Showing posts with label Parks and Recreation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parks and Recreation. Show all posts
Posted by
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Filed Under: Events, Farmers' Market, Food, Montrose, Parks and Recreation, Shopping
Montrose is one of the best kept secrets in Glendale, and many of us who live there would like to keep it that way, so if you’re reading this, keep it to yourself, OK?When I moved to L.A. from the U.K. three years ago, I imagined I'd be living in a brash city. Then I found Montrose and felt like I'd walked into a Frank Capra movie.
Nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains on the northern edge of Glendale, this small bedroom community is a bit of a rarity. Part of the City Of Glendale since 1913, it's home mostly to families and a few older citizens. In the early days, Angelenos, including many Hollywood movie stars, would ascend to Montrose's then-"country" heights for clean air and spa treatments.
Now, even though Glendale has reached out in every direction so there are no discernable boundaries, Montrose still offers an escape of sorts to a kind of small-town America where the main street was the hub of the community and you couldn't walk down it without seeing someone you knew.
That main street, Honolulu Avenue, has changed little in character, still featuring a variety of independent stores and restaurants, the only chains in the main strip being Coffee Bean and Subway.
So untouched since the 1950s and '60s are some store fronts that Montrose is often featured in movies and TV shows for its architecture and small-town feel.
The focal point of the week is the Sunday Harvest Market, for which a good part of Honolulu Avenue is closed off. A jazz band adds to the atmosphere as shoppers browse and stop off for brunch at popular haunts like The Black Cow and Montrose Bakery.
The market runs from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. every Sunday and features 70 to 80 stall holders selling fresh produce, mainly from the Santa Barbara and Santa Paula areas, plus original arts and crafts, books, bric-a-brac, and bakery items. There's a petting zoo and seasonal pony rides for the kids.
Montrose's annual Christmas parade attracts some 10,000 visitors from miles around. I took a friend and her family this year, and she was bowled over by the great community atmosphere and the size of the parade—it takes a good two hours for all the marching bands, floats, and vintage cars to get from one end of Honolulu Avenue to the next—pretty impressive for one little town.
Montrose is also well-known for its large number of restaurants, many with outdoor dining. There's everything from sushi to Mexican, Italian, American, and beyond.
But there's more than shopping and dining here. A stone's throw away in neighboring La Crescenta, the Deukmejian Wilderness Park has great trails and stunning views, plus a picnic area.
And in next door La Canada, Descanso Gardens is a beautifully landscaped 160 acres of public gardens to enjoy for just $7. It features a café and a tranquil Japanese tea garden.
Montrose is also only six miles south of the Angeles National Forest so everywhere you look, nature's on the doorstep.
One of my favorite views is driving up the Glendale Freeway and seeing Downtown L.A.'s skyscrapers in my rear view mirror. Then I look ahead to the welcoming foothills I'm driving towards and thank my lucky stars I discovered this gem of a town.
Nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains on the northern edge of Glendale, this small bedroom community is a bit of a rarity. Part of the City Of Glendale since 1913, it's home mostly to families and a few older citizens. In the early days, Angelenos, including many Hollywood movie stars, would ascend to Montrose's then-"country" heights for clean air and spa treatments.
Now, even though Glendale has reached out in every direction so there are no discernable boundaries, Montrose still offers an escape of sorts to a kind of small-town America where the main street was the hub of the community and you couldn't walk down it without seeing someone you knew.
That main street, Honolulu Avenue, has changed little in character, still featuring a variety of independent stores and restaurants, the only chains in the main strip being Coffee Bean and Subway.
So untouched since the 1950s and '60s are some store fronts that Montrose is often featured in movies and TV shows for its architecture and small-town feel.
The focal point of the week is the Sunday Harvest Market, for which a good part of Honolulu Avenue is closed off. A jazz band adds to the atmosphere as shoppers browse and stop off for brunch at popular haunts like The Black Cow and Montrose Bakery.
The market runs from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. every Sunday and features 70 to 80 stall holders selling fresh produce, mainly from the Santa Barbara and Santa Paula areas, plus original arts and crafts, books, bric-a-brac, and bakery items. There's a petting zoo and seasonal pony rides for the kids.
Montrose's annual Christmas parade attracts some 10,000 visitors from miles around. I took a friend and her family this year, and she was bowled over by the great community atmosphere and the size of the parade—it takes a good two hours for all the marching bands, floats, and vintage cars to get from one end of Honolulu Avenue to the next—pretty impressive for one little town.
Montrose is also well-known for its large number of restaurants, many with outdoor dining. There's everything from sushi to Mexican, Italian, American, and beyond.
But there's more than shopping and dining here. A stone's throw away in neighboring La Crescenta, the Deukmejian Wilderness Park has great trails and stunning views, plus a picnic area.
And in next door La Canada, Descanso Gardens is a beautifully landscaped 160 acres of public gardens to enjoy for just $7. It features a café and a tranquil Japanese tea garden.
Montrose is also only six miles south of the Angeles National Forest so everywhere you look, nature's on the doorstep.
One of my favorite views is driving up the Glendale Freeway and seeing Downtown L.A.'s skyscrapers in my rear view mirror. Then I look ahead to the welcoming foothills I'm driving towards and thank my lucky stars I discovered this gem of a town.
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Posted by
Friday, December 05, 2008
Friday, December 05, 2008
Filed Under: Art, Brand Park, City Services, Parks and Recreation
I grew up in Chicago, among the grandeur of Daniel Burnham's lakefront parks, the ones that call back to Paris, the ones that make you want to hold hands, find hidden woodlands, loiter for hours under dappled sunlight. Southern California has beautiful public lands, but they are different: block-long parks flanked by urban sprawl, Griffith Park with its rustic Western charm, and the odd reservoirs of Silver Lake and Rowena that are carefully landscaped but fenced in to prevent actual human activity. In Glendale, however, we have our own miniature Jardin des Tulieres, a lovely urban retreat that displays the turn-of-the-century interest in combining natural California landscaping, Moorish architecture, and neoclassical symmetry: Brand Park.Walk through the front gate of the park, up the hill under stately palms to "El Miradero," the private residence of Leslie Coombs Brand, an early Glendale business developer. The library itself is interesting, if not entirely accessible since it contains more specialized collections of history, art, and music. The library also hosts gallery exhibits, performances, and classes that I'm told that are worth taking, especially those for children.
Further up the hill, the "Shoseian" Whispering Pine Teahouse & Friendship Garden is always serene. Although its hours are inconvenient, since it is only open from 10:00AM to 4:00PM from Mondays to Thursdays, it does make it a great place to play hookey from work.
Just past the Japanese Garden, the Doctor's House is a Victorian style home that was relocated from Wilson Avenue to its present location in 1979. Every Sunday from 2:00PM to 4:00PM, they offer a tour of the House for one dollar. It's been years since I went, but I do remember enjoying myself, learning about life in California during the Victorian era and seeing framed, embroidered human hair art. (Ew.)
Besides these lovely architectural finds, Brand Park contains other special details that make me love it even more. The lady of the Green Cross, a hidden sculpture that was "created in 1928 as a tribute to an early 20th century tree society and a symbol of… deforestation," welcomes hikers with open arms to a satisfyingly steep climb up the rocky hill toward breathtaking views of the city. (Keep walking up, and you'll be able to save your knees by taking the leisurely path down the fire road).
I also love the happy shouts of Little League games, the vibrant wedding parties congregating on the library steps for portraits, the shaded playground that plays host to playdates and birthday parties, families picnicking, and the summer wading pool.
An afternoon in Brand Park takes me back to Chicago; I'm standing in the great hall of the Art Institute, gazing at George Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." It is a convivial oasis, one that embodies urban living and idyllic pleasures. Brand Park is alive, and that is the key.
Brand Park
1601 West Mountain Street
Glendale, CA 91201
www.ci.glendale.ca.us/parks/brand_park.asp
Hours:
7:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
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