The J. Paul Getty Museum is hosting an exhibit on loan from the Cleveland Musuem of Art until January 20. The exhibit is part of one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of early Christian, Byzantine, and medieval European art in the world. It includes rare examples of decorative works of gold and silver, armor, carved ivories, enamels, sculpture, paintings, and illuminated manuscripts from the third through the 16th centuries.

J. Paul Getty Museum
Neighborhood: Brentwood
1200 Getty Center Dr.
Los Angeles, Ca 90049
310-440-6810

The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center in Los Angeles houses pre-20th-century European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and European and American photographs. A small selection of Greek and Roman antiquities can be seen in the Classical Connections gallery in the North Pavilion.

Admission
Admission to the Getty Center is FREE—no tickets or reservations required for general admission. Parking is $8.

Museum Hours:
Tuesday–Thursday and Sunday
10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday
10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Closed Monday and on January 1, July 4, Thanksgiving, and December 25.

Getting There:
Parking – There is Parking On Site and Paid Lot. Parking is $8.
Public Transportation – Metro Rapid Line 761 or call (800) COMMUTE

Garden Terrace Cafe
Smaller cafe offering coffee, lunch, and snacks in an outdoor setting overlooking the Central Garden.

Hours
Tuesday–Thursday: 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Friday: 10:30 a.m.–8:30 p.m.
Saturday: 11:00 a.m.–8:30 p.m.
Sunday: 11:00–5:30 p.m.

Restaurant at the Getty Center

Neighborhood: Brentwood
1200 Getty Center Dr.
Los Angeles, Ca 90049
310-440-6810

The Restaurant at the Getty Center is located atop the hills surrounding Brentwood offering a magnificient view of the Los Angeles Skyline. The Restaurant at the Getty Center is inside the Getty Center museum complex. Classic California-Mediterranean cuisine with a touch of class. The perfect place to enjoy the views and get away from the crowds.

Lunch Hours
Tuesday–Saturday: 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Sunday: 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Dinner Hours
Friday and Saturday: 5:00–9:00 p.m.

Reservations are recommended. Call (310) 440-6810. Limited same-day reservations may be available at the door or at the Museum Information Desk.

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Many Angeleno’s consider Olvera Street as a center for Hispanic/Mexican history. Olvera Street boarders between downtown Los Angeles and the Los Angeles river(East Los). And South of the street is the historic Union Station, a major mass transit station for Los Angeles. North of Olver Street is Fort Moore. LA holds an annual July 4th celebration. Which includes antique cannons. To the North East is the historic Chinatown. And further North East is the famous Dodger Stadium. So you may see that it is centrally located amidst much LA activity and is not to hard to find.

Olvera Street dates back as early as 1877. The street is named after Augustin Olvera. The first LA County Judge. He also owned a house at the end of the street as well. Within the street is the Avila Adobe House(built 1818) which still stands. Francisco Avila was one of LA’s first mayors. You may visit the Avila Adobe, roughly between the hours of 10AM – 4PM. Admission is free. Olvera Street also housed many Olympians during the 1932 which was hosted in Los Angeles. Many famous and important people would visit or frequent the street. Such as: Ronald Reagan, Charlie Chaplin, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Selma Hayak, Penelope Cruz, Ceasar Chavez, Oscar de La Hoya as well as many others.

In between touring the street and the Avila Adobe you can find some restaurants and sidewalk cafes to eat at. Many of the plates range between $4.00 – $15.00. You may be so lucky to hear live Mexican Folk to Mariachi music. Each group has anywhere between one to five singing and playing accordias and acoustical guitars.

At the end of Olvera Street is the plaza. One may be entertained by Aztec dancers and Peruvian music. During Cinco de Mayo(May 5th) there is always a festival that last 3 days. With pinatas, food, Mariachi music and more. The Plaza also has another festival Mid September in remembrace of Mexicos Independance from Spain, You may also find one of many other Olvera Street festivals. Anything from the Blessing of the Animals, Dia de Los Muetros(day of the dead is around Halloween), to the Annual celebration of the founding of Los Angeles(In 2008 it will be 226 years old). And the mural of the Blessing of the Animals was done by an Angeleno by the name of Leo Politi. The mural can be found on the Biscailuz Building in El Pueblo which is at the end of Olvera Street, across the street from the plaza. Politi was an artist as well as an author.

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A hot spot for great laughs is the Downtown Comedy Club in Los Angeles. It is hosted by Garrett Morris, former Saturday Night Live(SNL) cast memeber. Yes, indeedy Morris hosted the entire show and had his own stand up moment as well.

Tickets run for $15.00. In which you may purchase online at the Downtown Comedy website. But I was able to purchase mine for a discounted price at Goldstar for roughly $5.00 plus a service fee of $3 or $4.00. The comedy shows are typically on Friday and Saturday nights and start roughly around 9:00 pm or so and runs approximately 2 hours. Age mininium is 18 and over.

The comedy club can be found in the Hotel Alexandria’s Charlie O’s bar (at Fifth and Spring streets). The decor of the club reminds me of something that Frank Sinatra would sing at. It had that kind of feel to me. A very nostalgia type of moment. In addition the comedy club is a smoke free environment as well.

And if you want to do something prior to the show. On Spring street is Gallery Row. There are small galleries one may view many up and coming artists. There are plenty of bistro’s and sidewalk cafe’s to visit.

The night I went, the headliner was Jason Stuart. There were five other acts that went on. In addition there was a house band by the name of Eden Tree. Before the show started one of the bartenders got up and asked two questions from the audience. If you got one of the questions right you would get a free alcoholic drink. They also have wonderful sliders(baby hamburgers with caramelized onions and mustard) and a great chicken nachos.

The experience overall is great. All the acts were great and the sounds that Eden Tree provided were worth the money. The ambience of the club gives one a feel of the Frank Sinatra 50′s club feel. So if you are ever looking for a great place at a inexpensive price to go to on the weekend in Los Angeles, I would recommend the Downtown Comedy Club.

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If you are an art lover of sorts like I am. Than can I recommend visiting Los Angeles County Museum Of Art. Commonly known to Angelenos as LACMA. LACMA with their permanent and special events has many family oriented programs.

The hours are generally 12 PM to 8 PM and closed Wednesday and all major holidays. LACMA is located on Wilshire Blvd on Museum Row. The admission is $12 for adults, children 17 years and under free. One adult can get in free with their child 17 years and under if the child signs up for NEXGEN. After 5 PM anyone can get in for free. As well as on certain holdays that fall on a Monday are free admission.

I have gone after 5 pm on a few ocassions and found that the museum was not as crowded as in the mid afternoons. I am able to enjoy the massive art collection with little pressure to rush from room to room. I love the costume and textiles exhibit. Viewing textiles from the east to seeing the fashion from the French Court of Louis XIV. I also love the American West paintings of Bierdstat to Gifford and Morgan. I also love the photography section as well as The Pavillion which hosts the Japanese collection. One may view the majestic and awesome size of the Samurai suits.

There are also several other museums within LACMA such as The Pavillion which hosts a collection of Japanese Art. There is the Bing Center as well. I usually see modern art in this section. There are also a few garden sections to stroll through when you need some fresh air and a break from indoors.

LACMA also has a library that is open to the public by appointment only. They have over 175,000 books, periodocals and journals.

There are several other museums close by to LACMA. Such as the Peterson Automotive and La Brea Tar Pits Museums. Both museums are family friendly just like LACMA. If anything you can make an entire day out of visiting Museum Row. There is a giant park located between LACMA and the La Brea Tar Pits.

If you are hungry you may bring a picnic to the park or choose to eat at the cafe’. I would also recommend for those who want a more casual restuarant and that would be Marie Calanders that is one block east of LACMA.

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Now you may wonder why anyone would blog about a library. Well the Los Angeles Public Library isn’t just any ole library. Other than being a Los Angeles historical landmark that was built in 1926. It is the third largest library in the United States in terms of book and periodical holdings. It is also across the street from what was once known as Bunker Hill. The LAPL is in the financial district of downtown Los Angeles. It is also kiddy corner from the Westin Bonaventure Hotel.

One may view the LAPL as an artistic archeticual building in its own right. The building has the style of ancient Egypt. In the upper levels of the library one may find many Egytian god statues as well. As well as large wall tapestries and art work on the ceilings that reminds me of the Sistine Chapel. There are roughly eight floors to the library. And each floor is equipped with computers that the general public and library members to use. There are weekly activities on Saturdays for the children as well. From movies to puppet shows to reading books to them.

Outside the library is a beautiful park with water fountains and plenty of space for people to lay in the grass or read on many of the park style benches. Or for the kids to run and play after a few hours in the library. There is even the Lamelle movie theater two blocks north of the library. So after a day at the library, one can catch a movie.

In addition, the LAPL has a special collection of 16,000 rare books. Some written in the 1500′s, but many were published in the 18th(1700′s) and 19th(1900′s) century. The library also has teamed up with the Getty Centerand has an exhibit that runs for a few months. They have roughly three to four in the Central Library’s Getty Gallery. The current exhibit is Julius Shulman, photographer, work. It runs until January 27, 2008. I would recommend to go see it before it closes. They have an extensive genealogical research section in the history department. As well as a lecture series where well known authors come and speak.

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