NFT, Not For Tourists guide to Los Angeles

657 Pages·2015·23.72 MB·English

by  Not For Tourists

Dear NFT Reader,
Don’t believe the East Coast partisan propaganda. There is a functional mass
transit system in Los Angeles, and we’ll show you how to use it. But the other
side of the country does get one LA stereotype right: we remain a city in love
with the internal combustion engine. It’s not a reciprocal romance—your car
won’t plan the date by itself, and it assuredly never pays for anything while
continuing to suck your bank account dry. But NFT can wing for you. As usual,
the Not For Tourists guide to LA is designed to fit snugly under the driver’s
seat, and be easily retrieved while watching the road. When you’re parked in
405 traffic, you can thank us for the reading material.
But NFT isn’t just for drivers. It’s for anyone who wants to make this somewhat
maddeningly designed, palm tree-peppered concrete jungle a home. We
invented sprawl, y’all, and it’s well-nigh impossible to find one’s way around
without good leads. When the Bruins, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Academy
Awards bottleneck traffic, we’ll show you alternate routes. When you find
yourself trapped in the tangled Downtown freeway plug, we’ll show you how
to unclog yourself. And when you don’t feel like driving (or, heavens forfend,
your car is in the shop), we’ll show you the bank branches, grocery stores, and
cheap hangouts that have been hiding out in your neighborhood this whole
time.
“It’s a nice place to live,” said Mark Twain, “but I wouldn’t want to visit.” That’s
why, even if you’re just in here for the weekend, we want you to see Los
Angeles through the eyes of savvy Angelenos y Angelenas. There’s a lot to
see, and it’s not all bucolic beaches, bottle-blondes, and lettuce lunches. If LA
is a materialist mecca and the world’s most prolific illusion factory, it’s also the
globe’s most “global” metropolis and we sent some of the smartest, most
curious, most hype-resistant people we know to sup, drink, dance, listen,
learn, browse, play, exercise, relax, shop, visit, mingle, and report on the
melting pot within the melting pot.
Without fail or pause, Los Angeles changes. Thus, while this book is the
essence of our mission, we’re pretty sure this computer thing isn’t a fad, and
we also work hard and late to stay current at www.notfortourists.com. If your
favorite art gallery folds, or you finally find a place in this town with a good
deep-dish, please let us know. NFT never sleeps. As a complement to the book
and the website, we’ve launched our very own swank iPhone apps. The books
and the apps are not mutually exclusive—there are some things that this
book will do best for always, but the iPhone app will serve as our evolving,
ready-reference take on city life. It will geo-locate you anywhere in Los
Angeles, and allow you, dear NFT user, to kvetch to us, directly, instantly,
about anything.
Like we always do about this time, we’d like to thank our contributors for their
work. Another flash of the movie-star smile goes to the office staff, for making
it happen. And a final thanks to you, dear reader, for exploring Los Angeles
with us.
Happy navigating,
Jane, Scott, Meg, et al.

Central LA
Map 1 • Beverly Hills
Map 2 • West Hollywood
Map 3 • Hollywood
Map 4 • Los Feliz
Map 5 • Silver Lake Echo Park Atwater
Map 6 • Miracle Mile / Mid-City
Map 7 • Hancock Park
Map 8 • Korea Town
Map 9 • Downtown
Map 10 • Baldwin Hills
Map 11 • South Central West
Map 12 • South Central East
Map 13 • Inglewood
Map 14 • Inglewood East / Morningside Park
West Side & the Beach
Map 15 • Pacific Palisades
Map 16 • Brentwood
Map 17 • Bel Air / Holmby Hills
Map 18 • Santa Monica
Map 19 • West LA / Santa Monica East
Map 20 • Westwood / Century City
Map 21 • Venice
Map 22 • Mar Vista
Map 23 • Rancho Park / Palms
Map 24 • Culver City
Map 25 • Marina del Rey / Westchester West
Map 26 • Westchester / Fox Hills Ladera Heights LAX
South Bay
Map 27 • El Segundo / Manhattan Beach
Map 28 • Hawthorne
Map 29 • Hermosa Beach / Redondo Beach North
Map 30 • Torrance North
Map 31 • Redondo Beach
Map 32 • Torrance South
East Side & Pasadena
Map 33 • Eagle Rock / Highland Park
Map 34 • Pasadena
Map 35 • Pasadena East / San Marino
Map 36 • Mt. Washington
Map 37 • Lincoln Heights
Map 38 • El Sereno
Map 39 • Alhambra
Map 40 • Boyle Heights
Map 41 • City Terrace / East LA
The Valley
Map 42 • Chatsworth
Map 43 • Granada Hills / Northridge
Map 44 • Mission Hills / North Hills
Map 45 • Canoga Park / Woodland Hills
Map 46 • Reseda
Map 47 • Van Nuys
Map 48 • North Hollywood
Map 49 • Burbank
Map 50 • Burbank East / Glendale West
Map 51 • Glendale South
Map 52 • Tarzana / Woodland Hills
Map 53 • Encino
Map 54 • Sherman Oaks West
Map 55 • Sherman Oaks East
Map 56 • Studio City / Valley Village
Map 57 • Universal City / Toluca Lake
Parks & Places
San Pedro
Malibu
Long Beach
Elysian Park
Griffith Park
Disneyland
Exposition Park
Farmers Market
The Huntington
LA Convention Center
Magic Mountain
The Studios
Universal Studios Hollywood
Topanga State Park
UCLA
USC
Beaches & Marinas
Hermosa Beach
Manhattan Beach
Redondo Beach
Santa Monica Beach & Pier
Venice Beach
Zuma Beach
Marina del Rey
Long Beach Marina
Cabrillo Marina
Redondo Beach Marina
Playa del Rey / Dockweiler Beach