(The panorama above is taken in Palmdale, on the edge of the Mojave Desert. We spent the last couple of days comparing this high and dry area to that of Dunhuang and Turpan, our prior travels last September. Very similar in the moon-like landscapes and austere surroundings.)
Back to civilization…one of the signature buildings in LA is the Disney Hall, designed by Frank Gehry. It’s located on the corner of the LA Civic Center. While controversioal at the time it was built like all Gehry buildings, this fanciful building seems strangely apropos for LA.
Down the street, one of the grand old buildings preserved in its splendor is the Millenium Biltmore. This was the location of the hotel where “Pretty Woman” was filmed. An ironic building sign at a service entrance wasn’t able to practice what it preached.
More downtown hi-rises, along with the $140 Million Broad Contemporary Art Museum under construction by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. (to read more: see http://www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/counties/los-angeles/the-broad-contemporary-art-museum-downtown-los-angeles-photos.html).
A dual screen presentation on Compton, CA, inside the Museum of Contemporary Art showed daily life and unfortunate realities of death and dying in the city since the Rodney King beating.
Travels with Myself and Others 