Mon. & Tues., Nov. 24-25, 2025
It was long overdue, today we dedicated ourselves to a day for granddaughter Mary to see some of the iconic sites of downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) that she thought would be of interest.
I had rested at home all day on Monday after our busy weekend. Recharging my batteries was a wise choice before today's adventure.
We entered DTLA . . .
. . . via the colorful Third Street Tunnel
We found a parking lot offering spots at $10 for the entire day, a bargain in this part of town.
This parking lot was across the street from . . .
The famed Million Dollar Theater
A theater with interesting
architectural decorations
Mary liked this actor wearing his
Comedy mask and holding his
Tragedy mask in hand
I liked this Egyptian character
Facing the Million Dollar Theater is . . .
. . . the historic Bradbury Building
Erected in 1893, this five story architectural wonder was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
It is noted for its skylit atrium offering access to walkways, stairs and elevators all highlighted by ornate ironwork.
Of a family note to both Michael and Mary is the fact that Laurie's mother, Maggie, often spoke of having her high school Senior Portraits taken by a photographer based in this glorious building. She spoke of the awe she felt upon entering the Bradbury Building for the first time.
I think that today, Michael and Mary felt some of what Maggie did so many years ago.
Before we entered that famed skylit atrium, we needed some sustenance.
At the Bradbury's Blue Bottle Coffee
shop, Mary had a delicious
Chocolate Croissant
Sated, we entered the building
It was indeed wondrous
I liked the old school mailbox
Good Times . . .
. . . INDEED!
This elevator's ironwork was
as beautiful as advertised
Even this Pollo Loco was photogenic
Mary DEFINITELY wanted to
enter this store displaying
a mean looking Labubu doll
DANGER
NO FLOOR
Mary got into her emotionally scared character when she saw this sign on a side door to the Million Dollar Theater.
We now walked about three blocks to go to a park where Mary wanted to " . . . to get some of her wiggles out."
Reflections along the walk
Outside of a Los Angeles Court Building
Gloria Molina
Grand Park
We found Mary's park easily enough . . .
. . . now, where to go?
This fountain was of interest
Nothing says SoCal more than
a big, old palm tree
Examining a fountain side cricket
Of course Mary needed to dip
her shoes in the water
Ode to Mosaic Law on another
judicial building
Michael and Mary with the
Los Angeles City Hall as a backdrop
Mary and Poppo still in Grand
Park searching for a playground
Memorial to the men and women
of Los Angeles County who served
in the Vietnam War
We finally found the
Grand Park playground
This tubular slide was inviting
Mary waving to us before her first
of many slides in the tube
The playground also catered to
Michael and Mary's musical tastes
Mary teaching me how to
play these xylophone-like chimes
We approached the truly iconic
Los Angeles City Hall that opened
its doors in 1928
As a youngster, this was easily the tallest building in DTLA, today, not so much.
I always remember the opening scene of the 1950s TV show "The Adventures of Superman" when star George Reeves as Superman was " . . . able to leap tall buildings in a single bound."
He was leaping over the Los Angeles City Hall in that opening sequence.
Michael and Mary decided to sit in the shade on the grass while I, for the first time in my life, entered this imposing edifice.
I was told by the Security Officer in the lobby that what I needed to see was all on the Third Floor, everything else was just a series of drab government offices.
On to the Third Floor where I found . . .
. . . a nice exhibit of Olympic Games
memorabilia from the 1984 L.A. Games,
the Games of the XXIII Olympiad
A 1984 Olympic Torch was on display
Of course, Los Angeles also hosted the
Games of the X Olympiad in 1932
Game & Gossip?
1932 Things to do in L.A. during
the Olympics handbook
This Olympic Flag served as a reminder
that the 2028 Summer Olympics will
be held in Los Angeles, the
Games of the XXXIV Olympiad
The Flag of the City of Los Angeles
An interesting ceiling above . . .
. . . the Olympic Games relics
Further into the Third Floor
I found this ceiling above . . .
. . . this fascinating Spanish galleon
Given the wording and the year this
building was erected, I guess that
they are referring to World War I
Mail chutes like this one were
common place in multi-story office
buildings years ago
We headed on towards Mary's dining spot of choice.
We passed the old Times Building
The Los Angeles Times Building,
that is
Once "a great metropolitan newspaper" worthy of hiring a reporter of Clark Kent's stature, it has sadly gone downhill in the last decade.
No longer do I scurry out on Sunday mornings to buy their once thick sabbath day edition that featured their great Calendar section with tons of information on the arts and entertainment.
I miss their Sunday crossword puzzle, too.
Sometimes, the electronic information age is not my friend.
Mary liked this piece of art
that was improved by an
anonymous someone
Lots of art in DTLA including . . .
. . . this HUGE mural with
actor Anthony Quinn's likeness
At last, we arrived at the Grand Central Market for lunch.
Mary in the Mexican Jarritos
drink photo op display
Where and what to eat in the
vast Grand Central Market?
I wouldn't mind an empanada . . .
. . . or a shot of whiskey for that matter
Chinese is always a good choice
Chiles of all colors and
levels of heat
Shohei Otani is EVERYWHERE!
If that means Ghost as in
Ghost Pepper, I'm OUT!
EUREKA!
I remembered that it was Taco Tuesday, so I went with their daily special, three chicken tacos, beans, rice and a diet coke.
I was happy.
Mary had a cheese pizza and
Michael opted for a large Chinese
beef and rice bowl
Three vastly different lunches and three happy campers.
Two of us decided that ice cream
was a splendid idea as well
Across the street from the Grand Central Market . . .
. . . is the Angels Flight Funicular
It operated from 1901-1969, along the Third Street Tunnel connecting Hill Street and Hill Street.
It was shut down due to redevelopment of the area.
Angels Flight reopened a half block
away to its current mid-block
location in 1996
It has survived at this new location
through several safety related
closures but was looking GREAT today
Los Angeles LOVES its Dodgers!
On last look at the back of the
Million Dollar Theater as we got
back into the Blueberry II for
our next stop
I need to digress for a moment.
This morning on the Channel 4, NBC news broadcast, it mentioned that the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the greater Los Angeles megalopolis was $4.67.
I therefore felt really good when I filled up the Blueberry II in Camarillo for just $4.09 a gallon.
Our next stop was a bit farther to the east of DTLA where they have a gas station whose prices are always RIDICULOUS.
We parked next to it.
$7.89 a gallon for the regular!
The amazing thing, as usual, was that there were cars actually there filling up despite the price gouging.
On to our next stop . . .
Olvera Street celebrating
Los Angeles' Mexican heritage
If you want amazing taquitos,
buy them here
Mary was in her shopping
happy space
Early signs of Christmas
on Olvera Street
The Cross at the other end of
Olvera Street near Los Angeles Plaza
Yes, Olvera Street offers food and
beverage as well as trinkets
We entered Plaza Los Angeles.
Carlos III
King of Spain 1759-1788
He was the King of Spain when our sleepy city of Los Angeles was founded in 1781.
The city's official name in 1781 was Nuestra Señors, Reina de Los Angeles, which translates to Our Lady, Queen of the Angels or Los Angeles for short.
L. to R.: Homeless Man, Carlos III,
Poppo and Mary
The Los Angeles Plaza bandbox
holds a special memory for me
In 1958, as a sixth grader at St. Philip the Apostle School in Pasadena, I first got interested in the sport of American football.
I played for the school's flag football team that year in the Catholic Youth Organization's league against other Pasadena area Catholic schools.
This all led me to heighten my interest for the first time in Pasadena's Rose Bowl Game.
That January 1st, 1959 game featured the California Golden Bears (7-3) representing the Pacific Coast Conference against the Iowa Hawkeyes (7-1-1) from the Big-10 Conference when it had but ten members.
On New Year's Eve, I went to sleep pumped to watch the game but history intervened.
My father, Jorge, was an adamantly anti Fulgencio Batista who was the long standing the dictator of Cuba. My Dad had even raised money to support the rebels led by a young Fidel Castro who were fighting against Batista based in the eastern Cuban Sierra Maestra mountains.
I was awakened on New Year's Day by my Dad's joyful raving that Batista had left Cuba and the rebels had won!
As a result, the entire family was packed into the car and headed to Los Angeles Plaza for the impromptu rally to celebrate Cuba's freedom from an oppressive, dictatorial regime.
Or not.
We all found out within a year or two that Castro's Cuba was simply going to be a different kind of oppressive, dictatorial regime.
My Dad was not happy about this turn of events.
I was not happy about not seeing the 1959 Rose Bowl game on TV.
By the way, Iowa (8-1-1) destroyed California (7-4) that day, 38-12.
Today, Mary brought much
happier vibes to the Plaza
There was music playing and
Mary just had to dance
Who could blame her?
Another statue but who
I don't know
Someone had taken the plaque describing who he was.
What child doesn't love
a big piñata?
Or adult for that matter.
Before we left, we bought Mary
a pair of maracas and a pink leather
bracelet with her name stamped on it
On last stop . . .
Philippe
The Original
French Dipped Sandwiches
I had to bring home two pork French double dipped sandwiches with bleu cheese, a slice of cherry pie and a slice of apple pie for our dinner tonight.
Laurie deserved it.
Mary discovered Philippe's
old school phone booths
to be of great interest
She weighed in on this ancient
scale while I was in line to order
The line moved fairly quickly
I've always wanted to try a
bowl of their Dolores Chili
Maybe next time.
We had a really good day with Mary, we need to do it again soon.
On to college football news . . .
Oregon (10-1) at Washigton (8-3)
on Saturday
The Ducks are 6.5 point favorites.
Tuesday night the newest
CFP Poll was announced
Based on this new CFP Poll,
this is how the 12 team CFP
Playoff would shape up
With one more week of regular season games and then the Conference Championship games the following week, things will more than likely change before the final CFP Poll and the ensuing bowl game assignments are announced.
Neither the CFP Polls or
these odds mention the Huskies
Nevertheless . . .
Go Huskies GO!
Next up the NFL . . .
The Rams "Fearsome Foursome"
Defensive Lines about six decades apart
Thursday's slate of three
NFL Turkey Day contests
Those were the days!
Pro football Hall of Fame member and Green Bay Packers legendary Fullback, #31, Jim Taylor out of LSU.
He was a 6-0, 215 lbs. sledge hammer of a runner who led the NFL in rushing (1,474 yards in 14 games) in 1962 and was a main cog in four Packers' NFL Championship teams including the Super Bowl I squad.
An Old-Timers game in Germany vs.
a group of Mexican Veteranos
next April 26th?
Sounds interesting to me!
The Villeurbanne Falcons take on
their crosstown rival Lyon Gones
on Sunday
Go Falcons GO!
The Zagreb Patriots football
team reaching out to American's
in the Zagreb area
Hosting a fun, friendly flag football game on Thanksgiving Day for the Americans in town on Thursday is a great idea.
A good, detailed guide for
Turkey Day, but about those thighs . . .
Spanish Springs H.S. Cougars
won the Nevada State AAAAA
Championship on Tuesday at the
Las Vegas Raiders Allegiant Stadium
Out of Sparks in northern Nevada, the Cougars (13-0) defeated the Las Vegas' Faith Lutheran H.S. Crusaders (6-8), 42-23.
I bring this up because we watched Spanish Springs play in the first game of the season at Simi Valley H.S. back on August 15th.
The Cougars beat the Pioneers (3-7) that night to start their magical run, 41-21.
On every trip to our
Abuela Catalina's home, whether
or not it was Thanksgiving, this
is exactly what happened
Life Continues to be
FASCINATING!
