Recently a friend of mine suggested I expand into Hollywood; frankly, I’m just not interested. Here’s why. When I first arrived in L.A. back in the early 90’s Hollywood was my first stop. I wanted to see the Chinese Theater, the Walk of Fame and the Hollywood sign. Hollywood Blvd was still a lowrider cruising spot back then and the rest of the street was dark and foreboding with a few neon lit bars dotting the side streets. I loved it!
As the years went on, the Kodak theater was built, the cruising stopped, the Sunset Strip club crowd moved into those side street bars, and there really wasn’t much of the movie business left in Hollywood.
But Downtown L.A. is bubbling with film shoots. The architecture and history of L.A. isn’t going anywhere thanks to the historic preservation of the Historic Core. Developers and club owners are discovering the beauty of the old Art Deco and Beaux Artes buildings and restoring them, instead of knocking them down. The more I learned about Los Angeles history, the more I realized it was all in DTLA. Throw in the Arts District, a new river revitalization project, cycling infrastructure, a classic home base like Grand Central Market and its the perfect place for Handlebar Bike Tours. There’s more to L.A. than Hollywood.