the JMWB walk recap

I don't think I could have asked for a more perfect day for my exploration of James M. Wood Blvd.

As I walked up to the corner of Wilshire and Western a group walkers had already assembled, yes I was just a few minutes late to my own gathering...tsk, tsk. We waited about 10 minutes for any late comers who may have been traveling by train and ended up getting under way with the trek around 12:20. The walk down Western was very uneventful and rather hot with the sun beating down on us in the concrete jungle but as soon as we turned the corner onto JMWB the adventure began. There were 7 of us in total, all armed with cameras and a love of residential architecture. We were treated to numerous magnificent buildings of a past era and ended up taking a few detours along the way to check out particularly interesting buildings that we saw down random side streets. Big props to Eric who spotted the roof of a Victorian on Bonnie Brae which turned out to be Historic Cultural Monument No. 45.

[Historic Cultural Monument No. 45 on Bonnie Brae]

We also stumbled upon an Open House of a recently renovated building dubbed The French Chateau. I immediately recognized it from a CurbedLA post a few months ago. It was stunning if not slightly overpriced considering the neighborhood.

Due to our slow-as-a-snail pace and the frequent side trips we ended up making it into Downtown around 3pm and stopped by the Figueroa Hotel for a quick drink on the patio where we were sadly out of place next to the dolled up Grammy crowd. Needing something more substantial than chips and salsa we racked our brain for a chill place to grab a bite to eat so early in the afternoon on Sunday - most places opened at 5pm. Finally we came up with Casey's, it was closer to the Metro stop and provided grub. Perfect! Even more perfect was the fact that Happy Hour had just begun! For obvious reasons I had a specialty drink dubbed The River Shannon (vodka, ginger ale, splash of grapefruit juice). After regaining strength from the finger food nosh we all headed in different directions back home.

My full flickr set is here. When others send their pictures I'll post the links.

I wonder what street I'll tackle next year....oh well, I got a whole year to figure that out.

x

Comments

[SeanYoda]

Thanks for hosting a great walk. I'm finally finished editing and posting my photos. They're up at http://flickr.com/photos/sean_yoda_rouse/sets/72157603890406997/

I'll blog about the walk after I get some sleep.

[Gideon]

Here's a little more info on that mysterious house on Lake Street.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yausser/2251957471/

[shannon]

thanks for the info on the Lake Street house! i was only able to come up with the name and year built. i can't believe it was done by john parkinson - he's done soooo many buildings around town and i speak of him often on all my tours. crazy!

[Jeff]

saw you on metroblogging...can my gf and I go on the next walk? I'll bring snacks.

[shannon]

sure thing. my walks are open to all. something similar to this will happen next year around the 2nd sunday in february.

also, i'll be doing the Bridge Walk again but altering the route a bit to include Hollenbeck Park. more details later this week.

[Robert]

I was so intrigued by this neighborhood after viewing your pics that I drove over there to check it out (I live in the Eastern Columbia). What a gem of a neighborhood. The architecture is just so beautiful and it really looks like a neighborhood on the rebound. Is it? It seems like a lot of buildings have been renovated. Is it considered Koreatown? It looks like a mix of nationalities. Tell me more about James M. Wood Blvd. It really seems very historic...and most of the buildings are survivors.

[cityman]

Great to see that wilshire center is starting to revitalize. James M. Wood is the next hot neighborhood.

[l.a. dweller]

here is a link to an two level apartment for rent in the french chateau: chateautownhouse.com check it out