This event started at 9am and we rolled through the starting point just beyond Pershing Square at 1 Wilshire Blvd at 9:05am. It was quiet to begin with, under great cloud-cover. Westlake/MacArthur Park was a really pleasant surprise, since I've never seen it before. Like a mini- Central Park for LA.The architecture at Vermont and Wilshire was spectacularly colorful. The Bullocks Wilshire/Southwestern Law School building (1929) with copper panels and the housing, retail and a public school surrounding a subway station (1996) make the area a bustling and dynamic multi-use city-space.
The Pellissier Building and Wiltern theater (1931) in green terracotta is another stunning structure. The marquis advertises Patty Griffin, but my inner comic read Kathy Griffin, who I LOVE.
The Wilshire United Methodist Church was another eye-popping building. It's spire is intricately decorated and it has a large rose window facing the street. By the time we reached the turnaround at 5900 Wilshire Blvd, we were surrounded by cyclists.
I really enjoyed the display of the Berlin Wall sections. It was a peaceful spot to lay in the grass and appreciate the music. We didn't catch any of the advertised belly dancing, but I heard the music and knew it was coming soon. The Variety Building (1971) is the tallest skyscraper on the Miracle Mile and has displayed ten segments of the Wall (the longest in the US) since 2009.
The Craft & Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) is definitely something we will return to someday. We had fun posing with the Oscar statuettes outside LACMA. Ruben Ochoa's Dancing POPOS were really cool. The theme of this ride seemed to be art & architecture and even though CicLAvia organizers encouraged this as the most walkable event, most of the participants were on bicycles!
There were two adorable costumed greeters outside the Korean Cultural Center at 5505 Wilshire. The Los Altos Apartments (1925) at 4121 Wilshire were totally iconic. The Scottish Rite Masonic Temple (1961) was an ornately frescoed building that we noticed both coming and going at 4357 Wilshire.Robert F. Kennedy Inspiration Park at 3410 Wilshire nearly brought tears to my eyes. Actually what captured my interest was an out-of-service fountain at the intersection of Alexandria and Wilshire, a remnant of the demolished Ambassador Hotel (1921).
Most of the information presented here was found in a pamphlet prepared by Catherine Gudis based on the Los Angeles Conservancy's curatingthecity.org. I got a few comments on my socks, one had multi-colored bicycles and the other was a rainbow all the way up to my knee. Gudis also cites "Cruising the Archive: Queer Art and Culture in LA 1945-80." Shoutout to PFLAGs! I didn't know if they were complimenting me on the bicycle sock or the rainbow sock, since both people said "I like your sock."
T-shirts bearing the logo I (heart) K-town were for sale for $10 each and a group of volunteers out front of Immanuel Presbyterian Church at 3300 Wilshire were handing out free bottles of water (BIG THANKS!). Rolling back into downtown, we saw more cyclists than ever.
A stop at the Westlake Theater (1936) for a traffic crossing was nice. We noticed the gorgeous mural, which I now know depicts Jaime Escalante one of my biggest role models in life. I first learned about this dogged calculus teacher like most other people by watching the movie Stand and Deliver (1988), in which he is portrayed by Edward James Olmos. Both men are in the mural along with a graduate and a proud parent.
After a quick bite at Crepe'n Around, we headed back into LA Union Station and caught the train back to Glendale. Overall, we had a great time with no accidents or mechanicals. We are extremely grateful to all volunteers and workers (LADOT t-shirts were amazing) who made this event possible.
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