Exposition Park Rose Garden and Fountain Is This Year's Great LA Walk Gathering Spot!

We have a gathering spot! Thanks to Exposition Park for allowing us to gather on Saturday morning, November 19, at 9 am at the Rose Garden fountain. It will be from that scenic spot that we will then embark on our journey, heading north on Figueroa to Adams. 

Exposition Park has easy access from the Metro Expo (E) Line, and of course there's also paid parking around the area. (And good news: There's no USC home game that Saturday, so the Coliseum won't be a madhouse.)

A little bit of history from the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks:

The Rose Garden is operated by the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks and has been since 1928. The Rose Garden is visited by hundreds of Angelinos and tourists each year. It is often used as an urban oasis by the local Community as a place of quiet and refuge. On most weekends between April and November, it is the location of choice for weddings and photographs of family gatherings.

See you there on Nov. 19! More details to come. (Photo via the California African American Museum.)

The Great Los Angeles Walk Returns to West Adams, Culver City and Venice For the First Time in 13 Years!

It's about time. One of my favorite Great Los Angeles Walks of all time was our 2009 journey, where we toured the architectural treasures of the West Adams neighborhood, and hit other historical buildings (plus a few famous homes from TV and film!) via both Adams and Washington.

Click here to recount our journey from that year.

Now, it's time to do it again! With a bit of a streamlined route. Rather than hop up and down repeatedly like we did in 2009, we'll take Adams from downtown to Culver City, where it intersects with Washington — and from there, we'll take Washington to the ocean (and Venice Beach). 

Of course, we'll still take a few detours along the way to explore! 

I'm still working out some details, including a starting point, so stay tuned!

But as always, keep the Saturday before Thanksgiving free, as we once again hit the sidewalks and streets of Los Angeles to explore our fine city.

Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 9 a.m.: It's the 17th annual Great Los Angeles Walk, the West Adams to Venice Beach edition!

If you haven't yet, email us at greatlawalk@mail.com to get on our mailing list, for updates and more. 

Stay Tuned: Details Coming Tomorrow!

THE GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK RETURNS ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2022! DETAILS TOMORROW!

The Great Los Angeles Walk 2021 Recap: Hundreds Retrace the Steps of Los Angeles' First Settlers -- Los Pobladores -- From San Gabriel to Downtown

A year after being socially distanced, the Great Los Angeles Walk was back in person this year, in time to try something different: In honor of Los Angeles' 240th birthday, we decided to retrace the short journey of Los Angeles' first settlers -- Los Pobladores -- from the San Gabriel Mission to downtown L.A.

We weren't sure who might show up, but the attendance was strong, as a hundreds joined us in San Gabriel for the 16th edition of The Great Los Angeles Walk on Saturday, Nov. 20. We hiked through Alhambra, and the El Sereno, stopping at spots including the Ming Ya Buddhist Association and exploring Lincoln Park. We later passed by Los Angeles County General Hospital, and the coroners office, hiked over the Los Angeles River and past Union Station, walking through Chinatown and Olvera Street before moving on to Grand Park, Spring St., Broadway, Grand Ave. and ending for a photo in front of Angels Flight. From there, some moved on to celebrate at Grand Central Market

This year's Walk eschewed our normal downtown-to-the-ocean route to try something a bit different. After a brief gathering at the San Gabriel Mission -- now being renovated after a 2020 fire -- we walked nine miles to Los Angeles' Pueblo and Olvera Street, followed by an afternoon traveling through downtown and adding on around four more miles.

Thanks to everyone who made all of the trek, some of it, or even just helped give rides to their friends. Check out The Great Los Angeles Walk's Instagram feed for more pics, and the hashtags #glaw and #greatlawalk for more as well. Also you can find pics in which we were tagged here.

But here are just a few highlights from the day:

 

DOWNLOAD: The Great Los Angeles Walk 2021 Map and Highlights PDF

Here's this year's GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK handout!

Download here.

Or save the images below to your smart phone, and/or copy and paste the directions below. See below:

MILE 1: Garfield Ave.

MILE 2: Marguerita Ave.

MILE 3: Westminster Ave.

[Mission turns into Alhambra]

El Sereno Arroyo Playground
Pasadena Model Railroad Club

MILE 4: Endicott Street

[Alhambra turns into Valley Blvd]

MILE 5: Cyril Ave.

Los Angeles Fire Dept. Station 16
Ming Ya Buddhist Association

MILE 6: Soto St.

Lincoln Park
Florence Nightingale Memorial
The Wall: Las Memorias AIDS Monument
Plaza de la Raza
El Parque de Mexico
Agustin Lara Monument

[Valley Blvd. to N Mission Rd]

LAC+USC Medical Center-General Hospital
LA County Dept of Medical Examiner-Coroner

MILE 7: Morengo Street

5 Freeway
[Right on Cesar Chavez]

MILE 8: Los Angeles River

Cesar Chavez Bridge
Union Station
Olvera Street

[Walk toward La Placita Church, through El Pueblo Los Angeles Plaza Historic Park]

Chinese American Museum
Pico House
La Plaza de Cultura y Artes

LUNCH BREAK!

MILE 9: Main St.

[Walk through pathway next to church to Spring Street; turn left and start walking on Spring toward downtown]

101 Freeway
Hall of Justice
City Hall/Grand Park
Los Angeles Times former headquarters
Spring Street Park
The Last Bookstore

MILE 10: Spring and 6th Street

[Spring and Main merge; continue on Main until Olympic]

[Turn right on Olympic, to Broadway]

[Turn right on Broadway]

United Artists/Ace Hotel
The Orpheum
Tower Theatre
Globe Theatre
Clifton’s
Los Angeles Theatre

MILE 11: Broadway and 6th Street

Arcade Building
Biddy Mason Park
Grand Central Market
Million Dollar Theater
Bradbury Building

Back to Grand Park

[Make a left and walk up Grand Park]

Performance Lawn
Splash Pad

MILE 12: Grand Ave. at the Music Center

[Head left on Grand]

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Broad
Museum of Contemporary Art
California Plaza Park
Angels Flight Railway

[Take Angels Flight back down to Grand Central Market]

4 pm — Photo in front of Angels Flight

After: Enjoy Grand Central Market!

NBCLA.com Touts This Year's Great Los Angeles Walk

 

Thanks as always to Alysia Gray Painter for writing up the Great Los Angeles Walk for NBCLA.com! She writes:

Each September, for the last several years, at least, a group of locals make the on-foot journey from San Gabriel Mission to El Pueblo de Los Angeles, retracing the nine-mile route taken by Los Pobladores, the early settlers of the area, in 1781.

Of course, the route is available to anyone throughout the year, and not just on LA's birthday (which is Sept. 4, but then you know that, surely). To pay tribute to Los Pobladores, and to connect with the story of our city in a community-minded and contemplative way, the Great Los Angeles Walk aims to follow that route on Nov. 20.

Nov. 20, in 2021, is the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and if you're familiar with this free event, you know it always sets out, five days before the holiday, on a remarkable ramble.

Those remarkable rambles have long covered sizable swaths of the city, with past Great Los Angeles Walks inviting can-do adventurers to amble along Wilshire Boulevard, through Hollywood, and to the beach.

The 2021 path is a shorter one comparatively, and the walk should wrap up, for many people around noon or 1 o'clock at Olvera Street.

To continue the fun, though, the event's energetic founder, Michael Schneider, and other gambolers who are feeling game, will saunter further into downtown, with an exploratory stroll along Grand Avenue and Broadway, with stops to see Angels Flight and Grand Central Market.

You're free to keep on keepin' on beyond Olvera Street if you like, or you can wrap up your day there.

It's year 16 for this uplifting urban outing, a happening that not only helps people get to know other locals who are interested in our city's stories, shops, spots, and LA's vast everything-ness, but there's fresh air and exercise involved, too.

That's certainly a bonus, as we all amble up to the fourth Thursday in November, and the heaping helpings of stuffing and pie that may await.

Saturday's Weather Forecast: Perfect Day for The Walk!

 

For the Great Los Angeles Walk, you want it not too sunny, not too dark -- and not too hot, but not too cold. And please, no rain. This Saturday, it looks to be about perfect. Still bring your hats and sunscreen just in case, but it appears that Mother Nature will be cooperating as we embark at 9 am from San Gabriel Mission!