"I'd Like Hidden L.A. to Stay That Way"

THIS IS A no joke (or semi-no-joke) to the Hidden L.A. site/page on Facebook (& webpage). It's done with great spiky humor. Even Lynn Garrett commented on her page today:

Hidden Los Angeles has a new favorite FB page (after ours of course). We are sorry for having to ban this gentleman off our page for being "unhelpful" during our first giant surge in traffic... but we *adore* his response. If we knew how to un-ban people we would... so anyone who knows him, please let him know that he's made us laugh out loud and has been un-banned in our hearts. Tell him to write us at contact@hiddenLA.com... we'd like to give him something for his pain and suffering. ;)

Lovely.
-- L.G.

photo from "i'd like hidden l.a. to stay that way."
photo caption: "this is pretty much what every main thoroughfare in the city looks like."

L.A. Neighborhoods in Cyberspace

THE TREND is catching on. A new Facebook page, "Who Remembers East L.A." is really a lovely valentine to the streets that stretch out "over the bridge." If you have a Facebook account check it out. I'll be checking in to see when they actually launch a webpage. But here's a sample of photos from back in the day:


The Lorena Bridge

Atlantic and Telegraph

Around Blanchard and McBride

Atlantic and the 5 Fwy


The Canter Brothers (Boyle Heights)


The Floral Drive-In, East L.A.

All photos from "Who Remembers East L.A.?"

Hidden L.A.? It's in a neighborhood near you . . .

DON'T WALK, leap into this smart, lively and sometimes contentious discussion (it's L.A. of course so everybody has an opinion). Hidden L.A. hosts L.A. stories told from the inside out, by natives, transplants and all manner of modern-day boosters. The website zeroes in on the Los Angeles we are all hoping to get closer to -- the one that lives on the edges of much of the rest of the world's imagination. Webmaster, W. Lynn Garrett has humanized the city -- it's the contours and shadings that interest her not the broad stroke. While many of her posts feature found video, old newscasts and newspaper clips, ("Local Interest," "Flashbacks," "Bookmarks") Garrett (who designs boardgames by day, she revealed on a recent Facebook post) has now taken to hosting in-person events/mixers around the city, like a recent cocktail hour at Hollywood's iconic Musso and Frank's. Many of the events are happily a little more off-the-beaten path than Musso's (Tiki bars in our far-flung Valleys and the like). And what turns out to be a vast treasure trove for the enterprising reporter are the the plentiful discussion boards on-site and on Facebook where those loquacious opinionated Angelenos really get going. The site's popularity has been more than its poor webmaster's server could bear however. For example: the reason we couldn't get onto the site last night was, well, that server crashed! Tonight, however, all is right in the world at hiddenla.com

-- L.G.

photo caption: HiddenLA opening page
photo credit: Hidden L.A.