Locally, you might want to check out Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knotts Berry Farm, Universal Studios Tour, and the venerable Disneyland. Have a drink at the legendary Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel - big deals are still cut over scotch and water. For a look at another kind of saber-toothed tiger, there's the La Brea Tar Pits. Some freebie attractions: Mann's Chinese Theatre (Rita Hayworth's feet couldn't possibly have been that small), Rodeo Drive (nobody's budget can possibly be that large), Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills (grounds are beautiful, with a spectacular view of the city, so pick a clear day), and Venice and Muscle Beaches (to see the L.A. everyone thinks is L.A.).
BASIC L.A.
"What city, please?" That's the first thing you'll hear when you dial Information. And they're not kidding. Seventy miles wide, the "Big Orange" is just like the cut- open fruit: sections lying all around no obvious core.
Cross a street and you'll find yourself in another city - Santa Monica, say, or Beverly Hills. It's very confusing at first, but later you'll find these divisions helpful. The city or area name immediately pinpoints locations in what is otherwise a sprawling metropolis.
Take downtown - the usual "core" of any city. It exists, but, unless you work there, it'll have as much import in your life as Idaho. Since there are high-rise office buildings, stores, theatres, etc. in every area of town, you could comfortably work and live in one area and never have to leave it except to visit friends, do special shopping, or go to a particular show, museum or restaurant.
The city is fluid, restless, always on the go and changing - fast. Blink twice and you'll miss the construction of a new building. (At a restaurant in any other city, you watch your hat. In L.A., you watch the restaurant.) Anything with ten years on it is a landmark or a tradition.
The people? As a group they're friendly, positive, laid-back yet, paradoxically, career-oriented. You're judged not by your family tree but by how well you cut trees down, how much you're paid to do it, and what kind of car got you to the forest.
Architecture? A zany patchwork quilt of every style importable and imaginable - from English Tudor to Spanish Hacienda to Modern Disneyland - cheek by jowl, connected by a palm tree.
The weather? Gorgeous. Oh, there are a few rainy weeks in winter and foggy ones in spring, but nobody takes them seriously. Sound boring? Take heart. The ground moves. For swimmers, the ocean is often Antarctica; for lovers and philosophers it's Eden. The city's legendary smog has been institutionalized - via the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), which "manages" what is quaintly called the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI). The index is usually at its lowest in winter, at its highest in summer and early fall. (You want it low. During the worst months you may feel you're coming down with the flu. You're not. The air has merely become unmanageable.)
Food? Anything you want, from fast food to Vietnamese, with a premium on ambiance, chic, novelty, and especially, nifty names. (Thin is "in" anyhow.)
Entertainment? If you want to see it, it's here: everything from female mud wrestling to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. (One day we'd like to see female mud wrestlers versus the L.A. Philharmonic.)
And there's no movie you can name that won't be playing somewhere within the year. Same goes for just about any item on the face of planet Earth: if you want to buy it, there's a store waiting eagerly to sell it to you.
Los Angeles was aptly summed up by drama critic John C. Mahoney: "This town is an enormous smorgasbord. You can walk around and create your own city - like a sandwich." It can be one gigantic headache or Christmas present depending on your attitude, how hard you work at making it home, and how energetically you search for people with interests in common with yours.
There's one interest, however, that all Angelenos have in common. They've had a love affair with it long before Isis got the yens for Osiris. It's a status symbol and, according to psychologists, an "extension" of its occupants. They travel in it, eat in it, use it as a baby sitter, make love in it, and even worship in it - the car.
Transportation in L.A.
- Autos: One blessing of this is that the city's freeways and streets are usually in good condition and well-marked. There are often special lanes for turning left and blue street signs giving advance notice of the next major avenue. You can pick up street and freeway maps at a gas station, auto club (Automobile Club of Southern California AAA), or bookstore. A favorite is The Los Angeles County Popular Street Atlas by Thomas Bros. Maps.
In some cities, pedestrian crosswalks are there to show drivers where to aim. Not here. California is tough about stopping for pedestrians, and, boy, are walkers complacent! They don't confine themselves to crosswalks, and they're not big on looking either. If you see someone at the curb, be prepared to hit your brakes.
Since it rarely rains, suntan oil builds up on arms and motor oil builds up on roads. Add water and things can get slippery. Be extra careful when it drizzles.
You probably know you can turn right on a red light, but for more on traffic regulations and car registration information, pick up free copies of the California Driver Handbook and the Vehicle and Vessel Registration Handbook at the nearest office of the State of California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Twenty days after you become a resident or get a job you must register your car and obtain a Certificate of Compliance (smog certification). That may mean bringing the old clunker up to snuff. Anyway, look for any gas station sporting a smog check sign.
Your car is your lifeblood. Keep it in good working condition and expect dents - on your wallet. Everything about automobiles costs more in L.A. - from mandatory insurance to registration, from gas to maintenance.
- Buses: Primary system is the Rapid Transit District (RTD). For schedules (including a free route map for your area), mail RTD a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Riding buses across this vast city is a time-consuming, exhausting affair. You can't pursue a career effectively leaving the driving to them. Get a car.
- Cabs: Hope you're a millionaire.
