Art Exhibits High At The Getty Center

Rising high above the Los Angeles skyline in Brentwood is a museum with one of the most impressive art collections anywhere. To get there, guests are asked to leave their vehicles behind and catch the three-car cable pulled tram that ascends and descends the hill every day. The winding route takes five minutes.

Almost 1.3 million people take the journey every year to see one of the finest collections of pre-20th century and 20th century European and American art. Housed in five exhibition pavilions that make up the campus, the Getty Center itself is a work of art, meticulously designed by architect Richard Meier.

Meier took special care in considering how people would arrive and orient themselves. The museum itself extends south along one of two ridges that converge to make up the campus. Once they arrive, they have an immediate choice to explore the grounds or enter the museum through the three-story cylindrical lobby that opens onto the museum courtyard, which is surrounded by those buildings.

"Not all those who wander are lost." — J.R.R. Tolkien

Although not written for the Getty Center, the timeless Tolkien quote conveys the right sentiment. This is the kind of place to wander for hours and lose yourself despite never being lost. Around each and every corner of every circling pavilion, the work of master artists, painters, artisans, and craftsmen are everywhere, usually with statues and artifacts on the first floors and paintings on the second floors.

With many beginning in the North Pavilion, guests will find art, sculptures, and illuminated manuscripts. The majority of the collection in this pavilion pre-dates 1700, with an emphasis on medieval art. After transversing the lower and upper levels, a sky bridge connects the North and East pavilions.

It is in the East Pavilion where visitors will find increasingly familiar artists, with Dutch, French, Flemish, and Spanish paintings as well as sculpture and Italian decorative arts dating from 1600 to 1800. The highlight of the collection, however, is the 17th century Baroque art.

Immediately between these buildings and easily missed while wondering into the South Pavilion is a small standalone building that holds what the Getty Center calls The Family Room on the first floor. It is one of several places where the Getty lives up to its mission to inspire curiosity about the visual arts, inviting younger visitors to construct their own interpretation of an illuminated manuscript, build tube structures, and enjoy treasure hunts.

The Getty Museum is evolving on site and off site with apps.

Further back, however, is another Getty Center rarity. The South Pavilion contains the museum's 18th century paintings and a majority of the museum's European decorative arts collection. What makes the collection especially interesting is that some of the exhibits are done up in finished rooms, elaborately furnished and paneled.

It was one of the Getty Center's interactive exhibits that inspired The Life Of Art, an iPhone application that details how four decorative works maintained at the museum came together, with various artisans each adding their expertise to create the elaborate furnishings. The app, much like the exhibit, includes a lidded bowl, silver fountain, side chair, and wall light.

The application isn't exclusive. The J. Paul Getty Trust has produced other free apps, including one to coincide with its exhibit Florence At The Dawn of Renaissance. The visiting exhibit is tied to how Florence flourished in the 1300s and helped set the stage for the Renaissance.

In addition to its own apps, other developers have created some.

In keeping with the desire to inspire, several other apps have been undertaken by other developers. In 2001, Toura created an app that featured highlights from four exhibits. And another by the same developer features 150 stunning works at the collection. It is the only one that requires a purchase, but does include some of the famed paintings from the West Pavilion, including Van Gogh.

Even more remarkable is the museum's recent exhibit on Pinterest, with almost 1,700 works. Still, even if these drawings, paintings, and photographs capture representations of the work, there is nothing like the real thing. The fountains, architecture, cactus garden, and central garden designed by artist Robert Irwin all converge to transport anyone away from Los Angeles for a few hours or even a day.

The Getty has several options for eating. In addition to light fare snack carts, the center has a restaurant and semi self-serve cafe (pizza oven and hamburger/chicken grille). While the restaurant menu seems pricey at a glance, the preparation and presentation is exquisite, as fine as any leading Los Angeles eatery. Plan to eat in, with dinner equally distinguished.

The Getty Center In Los Angeles Rises To 9.9 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

The Getty Center and Getty Museum has been a favored place to visit in Los Angeles since it opened. Given the museum waives its admission like several Los Angeles museums and art galleries (there is a modest $15 for parking), there really isn't any reason to miss it.

For a complete overview of travel accommodations in Los Angeles, compare top travel deals at Expedia.com. The Getty is especially close to Santa Monica (and you can avoid any highways). For a virtual tour of the Getty, you can find The Life Of Art, Getty Museum Highlights, Florence At The Dawn of Renaissance, and Pacific Standard Time on iTunes. Three of the apps are free.

The Beverly Hills Hotel Is All California

The guest list tells a diverse and storied tale of Los Angeles as much the hotel. The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows (also known as the Pink Palace) has attracted some of the coolest customers, ranging from Hunter S. Thompson to Elizabeth Taylor, and inspired the Eagles' rock classic "Hotel California."

Last year, as the hotel celebrated its 100th anniversary, the City of Beverly Hills bestowed it another honor. The Beverly Hills' Cultural Heritage Commission named it the first Historic Landmark of Beverly Hills for its iconic presence. It opened in 1912, which predated any plan to become a city.

A brief history of the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel a.k.a. "The Hotel" to most locals. 

After purchasing land, Burton Green, president of Rodeo Land and Water Company, hired Wilbur D. Cook to design a town and Margaret J. Anderson to build a sprawling hotel on a 12-acre parcel. The Mission Revival-style hotel, named after Beverly Farms in Massachusetts, was designed specifically to spark interest in an area billed as "halfway between Los Angeles and the sea."

It didn't take long. By 1914, Beverly Hills had enough residents to incorporate as a city (about 550) and by 1920, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks had built their home on the nearby hills. More stars followed, including Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Will Rogers, Gloria Swanson, and Rudolph Valentino. Together, they later mounted a fight when Los Angeles thought to annex it in 1923.

Within the next eight years, Harold Lloyd, John Barrymore, and Robert Montgomery joined them and Hollywood was entrenched, giving the area its renown for being home to the rich and famous. And other than tough times during the Great Depression, the city has mostly flourished after World War II. At its heart, The Hotel has almost always been the place where local and visiting celebrities play.


Today, other than a two-year renovation hiatus in the 1990s, the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows has thrived as one of the premier hotels in Los Angeles. While much of the allure is world-class service and amenities, the historic charm of 1940s architectural and interior design work of people like Paul R. Williams, Paul Laszio, John Luccareni, and Harriet Shellenberger is forever present.

In addition to giving the hotel its iconic sunset pinks and palm-shaded greens, it was these designers who worked diligently to retain the feel of the original property while creating spaces that felt like home wrapped in a hotel. It still carries an upscale but bright casualness that defines California today.

A few highlights at the the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows.

Located on Sunset Boulevard, just one mile from Downtown Beverly Hills, the hotel still rests within a 12-acre conclave of manicured gardens. And with only 208 guest rooms, which includes 38 suites and 21 bungalows, it is always bustling but never too busy for its guests or visitors.

Some of the classic features of the hotel, most of which were introduced in the 1940s, are as legendary as the Polo Lounge. Named after a band of polo players who toasted victories after winning matches in the nearby bean fields, the Polo Lounge has a country club feel starting with well-appointed breakfasts and carrying on with live entertainment from just after noon to just after midnight.

The outdoor pool is another landmark unto itself, framed by palms and well-planned grounds. Even when it is too cold to swim, the seasonal Cabana Cafe serves coffee, breakfast, cocktails, and lunch through 6 p.m. (and not necessarily in that order). The atmosphere is club casual, a contrast to one of my favorite places on the property — Nineteen12. Named after the year the hotel opened, the chic bar and terrace still carry a high back vibe from yesteryear. Only the drink menu has been updated.

When the Nineteen12 is full or the music misses the vibe, the Fountain Coffee Room makes for a great retreat with its 40s-50s styled sodas, floats, and pastries. What's most important to note is that the signature banana leaf paper is still intact. In fact, the classically curved counter is a restoration of the original, built in 1949. Like the spa and other attractions, everything plays toward the pool.

The rooms are all luxurious, tastefully appointed and decorated in a relaxing array of off-whites, soft beiges, and muted golds. The suites are much the same with stepped-up amenities like spacious living areas and fireplaces. A few steps above all that, either the hotel presidential suite or bungalow suites include a one-up marked luxury. All have modern niceties too, docking stations and plasma televisions.

The Beverly Hills Hotel Still Delights At 9.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

The location is perfect, just a stone's throw away from the Golden Triangle, with Rodeo Drive running through the center and bordered by Santa Monica Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard. The hotel is remarkably close to such diverse attractions as Paley Center for Media, Whisky a Go Go, and Museum of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It's one of the best places to stay off the beach.

The guest rooms aren't always easy to book and the prices might seem steep, beginning at around $650 (unless you happen to catch a special). One example of a special invented by the managing Dorchester Collection, for example, is a one-night stay with spa packages and $200 hotel credit. It's a good value. Parking is still an additional $34 per night, but most people expect it. Start by comparing specials against top travel deals at Expedia.com.

For Stunning Views In Santa Monica

They didn't call it the Roaring Twenties for nothing. California was prospering along with the rest of the nation. Hollywood was making advancements in film. And Santa Monica was abuzz with the opening of the La Monica Ballroom on the Santa Monica Pier in 1924.

That wasn't the only excitement in Santa Monica. Brothers E.A. "Jack" and T.D. Harter had picked an ideal location for a high society beach club, Club Casa del Mar. Even before the club was open, people were excited to join — so much so that the brothers fenced off a small area, erected tents, and invited future members to grill on the beach and host picnic lunches during construction.

It would take two more years before the club building would open (and $2 million), but its membership was already well established. Its roster read like a who's who of Los Angeles, hosting dinners, luncheons, tea times, and bridge parties amidst lavish floral displays of orchids, gardenias and lilies of the valley.

Club Casa del Mar thrived as the most successful beach club in California. 

Even after the Roaring Twenties had ended and the nation fell under the grip of the Great Depression, Club Casa del Mar continued to thrive. For some, it was considered one of the last bastions of better times, with its special events, lavish bridge groups, yacht members, and volleyball teams.

It reign as a premier club might have lasted longer, despite the setbacks caused with the construction of a major highway in the 1930s, but the building was claimed by the U.S. Navy at the outbreak of World War II. For the next four years, the once lavish club became a recreation center for enlisted men.

After the war, the building was too well worn (and without the benefit of member dues) to rescue. Even when T. D. Harter came out of retirement in 1959 to save the failing property, it was too late. It closed a few years later.

The revival of the Casa del Mar as a beach resort on the Santa Monica coastline. 

Although the property had undergone several transformations from a drug rehabilitation center in the 1960s to a nutrition and health care facility in the 1970s, it wasn't until the the Edward Hospitality Group Corporation (Etc.) purchased the property in 1997 that it could be returned to its former glory.

The hotel reopened in 1999. Today, Hotel Casa del Mar feels more like a beach club than a resort.

A large part of the transformation has to do with the emphasis on social activities. The hotel is home is the eco-friendly Sea Wellness Spa. Executive Chef Jason Bowlin has created several outstanding menus for Catch (including one that is gluten free). The pool has a beautiful beachfront facing. And the library like the lobby has high back leather chairs, with the lobby lounge hosting live entertainment nightly.

But even more exciting for guests, or even locals, is that Chef Bowlin doesn't confine himself to the kitchen. He joins a private instructor almost every day to teach people how to surf in Santa Monica. The packages are reasonable, about $350 for two for locals. For guests, surf lessons can be added as part of the room rate. And without the chef (and lunch), lessons start at around $120.

The rooms inside Hotel Casa del Mar carry some semblance of a long-lost era. The 1920s Renaissance revival styles are back, mostly a mix of modern and classic accommodations. Even if is a partial, the ocean views are especially stunning.

The bathrooms are appointed with Italian marble and hydrothermal tubs. White Italian linens make up the four-poster beds. Most are 400 square feet, which might seem small for the rates. If you can, upgrade to the 540-square-foot one bedroom, with a small living room. However, don't upgrade unless you keep the view too.

The Hotel Casa Del Mar Hits The Beach At 8.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

There are two ways to look at the location. Casa del Mar, much like its sister property Shutters, is right on the Santa Monica beach, with Venice Beach starting a little less than a mile away. There are plenty of more convenient places to stay on the north side of the pier, but all of them are on the cliff overlooking the ocean.

There is certainly an energy here that you won't find elsewhere. The social environment Etc has been trying to create here over the last few years is starting to pay off. It makes for a swanky but friendly feel. Likewise enjoyable are the room rates. They range from $550 to $900 depending on the season and length of stay, forcing you to hunt or wait for better rates, which sometimes drop to $350 to $450 per night for a standard room, depending on the season and the view.

There are plenty of hot spots in the area, like Chez Jazz (where Sinatra once hung out), Mariscos Guilllen La Playita (for great taco and seafood cocktails), and the Buffalo Club (a divey little supper club). But mostly, it's all about the beach. For flights to Los Angeles, save up to 60 percent from Fare Buzz, which is also running Spring Break specials.

Los Angeles By X Hits 30 Years

There have only been three times in my life that I might say a band and the experience changed my life. The debut of Los Angeles by X was one of them. The other two were the debut of The Ramones and the first time I discovered the Carter Family.

For this one, it almost feels a bit sobering to think that this imperfectly brilliant debut would only earn the band a loyal following in and around Los Angeles. It never catapulted them to the big time. It's largely because they were ahead of their time.

It Took 30 Years For Everyone To Catch Up With X.

Most of the punk bands that performed when X released its debut are long gone. X is one of the few that endures. They still play with the same energy that they did then too.

The reason is who rounds out the band: poet/vocalist Exene Cervenka; vocalist/bassist John Doe; rockabilly guitarist Billy Zoom (with an awesome blond pompadour); and steady handed jazz drummer D. J. Bonebrake.

The tag team lyrics by Cervenka and Doe, along with peerless musicianship, put them on the map. It helped, I think, that Cervenka and Doe were boyfriend and girlfriend. Then, husband and wife. And today, friendly exes.


For the X novice, they covered the most ground with songs like Sugarlight, which explored heroin addiction, and Your Phone’s Off the Hook (But You’re Not), which was a not-so-classic breakup song. Both are about as melodic, poetic, and intelligent as punk would ever hope to get.

Inside Los Angeles, They Opened Doors.

Indeed. It helped that Los Angeles was produced by ex-Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek. He had heard of the band and immediately took a liking to their new sound. They needed some help. He had to translate what they were doing on stage into the studio. He got it right.

He also helped them translate something else. When X covered Soul Kitchen by the Doors, they got it right. It's a rare gem, and Manzarek ought to be thanked outright.

Nowadays, Los Angeles appears on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Albums of All Time at number 286. It deserves better, but I might admit it wasn't the band's best. Wild Gift and Under the Big Black Sun are near perfect follow ups.

X’s Los Angeles Screams 9.7 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Los Angeles was reissued in 2001 with five bonus tracks, including a demo of I’m Coming Over. It also included a rough mix of Adult Books, which would later be cleaned up to make an appearance on the amazing Wild Gift album (circa 1981).

The legendary X is set to embark on a West Coast club tour later this year, starting on Dec. 15 in West Hollywood. They’ll be performing their best-loved songs and Christmas gems like Santa Claus Is Coming To Town and Jingle Bells. They'll also be screening the documentary X-The Unheard Music, already 25 years old.

You can find Los Angeles on iTunes. X (The Band) - The Unheard Music is available on Amazon.

The Georgian Hotel, A Haunt In Santa Monica

Built in 1933, the Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., remains a favorite among celebrities like Oliver Stone, Robert DeNiro and Arnold Schwarzenegger. But even before it changed its name, the hotel was legendary as one of the first speakeasies in Los Angeles and a favorite haunt among people like Bugsy Siegel, "Fatty" Arbuckle, Clark Gable, and Carole Lombard.

Perhaps it still is. While the hotel has downplayed the stories in recent years, there are some guests who have supposedly stayed on indefinitely. One site chronicles some of the unexplained, including loud sighs, gasps, and disembodied voices who greet people with a hushed "good morning." We didn't experience anything so verbose during our stay, but my family says they experienced something.

It wasn't until after we booked our four-day stay at the Georgian Hotel that we found out about the local legend. And since my wife and I both enjoy Ghost Hunters, we were packing just in case: my wife's EMF detector and dowsing rods.

Believe it or not, there were some strange occurrences. Every evening, the dowsing rods would spin frantically by the space at the foot of the bed. During the day, however, we could never duplicate the unexplained oddity. Both my wife and son also claimed to have been touched by someone or something unseen, leaving cool, tingly sensations for several minutes.

What Makes The Georgian Hotel Stand Out In Santa Monica

Whether or not the hotel is haunted, the Georgian stands out in Santa Monica. The striking blue Art Deco boutique hotel (against a wall of white buildings) is a short walk from Downtown and the Third Street Promenade and to the Santa Monica Pier from Ocean Avenue.

Immediately across the street, the palm-lined coastline park also features a pedestrian bridge for direct access to the uncrowded Santa Monica State Beach. The bridge crosses over the Pacific Coast Highway and descends north of more crowded beach parking. There is plenty of space to sit on a small wall separating a small lot and a biking path, just in front of the white sand.

Other than the charming near-original mahogany-paneled elevator, the recent $5 million renovations are noticeable but not intrusively modern at the Georgian. The feel comes across a little more like the 1950s than the 1930s, but the intimacy that made the hotel famous is amazingly preserved. With only 28 suites and 56 guest rooms, hotel staff quickly become personal with guests, anticipating their needs by name and with pleasant smiles.

Since the biggest buzz for the hotel came immediately following renovations in around 2004, the Georgian Hotel feels just off the beaten path. However, do plan ahead. Some summer nights are booked as much as one or two months in advance. Also, if you drive in, be prepared to valet.

With its Ocean Avenue frontage, giving many rooms full ocean views, overnight parking is $21 (plus gratuity, for gracious guests). With the exception of check-in and check-out rushes, the valet is prompt and happy to pull the car around in between your breakfast on the veranda and picking up some essentials from the room before heading out to take in Los Angeles.

Access to the entire city is exceptional from Santa Monica. The less busy Pacific Coast Highway entrance is only two blocks east. The highway then becomes Interstate 10, which crosses Interstate 405 after a short ten-minute drive. Traffic is generally manageable, even if you are returning after a full day from downtown Los Angeles, Griffith Park, or Disneyland.

The Georgian Hotel Hits An 8.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

The Georgian Hotel is the kind of place that writers, artists, actors, and free spirits look for to get away for awhile. It is also wired for WiFi, with hotel guests receiving the password upon check in. Another plus is that the lobby bar, which offers spectacular sunset views, is only open to hotel guests. Seriously, I wouldn't stay anywhere else in Santa Monica.

To check for current airfares around Santa Monica, visit Fare Buzz flight pages.