION [Downtown]

Union Station was built in 1939 and is widely regarded as “the last of the great train stations.” It has been and continues to be an integral part of the California dream. 

The design of the station by the father-son team of John and Donald Parkinson is a triumph of the Mission Moderne architectural style. In my childhood the restaurant at Union Station was a frequent destination for Sunday dinners and today the station is coming into its own once again, serving as an increasingly significant hub in LA's evolving transportation network and as a vibrant event space. 

7.  WILSHIRE BOULEVARD [Downtown to Santa Monica]

Wilshire Boulevard is the spine that links downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean.  Drive or (preferably) walk the boulevard to experience some of the diversity of ethnic communities and cultural enclaves, the neighborhoods and districts that comprise the Los Angeles region. The LA Conservancy has created a useful  guide to exploring some of the historical structures along the boulevard.

Doug Suisman writes about the significance of boulevards (like Wilshire) in the life of Los Angeles:  "As technology continues to dematerialize our activities and therefore erodes the functioning of physical places, it becomes all the more important to recognize the boulevard as the critical thread of an endangered public realm." 

8.  THE LOS ANGELES RIVER

When you discover the story of the Los Angeles River you will learn a great deal about the story of Los Angeles. In the Los Angeles of my childhood the LA River was a giant concrete channel almost totally devoid of water and littered with debris including old furniture.  Today the river is undergoing a renaissance with parks springing upon alongside the river. Experience the Los Angeles River Greenway at one of many access points.

On the concrete walls of the Tujunga Wash, a tributary of the Los Angeles River, artist Judith Baca designed in 1978 an extensive mural project, The Great Wall of Los Angeles. This mural extends over six city blocks and portrays an overlooked version of the history of California as seen through the eyes of women as well racial and religious minorities. In a series of interconnected panel you are taken from prehistoric times up to the 1950s. Currently work is being done to extend the mural up to the present.

Three Unique Museums

Los Angeles offers a vast array of outstanding museums including nationally significant institutions like The Getty, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MOCA, and The Broad. There are also three unique museums that I find especially attractive in providing unique windows on the life and spirit of this city and its region.

1. MUSEUM OF NEON ART [Glendale]

When I first arrived at the Museum of Neon Art (MONA) I knew I had come home. I grew up in the Neon Age of Los Angeles. On Sunday evenings when we left my grandparents home in the Pacific Palisades we would drive back to Pasadena along one of LA's many boulevards -- each corridor lit by neon signs that competed to arrest the attention of travelers. Neon is an essential part of the LA story, so I affirm the mission of MONA:  "The Museum of Neon Art encourages learning, curiosity and expression through the preservation, collection and interpretation of neon, electric and kinetic art." 

2. THE HAMMER [Westwood]

The Hammer is a museum that lives up to its mission:  "The Hammer Museum believes in the promise of art and ideas to illuminate our lives and build a more just world." That is why for me almost every visit to LA includes a stop at the Hammer to see the work of a featured artist or to attend one of their many outstanding public events. The Hammer's biennial exhibition, Made in LA, is a short course in some of the best of the current work of artists residing in LA.

3. MUSEUM OF JURASSIC TECHNOLOGY [Culver City]

In many ways the Museum of Jurassic Technology,  like LA itself, almost defies description. This little museum can only be experienced.  I sought out this strangely beguiling place after reading Lawrence Weschler's book about the museum, Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology. The book is your best guide to exploring this odd assortment of collections of life's real and imagined mysteries.

Two Great Bookstores

1. THE LAST BOOKSTORE + 453 S. SPRING [Downtown]

The Last Bookstore has become a regular place to visit every time I’m in the historic core of LA.  The bookstore is located on Spring Street, once known as the Wall Street of the West, and the space occupied by the bookstore was originally the home of the Citizens National Bank.

2. VROMAN’S BOOKSTORE + 695 E. COLORADO BOULEVARD [Pasadena]

Vroman’s is Southern California’s oldest and largest independent bookstore)  While much smaller in size than  Portland's Powell’s, Vroman’s is very smart in their selection of books. One of my first stops when arriving home in Pasadena is at Vroman’s to check out their Los Angeles section, the new fiction and non-fiction tables and the sidewalk magazine selections. Invariably, I find something arresting to add to my library or to start reading at Tepito Coffee & Tea House that is located inside Vroman's. 

A Few Urban Parks, Lakes and Squares

Los Angeles has a variety of parks, lakes, squares and other public spaces to explore.

I find myself visiting some places for nostalgia. Although they have seen better days, the parks of my childhood and youth still. hold a place in my heart: Ferndell Park in Griffith Park, MacArthur Park in Westkake, and Pershing Square in downtown. Perhaps the best park keep your eye on for citywide events and community gatherings is Grand Park stretching from Bunker Hill down to LA’s City Hall, For walks I enjoy the urban vibes of Echo Park Lake and for nature I head to the Eaton Canyon Nature Center in Pasadena.

Some Good Places to Eat

The act of eating can be a time of conviviality and community. I have selected a few places to eat that I find to be unique to the identity of the city or that provide a window onto the city's evolving story or where I have experienced a sense of community. These selections are organized by their location within the larger Los Angels urban region.

DOWNTOWN

PHILLIPPE THE ORIGINAL

Philippe the Original Is known as the acclaimed home of the “original” French Dip Sandwich. Stand in one of the lines behind the counter and watch your order being assembled.  Ask for a double (or triple) dip and don’t forget to include their amazing cole slaw.

RED BIRD

Redbird is aptly named because this restaurant was once the residence of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles, a post where the reigning archbishop typically is awarded a Cardinal’s hat. Try to get a look into the “event space” next door which was once St. Vibiani’s Roman Catholic Cathedral.

MID CITY

EL CHOLO

Established in 1923 El Cholo is LA’s oldest Mexican restaurant. While there are multiple locations, the original on Western is the place to visit. I can remember first being introduced to their green corn tamales as a child and their guacamole prepared tableside is not to be missed.

EAGLE ROCK

LITTLE BEAST

Located in a 1911 Craftsman bungalow,  Little Beast is a place to delight any food lover. It features what they call “progressive American comfort food”  with indoor and outdoor seating available.

CASA BIANCA

It was a number of years ago that a friend introduced me to Casa Bianca, an old style Italian family restaurant since 1955. I quickly discovered why this place is loved by so many regulars from Eagle Rock and beyond.

HOLLWOOD

THE MUSSO AND FRANK GRILL

The Musso and Frank Grill opened in 1919 and is a LA legend. It's a place where you might be served by a waiter who has been working  there for over 30 years. Slip into one of the red leather booths and you will feel as though you are part of Hollywood and literary history (F. Scott Fitzgerald was said to have proofed his novels here). My first visit was late on a Saturday night during the Watts Revolt in the summer of 1965 when as a young seminarian I was  struggling to prepare a talk to give at a Hollywood church the next day.

PASADENA

PIE ‘N BURGER

That name Pie ‘n Burger says it all. Take a seat at the long counter and order a cheeseburger—Pasadena is considered the “home of the cheeseburger”) and don’t forget to ask for grilled onions and a side of potato salad. Then select one of their famous pies. My favorites are the classics—pumpkin and cherry.

MARSTON'S

At 151 E.Walnut Street Marston’s Restaurant has been a family favorite for years. This cute little cottage is known for their breakfasts (French toast) and lunches (I like the Pasadena Salad). The Food Network once called Marston’s the best breakfast place in California.

UNION

Union is my favorite Pasadena restaurant.  An intimate restaurant in the food tradition inspired by Alice Waters, Union specializes in Northern Italian cuisine.

CARMELLA ICE CREAM COMPANY 

If you are an ice cream lover, you will want to head to Carmela Ice Cream Company at 2495 E Washington Boulevard.  No surprise for some of us that salted caramel (a flavor I first tasted at Portland’s Salt & Straw) is one of the favorites there!  Carmela’s started in 2007 selling to Farmers Markets and opened their own micro-creamery in this Pasadena location in 2011.

ALTADENA

BETSY [Altadena]

It’s an extraordinary experience to walk down Mariposa Street once the commercial center of old Altdena, past the shell of the Altdena Hardware store that was destroyed by the Eaton Canyon fire, to discover Betsy. This recently opened restaurant with limited seating and live-fire creates one of the best dining experiences you can find anywhere in Southern California.

BULGARINI GELATO VINO CUCINA [Altadena]

Bulgarini is one of Altadena’s hidden treasures, recently reopened after being damaged in the devastating Eaton Canyon fire. This tiny restaurant and gelato shop serves authentic Italian fare and has arguably the best gelato in America. Although the setting is humble, you won’t be disappointed by enjoying a relaxed meal under the guidance of Chef and Owner Leo Bulgarini.

VENICE

GJUSTA

Gjusta on 320 Sunset is my go-to place when I'm in Venice and looking for a delicious salad, sandwich, or small plate. 

While you are in the neighborhood, don't miss an opportunity to see the Venice Canals, one of the last surviving remnants of Abbott Kinney's grand dream.

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Transforming the City

TRANSFORMATION IS PURSUING A VISION OF THE CITY WHERE ALL ARE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE FULLNESS OF LIFE IN COMMUNITY.

The work of urban transformation takes many forms including advocacy and direct action, social empowerment, community development, compassionate service, civic awareness, and the socially engaged arts. While there are creative public sector efforts in planning and policy-making, here are a few examples of Los Angeles area non-profits devoted to the transformation of life and the life of the city. I endorse and actively support each of these valuable organizations.

HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES

Homeboy Industries was founded in 1988 by Fr. Gregory Boyle, S.J., the author of Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. "Homeboy Industries provides hope, training, and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated men and women allowing them to redirect their lives and become contributing members of our community.” I love to support this agency because it is a mission-driven, creative, and successful approach to gang intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry into the life of the wider community.  Listen to this interview with Fr. Greg by Terry Gross and you too might become a convert to the work of Homeboy Industries.

ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN PASADENA

All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena has been a leader in the struggle for social justice and for the full inclusion and empowerment of all persons within the Episcopal church and the wider society. The stated mission of All Saints is “to make God’s love tangible through Spirituality, Community, and Peace and Justice — and Jesus’ central message of compassion and respect for all people undergirds all that we undertake.”

UNION STATION HOMELESS SERVICES

Founded in 1973 and located in Pasadena, Union Station Homeless Services is a program that effectively assists houseless individuals and families in rebuilding their lives. I continue a longstanding family tradition by supporting this agency. 

THE FOUNTAIN THEATRE

The Fountain Theatre is a socially engaged arts organization and a Los Angeles treasure. Their highly acclaimed productions stretch and challenge the mind and the heart. Some triumphs were “The Chosen” and “Building the Wall.”