Week 115: East Silver Lake
January 21, 2018
Walking L.A. #28, East Silver Lake: Modern Masterpieces Above Sparking Waters, 2 miles, 730 stairs.
Walking L.A. #28, East Silver Lake: Modern Masterpieces Above Sparking Waters, 2 miles, 730 stairs.
it would be cold this weekend (hey, 43 in L.A. is COLD), Barbara and I headed to staircase-rich Silver Lake to work up a heart-pumping swe...uh, glow. Accessorized in hats, gloves, scarves, and hoodies, we walked north on Silver Lake Blvd. then into the hills up Duane Street to Rockford Rd. At the top of the road we were treated with a killer view of Silver Lake. Drained in 2015, the city turned on the faucet last spring and returned the reservoirs to their focal-point beauty. But we came to get a workout, and the 163-step Mattachine Staircase on Cove Ave, beckoned. The steps were named for the Mattachine Society, America's first gay rights movement started in the 1950's in Harry Hay's home at the top. By the time I lumbered up the last step, I had dropped the hood on my jacket. Next stop, Loma Vista Place and its 348 steps. Goodbye scarf and gloves. The houses along the stair/walk street, some with entrances mere steps from the stairs, are a mix of contemporary, rustic, and whimsical. (How do residents schlep their groceries home?) At the bottom of Loma Vista, Allensandro Street led us to Earl Street. Its zigzagging, 219-step staircase took us back up to the top and a sweeping view from the mountains in the valley to downtown L.A. Pocketed my hat and unzipped my jacket. At the bottom of Earl Street we detoured into Neutra Place, a cul-de-sac filled with showcase homes by architect Richard Neutra (1892-1970), one of the leaders of the SoCal Modern Architecture movement. Silver Lake is filled with innovative architecture, large and small, and most with views of the lake, but Neutra earned his own street! Warmed up and worked out, Barbara and I headed south along the reservoir for a celebratory mocha at Lamill Coffee. Exhilarating!
it would be cold this weekend (hey, 43 in L.A. is COLD), Barbara and I headed to staircase-rich Silver Lake to work up a heart-pumping swe...uh, glow. Accessorized in hats, gloves, scarves, and hoodies, we walked north on Silver Lake Blvd. then into the hills up Duane Street to Rockford Rd. At the top of the road we were treated with a killer view of Silver Lake. Drained in 2015, the city turned on the faucet last spring and returned the reservoirs to their focal-point beauty. But we came to get a workout, and the 163-step Mattachine Staircase on Cove Ave, beckoned. The steps were named for the Mattachine Society, America's first gay rights movement started in the 1950's in Harry Hay's home at the top. By the time I lumbered up the last step, I had dropped the hood on my jacket. Next stop, Loma Vista Place and its 348 steps. Goodbye scarf and gloves. The houses along the stair/walk street, some with entrances mere steps from the stairs, are a mix of contemporary, rustic, and whimsical. (How do residents schlep their groceries home?) At the bottom of Loma Vista, Allensandro Street led us to Earl Street. Its zigzagging, 219-step staircase took us back up to the top and a sweeping view from the mountains in the valley to downtown L.A. Pocketed my hat and unzipped my jacket. At the bottom of Earl Street we detoured into Neutra Place, a cul-de-sac filled with showcase homes by architect Richard Neutra (1892-1970), one of the leaders of the SoCal Modern Architecture movement. Silver Lake is filled with innovative architecture, large and small, and most with views of the lake, but Neutra earned his own street! Warmed up and worked out, Barbara and I headed south along the reservoir for a celebratory mocha at Lamill Coffee. Exhilarating!
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