A Few Pictures of Los Angeles

Here are the few pictures I took while I was in Los Angeles for the 2015 Turner Classic Movie Film Fest. There’s really no theme. Just random things that caught my eye…

On the way in from the airport to our hotel, we passed by this oil field. It reminded me of L.A. Confidential, and Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (the book).

 

From our hotel room we could see the Roosevelt Hotel, the center of the festival.

 

           

The Roosevelt Hotel in all its glory. The above pics were taken from beside the pool. Bright sun, palm trees, and Art Deco architecture – that’s a lot of beauty in one place.

 

                       

The main floor of the Roosevelt is decorated in a medieval-esque style. It’s very nice, but I find it very odd given that it’s in Southern California. And the phone…someday I will own a deco-style phone like this one.

 

As I was walking from our hotel to one of the festival sites, I noticed this sign. Probably a common sight for Los Angeles, but I’ve only seen a sign like this once in Detroit. The one in Detroit was giving directions to the set of Superman vs. Batman.

 

Above is the Egyptian Theater – my favorite of the movie theaters I’ve been to in Los Angeles. I love ancient history so going to a movie theater made to look like an ancient Egyptian tomb/palace is wonderful by itself. Moreover, while they show mostly classic movies, they do mix in the occasional Harry Potter marathon or Jackie Chan movie. So, I think if I lived in L.A. I would spend a fair amount of time at the Egyptian.

 

I was standing in line to see The Apartment when I looked to my left and took this picture. In the foreground is Grauman’s Chinese Theater, and in the background is the Roosevelt – site of the first Academy Awards Ceremony. I always enjoy watching the movies at the TCMFF, but, for me, just being in these historic places, surrounded by the energy of literally thousands of classic movie fans, makes the trip worth it all by itself.

 

But all TCM Film Festivals come to an end. And on the way home this year, I had the experience of flying through a snow storm. As a nervous flyer, I hope I’ll never have that experience again.