You ready to mix things up? After years of doing east-to-west journeys, mostly from downtown to the ocean (well, one year we did Ventura from west to east!) -- we're doing something completely different with this year's walk.
I get asked all the time, "What about the north-to-south streets?" Yeah, we've hit almost all of the iconic L.A. east-to-west boulevards: Wilshire, Santa Monica, Pico, Olympic, Sunset, Hollywood, Beverly, 6th, etc. But what about Western? Fairfax? La Cienega? Sepulveda?
OK, we can't hit all of those. But for the first time ever, we're going to get a taste of two of them.
ALSO, for the first time ever, we're going to include Griffith Park! For the first time ever, we're going to start and stop in the same place, making transportation easy! And, for the first time ever, we're going to hit Franklin Avenue -- yes, the street that we named our blog after, 20 years ago! (Remember blogs? Franklin Avenue still exists, although it's on a bit of a hiatus.)
Wow, that's a lot of firsts. And a lot of streets. How are you doing this, Mike?
Glad you asked. On Saturday, November 18 -- always the Saturday before Thanksgiving! -- we will meet at 9 a.m. at the bear statue at Griffith Park. You know the one -- people seem to always be doing yoga next to it. The approximate address is 5413 Los Feliz Blvd.
The good news: Parking is all around. Find a spot where you can leave your car all day... or else public transportation is still welcome and recommended!
From there, we will take Los Feliz (which turns into Western) down to Franklin, and hang a right. We'll continue on Franklin to Highland -- where it swoops down, and we'll continue to take Franklin to its end, at Wattles Mansion and Garden Park, a little past Runyon Canyon. From there, we'll take Curson to Hollywood Blvd., and continue to Fairfax.
And this is the fun part. We will journey down Fairfax for the first time! West Hollywood, Canter's, all those shoe stores, The Grove, Park La Brea, the Academy Museum and LACMA, the Petersen Auto Museum, Little Ethiopia, and so much more!
At Pico, we will head east. Who doesn't love Pico? And this is a great stretch, full of amazing places to eat and so much culture. And then we reach Western.
Western Avenue is when we head back north. Right into the heart of Koreatown. (And also El Cholo, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year! Stop and grab a margarita!) We continue all the way up Western...
Back to the Griffith Park bear. And here's where the bonus walk kicks in: If you're really ambitious (and this is my plan!), keep heading up to the Griffith Observatory, in time for sunset, above all of Los Angeles.
It will be a Great Los Angeles Walk to remember! Can't wait to see all of you on Nov. 18, 2023 at 9 a.m. for the 18th annual Great Los Angeles Walk: Fairfax/Western edition!
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(Photo: Getty Images)
