[Martin Pal]

I had an appointment in the Wilshire area near downtown today, so afterwards I decided to walk around a bit. I had not planned this so I had no camera or anything to take notes.

Wilshire is a veritable smorgasbord of buildings of various styles and periods all beside one another and that was a bit jarring at first, having looked at the Wilshire corridor through the eyes of this forum so much during the past year.

There were a few historic markers, with history and photos, of some buildings and where they had been, like the original Brown Derby at Alexandria. On that sign they fortunately didn't even mention that the hat & brim part was incorporated, they say, into the building nearby. Fortunately because it looks really awful. Across the street it was very bizarre not to see The Ambassador Hotel on the huge lot, though the new tenants have incorporated a small pedestrian park along the Blvd. which many people were taking advantage of today.

I walked east to The Talmadge apartments which had a historic marker and info, but the building was not receptive to visitors.

Gaylord Wilshire, I visited your namesake on the other side of the street, though! I was welcomed with open arms to look about the lobby which has many historical displays both in cabinets and on the walls. They had some photos of films being shot in there, but not the titles of them.

There was a guest register from 1926 and all sorts of keys, lamps, and the like. There were many photos of past residents, like Constance Bennett, who I had just seen in a film.

There were a lot of articles, too, but the lobby was very dimly lit and I wasn't able to read them very well. Even though I wasn't a resident, the man at the desk allowed me to go out to the pool area and walk around the outside garden and view things from there. It's a nice area, smaller than you might think, and very quiet compared to the Blvd. nearby.

I then wanted to visit the Bullocks Wilshire building which is now the Southwestern Law School. While walking around the building the gated parking lot in the back opened and I walked in back there to view the mural on the ceiling of the port cochere in the back. I'd seen it before, but it always makes me use the word stunning. Someone with a keycard let themselves in the back entrance and I walked in behind him, but the young security guard in an adjoining room called me to over and asked me what I wanted. Unless you're a student or employee you're not allowed in there so I was not able to walk around. He told me to call about the tour they give once a year, though, and he gave me a card. He told me he'd open the gate in the back to let me out, but allowed me to stay out there a few minutes before leaving.

As I walked across the adjacent street I smelled burning rubber and saw a great deal of smoke because a car burst in flames. Firetrucks and
ambulances started appearing.

Right there at, I think, 3500 Wilshire is a new building called The Vermont or The Vermont Wilshire. From across the street it looked rather bizarre to me, like it was crooked in two sections and had the appearance that it, or parts of it, was falling or something. Hard to explain, but it was unusual.

I decided to walk down to The Wiltern, at Western, before I had to go, for some more art deco viewing. The small lobby of the building was open, The Pellessier Bldg. and I went in to discover some really fine art deco features--the ceiling, lighting, furniture and the elevators. There was also a recessed area with some history and photos and that was a nice treat before leaving for the afternoon.