Hollywhere: Unusual LA sights

SIGHTS UNSEEN! VISIONS UNVISIONED!

My goal for this week is to show off parts, things, and other nouns in LA one might not immediately attribute to the city of perpetual sunshine. So much sunshine, in fact, that some east coast transplant friends of mine who have grown nostalgic for winter weather say ridiculous things, like, "This city has no weather."

"Rain"

It does happen here sometimes. I took this photo in my car -- I was stopped, dad -- on Highland. The intersection up ahead is Hollywood Boulevard. To my right is the Hollywood & Highland shopping center and The Renaissance Hotel. To my left is a favorite local dive bar of mine, "The Powerhouse," which, based on the name and before visiting, was pretty sure it was a gay bar.







"Nobody Walks in LA"
The Mark Twain Hotel is one of those spots in Hollywood that I must have walked, nay...passed countless times, and have never noticed it. I don't think I could even tell you now what street its on without using Google Maps. ... Okay. I looked on Google Maps. I love the user reviews of this hotel. There are two of them. Let's play a game: one of them was written by the hotel manager and the other by an actual guest. Ready...go:

(4/5 stars) "Amazing" - Marianne B. - Jan 7, 2009
What an amazing hotel - tucked away in LA, you can not find a better place in LA! I stayed here for business, and found the staff to be extremely attentive, friendly, and helpful. The rooms are nicely appointed and well taken care of.

1/5 stars) "Disgusting" - stone - Oct 31, 2008 Unless you are very limited on $, which was my case I wouldn't recommend staying here. There were very shady looking people staying there, and the manager didn't look too friendly, just said "No visitors" and handed me the key. The room was extremely filthy. The door knob was flimsy and the door looked like it had been kicked in before. There was stains all over the carpet and the walls. The shower, sink and toilet had mold all over, (there were smeared stains all over the shower curtains) And for the 2 nights I stayed, I was awakened by people yelling in the hallways and nobody to quiet it down.

I think Marianne B. is either the disgruntled hotel manager who, after seeing stone's review left their own OR this person is the murderer that caused the yelling in the hallways.

"Somebody Walks in LA"

And they are adorable. Unlike me, the creepy 20-something scruffy guy following two little girls on my bicycle with a camera. I wanted to make sure I got the shot. I'm a perfectionist. So I took a few pictures. The little ones got suspicious after a block or so. That's when I biked ahead of them and pulled into the Bank of America. I withdrew twenty bucks, which I didn't need, to make sure I had an alibi if the police got involved, which I also didn't need.