In & Around Los Angeles

Quiet Los Angeles, Razo, Rebecca

★ ★

-3 for including Hotels, spas, bookstores, & other commercial ventures as well as not having a table of contents that I could use as a check-sheet of places visited......

This book was a waste of $$$$$, I was told that this book was full of quiet places in L.A. that one could visit for solitude, quiet, & contemplation.... It was laid out by type of place: Park, museum, bookstore, hotel, etc.

I was looking more towards museums, parks, & open spaces, not places that I will have to spend exorbitant $$$$ in order to have a contemplative moment..... Places where I could visit any day of the week for a photo shoot....

Want to read this book? Borrow it from the library first, then decide if it is a "must have"!

111 Places in Los Angeles That You Must Not Miss, Moglen, Laurel

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Ok, included are many commerical places to visit, but the museums here are more prolific, colorful, and include more "open to the public" parks... I like the photos better, I like the written descriptions better... These are places I want to visit, unlike those in the the afore mentioned title.... This book is laid out alphabetically by name of destination: 2nd Street Tunnel, Audubon Center, Brady Bunch House, Descano's Ancient Forest - York Blvd, plus 5 pages of street maps.... and the table of contents is one that may be used as a checklist!

For me, this one is a keeper....

Views of Los Angeles, Gernot Kuehn

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ♥ A photographic essay of then and now. I saw this show at a museum back in the late 70's and I was so impressed, that I bought the book. All the photographs are in black & white and feature historic buildings of Los Angeles. The photographer took a series of historic photographs and then went to the same spot and took photos of those buildings from the same approximate angles.... It is an amazing photo-essay of many places that have now been demolished, but many still intact.

L. A. Lost & Found, Hall Sam Kaplan

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ♥

Another book in my Los Angeles Historic Collection (Places to go, see, & shoot).

Originally the building I live in for 15 years, 8th & Gramercy, was originally listed as "lost" and in another location, until I wrote the author & sent an updated photo; now it is listed as "found"! Many, many of these locations, have unfortunately been bulldozed in the name of greed, disguised as "progress".... But the ones that are still intact & still standing are a marvel to behold and I am very happy to say I remember many from my childhood. It is always fun to visit and photograph these places. I love the beauty of historic architecture, it had "feeling" of place and qualified as art. Yes, I own this book as well. How could I not when I lived in an beautiful part of history?