The Fall of last year, I had the wonderful to participate in a learning cluster that gave me a good glance around L.A.. Learning clusters are part of the undergraduate curriculum at SUA, where the first and second years have to participate in, as part of establishing a deeper understanding of subject matters of our concerns and interests. One of my professors offered a learning cluster entitled "What is a city? What is L.A.?", which looks closely at L.A. in the study of urban life, cities, and planning. My professor, who is a L.A. native, whipped up an intense syllabus and planned out a "treasure hunt" for us to see the our syllabus come to life in L.A.
To instil some sense to this otherwise disheveled series of photographs taken throughout our helter-skeltered hunt, I have arranged the photos by day, and accompanied them with crude descriptions. Voila:
PS: We compiled our findings and bits of our tour, and created a write up to wrap up our cluster. Now, we have a PDF of our magazine, which may act as a book of LA treasure sites. Please email me if you are interested in our little pride and glory!
Day 1
Sites: LA Union Station, Olvera Street (not pictured), Chinatown, Bunker Hill, Bradbury Building, Central Market (np), Grand Park (np), LA Public Library (np), Pershing Square (np), Angel's Flight (np), and The Last Bookstore (np, book heaven).
General themes: Rainy LA, wet sandals, lost & confused tourists, and food-happy people.
Sites: Mariacha Plaza (Boyle Heights area), Little Tokyo (np), Kyoto Gardens (np, on top of DoubleTree by Hilton), Skid Row (np), Arts District (np) and Urth & Zinc & Blue Bottle Co. (np).
General themes: Ominous skies, the gentrification experience, SoCal homelessness, train commute close-shaves, and hipsters galore.
Day 3
Sites: Playa Vista (np), Baldwin Hills, Augustus F. Hawkins Nature Park, South LA farm (np), La Mercado La Paloma, University of Southern California (np), and Exposition Park.
General themes: Sunny, warm, beautiful men, rekindling relationships between nature & humanity, South Los Angeles, coincidental meetings, and getting lost & confused again.
Day 4
Sites: Santa Monica, Tongva Park, Venice, Global Green (np), the LA river (np), and our professor's house.
General themes: Bike-friendly communities, sweaty t-shirts (courtesy of biking), urban planning and consulting, salty air, food porn, trying not to get hit by cars, Santa Monica night life, quirky inhabitants of Venice (old, toned guy in speedos), and excitement (not related to speedos).
Sites: Miracle Mile (LACMA, La Brea Tar Pits, etc.), Original Farmer's Market, The Grove, Hollywood, Koreatown, and City Hall.
General themes: Jakun-ness, chasing bus lines, food porn, un-glamourous Hollywood, rip-offs, sustainable development, Mayor Garcetti, and extreme satisfaction.
*All photos are taken by and owned by me. Please do not use without permission.*
