(bath) is a sunken plunge; in a dormitorio (bedroom) is an i8th-cen-
tury bride's chest with the inscription, "Dame un beso, Ramoncita"
(give me a kiss, Ramoncita) ; in another room is a bed once the prop-
erty of Pio Pico, last Mexican governor of California. On the walls
is the Caballeria Collection of paintings, most of them brought from
Spain for the missions.
THE NORTH AND EAST SECTIONS 173
R. from N. Figueroa St. on Ave. 45; R. from Ave. 45 on Marmion
Way ; L. from Marmion Way on Museum Dr.
76. The SOUTHWEST MUSEUM (open 1-5 daily except Mon. r
Christmas, Independence Day, and during Aug.; free], corner Mar-
mion Way and Museum Dr., stands on a hill overlooking the Arroyo
Seco and Sycamore Grove. The long white concrete building has a
taller tile-roofed wing at the rear of one end and a high square tower
with two rows of narrow openings at the other. The museum contains
relics and craft work of the primitive Indians of the Western Hemi-
sphere.
The building can be approached through a long tunnel that pene-
trates the base of the hill to an elevator under the museum. At the
tunnel entrance is a bright MAYAN PORTAL resembling that at the
House of Nuns at Chichen Itza in Yucatan. Dioramas in the sides
of the tunnel depict the advent of the early Asiatics in America and
progress stages of the Indian cultures.
The Hopi Trail, leading from the base of the hill to the Lower
Lobby, copied from the stone trails of the Hopi sky cities in northern
Arizona, offers an optional approach to the museum.
In the Lower Lobby are general American Indian exhibits. In the
north wing of the Southwestern Indians Room are relics and modern
handcraft of the Pueblo, Navajo, Apache, and Mohave. The North-
western Indians Room displays handcraft of Eskimo and of Northwest
Coast Indians. Special displays are frequently exhibited in the Mem-
bers' Room, where the information desk is situated.
A tepee of tanned skins, and clothing and weapons of the Black-
foot, Sioux, Cheyenne, Crow, and Arapahoe, are displayed in the Plains
Indians Room. In the Caracol tower is the Prehistoric Southwest
Room; here are the relics of prehistory from Southwestern pueblos
and cliff dwellers: stone implements, pottery, shell, stone, and turquoise
ornaments, fabrics woven from yucca and turkey feathers and colored
with brilliant vegetable dyes. In the AUDITORIUM (lectures on Indians
and Southwestern history, travel, and exploration 3 p.m. Sun., Nov.
through Mar.; free), is a large basketry collection. The TOR-
RANCE TOWER contains the museum library, which is devoted
largely to works on archeology', ethnology, and primitive art and history
of the Southwest and of Spanish-America.
Southwest Museum is the outgrowth of the Southwest Society of
the Archeological Institute of America, founded in 1903. The Museum
was incorporated in 1907, and the present building opened in 1914.
Retrace Museum Dr., Marmion Way and Ave. 45; R. from Ave. 45
on N. Figueroa St.; L. from N.' Figueroa on Ave. 43.
77. EL ALISAL (the sycamore grove) is on the west side of Arroyo
Seco at the crossing of Ave. 43. The house (visited by appointment;
free) was the home of Charles F. Lummis (see The Arts), whose
efforts were largely responsible for establishment of the Southwest
174 LOS ANGELES
Museum. The house, which overlooks the tree-lined Arroyo Seco, is
built around a patio in which grows a giant sycamore. One of Lummis'
colorful yarns was that he built the house himself with the aid of a
12-year-old Indian boy. The walls are made of boulders, and the
rafters and girders are hand-hewn. After Lummis' death in 1928 the
property passed into the possession of the Southwest Museum. Al-
though a section of it is still occupied by members of the Lummis fam-
ily, it serves as a repository for a part of the Lummis collections of
Indian and Spanish artifacts.
Retrace Ave. 43 to Figueroa St.; L. from Ave. 43 on Figueroa; L. from
Fiffueroa on San Fernando Rd.; R. from San Fernando on Pasadena
Ave.; R. from Pasadena on N. Broadway.
ELYSIAN PARK (open 6 a.m.-8 p.m.), entrance N. Broadway
at the Los Angeles River, is a 6oo-acre municipal preserve through
whose precipitous, heavily wooded hills wind seven miles of paved
motor roads and 10 miles of winding foot trails. The park is one of
the most rugged and heavily foliaged in southern California; its arroyo-
gashed hills and deep canyons are matted with a tangle of creepers, wild
roses, blue gum eucalyptus trees, drooping pepper trees, and gnarled live
oaks. In shaded areas along the drives are numerous picnic grounds
(tables, stoves, fuel; free) and children's playgrounds.
Part of Elysian Park, and all of the Plaza and Pershing Square
(see Downtown Los Angeles), are on lands set aside for public use
at the founding of Los Angeles in 1781. Although the original 500 -
acre Elysian tract has never been privately owned it was not officially
made a park until 1886. Since then much land has been added by
purchase.
At the main entrance is the FREMONT GATE, which honors General
John C. Fremont, volunteer commander of the American forces in the
conquest of California. Beyond it is (L) the PORTOLA-CRESPI MONU-
MENT, a gray granite boulder marking the spot where the Spanish ex-
ploring party headed by Caspar de Portola is supposed to have made
camp on its way up the state in 1769 (see Pueblo to Metropolis) ; from
this point the party had its first view of the plain to the south on which
Los Angeles was to have its beginning a dozen years later.
78. In the park are the LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPART-
MENT TRAINING, SOCIAL, AND RECREATIONAL CEN-
TER (open 8-7 daily), with a recreational building, an aviary, a small
zoo, and a firing range for police pistol practice.
79. A RECREATION LODGE (open to groups of 25 up; $3-$ 5
for use of kitchen facilities), in the southwestern corner of the park,
with accommodations for 175; and CHAVEZ RAVINE, which served
as the potter's field in pueblo days and as the county "pest farm" during
the 1850 and 1880 smallpox epidemics, and which is named for its
original owner, Julian Chavez, city councilman in 1850.
80. The NAVAL AND MARINE CORPS RESERVE ARMORY,
Chavez Ravine Rd. between Paducah and Coronel Sts., at the SW.
THE NORTH AND EAST SECTIONS 175
tip of the park, was completed in 1940 at a cost of $1,000,000. It is
one of the largest naval armories in the country, having a drill deck on
which a thousand-man battalion can be trained. Its dominant structure
is a long, white concrete building of modern design.
msxBam^^
The Northwest Section
This tour, through the northwestern part of Los Angeles, pauses
at Angelus Temple and the former site of Walt Disney Studios, and
it passes such less publicized points as the city's first oil field, and
Griffith Park, the largest municipal park in the United States.
TOUR
S. from City Hall on Spring St. to 2nd St.; R. from Spring on 2nd
St.; R. from 2nd on Glendale Blvd.
The OLD LOS ANGELES OIL FIELD (L), Glendale Blvd.
between Beverly Blvd. and Colton St., was the city's first petroleum pro-
ducing area. Ninety-seven flimsy wooden derricks, survivors of the hun-
dreds that were in the field at the turn of the century, stand on the slope
with dwellings encroaching upon them. Developed in 1892 by Edward
L. Doheny, the field's production peak has long since passed; as the
wells fall below production cost they are abandoned, the derricks re-
moved, and the land is used for stores and dwellings.
ECHO PARK, bounded by Glendale Blvd., Temple St., and Echo
Park and Park Aves., a 31 -acre municipal park in the heart of a
populous residential district, is pleasantly landscaped with many varie-
ties of fine ornamental and shade trees. It has an eight-acre lake
(boating). On an island in the north end, reached by an arched
bridge, is one of the park's three picnic grounds (tables, gas stoves;
free). Egyptian papyrus and water lilies growing in the shallows at
this end afford shelter during the nesting season to numerous water-
fowl swans, ducks, coots, grebes, and geese. In summer a lush growth
of lotus springs from the water in the lake's northwest arm, the large
pink-and-white flowers attracting many painters and photographers. In
the iSyo's the lake provided water for adjacent farms, and water power
for a woolen mill that stood at Sixth and Pearl (now Figueroa)
Streets.
81. ANGELUS TEMPLE (open to visitors 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. daily-
guides; contributions received), 1 100 Glendale Blvd., an immense, cir-
cular, buff-colored concrete building with a setback and a low-domed
roof, is identified by numerous banners and posters, and by electric
signs on its facade and upon the broadcasting towers on the roof; on
the top of the dome is a revolving cross outlined with neon lights at
night, showing red on one side and blue on the other. This is the
mother church of the Foursquare Gospel, founded by Aimee Scruple
McPherson.
176
THE NORTHWEST SECTION 177
Within the auditorium, aisles soft with blood-red carpets lead to
an altar under a great proscenium arch. The ceiling of the huge
unsupported dome is sky-blue behind fleecy clouds, and light enters
through tall stained-glass windows. The temple has four robed choirs,
several orchestras, bands, and smaller musical organizations, an expen-
sive costume wardrobe, a vast amount of stage scenery and properties,
and a 5,3OOglass communion set. Also in the structure are the tech-
nical room and studio of Radio Station KFSG the "Glory Station of
the Pacific Coast" the choir studio, and the Prayer Tower, where
alternating shifts of men and women have kept prayer in continuous
session night and day since the temple opened in 1923. In the foyer
near this tower is a display of X-ray photographs and discarded crutches
offered as testimony to the healing power of prayer. Adjoining the
auditorium on the east is a rectangular five-story buff concrete building
housing the Bible College, the commissary, and the administration
offices.
The temple has 57 departments with many subcommittees. The
weekly payroll is several thousand dollars though many followers de-
vote time and services free. Much relief work is done through the
free employment agency, commissary, and salvage department.
The Foursquare Gospel is preached in 400 branch churches in the
United States and Canada, and in 195 missions in foreign countries.
In day and night sessions the Bible College has trained more than 3,000
men and women to spread the Gospel of the Foursquare as evangelists,
missionaries, and ordained ministers. The creator and guiding light of
this institution is Aimee Semple McPherson (see Religion). Though
appearing in the pulpit less frequently than in former years, she usually
conducts the Sunday evening services, which feature sermons profusely
illustrated with costumed dramas.
L. fro?n Glendale Blvd. on Park Ave.; L. from Park on Sunset Blvd.;
L. from Sunset on Parkman St.; R. from Parkman on Silver Lake
Blvd.; R. from Silver Lake on Bellevue Ave.; R. from Bellevue on
Micheltorena St.
82. The Russian Orthodox CHURCH OF THE HOLY VIRGIN
MARY (open on application at parish house}, 658 Micheltorena St.,
is a small white one-story stuccoed building surmounted by a gilded
onion-shaped dome; the three-barred Greek-Catholic cross is fixed
above the entrance. The white interior walls are heavily decorated
with icons of various sizes, most of them with dark, rich, intense colors
outlined in gold against a gold background, many with the Greek-
Catholic cross at the top. One of the icons is a wood carving of the
fifteenth century, and others date from the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. There is but one short bench for the aged and infirm; all
other worshippers stand or kneel during the services, which is in Sla-
vonic. Singing, which forms an unusually large and important part
of the services, is unaccompanied by instruments. The choir, usually
consisting of eighteen persons, has a high reputation. The music is a
178 LOS ANGELES
special attraction of the Christmas and Easter celebrations, which
follow the usual dates of these holidays about two weeks later than
those of the western churches because of the eastern church's use of the
Julian calendar.
More than 20,000 people of Russian birth live in Los Angeles and
include widely diverse elements Soviet citizens, Russian gypsies, a
group of Molokans (pacifist sectarians who emigrated because of re-
ligious persecution in the latter part of the nineteenth century), Jews,
and finally the "whites" people who fled after the Bolsheviks came
to power in 1917. The Church of the Holy Virgin Mary is one of two
churches supported by the Russian refugees living in and about Los
Angeles.
Retrace Micheltorena St., Bellevue Ave., and Silver Lake Blvd.; L.
from Silver Lake on W. Silver Lake Dr.
SILVER LAKE RESERVOIR, bordered on the east by Silver
Lake Blvd. and on the west by Silver Lake Dr., lies in a trough-shaped
fold of the rolling hills. Its earth-fill dam, built in 1907 by the munici-
pal Department of Water and Power, backs up nearly two thousand
acre-feet of water. Eucalyptus trees and weeping willows stand on its
curving shores. The fine homes of the Silver Lake residential district
dot the surrounding hills.
L. from W . Silver Lake Dr. on Armstrong Ave.; L. from Armstrong
on W. Silver Lake Dr.; L. from W. Silver Lake on Rowena Ave.;.
L. from Rowena on Hyperion Ave.
83. The FORMER WALT DISNEY STUDIOS, 2719 Hyperion
Ave., are a group of cream-colored stucco laboratories and drafting
rooms designed to meet the requirements of making animated films.
They are no longer used since a modern plant has been built at Burbank
(see Tour 7).
Retrace Hyperion Ave.; L. from Hyperion on Rowena Ave.; L. from
Rowena on Los Feliz Blvd.; R. from Los Feliz on Vermont Ave.,
which becomes Vermont Ave. Canyon Rd. at entrance to Griffith Park.
GRIFFITH PARK (open 6 a.m.-S p.m. daily; Vermont canyon
section open 6 a.m.-n p.m.; free), into which Vermont Avenue passes
at a point several blocks north of its intersection with Los Feliz Boule-
vard, is a 3,76i-acre tract spreading over five square miles in the eastern
half of the mountains that lie north of Hollywood and Los Angeles.
Its 30 miles of winding, paved drives lead to heights from which sweep-
ing, town-covered expanses of surrounding country are visible ; 50 miles
of hiking and bridle trails explore spots still more remote. Picnic
grounds (tables, stoves; free) and children's playgrounds are scattered
throughout the lower edges of the park, in canyon mouths and level
roadside areas.
Griffith Park was once part of Rancho Los Feliz, granted to the
widow of Antonio Feliz by the Mexican governor of California in
THE NORTHWEST SECTION 1 79
1841. Colonel Griffith J. Griffith, the last private owner, donated
the mountain section to the city in 1896. The flat lands west of the
Los Angeles River were purchased by the city from the Griffith estate
after his death in 1919.
84. The GREEK THEATRE (open June to Sept.; hours and adm.
prices vary with performances), Vermont Canyon Rd., presents the
Doric facade (L) of its low ivory-colored concrete stage building to
the street; behind it, on the open hillside rise tiers of seats. The
theatre, built in 1930, with funds for the purpose by Colonel Griffith,
seats more than 4,000. It is used for lectures, concerts, ballets, con-
ventions, and civic exercises.
L. from Vermont Canyon Rd. on E. Observatory Dr.
85. The GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY AND PLANETARIUM
(open weekdays ii-n, Sun., holidays 2-1 1; planetarium demonstration
daily 3 and 8:30 p.m.; exhibit halls free, planetarium demonstration
25$), designed by John C. Austin, stands at the crest of an elevation
separating Western and Vermont Ave. Canyons; it is a long, low
grayish concrete structure with a large blackened copper dome in the
center and a smaller revolving dome at each end. Before the building
is an obelisk, designed by Archibald Garner and Gordon Newell, bear-
ing the stylized figures and names and life dates of the world's great
astronomers: Hipparchus, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and
Herschel. Atop the spire is the early astronomical instrument, the
astrolabe.
In the center of the floor in the main foyer of the building is a
bronze-trimmed marble well in which a 24O-pound brass sphere swings,
suspended from the ceiling by a 4O-foot steel wire. A model of a
pendulum invented in 1851 by Jean Foucault, French physicist, it
demonstrates the earth's rotation upon its axis.
Halls extending from the foyer contain the museum of physical
science divided into four departments: astronomy, physics, chemistry,
and geology. The astronomy section contains a large model of the
moon as it would appear if only 500 miles away, pale and pitted with
craters, its strange mountains casting creeping shadows as a traveling
overhead light creates an illusion of sunrise and sunset. The exhibit
includes a mechanical model of the solar system and an excellent col-
lection of meteorites. The physics section includes an oscilloscope for
graphing visitors' voices, the Wilson Cloud Chamber, spectra of gases,
discharge of electricity in vacua, the majority of which may be operated
by the observer; a comprehensive exhibit of chemical elements, fluores-
cent minerals, geological formations and other phenomena. A 12-INCH
REFRACTOR TYPE telescope (open 7 to 10:30 p.m. on weekdays, earlier
when objects of special interest are visible in sky; free) is mounted in
the East Dome.
Under the great Central Dome is a circular 5OO-seat auditorium
housing the planetarium. Popular lectures on astronomical subjects are
given, accompanied by sky views and other illustrative material pro-
l8o LOS ANGELES
jected on the concave ceiling by the Zeiss Planetarium, a large and
complex stereopticon machine.
The observatory was built in 1935 with funds set aside for the
purpose in the will of Colonel Griffith.
R. from E. Observatory Dr. on W. Observatory Dr.; L. from W .
Observatory on W ester n Ave. Canyon Rd.
86. FERN DELL (open 6 a.m.-n p.m., picknicking facilities; free),
in the southwestern end of the park is a heavily wooded ravine with
a. tumbling brook, rock pools, and bowers of ferns ranging in variety
from large tree-ferns to tiny moss-like specimens. They have been
growing there from the time when, according to legend, the ravine
was used by the Cahuenga Indians for tribal council meetings, and called
Mococahuenga (council grounds of the Cahuenga).
Retrace Western Ave. Canyon Rd. to W . Observatory Dr.; L. from
Western Ave. Canyon on W . Observatory ; L. from W '. Observatory
on Mt. Hollywood Dr.; L. from Mt. Hollywood on Mineral Wells
Dr., which becomes Crystal Springs Dr.
87. In the northeast corner of Griffith Park is (L) the CALIFORNIA
NATIONAL GUARD AIRPORT (open 9-5), entered from River-
side Dr. east of the intersection with Crystal Springs Dr. This is the
home station, Fortieth Aviation Division of the California National
Guard. A military radio station (CUS) and two steel hangars are on
the field.
R. from Crystal Springs Dr. on Griffith Park Dr.; R. from Griffith
Park on Zoo Dr.
88. The ZOO (open 7-4:30; free], at the end of Zoo Dr., is in a
rugged box-gorge in the eastern face of the Griffith Park Hills.
Because of limited maintenance funds, the zoo although in existence
since 1912 is still in a state of development. In 1939 seven cageless
moat-fronted pits for lions and bears, and a lO-cage house for monkeys
were constructed. The zoo is well-stocked with birds, small animals,
herbivores, and lions, but has only one elephant. More large animals
are being acquired. Upon the hills above is a high craggy pinnacle
called BEE ROCK, reached by hiking trails.
The Wilshire and West Sections
This tour begins in the city's downtown section and ends near the
Pacific Ocean; it leads through the Wilshire district just south of
Hollywood, filled with fine apartment houses and smart shops; and it
passes several beautiful churches and the Brea Pits, the richest source
of Pleistocene remains in the world.
TOUR
S. from City Hall on Spring St., R. from Spring on Sixth St., L. from
Spring on Figueroa St., R. from Figueroa on Wilshire Blvd.
With the progressive decentralization of the city's business district,
which began in the I92o's, Wilshire Boulevard has become the most
important of the newer metropolitan arteries. Many of the larger
shops and department stores have moved to the five-mile section be-
tween Westlake Park and Fairfax Avenue ; others have opened branches
there, often finer than the parent store.
WESTLAKE PARK, between Alvarado and Parkview Sts., is divided
by Wilshire Boulevard. The park, with a large lake (boating}, is
landscaped with a lush growth of trees, shrubs, and grass, and has a
children's playground and a picnic ground (tables, gas stoves; free},
both in the southwest corner.
9. At the eastern Wilshire Boulevard entrance is (L) an eight-
foot black cement nude, PROMETHEUS the firebringer, with torch
and globe. It was executed by Nina Saemundsson for the Federal Art
Project and erected in 1935.
90. At the western Wilshire Boulevard entrance is (L) a STATUE
OF HARRISON GRAY OTIS, for 31 years publisher of the Los
Angeles Times. It was designed by Paul Troubetzkoy.
91. Overlooking Westlake Park is the OTIS ART INSTITUTE
(guides 12-1, 4-5 p.m.; free), 2401 Wilshire Blvd., a county-main-
tained school of fine and applied arts housed in three white stucco
buildings of the residential type with red-tile roofs, numerous orna-
mented chimneys, and a columned entrance porch. As The Bivouac,
the place was the home of Otis, who bequeathed it to the county for its
present use. Facing Park View Street, on the institute grounds, is a
14-foot granite MODEL OF THE OLD TIMES BUILDING.
LAFAYETTE PARK, Wilshire Blvd. between Lafayette Park
PI. and Commonwealth Ave., is a landscaped hollow of winding walks,
lawns, and bosky retreats.
181
l82 LOS ANGELES
92. The STENDAHL GALLERY (open 9-5:30; free), 3006 Wil-
shire Blvd., is one of the oldest commercial art galleries in the city,
offering exhibitions by contemporary artists of established reputation
and showing, in a rear patio, work in experimental forms.
93. BULLOCK'S WILSHIRE BUILDING, 3050 Wilshire Blvd.,
a branch of the downtown department store, was designed by John and
Donald Parkinson with a striking use of buff terra cotta, green copper,
and glass. Above the two-story base, a slender six-story tower with
marked vertical lines and irregular set-back for three stories thrusts its
blunt, copper-sheathed nose against the sky. A central foyer, a cube
with high marble walls, is accented by vertical panels of glass and metal.
Each department was planned as a separate unit, with its own design,
decoration, and materials.
94. The elaborate new five-story I. MAGNIN CO. BUILDING,
SW. corner Wilshire Blvd. and New Hampshire Ave., was designed
by Myron Hunt and H. C. Chambers. The first-story base is of black
granite, contrasting sharply with the dazzling white Colorado Yule
marble of the upper stories. Brilliant nickel-silver trim divides the
black from the white. The interior, furnished in shades of apricot, has
indirect lighting effects like those achieved by Parisian artists and
technicians.
95. IMMANUEL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (adm. by appli-
cation at office; guides; free), SW. corner Wilshire Blvd. and S.
Berendo St., was designed in a modern adaptation of the Gothic. On
one side of the arched entrance is a tall bell tower, on the other a lower
and slenderer tower abutted by a secondary entrance. On the boule-
vard facade five lancet windows rise above the entrance to a rose win-
dow of stained glass portraying the nativity; along both sides of the
building are stained glass windows depicting events in the life of Christ.
Within are Gothic hammer beam trusses, columns and arches, oak fur-
nishings, and huge Gothic chandeliers all harmonizing with the massive
exterior. In addition to the two-thousand-seat main auditorium are a
chapel, halls, libraries, lounges, and a gymnasium.
96. The BROWN DERBY CAFE NO. i (always open), 3377 Wil-
shire Blvd., an incongruous combination of a huge derby hat and a
tile-roofed extension to the rear, is typical of the architectural fantasies
that dot many of the city's major streets. It lures its customers with
the slogan: "Eat in the Hat."
97. The AMBASSADOR HOTEL, 3400 Wilshire Blvd., a vast
rambling structure whose spreading tile-roofed wings faintly suggest
the buildings of northern Italy, sits far back from the street behind