Lotusland: 07 – Checkpoints [THE END]
More Rain, Lawn Ornaments, Donut Shops, and the Watts Towers
March 13th, 2023
Thai Town → Koreatown → University of Southern California → Watts Towers
[16.87 miles]
As predicted, it rained all day and didn’t stop. Today I had to walk fifteen miles, unclear if I’d actually reach the neighborhood of Watts – home of the Watts Towers. I set up checkpoints through my route – places where I could call it a day or compose myself if I decided the rain was too much.
First checkpoint, the University of Southern California and the Memorial Coliseum. Second, a McDonalds on Martin Luther King and Central Avenue. Lastly, any of the blue line train stops running along Graham Avenue. Not to mention, Central Avenue (the street I would follow for the second half of the day) was lined with bus stops. I had plenty of options. All reasonable places to end this series.
I shot south on Normandie with my overpriced CVS umbrella in my left hand, far more prepared for this inclement weather than I was on day 3.
Normandie is primarily a residential street north of Pico Boulevard and filled with old bungalows and apartment buildings. Occasionally an auto shop or strip mall sits on the corner. The road is one of the longest in the city and almost runs all the way to San Pedro and the port of Los Angeles.
Many homes in Los Angeles boast lawn ornaments, such as a parrot or rabbit, to suggest an abundance of wildlife or even a tropical habitat. Some homes have fountains in the front yard – many do not operate. One home’s fountain was covered in small cherubs. All mismatched and painted various colors. Could this be heaven or a cheap imitation?
Some parts of Los Angeles look like other cities. Miami and Orlando come to mind, but such comparisons are misleading. In areas boasting more foliage and trees, you could easily be somewhere in the Northeast or Midwest (if you squint your eyes a little). This is a game I like to play. Imagining I am elsewhere for just a moment. Up ahead is Ingersoll Avenue in Des Moines and now I’m walking through Allapattah in Miami.
The game ends in a few blocks. My daydreams are shattered by the tacky facade of a late modernist dingbat apartment, the honk of a driver’s horn, a single strip mall delivering more diversity than the entire state of Iowa, or a cluster of palm trees erupting into the sky.
I crossed Pico Boulevard in the afternoon – the same street I walked on the first day of this series. Having come from the north, I saw the street in a new light. Hello old friend. A circuit was completed, knowing exactly where I stood in the city, but now with new information. A sense of place.
South of Pico Boulevard, Normandie expanded to five lanes. Traffic moved faster and any signs of pedestrian life vanished. The rain continued to fall and I debated finishing the day at Memorial Coliseum located on the University of Southern California campus. I was completely soaked in rain. My umbrella mitigated the rainfall temporarily, but was no match for this unusual winter rain.
I needed to warm up and stopped for a coffee and donut just south of the 10. This was my first donut stop of the entire series. It’s a surprise I haven’t written about donuts in Los Angeles. The city is easily the holy grail for donut lovers. Sources estimate there are over 1,500 donut shops throughout the metro.
I can’t speak for all donut shops in Los Angeles, but impressions were good. I ordered a glazed donut – extremely fresh – and a small cup of coffee served in a styrofoam cup with a giant plastic lid. When I asked for cream, the cashier gave me a bottle of French vanilla Coffeemate. The coffee isn’t good per se, but I don’t typically seek out the good stuff. Donut shop coffee is good bad coffee. Like Dunkin Donuts, although donut shop coffee is better. Cheap and accessible. My kind of stuff (unless it’s the black jet fuel sometimes served at convenience stores).
Caffeinated, I stopped at the California Science Center which sits adjacent to the Memorial Coliseum. The gas station across the street claimed their bathroom was not in operation, although his delivery led me to believe he was lying.
I had to go and I had to go bad! Thankfully, the science center has an abundance of restrooms. Not necessarily public, but no one asked for a ticket or stopped me as I walked through the bathroom door beside the food court.
Relieved, I took a seat and checked in with myself, adjusted my bag, and wiped the rain from my camera. Should I continue to Watts? The rain wasn’t letting up anytime soon. The walk to Watts would take about two and a half hours. Again, I asked myself, for whom is this work for? I had nothing to prove to anyone except for myself. I wanted to end this series on a high note, with a personal sense of accomplishment. I knew I would finish the walk at Watts – rain or shine – even if I never wrote about it.
I made my decision. I was walking to the Watts Towers.
Before walking to Central Avenue where I would finish the second half of this journey, I stopped at the Memorial Coliseum. I mentioned this on day 3, but the coliseum was the site of the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics. In 2028, it will host the Olympics once again. The coliseum is iconic, designated a national historic landmark, and was home to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Rams and Raiders. I expected the coliseum to be closed, but you could walk right in for a view of the massive space, full of empty seats.
The rain was more than my camera could handle, as it got covered each time I pulled it from my sopping wet jacket. Road intersections began flooding with water. I had to walk down a side street to cross or make a giant leap into the street to continue to the other side.
Time to tune in and focus. There’s a certain attentiveness that emerges when you put away the camera. It’s good practice. I’d argue the camera is another distraction from the walk at hand. Once removed, I could focus on my feet meeting the pavement, my emotions, and internal monologue. A small wave of melancholy came over me. Not because my spirits were now, but because my walk was soon ending and I’d been having such a good time out here in Los Angeles. Even if it was raining.
With or without a camera, there’s another rhythm that emerges after days of continuous walking. The same rhythm emerges on every long walk I have completed. Movements are fluid. You get a sense for the road, crossing the street, the way the traffic lights operate, the people that fill the sidewalks, where to use the restroom, and how often the big orange Metro bus zooms down the street.
South Los Angeles, along Central Avenue, is more industrial than many of the streets I walked up north near Hollywood or Koreatown. For every strip mall is a warehouses, massive USPS facility, factory, or truck depot.
South Los Angeles is full of concrete and lacks trees given its industrial flavor. Pockets of commercial activity – like hair salons, donut shops, marijuana dispensaries, thrift shops, 99¢ shops, and taquerias – fill major intersections. The only real pedestrian activity I witnessed was beside bus stops.
Historically, South Los Angeles gets a bad rep, partially due to the 1965 Watts Riots and 1992 Rodney King Riots. Whether that reputation still holds true – I don’t know – but I highly doubt it. I can only speak from my own experience.
I can say South Los Angeles is far from the glitz and glamor of Hollywood or the affluent west side. It’s not a fabricated reality show, but the facts of everyday life. South Central Avenue, at least where I walked, is mostly Black and Latino working class and their families. Mothers pushed their children in strollers. School was out and students ran for the bus, trying not to get covered in rain. Workers ate tacos from a truck sitting outside a beautifully painted facade for a window business.
I was so close to Watts. I kept counting the blocks until reaching 107th Street where the Watts Towers were located. 30-20-10 blocks. Almost there. I walked along a LADWP power receiving station and I could hear the subtle hum of an electric current.
For those unfamiliar, the Watts Towers are an incredible work of art completed in 1954 by Sam Rodia. An Italian immigrant and construction worker by trade, he built the towers on the site of his property over the course of thirty-three years. The tallest of the towers is about ninety-nine feet.
The towers were constructed from steel rebar, concrete, wire mesh, and embedded with found objects, pieces of porcelain, tile, glass, mirrors, seashells, and bottles. Rodia built the towers without special equipment or predetermined design. He gathered most of his material from neighborhood children or from alongside the Pacific Electric railway that once ran through Watts, often walking twenty miles – all the way to Wilmington – in search of materials.
In 1955, Rodia gave his property to a neighbor and moved to Martinez, California to be with his sister. He remained there until his death in 1965. The Watts Towers were designated a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark in 1990.
I walked through Ted Watkins Memorial Park and continued down the street, until seeing the towers rise up from behind the roof of the homes blocking my view. When I finally arrived at the tower’s base, it was 6pm and getting dark.
The towers are currently undergoing renovation that won’t be completed until 2028. You can still see most of the structure, but one section was covered in netting and scaffolding. I took as many photos as I could, but the rain soaked my camera. The Watt’s Towers are also incredibly difficult to photograph. A piece of art best viewed in person. I ended up standing in the adjacent amphitheater, looking from afar. My clothes draped from my body like a damp bed sheet hanging from a tree limb.
This wasn’t my first time visiting the Watt’s Towers. The visited way back in 2012, but drove a car, took the freeway, and plopped out in the middle of the neighborhood giving little context for the surrounding area. I never imagined I’d walk to Watts ten years later. A powerful experience. I’m glad I chose to walk all the way. Especially on the final day. A proper ending.
The last moment of my walk was spent running. Running to catch the train as it pulled into the station. I caught the train just as the doors closed and just like that, this series of Los Angeles walks quietly ended. Soon, I would be back home taking a warm shower. I watched the city pass through rain covered windows, still processing the day’s events. I couldn’t believe the week was already over. 112.68 miles in the books.
And that concludes Lotusland. It’s time to rest these tired feet and get some sleep. Thank you for following along. I hope you enjoyed reading. I had an incredible time walking Los Angeles and look forward to returning again soon. My relationship with the city is forever changed. After seven walks, I have more seven more I’d love to complete. Thank you, Los Angeles. Goodnight
Stay tuned. I’ll send out one last thank you note before officially ending this newsletter.
Signing off,
Alex
That Jone's Bros sign is a wonderful discovery!