Field Trip A: Culture Vultures
Walt Disney Concert Hall.
We’ll take the Metrorail to downtown Los Angeles, where we’ll wander by the Ahmanson Theatre, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Mark Taper Forum, the major cultural center of Los Angeles known as the Music Center.
We’ll tour the Walt Disney Concert Hall! Designed by architect Frank Gehry, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the new home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is designed to be one of the most acoustically sophisticated concert halls in the world, providing both visual and aural intimacy for an unparalleled musical experience.
Through the vision and generosity of Lillian Disney, the Disney family, and many other individual and corporate donors, the city enjoys one of the finest concert halls in the world, as well as an internationally recognized architectural landmark.
From the stainless steel curves of its striking exterior to the state-of-the-art acoustics of the hardwood-paneled main auditorium, the 3.6-acre complex embodies the unique energy and creative spirit of the city of Los Angeles and its orchestra. Fun fact: its rooftop garden is also California’s smallest state park.
We’ll also stop the Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral, the center of the Los Angeles church. The windows are alabaster and beautiful tapestries of the saints adorn this contemporary jewel. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is the third largest cathedral in the world and the first cathedral to be built in the United States in over a quarter of a century. Actor Gregory Peck was one of the first to be interred in the mausoleum, so stop on by!
Guitars at a merchant on Olvera Street.
Then we’ll head over to Olvera Street, where Los Angeles was founded in the 18th century. The oldest buildings in LA are located here, and it is steeped in Mexican heritage. Enjoy a Mexican lunch, or walk over to Philippe’s, the birthplace of the French Dip sandwich. It’s almost a hundred years old, with a great authentic feel and believe it or not, still sells coffee for 10 cents a cup.
Union Station, Los Angeles.
In the afternoon, we’ll visit Union Station, LA’s train depot. The exterior is a successful merging of Spanish Mission, Moorish, and Streamline Modern Styles, and the inside is preserved in time. This station is often used as a movie location.
On the way back, if you like, you might consider stepping out of the Metrorail at each station to see the art. Each station was designed by a different artist and each has its own feel, from the Hollywood themed station at Hollywood and Vine to the Vermont station, which mimics the famed Griffith Park Observatory which can be seen from outside the station.
The Hollywood Bowl, one of the most famous concert venues in the world.
In the evening, we’re off to the world-famous Hollywood Bowl! We’ll have a picnic outside the Lasky-DeMille Barn, the first movie “studio” in Hollywood, and then we’ll sip wine under the stars in a summer jazz concert featuring legendary Al Jarreau and friends. It wouldn’t be summer in Hollywood without a trip to the Bowl!
Al Jarreau gets his star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
Cost: $50, including dinner. No-host lunch.
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