Here's this year's GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK handout!
Or save the images below to your smart phone, and/or copy and paste the directions below. Included are the mile markers, as well as a list of Wilshire highlights via the Los Angeles Conservancy. See below:
Birth of the Boulevard - how Wilshire began
Life in the Fast Lane - our love affair with the automobile
Wilshire Today - new communities adding their own layers of history
Preserving Wilshire's History - how the boulevard reflects the need for, and value of, preservation
Neighborhoods - overviews of eight neighborhoods from downtown to the ocean
THE 15th ANNUAL GREAT LOS ANGELES WALK RETURNS TO WILSHIRE FOR A SOCIALLY DISTANCED EDITION ON NOV. 21
LOS ANGELES (Nov. 10, 2020) -- Hundreds of Angelenos will hit the sidewalks once again on Saturday, November 21, for The Great Los Angeles Walk 2020 – the annual event that dispels the myth that “nobody walks in L.A.”
But in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's walk will be a little different. This year, for the 15th edition, The Great Los Angeles Walk (http://www.greatlawalk.com)won't kick off with its usual gathering (there is no start time this year), and it also won't end with a celebration. Instead, participants are encouraged to walk at their own pace, and on their own schedule, down Wilshire Boulevard throughout the day.
Wilshire Boulevard was the route for the first Walk in 2006, and again for a second time in 2010. . Participants can start right where Wilshire begins, in downtown Los Angeles at Grand Ave., and proceed to walk the entire 15.6 mile length to the ocean.
Along the way, as they hike down L.A.’s grand boulevard, walkers will encounter historic buildings like Bullock’s Wilshire and the Wiltern Theatre; attractions such as MacArthur Park and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the remains of L.A. icons that fell to the wrecking ball, such as the Ambassador Hotel and Perino’s.
Walkers will pass through a diverse cross-section of the region, including Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, the Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills, Westwood and Santa Monica.
Everyone will be encouraged to explore the city in a safe way, and follow proper safety protocols, such as wearing a mask and maintaining a proper distancing from others. From there, they should explore the city, document what they see and share that experience with others. We won't be able to document our start and journey as a group this year, but we will be able to chronicle it virutally.
L.A. journalist and blogger Michael Schneider launched the Great Los Angeles Walk in 2006 as a way to celebrate his tenth year in Los Angeles. Inspired by the book “Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles,” by Kevin Roderick (with research by J. Eric Lynxwiler), he decided to walk the street’s entire length.
In 2007, for an encore, he chose another downtown-to-the-ocean route: Pico Boulevard. The 2008 Walk took on Santa Monica Blvd. In 2009, the event kicked off in the historic West Adams district and walked to Venice Beach via Adams and Washington. In 2010, for its fifth edition, the Great Los Angeles Walk reprised its original Wilshire journey. In 2011, participants marched to the ocean via Hollywood Boulevard. In 2012, the Walk traveled across Melrose Avenue; in 2013, Sunset Boulevard; in 2014, the Walk traveled across the San Fernando Valley via Ventura Boulevard; in 2015, the Walk took on Olympic Boulevard; in 2016, it returned to Pico; in 2017, the Walk tackled Beverly Boulevard; in 2018, in honor of Jonathan Gold, we walked on 6th Street, including through Koreatown; and in 2019, we walked down Colorado Blvd. from Arcadia and Pasadena, and then through Highland Park to downtown via Figueroa.
The Great Los Angeles Walk grew from dozens of participants to hundreds, and continues to expand each year as more Angelenos join in to explore their city on foot.
As always, the Walk is completely free. It is up to the participants to decide how much or how little of the walk they want to do. The Great Los Angeles Walk has been featured in Los Angeles magazine, the Los Angeles Times, the L.A. Weekly, KCAL-Channel 9, KABC-Channel 7, LAist.com and KNBC.com. In 2012, the LA Weeklyrecognized The Great Los Angeles Walk in its "Best of L.A." issue. More recently, the Walk was included in the book "The Best Things to Do In Los Angeles: 1001 Ideas" by Joy Yoon.
The official hashtag of The Great Los Angeles Walk is #glaw. Social media users can follow along all day on the walk's official Twitter feed, @greatlawalk, as we continually post our location.
Named for socialist entrepreneur Henry Gaylord Wilshire, the original Wilshire Boulevard was nothing more than a dirt road measuring a mere four miles long. However, as time has transformed Los Angeles into one of the foremost cities of the world, that same humble dirt road has since become the spine of a bustling metropolis. Long known as the “Main Street to the beach,” Wilshire Boulevard connects Downtown with the Miracle Mile district, Beverly Hills, Westwood, and the ocean bluffs near Santa Monica, best reflecting the history and ambitions of our sprawling city.
Angels Walk Wilshire is an impressive stretch overflowing with many architectural triumphs including the Park Plaza Hotel, First Congregational Church, the Bullock's Wilshire Building, the Wilshire Temple, and the Wiltern Theatre. Grab lunch at Langer’s Deli (open since 1947), or stroll through the Spanish-Revival Chapman Market (now Chapman Plaza) to experience an array of eateries and shops in what is now Koreatown.
Does your Thanksgiving to-do list seems at its most sizable a few days before the eating-oriented occasion?We'll see you socially distanced, next Saturday!
Do you spend the Saturday prior to the celebration stocking up on stuffing, and turkey, and tofurkey, and then even more stuffing, because some family members like it cooked inside the turkey and some do not?
It's a day that seems to be especially frenetic for many people, especially if they're the ones who will be in the kitchen on the fourth Thursday in November.
There's a remedy for the hectic-est day of the food-prep year, and it involves walking, like, a lot, down a major Los Angeles thoroughfare.
Many city explorers have been doing just that over the last 15 years, thanks to The Great Los Angeles Walk.
