'''Culver City and Palms on foot''' is a walking tour of a lesser-explored but interesting area of western Los Angeles.
Understand
Prepare
Get in
From out of town
Fly into LAX, rent a car or take a green Culver CityBus (Line 6) and then make your way north on Sepulveda to Palms or Venice boulevards, turn east and there you are.
From downtown L.A.
Catch a 33 (local) or 333 (limited) MTA bus.
From UCLA or South Robertson
Line 12 Big Blue (Santa Monica) bus.
From the beach
Green Culver CityBus (Line 1, Washington Boulevard). MTA Line 33 or 333.
Walk
Explore the little-known enclave of historic Palms, founded in 1886 and nestled cheek by jowl with its more famous neighbor, Culver City, followed by a delicious vegetarian lunch at Govinda's, part of the Hare Krishna community (Palms).
You will visit the mysterious and seldom-noticed Globe A-1 mosaic, laid in piece by piece more than 60 years ago [http://www.palmsvillagesun.info/GlobeA1.html (photo)], then cross Venice Blvd. to the Ivy Substation, once an electricity-generating plant for the Pacific Electric red cars and now the home of Tim Robbins' Actors Gang theatrical troupe (both in Palms).
Next stop: The Culver Hotel (in Culver City), where Munchkins frolicked (well, got drunk) during the filming of ''The Wizard of Oz'' at nearby Warner Bros.
You will also eyeball the 1919 Culver Studios (in Culver City) , where, if you're a fan of classic motion pictures, you will immediately recognize the studio's colonial mansion from the opening credits of the David O. Selznick International productions, such as ''Gone With the Wind,'' and ''Duel in the Sun.''
Then on to Mann_fs Culver Plaza, 9919 Washington Blvd., at Dunn Drive (in Palms), which has five screens. Its lobby features artwork highlighting important events in the history of motion pictures. o.]
On your left as you proceed down Washington Blvd. are the Sony Pictures Plaza (in Culver City). This unusual, cantilevered building was featured as the headquarters of Wolfram & Hart, the demonic law firm that was the chief nemesis in the TV Show ''Angel.'' The building is right across the street from the main gate of Sony Studios. at 10202 W. Washington Blvd. (Culver City).
For the Child Care Center (in Palms) artist John Okulick created sculptural gates and fencing using the colors of "My First Sony" (red, yellow, blue). Margaret Nielsen designed a mural maquette for the Child Care Center (in Palms).
Terry Allen's sculpture "Golden Time" is a humorous comment on work after overtime. Michael Hayden's sculpture uses cutting edge materials (holographs) producing a rainbow spectrum on the sidewalk and surrounding areas of the Game Show Building. Hayden collaborated with Game Show Building architect, Steven Ehrlich, AIA, who won a National AIA Design Award for the project. (All in Culver City.)
Jim Heimann's sculptures celebrate the history of Culver Studios and Sony Pictures ("Studio Pass I & II," "King Kong Gone," and "Plato's Cup"). Jud Fine's courtyard installation traces the history of television. R. M. Fisher designed the plaza fountain, which celebrates Sony's history of filmmaking and references the set of "Lost Horizon." Albert Paley's entrance gates provide a monumental entry to architect Jaquelin T. Robertson's Media Building. (All in Culver City.)
A giant art installation, ''Syncopation,'' by Los Angeles artist Ed Massey, was wrapped around a building on the northwest corner of Hughes Ave. and Washington Blvd. (in Palms) opposite the new Kirk Douglas Theater (in Culver City). (Massey was the artist who oversaw the wrapping of the oil well at Beverly Hills High School with panels of fabric.)
Back to Venice Blvd. (in Palms), we'll notice a fine old wood-frame apartment building dating back to 1915.
Next, a brightly modern drive-through hamburger joint called Rally's and a block away from a mixed-use apartment-commercial project sometimes called ''The Fortress of Grayitude.'' Take a look at the moderne Natalee Thai restaurant, with its unusual metallic exterior designed by Coscia Day architects. (All are in Palms.)
Duck back into Dunn Drive to visit Los Angeles city historic-cultural landmark No. 624, the Lawrence and Martha Joseph Residence and Apartments at 3819-3827 Dunn Drive (in Palms). It's been aptly called the "Hobbit House," and people actually live in these unusual apartments.
A dip into Culver City's Main Street, called the "Shortest Main Street in the World," not the least because about a third of it it isn't in Culver City at all, but in Palms. Laurel and Hardy made movies here. If you are lucky, you will see the Jolly Green Giant in front of the Church Hill antiques shop (pictured).
Back across Venice Blvd. to the bizarre Museum of Jurassic Technology. You casn just pop into the lobby for a moment or two, and you can make plans to return to examine this freaky little place later (and to have some tea in the tea room upstairs, presided over by a real Russian). (Both are in Palms.)
You can take photos of the exterior of the Culver City-Foshay Masonic Bldg. (in Palms), then go around the corner to your final stop ?
Govinda's, the unusual vegetarian restaurant operated as part of the hospitable and charitable tradition of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. A buffet luncheon or sandwiches will cost you less than ten bucks. Above the restaurant you will find a boutique filled with fine garments and unusual handicrafts and art objects from India, the spiritual home of the Krishna devotees. ( Govinda's and the boutique are in Palms.)
Get out
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