Secret Stairs A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles

by Fleming, Charles

• ISBN13: 9781595800503
• ISBN10: 1595800506
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-01
• Publisher: Santa Monica Press

Summary

In a city known for its fast cars and freeways, this guide reveals a unique feature of the Los Angeles cityscape: more than 200 stairways across the hilly sections of the city, many of which are remnants from the days when most city residents depended on streetcars and buses for transportation. Containing more than 40 walks and detailed maps, this handbook highlights the charms and quirks of this quintessential feature of Los Angeles' development and chronicles the geographical, architectural, and historical features of each staircase and the neighborhoods in which the steps are located. Rated for duration and difficulty, the circular walks deliver tales of historic homes, their fascinating inhabitants, and troves of historic triviasuch as where William Faulkner lived while he wrote the screenplay forTo Have and Have Not, where Graham Nash lived, and where actress Thelma Todd was murderedwhile other walks highlight spectacular homes by some of southern California's most important architects, including Neutra and Schindler. From strolling through the classic La Loma neighborhood in Pasadena and walking the vintage Red Car Loop in Silver Lake to taking the Beachwood Canyon Hollywoodland hike and enjoying the magnificent ocean views from the Castellammare district in Pacific Palisades, these staircases present a new way for urban explorers to discover a little-known side of the City of Angels.

Author Biography

Charles Fleming teaches entertainment reporting at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. He has written for numerous magazines, including LA Weekly, the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, the New York Times, and Vanity Fair. He is the author of High Concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood Culture of Excess and the coauthor of The Goomba Diet: Living Large, The Goomba’s Book of Love, A Goomba’s Guide to Life, My Lobotomy, Three Weeks in October: The Manhunt for the Serial Sniper. He lives in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 6
Pasadena and The East
Pasadena-La Loma Road	p. 13
Eagle Rock	p. 17
Glassell Park North-York and Beyond	p. 21
Glassell Park South-Taylor Yard	p. 25
Mt. Washington	p. 29
Hermon and Highland Park	p. 35
Highland Park-Southwest Museum	p. 39
Highland Park-Highlands	p. 45
El Sereno Circles	p. 51
Happy Valley and Montecito Heights	p. 55
Downtown Los Angeles	p. 61
Echo Park
Echo Park Lake Victorians	p. 71
Laveta Terrace	p. 77
Magic Gas	p. 81
Avalon-Baxter Loop	p. 85
Allesandro Loop	p. 91
Fellowship Park	p. 97
Silver Lake
Music Box Loop	p. 105
Silver Lake Circles	p. 111
Sunset Junction Loop	p. 115
Silver Lake Terraces West	p. 121
Coffee Table Loop	p. 125
Astro Loop	p. 131
Silver Lake Terraces East	p. 137
Swan's Way	p. 141
Cove-Loma Vista Loop	p. 145
Silver Lake Court	p. 151
Los Angeles River Loop	p. 157
Hollywood and Los Feliz
Los Feliz-Griffith Park Loop	p. 165
Franklin Hills East-Lyric Loop	p. 171
Franklin Hills West-Radio-Prospect Loop	p. 175
Fern Dell and Immaculate Heart	p. 181
Bronson Canyon Loop	p. 185
Beachwood Canyon	p. 189
Temple Hill	p. 193
Whitley Heights	p. 199
Hollywood Bowl and High Tower Loop	p. 203
Universal City-Happy Trails	p. 207
Santa Monica and The West
Santa Monica-Bluffs and Beach Walk	p. 213
Santa Monica-Rustic Canyon Loop	p. 219
Pacific Palisades-Castellammare	p. 225
Pacific Palisades-Giant Steps	p. 231
Afterword	p. 236
Acknowledgements	p. 238
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.