The Griffith Observatory - 10 January 2013

Griffith Park is more than 4200 acre of urban wilderness, relatively smack dab in the middle of our sprawling megalopolis.  Spread among the hills (elevations up to 1700 feet) and dales (a mere 384) are miles and miles of hiking trails, an open air theatre, a golf course, carousel, pony rides, bird sanctuary, picnic areas, horseback riding, and much more.  Plant life runs the gamut from spare coastal to lush vegetation, and the natural denizens include deer, coyotes, rabbits, snakes, lizards, amphibians, fish, and birds.

The crowning jewel is the Griffith Observatory, completed in 1935.  The domes on either side of the roof house telescopes which look out to the stars and beyond.  Underneath the center dome is the 300-seat planetarium, with live-narrated “shows” about the stars and beyond.

The observatory was closed to the public for four years (2002-2006) for an extensive renovation which, among other changes, added an entirely new level below ground allowing for a great deal more exhibit space.  One thing that didn’t change is the the entrance area.  When you first walk in you see a circular wall, and lots of people looking over it.  What they’re watching is a brass ball that hangs at the end of a cable suspended from the ceiling high above down to the area below the floor within that walled circle, swinging slowly back and forth, periodically knocking down small pegs at one side.

This is a Foucault pendulum, and demonstrates the rotation of the earth.  The pendulum is attached to a bearing in the ceiling which remains stationary as the earth rotates; the knocking down of the pegs is proof of that rotation.

Above and around the pendulum in this rotunda are murals depicting classical celestial mythology (the ceiling) and the “Advancement of Science” on the walls.

The exhibits are fascinating, and many are interactive, but they can be hard to photograph.  Among those we managed to get is this real-time live view of the sun (the dark areas are sun spots):

Here Coccinelle poses in front of a large globe of the moon, which rotates and is lit as if by the sun exactly like the real thing – and the little glass box she’s sitting on actually contains a bit of the real thing: a rock brought back by one of the Apollo crews:

Among the new galleries in the section downstairs we ran into a famous scientific figure:

Coccinelle and Albert Einstein

Many people go to the observatory more for what can be seen outside.  The building itself is beautiful…

…and it’s located high on a hill with a clear view of perhaps 280 degrees from the mountains to the northeast, south to downtown, west to the ocean and a little north again as the coast curves west:

You can go on the rooftop as well, where one of the telescopes can be viewed (but not easily photographed) through a glass wall:

The roof of the building as well as the telescope and planetarium domes are all covered with copper.  During the recent renovation they were all stripped of the gorgeous patina they’d acquired over the decades, and I think the domes were sealed to keep it from occurring again any time soon, but some of the roof detail is starting to green up nicely:

Almost time to head home, we gaze from the rooftop to the setting sun (the tall buildings are the office towers of Century City, Beverly Hills, and Westwood):

A Trip to the Library - 9 January 2012

My office job is across the street from the main branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, which was built in 1926 and has been a landmark in downtown LA ever since.  In the late 1980s the building suffered two arson fires, and there was a lot of talk about tearing it down as it had already been deemed too small for all its resources and holdings.  Fortunately, the outcry against destroying this beautiful building was strong, and instead it was restored, renovated, and added onto.

From my office’s 7^th floor windows you can’t get a full head-to-toe-shot of the side of the library we face, so here it is in two parts, with a good look at the roof with its tiled pyramid topper:

 

 

All around the building are chisled quotations about books; one of my favorites is high up at the roofline: "Books alone are liberal and free: they give to all who ask, they emancipate all who serve them faithfully."

At the tip of the rooftop pyramid is a replica of the Statue of Liberty’s arm that holds the torch; in an alcove of the library is a replica of that replica:

Below the pyramid is the a rotunda on the second floor of the original library building.  There is a world globe lighting fixture hanging from the center of the dome, and all around is a mural painted in 1932 depicting early life in California (from the Spanish missionaries perspective) to the founding of the city of Los Angeles:

The rotunda was once home to the card catalogs, but they were removed after all the information had been digitized.  As a design feature, drawer fronts have been attached to the walls, a nice touch to tie the now online-only information to the history of the library.

They even repurposed a lot of the cards in the elevator shafts of the new part of the building.  The car walls are glass so you can watch the catalog cards whiz past as you go up or down:

 The children’s section is a terrific space, with more original murals, original and replica furniture:

There are a number of small exhibition spaces which allow the library to display some of its extensive non-book collection, such as photographs, posters, artwork, etc.,  Currently there are two galleries showing historic maps of Los Angeles:

The new section is a complete architectural departure from the original building – a contemporary, eight story structure (four floors below ground) that has a central atrium with giant modern art light fixtures:

Before the arson fires, the property on one side of the building had been an open, paved parking lot.  With the renovations came a lovely little park (much more extensive parking is now underground) with grass, trees, winding paths, benches, and several water features:

Also in the park is a World Peace Bell, “[A]n internationally recognized symbol of world peace.  The bell is cast from coins and medals donated by 103 countries and represents a common bond among the nations of the world.”  The World Peace Bell Association, working with the United Nations, is working to provide these bells to all nations of the world:

The back of the Central Library is just as attractive as its other faces, even the access tunnel, with more of the elegant statuary and chisled quotations, including my other favorite ("Books invite all, they constrain none"):

The building I work in is known locally as the Library Tower, not because it’s across the street, but because the builders purchased the library’s “air rights” which allowed them to construct build higher than they otherwise would have been able to do (laws, ordinances, etc.), and with more than 70 stories it’s (currently) the tallest building in American west of the Mississippi River.

Catching Up Part 7 - The Original Farmers Market - 23 December 2012

“In July 1934 a contingent of farmers pulled their trucks onto an expanse of empty land at the property known as Gilmore Island at the corner of Third and Fairfax in Los Angeles. They displayed their produce on the tailgates of their vehicles, to their delight, customers quickly arrived …  The atmosphere was casual, the open air commerce enticing, the goods fresh, and the result remarkable. Farmers Market became an instant institution.”

And it remains so today.  One Saturday morning in late December, Coccinelle and I met up with my cousin Kathie and her husband Phil for breakfast there, and after we parted at the restaurant I took Coccinelle for a tour of the Market.

What started as a “truck farm” eventually blossomed into a permanent open-air venue with dozens of covered stalls and several enclosed little shops selling all kinds of food to eat on the premises, meat and produce and pastries to take home, touristy trinkets, and much more.

Locals and visitors alike come to eat and shop.  Beautiful fruits and vegetables can be had year-round, and it’s a fantastic place for people watching.

 

When we were kids one of our favorite stalls was Magees, which sells a huge variety of nuts.

What really we drew us, though, was the peanut butter machine, where the freshly ground nut butter would slide down the chute and into the tub to be mixed and mixed and mixed by a giant paddle:

 

I think Coccinelle’s favorite might have been Littlejohn’s:

If you’re there at the right time, you can watch them make their delicious English Toffee right there.  We missed it, so had to content ourselves with letting Ian, who was working the counter, help us buy a piece to take home:

 

We also spotted one of the angels from the Community of Angels Sculptural Art Project!  Between 2000 and 2002, several hundred artist-decorated cast sculptures of angel figures were displayed all around the Los Angeles basin, most of which were eventually auctioned off for charity.  Some of them were given permanent homes in public spaces, and this is one of them.  Appropriately for a tourist mecca like the Farmers Market, this is the Travel Angel:

(You can find links to pictures of many of the angels at http://www.publicartinla.com/Community_of_Angels/)

Catching Up Part 5 - Happy New Year 2013!

My brother is the bartender at a restaurant, and it has become our tradition that on New Year’s Eve I go there to ring in the new year, then when the restaurant closes (usually by 1:00), he and I go somewhere else for a drink until that place closes at the usual 2:00 AM for bars in California.  Coccinelle, of course, was part of the celebration, outfitted with party clothes – a silvery ruffled “dress”, gold beads, and a party hat.  Here she is, all ready to ring in 2013:

Because my brother knew some people who work at the place we went to after his restaurant closed, we were able to stay after closing and didn’t end  up leaving until about 3 AM.  And from there, after bundling ourselves against the cold (42 degrees), we drove to Pasadena to take a look at the Rose Parade floats lining up in the very early morning hours before the parade began.  You walk past within just a few feet of them, some still having finishing touches applied, and can see the amazing detail and work that goes into their creation.  We also saw people camping out along this pre-parade route, and were especially tickled by this group’s setup:

The floats are required to be decorated with only plant material, and flowers, seeds, fruits, vegetables, bark, grasses, and pretty much anything else that comes up out of the ground is put to wonderful use.  Being so close you can easily see that, for example, the vibrant “trim” on a building is made of yellow bell peppers!

Because it’s still dark, giant work lights have been temporarily installed every few hundred feet or so, casting an uneven and unnatural lighting on the floats that you're not really aware of until you watch the parade on TV later in the day.

 

This man in next picture is Kirk, who was working for the Tournament of Roses (which produces the parade) for the first time this year, although he’d grown up around it all as his father had spent a couple of decades with them.  Everyone working for the Tournament wears those spotlessly white suits and red ties; Kirk had on a helmet because his job as a troubleshooter had him tooling around on a motor scooter:

 

Now, you’re not supposed to touch the floats, but this particular one...

...was not only a perfect setting for Coccinelle, when I saw those spotted mushrooms I knew I had to try and take her picture with them.  The woman who was watching over the float very nicely let me get in a quick shot:

All in all, a great way to start the new year!