I found myself driving on Beachwood Drive last week when I saw a sign that read “Hollywood Sign Scenic View,” with an arrow directing me up Ledgewood Drive. I don’t drive on Beachwood very often, but I don’t remember seeing…
Author: Mark Berman
Fixing Wilshire Blvd
After living for more than four years behind the iron bars of the Palazzo West, I was very happy to be moving to a regular, less secure building on Miracle Mile, where I would actually have a relationship with the…
Video: Tour 1940s LA with Some Actor
In this video, some actor whose name may or may not be Richard Kaufman, and who for some reason has custody of two children for the weekend, takes them and us on a tour of Los Angeles in the 1940s. It’s…
Transportation Proposal #3
This transportation proposal is dedicated to left turns. Now, left turns are a good thing — in fact in a recent survey it was voted the second favorite turn among drivers, just trailing the venerable right turn. However, a city has to…
“Culver City Steps” Best. View. Ever.
After five years, I would still be considered a relative newcomer to Los Angeles, so I am still discovering things that natives and long-time residents of the city have known about for years. But there are some things I’ll bet…
Angels Flight, a Jewel of LA
At 298 feet, it is dubbed “The Short Railway in the World.” But as short as it is, Angels Flight is one of the jewels of Los Angeles. The funicular downtown reopened to passengers last March, and if you haven’t…
Photos: “Miracle Mile” the Movie
I recently became aware of the 1988 movie “Miracle Mile.” It’s about a nuclear attack on the U.S. with our own Miracle Mile on Wilshire as ground zero. I don’t know what Hollywood has against this neighborhood. First it was bombed…
Domed Football Stadium For Los Angeles?
As a football fan, I am in favor of building a stadium in Los Angeles and luring a team here. I am also in favor of putting that stadium downtown next to the Staples Center rather than in the City of…
Illustrating My Parking Point
My Transportation Proposal #2 dealt with parking (you mean you didn’t read it?!). One of my issues was that parking restrictions are bad for business. I have a little parking story to illustrate that point. Last Saturday I wanted to go…
Video: Los Angeles in the 1940s
Some cool old film of Los Angeles in the 1940s, including “The Brown Derby” and shots of Hollywood Boulevard. Skip the Communist stuff at the end.