Walking L.A. #19, Upper Beachwood Canyon: Home Sweet Hollywood Home, 849 stairs, 2.4 miles.

A cool, not cold, morning for Barbara and I to return to Beachwood Canyon and tackle the six historic staircases in S.H. Woodruff's original Hollywoodland development. In 1923, Woodruff hired European stonemasons to construct the Woodshire, Durand, Belden, Westshire, and two Hollyridge staircases and the granite retaining walls that still line some of the streets. The masonry is so unique that in 1991 the Cultural Heritage Commission designated the walls and staircases a Historic Cultural Monument. We started in the tiny village at the north end of Beachwood Canyon Drive where the Hansel-and-Gretal style cottage for Whitley's Hollywoodland Realty Company remains tucked in the village. Winding our way high into the hills, we passed a charming collection of Spanish and contemporary homes, ivy-covered English cottages, Normandy castle-inspired homes, and an imposing French chateau. Whitley, no novice to development (the man practically built Hollywood, and his wife named it), had an eye for potential. The views from the hills are killer: the Lake Hollywood reservoir to the west, Whitley's reconstructed Hollywood Sign to the north, the Griffith Park Observatory high on the hills to the east, and a sweeping view of L.A., including the downtown skyline, to the south. Huffing up and down 849 steps was a challenge, but we had just enough walking time in between to catch our breath.