First Stairwalk of the Spring

For my first stairwalk of the spring, I joined author Charles Fleming and about sixty other stair walkers as he took us on stairwalk #3, Glassell Park North, from his book “Secret Stairs—a Walking Guide to the Hidden Staircases of Los Angeles.”  Charles said the walk actually encompasses three different areas—Glassell Park, Echo Park, and Mount Washington.   There are a lot of trees and great views of the San Gabriel mountains. Charles leads stairwalks on the first Sunday of every month and sometimes he will even take us to stairs that are not included in his book.  This walk was one of those times and I was glad for that.  The first time I did this walk I did it by myself.  I was glad to do it again with my fellow stairwalkers.  One of the stairwalkers, who I have gotten to know over the course of several months of stairwalks, told Charles he thought I should get a plaque or award for doing all the stairwalks from the book “secret Stairs.”  Charles replied he knows I did all the walks and asked me if I had a Secret Stairs T-shirt.  I replied I did not and Charles gave me one for free.  It’s a nice shirt and I wore it after I got home.  I will be sure to wear it on future stairwalks.

When we started on our walk, it was quite windy.  But after awhile, the wind died down and it warmed up quite a bit.   The first staircase was wooden and goes back to the time when all public stairs were made from timber.  The second staircase is a zigzag design with 132 steps and the landings are painted with murals.  I asked Charles if the landings were painted when he published the book, because he doesn’t mention them being painted.  He told me that they were, but the paintings were faded and very dull.  Apparently they have been painted over.  I don’t know who painted over them but they did a nice job.

This walk is rated at a 2.5 with only 266 steps.  It’s quite easy but there are some steep streets to give you a workout. 

At the end of the walk, those who wanted to continue for another 20 minutes and see staircases that are not included in the book can follow Charles.  My friends and I did the second part and afterwards we went to eat at Auntie Em’s Kitchen.  Charles mentions Auntie Em’s in his book, as a place to have breakfast before starting the walk.  Auntie Em’s is a retro style eatery with striped wall paper and a market right next door. The first time I did this walk I started at Auntie Em’s but I did not notice the market.  The market has cakes, cup cakes, pastries, jams, candy, and an assortment of interesting items.  One thing I was glad to see was lavender sugar.  I had wanted to make lavender sweet tea for the longest time and now I can.  The lavender came from Little Sky Lavender Farm in Boulder California and I am so thankful that I have found a lavender farm where I can get lavender products and recipes. After about a 20 minute wait, we were seated at an outside table.  The tables have flowered table clothes and the dishes are all different patterns.  My plate was white with red polka dots. The 2-sided menu was also very interesting with pictures of dogs on both the front and back.  Apparently the best time to go to Auntie Em’s is for early breakfast because they ran out of a lot of items by the time we arrived, which was a little after one PM.   Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal and thanked me for suggesting the restaurant.  I told them “don’t thank me, thank Charles for mentioning Auntie Em’s in his book.”

Bird on a stairwalk

Vedanta Society Monastery

I joined the Secret Stairs meetup group and did the Temple Hill walk #35, from the book “Secret Stairs—a Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles” by Charles Fleming.  This area has church buildings, a temple, monasteries, a meditation center, and was once home to number of spiritual centers.   I have done this walk before and thought perhaps I might see something new, or something that I had missed before.   A woman joined us on the walk with her parrot on her shoulder.  I have never seen Susan or her parrot, Solomon, on any of the walks, so that was something new.  In fact, I have never seen anyone with a pet bird on any of the stairwalks.  The bird was friendly and not skittish at all.  He was wearing a white bird sweater.  I never knew there were sweaters for birds.  People were coming up to the bird and he seemed to take it all in stride.  I asked Susan if she was going to do the next stairwalk, which immediately followed this one, and she said it depends on how Solomon feels.  I don’t know if they did the second walk, since my friend and I opted to eat breakfast instead.

Barbara Stanwycks former estate

Barbara Stanwycks former estate is located at 6215 Holly Mont.  Known as Hollymont Castle, it is said to be haunted.  Charles Fleming says in his book that it is now the home of Dexter Grey, a pianist and table tennis ace.  I must have missed Holly Mont street the first time I took the walk because I don’t recall seeing this.  I also don’t recall seeing the fairytale like house with the wavy roof.  I do remember getting turned around and missing a street the first time I did this walk back in November of 2010.

Other Hollywood notables used to live in the area–Charlie Chaplin, Jeanette MacDonald and Hopalong Cassidy.  The former residence of Charlie Chaplin is now the Monastery Gardens Apartments.   The craftsman style Bungalows de Primos, built during the silent film era, housed Hollywoods most prominent hopefuls.

After the walk, my friend and I joined another person from the walk for breakfast at the Best Western Hotel coffee shop.  Located next to the 101 freeway, the east facing side of the building says “Last Cappuccino before the 101—park here.”   I have noticed that wall many times before and wondered if they make a great cappuccino.  I should have ordered a cappuccino but I didn’t.  I guess I wasn’t thinking about it.  Maybe next time.

Happy Valley and Montecito Heights – stairwalk #10

I joined “Secret Stairs” author Charles Fleming and about 60 stair walkers for his March stairwalk.  I had one stairwalk left to do from his book “Secret Stairs, A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles”and this was it.  He did stairwalk #10, Happy Valley and Montecito Heights.  It was a tough walk and has a 5 rating in the book, 5 being the hardest.  Only one other stairwalk is as hard and that is #42, Giant Steps.

Blimp over downtown Los Angeles

Stairs that are not in the book

Stairs that are not in the book

We went through a part of Los Angeles that is rarely seen.  Parts of it are very rural, with chickens, roosters and a lot of barking dogs.  We also saw a view of downtown Los Angeles from the backside, a view not normally seen.  I was able to capture the blimp which was flying back and forth over the downtown buildings.  Charles had discovered some stairs that weren’t in his book, bringing the total number of steps to 800. After walking the stairs that are in the book, we ended up at the starting point.  Charles said anyone who wanted to do the additional stairs can follow him.  Eight of us followed him a few blocks down the street and up a staircase that was probably 100 steps.  I was pretty beat when I took on this additional staircase but I knew I had to do it.  After all, it is my last walk from the book and I didn’t want to miss any part, no matter how tough.

I was introduced to the Secret Stairs when I did my first walk back in October of 2010 with the Secret Stairs meet-up group.  I then bought the book and started doing the walks on my own and with friends.  I also did the monthly stairwalks with Charles Fleming and once in a while a stairwalk with the meet up group.   I loved the walks so much that I posted my first blog on December 7, 2010.  I’ve gotten in much better shape since I first started and can take the stairs faster now.  I’ve done several of the walks more than once and will continue to do the stairwalks and blog.  I find that I discover or see things I hadn’t noticed before.  I never know what to expect and it’s always an adventure.

El Sereno Circles – stairwalk #9

I joined the Secret Stairs meetup group on stairwalk #9, El Sereno Circles, from the book “Secret Stairs–A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles.”   I have wanted to do this walk for quite some time and was glad that it was chosen for a meetup walk.  Charles says in his book that this is a seldom-visited section of the city.  I, for one, have never been to this area before.  Charles also says there are more barking dogs than you can shake a stick at and refers to Ballard Avenue as the doggiest neighborhood in Los Angeles, with all kinds of unfriendly dogs behind fences.  I was expecting mean, growling, vicious dogs but they didn’t appear to be mean.   One dog starts barking and all the dogs bark. I also heard some of the owners yelling at their dogs to shut up.  This was at 9:15 AM on a Saturday and I assume some of the neighbors could have been woken up.  Just as I started to take a picture of one of the dogs, he ran towards the house.  Some mean dog he is.  Another dog just stared at me from the front yard, not barking at all.

The walk was over in no time at all.  It’s only 40 minutes and one of the shorter walks in the book.  It was a nice way to start the day and I felt energized.

First stairwalk in 2012 with author Charles Fleming

Author Charles Fleming led a group of about 80 people on Stairwalk #40, Santa Monica-Rustic Canyon from his book “Secret Stairs-A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles.”   I have done this walk twice and it’s one of my favorites.  Rustic Canyon reminds me of the mountains with the pine trees and homes that look like cabins.  I never knew about this part of Santa Monica until I did the walk.  It’s a little rustic area that is off the beaten path.  I don’t think many people know about this area. 

Charles did a different version of the walk than what is in the book—he did the walk in reverse, starting at the end and ending up at the beginning.  It was easier than I remember and was probably due to the fact that instead of going up most of the stairs, we went down.  One set of stairs that Charles did not do was the famous 4th street stairs which is jammed with people exercising and running up and down this 189 step staircase.  The reason he skipped this is because it would be very difficult taking a group of 80 people up the very crowded stairs.   We did pass by the stairs and everyone was able to see what they were missing.  To my knowledge, no one was disappointed that he skipped these stairs.  At one time residences were tired of the crowds of people using the stairs, stretching and exercising on the 4^th street grass median and wanted to close the stairs.  However, the stairs are part of the tsunami escape route and have to remain open in case of an emergency.

After the walk, a couple of my friends and I went to eat at the Soda Jerks on the Santa Monica pier.  It’s an old fashioned soda fountain located inside the building where the carousal is.  There are about 6 to 8 stools at the counter and soda jerks to serve you ice cream sundaes, milk shakes, and delicious drinks.    What a great way to end the stairwalk.

December stairwalk with Charles Fleming

Author Charles Fleming led a group of over 75 people on Stairwalk #1, Pasadena-La Loma, from his book “Secret Stairs–A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles.”  I have done this stairwalk twice and was looking forward to this one because Charles was going to take us on a couple of staircases which he says are so secret that they never made it into the book. I was also curious to see the condition of the area and the stairs since Pasadena had ferocious winds over 100 mph. Pasadena was declared a state of emergency and thousands of people were without power, some for several days.

The high winds had stopped and it was a nice day for a stairwalk.  It was even warmer than I expected. I saw a few fallen trees and some fences that were knocked down, but did not see any damaged homes or crushed cars.

Stairs blocked by fallen tree

Most of the staircases were clear of any fallen trees and debris, except for the super- secret stairs that never made it into the book.  These stairs were blocked by fallen trees and there was no way to  walk around the trees.  Not surprising, there were a lot of trees knocked down because this area is one of the shadiest walks in the book, with a large variety of trees—pine, palm, juniper, sycamore, oak, and others.  I heard it’s going to take some time before all the fallen trees are removed. Once the area is cleared of the trees, I will return and climb the super- secret stairs that were blocked.  Who knows, maybe Charles will do another walk here.

Beachwood Canyon-Stairwalk #34

On Sunday, November 28th, I joined Grace and the Secret Stairs meetup group, for Beachwood Canyon, stairwalk #34 from the book “Secret Stairs,” by Charles Fleming.  It was a hot November day with record breaking temperatures in the 90’s, and it felt like summer. 

We had some rain the week before and today the sky was clear. Everything was very green and some of the trees are changing colors.

It's starting to look like Xmas

Hollywoodland arch

Across from the Village Coffee Shop are the stone arches that were built as part of the development of Hollywoodland. This was intended to be a gated community with tennis courts, swimming pools and riding stables.  Residents were to include Bugsy Siegel, Humphrey Bogart, and Bela Lugosi. As you walk north on Beachwood, you can get a great view of the Hollywood sign. This sign once spelled Hollywoodland and was built to advertise the proposed gated community. Once framed by thousands of light bulbs, the “land” part fell off and all that remains are the letters spelling “Hollywood” as we know it today.

Historic-Cultural Monument No. 535

This is one of my favorite walks from the book and has the most beautiful and well-maintained staircases of any in the book. The stairs are cut from the same granite stone the Hollywoodland arch is made from. The staircase located at N. Beachwood and Woodshire Drive, is a historical-cultural monument, and a plaque at the bottom dates its’ construction as 1928. It has 148 steps with planter boxes and benches down the middle. At one time, a stream ran down the middle. I love the neighborhood with the different architectural styles and views that stretch out to downtown Los Angeles. It is one of the most beautiful and expensive areas of all the walks from the book.

After one hour, 2.6 miles and 861 steps, I was looking forward to eating at the Village Coffee Shop.

tree house

The walk was in honor of the restaurant which is closing its doors on November 30th.

The plan was to do the walk and eat there afterwards. We finished our walk at 3 PM and the kitchen had already closed. No one knew the restaurant closed at 3 PM on Sundays.

There were some diners finishing up their meals and I was able to go inside and talk to the staff.

Village Coffee Shop

I found out the head chef is taking over and opening up his own restaurant. No one knew what the new restaurant will be like or if the owner will keep the same menu or decor. That remains to be seen.