Lotusland: 03 – Rain, Rain, Rain.
Umbrellas, Hot Pastrami, Waiting Around, and Hollywood Motels.
March 10th, 2023
Los Feliz → Koreatown → MacArthur Park → Downtown
[15.85 miles]
Slightly late start today. Woke up early to a gray sky. I wasn’t in much rush to leave and gave myself some extra time to prepare for the wet conditions. A light mist blanketed the streets, a far cry from a torrential downpour, but I would still need to take extra precaution to protect my camera. I neglected to pack a rain jacket, as I typically would. Rookie move, but I really wasn’t expecting much rain during my time walking the city. Either way, I had options: plenty of waterproof stuff sacks, a poncho, and plastic bags. Today I would add an umbrella to the list.
The plan: walk Downtown, bop around aimlessly, and eventually make my way to Exposition Park to visit the Memorial Coliseum – home of the 1984 Summer Olympics.
I started west down Hollywood Boulevard and tucked my camera inside my jacket. A common practice, rain or shine, to deter people from asking about my camera – main culprit of unwanted sidewalk encounters. While I walk, I want to blend in with my surroundings (as much as I can control) and not draw much attention.
During my last walk, Sun Song, I made the mistake of wearing a sun hat and a backpack. With my camera around my neck, most assumed I was a tourist – even in cities like Richmond, Virginia. Exactly how I don’t want to be perceived. This time around, I kept things light. I don’t carry much, save for a small pack around my waist. Instead of a sun hat, I wear a New York City baseball cap I bought from a souvenir shop on Canal Street in Manhattan. If I’m not wearing a light jacket, I’m almost always wearing a button up over a sweat wicking shirt. I don’t think I’ll ever blend in as much as I wish. I have freakishly light blonde hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. Just a towhead from Iowa, but these small adjustments have gone a long way.
I’ve yet to walk much of Hollywood Boulevard, but the stretch between Normandie and Western is lined with one star hotels catering to tourists (I’d assume) looking to walk the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Almost all of the motels have Hollywood in the name. The Dixie Hollywood, Hollywood Downtowner, etc. Near my stay, is the Hollywood Inn Express with a generous 3.6/5 rating. Reviews frequently state bed bugs, stained sheets, Doritos in the cushions, and mold in the bathroom.
The exterior is worth mentioning. The tan facade is painted blue to resemble a sky. In the clouds, above the Hollywood Hills sign, is an illustration depicting a floating movie reel. The tape extends across the building and reveals the faces of distant Hollywood fame. Everyone you’d expect is present: Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Charlie Chaplin, and Elvis.
Literally the definition of gaudy. My favorite kind of building. So good, I forgot to take a picture.
I used to loathe walking on cloudy days. Not because it makes walking difficult, but because the pictures weren’t as good, I thought. In recent years, I’ve come to understand that a cloudy day can be a gift. I no longer have to deal with intense shadows or follow the sun’s rays from one side of the street to another just to get a well lit picture. Instead, the entire cityscape feels like it’s lit under one giant diffused light source. A cloudy day can make the day easier.
But this weather! The rain increased just as I started south down Western Avenue towards Koreatown. Not a torrential downpour, but enough to warrant putting on a poncho, making it difficult to access the camera hidden inside my coat, and throwing me out of my rhythm. My jacket was soaked and my feet flopped on the pavement like bouncing water balloons.
I don’t walk with umbrellas. I’m not against them, but they are just another thing to worry about, especially when I’m shuffling a bottle of water and camera. I almost always lose them, but today I had a change of tune. An umbrella sounded like a good idea.
Finding an umbrella was another story. I tried multiple shops with no luck. At 7/11, the cashier had an umbrella. But it’s my umbrella! She said with laughter as I made puddles all over the floor. Not funny. Could it really be this hard to find an umbrella in the city? I’m told it never rains here, maybe a handful of storms in the winter, but this year has been the wettest in a long time. How fortunate I am.
I was in luck at CVS and greeted by a small rack of cheap, overpriced umbrellas. $16 and poorly constructed. Just a notch above those you would find at any New York City bodega. Scarcity met with demand drives up cost, I suppose.
I was ready to call the walk a complete wash. My spirits were lower than usual given I was unable to take photos without wiping my camera lens every three seconds, but the umbrella saved the day. I found my rhythm. The walk got better.
I could hear the sound of tires gliding across the rainy freeway from blocks away. I’d grown tired of walking Western Avenue. Instead I walked down Oxford and Serrano. Both residential streets. A somewhat quiet reprieve filled with Craftsman homes and classic California bungalows. Palm trees erupted into the sky. Their fronds resembled exploding fireworks.
The rain picked up while walking Wilshire. This time stronger than ever. My entire back was soaked. The motion of my moving legs kept my body warm. Massive puddles accumulated on the sides of the street. Inattentive drivers blasted through them, causing rain water to splash all over the street.
Given the stop and go earlier – sans umbrella – I was behind schedule. Not that I really have a set schedule for these walks, but I sensed I was falling behind if I wished to reach the Memorial Coliseum this afternoon.
I chose to give up all expectations and just enjoy myself in the rain drenched moment. How funny to walk in this rain. I sat on the corner and watched car after car barrel through the massive puddle mixed with oil, sediment, and small bits of trash.
So much of this work is about waiting. I’ve written about it briefly in the last year, but more and more I am interested in what happens when you stay put and watch your surroundings move around you. Today was good practice.
Traffic is a given here in Los Angeles. I almost always photograph buildings from across the street, but prefer the shots to have no moving traffic. I consider cars an eyesore, but attempting to remove them from the environment would not be an accurate representation of our time. Cars are everywhere. Still, I try to take photos without them moving in the frame for purely aesthetic reasons. Another practice of standing still, waiting for the traffic to pass. My pruned finger on the shutter. Waiting.
I stopped at Langer’s in MacArthur Park for a late lunch. The Jewish deli has been a neighborhood staple since 1947. The Los Angeles times calls the #19 – a pastrami on rye – the “Marilyn Monroe” of sandwiches. When you really think about it, what could they really mean?
I got rain water all over the booth and table when I sat down. My soaking umbrella made puddles on the floor. My waitress, Sue, quickly handed me a stack of napkins and smiled. No problem.
I promptly ordered half a #19 (to see what the fuss was about), a matzo ball soup, and a cup of coffee. Soft music from a distant past played over the speakers. I could hear the clanging of utensils. Customers quietly spoke among themselves. Everything checked out. A delicious meal for a rainy day walk. A perfect place for brief refuge.
I saw a barbershop across the street, just after leaving Langer’s. An animated woman wearing bright colors and a floppy hat stood at the door. I asked to take her photo.
One hundred dollars, she laughed.
Declined. Not everything can be photographed. Even if I wished. I get rejected frequently. Explaining myself helps, but not always. That is beauty. A moment which could never be captured with the shutter of my camera, or even remotely written about. Nothing compares to an actual experience or witnessing something with your own eyes. Everything I have to share with you is just a well intended mediation. Maybe one day, when I’m older and feel that I’ve said everything I wish to say, I’ll stop writing and taking photographs and just experience moments as they are, but I find that highly unlikely. Documenting my surroundings and the people I meet is what makes life meaningful.
Historically, Los Angeles has struggled to support a true downtown, despite tall buildings, city hall, revitalization efforts, and people walking around. Not to say it doesn’t exist, it’s that Downtown Los Angeles is not the epicenter of development as Manhattan or Chicago is, for example. Los Angeles didn’t begin in one location and spread out from there. Instead, the city feels like a collection of small clusters. A network of busy intersections and sleepy residential streets. As Dorothy Parker famously said, Los Angeles is “seventy-two suburbs in search of a city.”
Downtown is definitely worth visiting. I wasn’t able to see it all (that would take far more than a couple hours), but I’m already going to say it’s one of my favorite places to walk in the entire city, (likely because it’s pedestrian friendly). The area is a confluence of various walks of life – those working in tall buildings, tourists, sports fans, shop merchants, and a large unhoused population centered around Skid Row. I can’t walk around Los Angeles and pretend all is peaches and cream. The city at large has a homelessness crisis. You can see tents of those living on the streets on all major arterial roads I’ve walked. Although, the unhoused population is most apparent Downtown.
The day was coming to an end. I wasn’t going to make it to Memorial Coliseum in time, so I spent the remainder of the day walking through the Fashion District and peeking into the windows of wholesale shops. Taking pictures is difficult, especially if you wish to photograph the interiors of businesses. Almost every shop has a security guard posted outside and they did not hesitate to stop me. Suits. Religious objects. Shoes. Baseball caps. You name it. You can find it in the Fashion District.
The rain stopped and light was fading. I walked back to the Metro Center and hopped on the train. Still wet from the day’s movements and called it a day.
No rain is forecasted for the remainder of the weekend. Tomorrow is looking cloudy, but dry. I can’t wait to ditch this umbrella. I have a long one planned. My gut is telling me tomorrow’s walk could be the favorite of the entire trip. We’ll see.
See you tomorrow,
Alex
Love the bride and groom mannequin!
Now I'm very curious what kind of camera you walk with :) When I'm out taking photos (when it's not raining) I'm never asked about my camera.
Loved this rainy day vibes letter.