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19w
Art in Los Angeles
Angel’s Flight
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Angels Flight is the tiny orange railway in Downtown L.A. that looks like public transportation designed for a dollhouse. It opened in 1901 to carry people between Hill Street and Bunker Hill, back when Los Angeles was actually pretty easy to get around without a car. Wild concept, I know. In the early 20th century, L.A. had a huge electric rail system, including the Pacific Electric “Red Cars,” which connected neighborhoods and cities across Southern California. Then came the car era: freeways, suburban sprawl, underfunded transit, and yes, companies tied to the auto industry helped push cities toward buses and cars instead of rail. Very subtle. Very not suspicious at all. I rode Angels Flight when a few friends and I did a self guided walking tour of filming locations from 500 Days of Summer, which is a very specific way to wander around Downtown L.A. haha. It was extremely hot, because of course it was, and the day mostly confirmed that L.A. is not exactly a walkable city unless you enjoy sweating through your clothes and negotiating with concrete. But we drove and walked around anyway, saw some beautiful architecture, learned a few things, and somehow managed not to be completely defeated by the general downtown urine smell, which honestly felt like a civic achievement. Riding Angels Flight felt like stepping into the movie for a minute — cute, cinematic, and very “I am pretending this city is walkable.” You should see it because it is historic, slightly ridiculous, and basically a miniature ghost of the public transportation system L.A. used to have. Also, it is proof that sometimes the most memorable part of a city is not the giant landmark, but the tiny weird thing that drags you up a hill for 298 feet.
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19w
Art in Los Angeles
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
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Hollywood Forever Cemetery is one of those deeply L.A. places where death, celebrity, architecture, and entertainment all get shoved together and somehow it works. It is a cemetery, yes, but it is also a public art space, a memorial landscape, an old Hollywood history lesson, and occasionally a place where people watch movies or performances at night because apparently even the dead deserve good lighting and a cultural program. It is worth seeing for the cemetery sculpture, the dramatic memorial design, and the strange glamour of being surrounded by old Hollywood mythology. Everything about it feels very “memento mori, but make it cinematic.” You are walking through a real burial ground, but also through a kind of outdoor museum of fame, grief, ego, beauty, and very expensive stone. I went there when I was around eleven to see Hamlet at night with my mom and her artsy friend, which sounds like the kind of formative cultural experience an adult would later insist was important. To be clear, Hamlet is great. Shakespeare was not the problem. The production, however, was fighting for its life. The acting was bad, the acoustics were horrid, and the whole thing felt like the cemetery itself was trying to swallow the dialogue before it reached us. What I remember more than the actual performance is that my mom’s friend brought a picnic and told us this weirdly unforgettable story about trying to buy prosciutto. When she asked the snooty man behind the counter how much it cost per pound, he apparently corrected her and said it was sold by the ounce, with the kind of attitude usually reserved for medieval kings and men who own tiny dogs. And honestly, that is why Hollywood Forever works. You go for the art, the history, the architecture, the famous graves, and the spooky old Hollywood atmosphere. But what stays with you is the weird little human stuff: a bad production of a great play under the night sky, your mom’s artsy friend with a picnic, and a man being violently pretentious about cured meat. It is death, drama, and deli elitism. Very L.A.
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19w
Art in Los Angeles
Urban Light by Chris Burden
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Urban Light by Chris Burden is one of those L.A. landmarks you’ve probably seen a million times, even if you didn’t know its name. It is the famous cluster of glowing street lamps in front of LACMA, aka the place where everyone suddenly becomes a professional photographer at sunset. But behind the pretty lights is a cooler story: the installation is made of 202 restored cast-iron street lamps from the 1920s and 1930s that once actually lit the streets of Los Angeles. So yes, it is cute, but it is also basically a glowing graveyard of old city infrastructure. There are 202 lamp posts, but 309 bulbs, because apparently even the lamps had to be extra. The lights are controlled by an astronomical timer, which means they turn on and off with the sunset and sunrise instead of a regular clock. Chris Burden started collecting these old lamps after finding one at the Rose Bowl flea market, and somehow that turned into one of the most recognizable public artworks in L.A. You should see it because it is beautiful, weirdly romantic, very dramatic, and a perfect example of how Los Angeles can turn forgotten street junk into an icon.
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19w
Art in Los Angeles
The Great Wall of Los Anagles Judy Bacca
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The Great Wall of Los Angeles by Judy Baca is basically a giant history book painted on a wall, but way cooler than anything you’d find in a classroom. Baca, a Los Angeles native and CSUN alumna (go Matadors!), created the mural to tell California history through the voices of people who are often left out, including Indigenous communities, immigrants, women, workers, and communities of color. You should see it because it is colorful, massive, meaningful, and full of stories that make L.A. history feel alive. It reminds us that history is not just dates and famous people, it is also everyday people, struggles, culture, and community.
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19w
Art in Los Angeles
getty villa
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The Getty Villa is such a cool place to visit, especially for art students and art historians. It feels like stepping into the ancient world, with beautiful gardens, fountains, ocean views, and tons of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan art to explore. Instead of feeling like a regular museum, the Villa makes the art feel alive because the whole space is inspired by an ancient Roman villa. It is a great place to study art, architecture, mythology, and history while also just enjoying a really beautiful and relaxing setting
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