Need a study/work break? Let’s take the classroom into the city and explore our very own architectural treasures.
A jaunt to Watts Towers can provide a lesson in engineering, art, local history and just plain wonder. The towers are closed during the pandemic, but a great deal is viewable from the street and merits a visit with a sketchbook in hand.
Up in Hollywood, take that sketchbook to Yamashiro restaurant, which translates to “Mountain Palace” in Japanese, and then to the nearby Holy Transfiguration Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Little Armenia.
In Downtown L.A., check out Frank Gehry’s infamous Walt Disney Concert Hall (can you see the ship in the structure?). Tours are canceled during the pandemic, but you can visit the outside of the building. These four distinctive forms of architecture constructed during four different decades in four different neighborhoods reflect just a sliver of the diversity we share.
If you’re looking for spooky architecture in the spirit of Halloween, FortLA has put together a “Witch Houses” trail to lead Angelenos through the hidden paths, secret byways and most fantastical homes curated by “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star Amber Benson. Enter your email address on the organization’s website for free access to this and other trails, which you follow at your own pace. Architecture has never been so bewitching!
