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Moscow ( V KO)
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L os A ngeles (L A X ) U N
TR ANSAERO
THE WONDER WHEEL OF LOS ANGELES A LIST OF ACTIVITIES TO KEEP IF YOU WANT TO BUILD UP AFFECTION FOR LOS ANGELES.
MARIA SIDELNIKOVA SHAMIL GAR AEV GETTY IMAGES/ FOTOBANK, CORBIS/ALL OVER PRESS
IT IS HARDLY POSSIBLE TO FALL IN LOVE WITH LOS ANGELES AT FIRST SIGHT. It might not even look like a city at the beginning, more of a congregation of neighborhoods scattered along an endless road. Upon their arrival to the city most tourists immediately head to Hollywood – LA’s most famous district and home to Universal Studios, the Hollywood Walk of Fame and, of course, those giant letters on the hills. The city feels like one big ornament, surrounded by an agglomeration without a distinctive center, where every district has its own life. The only way to grasp this city as a whole is to dive into its scary diversity and enjoy it.
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VENICE OF AMERICA
This Venice isn’t exactly the Venice that first springs to mind. The district resembles its
Italian namesake the same way Christopher Columbus looks like Zurab Tsereteli’s Peter the Great, he doesn’t. However, at the dawn of the 20th century this was one of America’s most beautiful resorts. Abbot Kinney, a tobacco millionaire, is credited with the idea of relocating Venice to California beaches. By 1905 he had dug a network of canals, set up nice little cottages by the banks and put Italian gondolas into the water. Venice had exhibition halls, auditoriums and cafes. But by the middle of the century nearly all the historical buildings had been destroyed, and the slums of Venice of America were assumed by beggars and hobos. Soon after the deserted Venice began attracting young artists and architects – colorful facades made out of glass, concrete and wood, old houses fused into “hybrids” sprung up by the canals and the beach.
It is a pleasure to observe them. The architectural symbol of Venice is the Norton House, constructed in 1984 by a family friend and a future Pritzker Prize–winning architect and creator of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Frank Gehry. The Norton Residence is probably his most absurd and simple house: a wooden box on a single leg. Some have drawn comparisons with a birdhouse, others likened it to a lifeguard booth from the neighboring beach (2509 Ocean Front Walk, Venice).
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DOWNTOWN: WORK AND PR AY
Downtown is often called the historical center of Los Angeles, but it’s not quite true. It is a center, but only for business, while the atmosphere is drastically different from the laid-back vibe coming from the coast.
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Skyscrapers, offices, restaurants and fast food. Highway exits are jammed with traffic, free parking spots are hard to come by, formal wear is predominant, smiles are rare, crowds of people move about automatically. The day starts early in the morning and by 5 p.m. the yuppies will have mostly left their dungeons for the beach to catch the last wave. Still, walking in the evening through
a deserted downtown has its benefits. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, informally known as COLA (555 West Temple Street) is open until late at night – the last service ends in the afternoon, and in the evening there is not a soul in the giant temple with a capacity of 3000 people. From the outside this specimen of postmodern architecture might give the impression of a shopping mall.
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WALKING IN THE EVENING THROUGH A DESERTED DOWNTOWN HAS ITS BENEFITS
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BIKE RIDING IS NOT JUST FOR «BICYCLISTS». IT IS FOR EVERYONE AND MAKES A PART OF A COMPLETE TRANSPORTATION MENU
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by early 20th century standards: “Get up early, work hard, produce oil.” Reluctant to be remembered in the history books as “just a sack of money”, he decided to immortalize his name. Having scoured the earth for various art objects – antique sculptures from The Spanish architect Rafael Greece, furniture of the Louises Moneo conceived it in the form from France, paintings by Pierre of an unorthodox geometrical Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, figure without a single right Edgar Degas, Paul Cezanne and angle, 100 m long and 30 m high. Rembrandt – in 1954 he estabA meditation garden, parking and lished the Getty Museum, the bigcafé adjoin the cathedral. gest art museum in California and the richest collection of European | THE GETT Y COLLECTION and American art. Today the collection is housed on two camOne of the first dollar milpuses: the Getty Center and Getty lionaires, a published author and Villa. The Getty Villa in the Pacific surfer, Jean Paul Getty began Palisades is dedicated to ancient working at his father’s oil field art and boasts a great collection in 1908 at the age of sixteen and of antiquities. The Getty Center by 23 had become one of America’s richest men and soon thereaf- (1200 Getty Center Drive), which ter one of the world’s richest men. sits atop a hill in the Santa Monica Mountains, opened to the pubHis formula for success is quite lic in 1997 long after the death of simple and even banal, especially
Jean Paul Getty. On the 45 ha site architect Richard Meier created not a simple museum, but a small town with one of the best views of Los Angeles. A special hovertrain funicular leads to the Center: visitors arrive at the main building and then each one chooses their own route. A permanent collection among other things features pre-20th-century European paintings and 20th-century American, Asian, and European photographs, while the Center also organizes temporary exhibitions. To roam through the gardens and walk along the well-groomed, twisting paths, enjoying the sunshine by the fountain is a pleasure on its own.
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FARMERS MARKETS
Obsessed with healthy eating the Californians are very particular about who they buy their food from, this is why every family
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DOWNTOWN ONLY PALM TREES REMIND YOU THERE IS AN OCEAN NEARBY THE REST OF THE AREA LOOKS PRETTY MUCH LIKE ANY OTHER BUSINESS CENTER IN ANY MEGAPOLIS
VENICE NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH STARTED OUT AS A FANTASY, WENT THROUGH DESOLATION AND DECAY ONLY TO ONCE AGAIN BECOME THE CENTER OF GLAMOUR LIFE
A POSTMODERN DESIGN OF THE CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS, THAT MAKES IT LOOK LIKE A GIANT SHOPPING MALL, PERFECTLY BLENDS IN WITH AN AUSTERE STYLE OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES
with respect for itself ought to have a trusted farmer. The oldest Los Angeles market – the Farmers Market on West 3rd Street – is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. Some of the local oldtimers still remember President be hiding Nicole Kidman herself. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Marilyn The locals are complaining that Monroe and John Lennon. More the market has become a tourist than 100 shops, restaurants and grocers are housed under one roof. attraction, but keep on coming to French cider, Italian burrata, Latin West 3rd Street for food and news. The district Farmers Market American tacos and even Ruson the west of Santa Monica, sian raviolis are sold here. “Fresh which adjoins LA, is less popular, turkey, just like you ordered – but just as excellent. The market to raise your spirits! – a muswhich gathers the best farmers tachioed merchant says while from around California is open handing over wrapped poultry to an elegant woman in sunglass- three days a week. Dozens of varieties of peaches and strawberes, – and don’t forget the whole ries, tomatoes of all types of sizes wheat bread!” Turns out, this set and forms, organic purple caris meant to help her husband out rots, finger limes, fat oysters and of depression – a recipe from Niwhite wine from the local French. cole Kidman, fished out of one of the health magazines. Incidentally, “Paris? What Paris? We like it here the sunglasses and cap could well all right!” – laughs a merchant
named Erik after being asked if he feels homesick. Prominent chefs in house slippers and bums are strolling among the shops. Incidentally, most of the hobos are devout vegetarians, so unless you want to get into trouble, be careful not to offer them a bio-sandwich with chicken. It’s best to arrive in Santa Monica after midday, nearer the end of working hours – it gets less crowded and prices also fall.
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TAST Y UNHEALTHY FOOD
It’s lunch time. A huge red car drives up to a restaurant. Three sizable figures come out of it, join three little tables and everyone orders an XXL hamburger, with three steaks each. They use one hand to send food to their mouthes, the other – to play dominoes. Currents of ketchup and mayonnaise stream down their faces, meat slices stick between their teeth, their eyes
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IMMEDIATELY BEHIND THE GATES OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES, HOLLYWOOD’S OLDEST MOTION PICTURE STUDIO, THERE IS A THEME PARK FEATURING FILM STUDIOS WHERE SOME OF THE CULT CLASSICS WERE SHOT
are sparkling with joy. Where else can you find an Afro-American, a Mexican and a Chinese sitting at one table? Only in Fatburger. The popular restaurant chain is more than 60 years old. While competitors have long pulled out of the race, these fat burgers are still going strong. And the secret, no matter how strange it might sound about fast food, is in the quality – no frozen steaks, only fresh bread and strict production control. The number of steaks in a burger varies between one and five (approximately 680 g of meat). Record holders in hamburger eating contest are honored on the walls of the store. Pink’s Hot Dogs (709 N. La Brea Avenue, Mid-City) – another bad address in LA. People have been queuing up for hot dogs here since 1939. The Pink family’s business began in a typically American fashion – with 50 dollars they borrowed from friends. They bought a cart and set up shop on a neighborhood street corner. Spicy nutritious hot dogs were an instant success, and soon even Hollywood stars fell in love with their taste. In 1946 the couple put together a simple restaurant. Since then not much has changed, apart from the celebritynamed hot dogs. For instance, the Ozzy Osbourne spicy dog contains spicy Polish dog, nacho cheese, America cheese, grilled onions,
guacamole and chopped tomatoes. Candid hobos and suspicious Mexicans from West Hollywood both like to tuck away the Ozzy.
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At the reception she would leave a note – “gone fishing”. Allegedly, Johnny Depp and Kate Moss made love in every one of the hotel’s rooms, while Benicio Del Toro and Scarlett Johansson had a romp in the Chateau Marmont’s elevator. Francis Scott Fitzgerald nearly died at the hotel from a heart attack, and Édith Piaf almost had a lethal overdose. As Sandra Bullock pointed out, “this place has an unusually seducing atmosphere, people are doing things they would never expect to.”
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JIM MORRISON’S MOTEL AND VILL A
In 1965 two alumni of UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, Ray Manzarek and his fellow Jim Morrison, set up a rock band in Los Angeles named The Doors. Since then, every other In 1926 Fred Horowitz, local bar has a story about how a prominent Los Angeles atthe musicians went on a binge torney, went to France and was there, and every square meter duly impressed. The royal Châmight as well receive a memorial teau d’Amboise along the Loire plaque. For instance, in Château River inspired him the most. Marmont – again – the rock star He didn’t have a convenientmanaged to fall out of the winly located river, but he did have dow. Jim Morrison’s fans like to a good piece of land on Sunset stay at his house in West HollyBoulevard, the photo of the castle wood. Morrison and his girlfriend and a relative, who was an arPamela Courson had only lived chitect. Consequently, the apartthere for a year before moving ment house Château Marmont to Paris in 1971. The new ownwas built. The Great Depression ers, who turned it into a hotel, forced Horowitz to sell the building, the new owners turned it into advertise the two-storied snowy white 1930s building as “Jim’s a hotel. Since then the Château last American resort”. Three bedMarmont has survived five marooms, four bathrooms, a living jor earthquakes without sustainroom and a garden – the owners ing any major structural damage. claim they have changed nothing. However, earthquakes are nothing compared to the shenanigans “Look, there is even his autograph in the bathroom!” The apartment of some of its more distinguished is rented out for a long term and guests of past and present. The to a big company, but all the conword has it that during her honditions are discussed individueymoon stay with her third husband, millionaire Howard Hughes, ally. Morrison’s other LA asylum is Alta Cienega Motel (1005 North actress Jean Harlow frequently La Cienega Boulevard). Every inch visited “the king of Hollywood” of Room 32, where he frequently Clark Gable, who lived nearby. PHANTOMS OF THE OLD AND STARS OF THE MODERN HOLLY WOOD IN CHÂTEAU MARMONT
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stayed, including the floor and tiles in the bathroom, is covered with his texts, interview quotes, and fans’ confessions of love. It takes a whole day to read everything, and frankly there’s no sense in staying longer, it isn’t very safe around, with arrests for drug trading and prostitution a customary occurrence. Bike Ride from Venice to Malibu For a long time Los Angeles topped the lists for the most bicycle-unfriendly cities, but in the recent years this situation has taken a turn for the better. In the last two years alone 200 km of bicycle lanes were installed.
A mass interest in “bio”, “eco” and other “green” fads brought local citizens out of cars and on earth: now every member of a family not only has a car, but also a bike. “Eco-manners” have been cultivated in tourists too, the latter like to reiterate the mantra mentioned in every guide: “you need a car to move around Los Angeles”. Often it is actually true, you need a car in LA, while bike is more suited to move around within one particular district. Just decide on the route. The most enjoyable promenade stretches along the ocean coast – from Venice to Malibu. Enormous sandy beach, lifeguard booths on slender “legs”, fat
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seagulls, the ocean cut in waves and the falling sun. To enjoy the best show, follow the weather broadcasts, get out in advance and keep an eye on the messy surfers, outright freaks, immigrants of all kinds, yuppies, beautiful girls and superheroes. In the end this collection of bright patches will fall into a charming pattern, which goes by the name of Los Angeles.
THE SOUTH BAY BICYCLE TRAIL, A PATH FOR WALKERS AND CYCLISTS ALONG THE COAST TO VENICE BEACH
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Cinematic attractions of Los Angeles THE CENTER OF THE AMERICAN FILM INDUSTRY, LOS ANGELES IS OFTEN THE STAR VENUE IN HOLLYWOOD MOVIES.
1 THE HOLLY WOOD WALK OF FAME
2 SUNSET BOULEVARD
3 THE HOLLY WOOD SIGN
4 MULHOLL AND DRIVE
stretches along Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles and comprises more than 2,500 individual stars, embedded in the sidewalk. The project started in the late 1950s as a means to recognize the achievements of outstanding actors. Currently the Walk of Fame attracts as many as 10 million tourists annually. Stars are not exclusively given to the most prominent representatives of the entertainment business; the Apollo 11 crew, who were the first people on the moon, have their own stars as well.
in the western part of Los Angeles County attracts “the rich and the famous”. Up to the middle of the 1990s some sections of the street functioned as “a red-light district”. A portion of the Boulevard known as the Sunset Strip is still famous for its active nightlife.
is situated in the Hollywood Hills overlooking the city. The big white letters ‘Hollywoodland’ were put up on Mount Lee in 1923 to promote real estate in the area. The giant sign quickly turned into a landmark and symbol of the American film industry. In 1949 the word “land” was removed, and in 1978 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Dream Factory, the sign was entirely reconstructed.
is a famous Los Angeles highway. The road overlooks the city and offers stunning views of both Los Angeles and the Hollywood Sign. It is named after the famous engineer William Mulholland, who was head of the Los Angeles water supply system construction in the early 20th century.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame can be seen in the ongoing The Bold and the Beautiful soap opera series which premiered in 1987 and the reality show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
A 1950 film of the same name played on the boulevard’s name (“the boulevard of sunsets”) and narrated the story of a faded movie star. In 1993 Andrew Lloyd Webber created a musical adapted from the film.
The sign has made frequent appearances in Hollywood movies such as Terminator Salvation (2009); Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010); The Day After Tomorrow (2004) where it is shown after demolition; and in The Simpsons and Shrek where graphic parodies of the sign have appeared.
Mulholland Drive lent its name to the 2001 American psychological thriller directed by David Lynch. The road features in the 1998 drama The City of Angels with Nicolas Cage (‘The City of Angels’ is a nickname of Los Angeles).
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2 5 RODEO DRIVE GEOGRAPHY
is a street adjacent to Sunset Boulevard in the Beverly Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. Here you can find the world’s leading luxury brands, while the rent costs of these boutiques are among the highest in the world. Rodeo Drive appears in the drama American Gigolo (1980) starring Richard Gere; the romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990) again with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts; the action film Hollywood Homicide (2003) featuring Harrison Ford and many others.