Stephen Clark wrote:
> Hi, I'm looking for some advice on how best to spend the time I'm planning
> to stay in the US, November time. Firstly, on four trips to the US I've seen
> a fair bit of the NE of the US but the furthest west I've been is Chicago.
>
> I'm planning to arrive in Chicago and buying a 15 day rail pass which covers
> the west of the US on a line from Chicago to New Orleans. I plan to take the
> train to the west coast but I don't really know what to do then.
>
> Possibilities are to Loop :
> Chicago / Seattle or Portland / San Francisco / Chicago; or
> Chicago / San Francisco / Los Angeles / Chicago; or
> Chicago / San Francisco / New Orleans (fly back to the UK from New Orleans)
>
> I am quite interested in modern art / sculpture / installations /
> architecture so any locations which were strong on these types of attraction
> would be ideal. I enjoyed my time in Chicago visiting Oak Park (Frank Lloyd
> Wright houses) and in Pittsburgh (Andy Warhol and The Mattress Factory).
>
> Looking forward to any advice people may have.
www.laconservancy.org
is the home page for the Los Angeles Conservency. The web page
provides information on walking tours you can take with them. There is
also a self-guided walking tour of downtown L.A. on the site.
Their focus is on historical buildings, so newer and/or un-endangered
structures don't seem to make the tour. Off the top of my head, a
couple of things that near the self-guided walking tour that aren't
listed but that you really ought to see are: Los Angeles Union Station
[hard to miss if you're taking the train!], The Water Court at
California Plaza, the funny little waterway that runs between the
stairs that lead from just north of the downtown central library up
Bunker Hill, The Bonaventure Hotel, The Cathedral of Our Lady of the
Angels, and, of course, Los Angels City Hall.
If you are using public transit and plan to visit the Los Angeles
County Museum of Art from the downtown area, you can take MTA route
720. Not long after you leave the downtown area, you'll be able to see
the Los Angeles Ambassador Hotel and the Coconut Grove off on your
left. These are a couple of history-tinged structures that are
currently vacant but whose preservation is high on the list of the Los
Angeles Conservancy.
Incidentally, if you are relying on public transit, one of the hotels
listed on the Conservancy's walking tour is the Millennium Biltmore
Hotel. Kind of pricey, but it is adjacent to Pershing Square, which
has an MTA red line stop.
There are cheaper accommodations downtown, but none so close to a
subway stop.
If you've got a car and make it out to Pasadena, you might want to
continue a bit further east to Arcadia to visit the Los Angeles County
Arboretum. www.arboretum.org
There's a history link that will tell you about some of the historic
structures on the grounds of the arboretum.
In Pasadena, previous posters have already mentioned the Norton Simon
Museum, which I would second. Pasadena itself is easily accessible via
the MTA Gold Line, which terminates at Union Station.
If you decide to head out to Santa Monica via public transit, you can
either take the previously-noted MTA route 720, or, even faster, take
the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus route number 10, which is a freeway
express bus. As I recall, it costs $1.75 each way, and will take you
direct from Union Station to Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. From there,
it's an easy walk from the bus stop to Santa Monica Pier. There's a
little amusement park on the pier, and small educational aquarium
beneath the pier [kind of hard to find]. Also, the pier is the
traditional end of Historic Route 66.
This is all assuming you decide to make your way down to the Los
Angeles area, of course.
TK
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