Los Angeles Kids Hoodies

Los Angeles Baseball

Crenshaw Boulevard (Blue), Los Angeles, California by Mistah Wilson

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Angel Baseball Guy

Show your Dodger love with Mr. Foam Finger rockin' the Dodger blue Air Force 1s!

Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers

El Monte is a suburban city located in the middle of the San Gabriel Valley. It's something of a transit hub, with that valley's only private airport and the largest bus station in the west. I explored it for my series, "California Fool's Gold," in 2013. https://ericbrightwell.com/2013/01/23/california-fools-gold-exploring-el-monte-the-end-of-the-santa-fe-trail-or-at-least-some-trails/

I painted this map of Elysian Heights for a show I called "Taste of the Mideast Side" in which I exhibited maps of various neighborhoods in the Mideast Los Angeles region. The gray cat in the compass rose is "Room 8" -- an internet celebrity cat who was world-famous before there was an internet.

The Toy District is a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles that is home to several toy sellers -- mostly wholesale. In the early 1980s, several Taiwanese, Vietnamese, and Hong Konger entrepreneurs began opening toy shops at the western edge of Skid Row.

Alhambra is a suburb of Los Angeles County's San Gabriel Valley. It was one of the first neighborhoods that I explored for my series, "California Fool's Gold," back in 2007. In fact, I didn't even have a name for the series yet -- and I drew the map (rather quickly) a couple of years later. https://ericbrightwell.com/2007/11/05/alhambra-the-gateway-to-the-san-gabriel-valley/

Vintage Los Angeles LA Skyline Baseball Sunshine For Gameday

Rosemead is a suburb of the San Gabriel Valley. It has a large Chinese, Vietnamese, and ethnically Chinese Vietnamese (Hoa) populations. It's notable for its numerous bánh mì joints. I explored it for my series, "California Fool's Gold," in 2008. https://ericbrightwell.com/2008/03/01/848/

The Antelope Valley is a vast region of Los Angeles County. Within it are two of the county's most populous cities -- Lancaster and Palmdale -- and yet I'd wager its rarely on the mind of Angelenos on the other side of the mountains. I wrote a primer of it in 2011. https://ericbrightwell.com/2011/05/25/california-fools-gold-an-antelope-valley-primer/

I explored Downtown Los Angeles's Arts District in 2009 for my series, "California Fool's Gold." https://ericbrightwell.com/2009/10/22/california-fools-gold-exploring-the-arts-district/

Pure Vintage Greatness!

Sherman Oaks is a mostly-suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. In the 1980s, it was widely associated with the Valley Girl subculture thanks in large part to the Sherman Oaks Galleria -- which figured into the films "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Valley Girl," the song "Valley Girl," and "Val" culture. I explored it for my series, "California Fool's Gold" in 2010. https://ericbrightwell.com/2010/07/16/california-fools-gold-exploring-sherman-oaks/

Ivanhoe was a community located just north of Los Angeles, so named by Scottish-born Mexican Hugo Reid (although it was also known as "Ivanhoe Town." Reid died in 1852. Ivanhoe was surveyed and mapped in 1887. Many of the street names were taken from Sir Walter Scott's novel or simply referenced Scotland. Ivanhoe remained on most maps until the 1920s when it was largely subsumed into the 20th century community of Silver Lake.

Diamond Bar is a community in the San Gabriel Valley. I drew this map of it around 2010.

I made this watercolor map of Monterey Hills, in Northeast Los Angeles, in 2013. I was accompanied by a now-deceased dog, Dooley, with whom I was charged with going on walks. The map and piece were included in my series, "California Fool's Gold." https://ericbrightwell.com/2013/12/12/running-up-that-hill-exploring-monterey-hills-at-the-amoeblog/

Garvanza is a neighborhood in Northeast Los Angeles. It was this third community to be annexed by Los Angeles, following Sycamore Grove and Highland Park. I explored it, with a dog named Dooley, for my series, "California Fool's Gold," in 2014. https://ericbrightwell.com/2014/01/16/garbanzo-ramble-exploring-the-garvanza-neighborhood/

I drew this map for a ramble along a relatively short stretch of San Fernando Road in 2013. It appeared in my series, "Urban Rambles." https://ericbrightwell.com/2013/05/16/from-confluence-to-atwater-exploring-along-san-fernando-road-block-by-block-land-of-sunshine-kcet/

El Sereno is a neighborhood in Los Angeles's Eastside. I chose the Papyrus font -- which I will never do again because I loathe it -- because it fits with the name, "El Sereno" for several reasons. For one, it's the font used on Joss Whedon's "Serenity." I explored for my series, "California Fool's Gold," in 2012. https://ericbrightwell.com/2012/09/13/california-fools-gold-exploring-el-sereno-last-of-the-independent/

Walnut is a small suburb in the eastern part of the San Gabriel Valley. It is named, I expect, after the Black Walnut, a tree indigenous to Los Angeles. I explored it for my series, "California Fool's Gold," in 2009.

In 2014, I led a walking tour of Lincoln Heights for CAFAM (Craft and Folk Art Museum -- now known as Craft Contemporary). Maybe you went on that walk. Maybe you just like the map.

Los Angeles 09 logo

los angeles dodgers baseball

The Fairfax District is a neighborhood in Los Angeles's Midtown region. It has long been a center of Jewish Angeleno culture although today Fairfax Avenue hosts an odd mixture of established Jewish businesses and newer streetwear boutiques. I explored for my series, "California Fool's Gold," in 2011. https://ericbrightwell.com/2011/05/10/california-fools-gold-exploring-fairfax/

San Gabriel is a suburban city in the San Gabriel Valley. The majority of its populace are foreign-born -- mostly in Vietnam and China -- lead to it's affectionately being nicknamed "Chan Gabriel." Its official name is derived from Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, a Spanish mission built in 1776. I explored it for my series, "California Fool's Gold," in 2011. https://ericbrightwell.com/2011/11/10/california-fools-gold-exploring-san-gabriel-a-city-with-a-mission/

Cypress Park is a neighborhood in Los Angeles's Eastside. It's the birthplace of King Taco and El Atacor. I explored for my series, "California Fool's Gold," in 2009. https://ericbrightwell.com/2009/07/07/california-fools-gold-exploring-cypress-park/

Angeleno Heights (originally "Angeleño Heights") is a mostly-residential Victorian-era suburb in Mideast Los Angeles (MELA). It's most famous for its grand Victorian homes (which is why it sometimes plays San Francisco in films and television) but there are also charming Crafstmans and homes in later styles. I explored for "California Fool's Gold" in 2010. https://ericbrightwell.com/2010/12/16/california-fools-gold-exploring-angeleno-heights/

R.I.P.

Los Angeles Hollywood Minimal Travel Poster

Lebron James aka King James. All time scoring record. King of scoring.

Echo Park is a neighborhood in Mideast Los Angeles (MELA) named after a park built around Echo Park Lake. I explored in 2010 for my series, "California Fool's Gold." https://ericbrightwell.com/2010/02/22/california-fools-gold-exploring-echo-park/

The Mideast Side -- also known as "Mideast Los Angeles" and "MELA" -- is a region of Central Los Angeles (i.e. Hollywood, Downtown, Midtown, and the Mideast). It's the region of Los Angeles in which I live. I wrote a primer in 2011 and painted this version of the map, the third, a couple of years later. https://ericbrightwell.com/2011/03/16/california-fools-gold-a-mideast-side-primer/