How to Experience West Los Angeles
- 1). Visit the West L.A. Farmers’ Market on Sundays from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Located at 11338 Santa Monica Boulevard, this market is located at the Civic Center plaza behind the library. This is a family affair with a free kids’ craft table, fresh food samples, and a laid back atmosphere.
- 2). Enjoy a day at the park and pool on Monday. Stoner Park Pool is located at 1835 Stoner Avenue and for only $2.50 adults can enjoy a day of swimming. Children 17 and under are admitted free. The main attraction is the water slide, and the savvy visitor will ensure that the family arrives at noon or 3:00 PM and then spends two fun filled hours sliding and splashing. Afterward, the family can move into the park portion of the venue and enjoy a barbecue at one of the BBQ pits. Open until 10:00 PM, the only cost you incur is the modest pool fee and the cost of your food and charcoal.
- 3). Stroll through the Westside Pavilion Mall on Tuesday and see where Tom Petty filmed his famous “Free Falling” video. With a Barnes & Noble, Macy’s, Furniture Gallery, and Nordstrom on the premises--as well as several boutique stores--you are ensured hours of window shopping. The mall is located at 10800 West Pico Boulevard, which is at the corner of Pico Boulevard and Overland Avenue; since there is a Build-A-Bear Workshop on the grounds, the kids will love this venue!
- 4). Experience history at the Museum of Tolerance on Wednesday; located at 9786 West Pico Boulevard, this venue is open from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM. Some of the exhibits are so cold that the museum staff urges visitors to bring a jacket. Cost of admission is $13 for adults and $10 for youths. This is a more serious West Los Angeles experience and some exhibits—particularly the Holocaust Exhibit-- are not suitable for the 12 and under set. Keep this in mind as you plan your visit.
- 5). Check out the Hammer Museum on Thursday. Open from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM, the museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Boulevard. Free to the public on each Thursday, the savvy visitor wanting to learn how to experience West Los Angeles on the cheap will be present at noon when UCLA student tour guides meet interested museum visitors at the bookstore and then guide them through the exhibits. Enjoy some of the most important impressionist and post impressionist masters like Monet, Pissarro and van Gogh.
- 6). Reminisce about the entertainment industry’s great characters on Friday. At the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery—located at 1218 Glendon Avenue—you may visit the gravesites of Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, Merv Griffin, Fanny Brice, Rodney Dangerfield, Truman Capote, and many others. Future burial sites for Ray Bradbury and Hugh Hefner are also easily located. Plan your visit carefully by checking out the map of the cemetery that is readily available online. It is a good idea to print it out for reference. The cemetery is a peaceful place that visitors seeking to experience West Los Angeles on the cheap often seek out.
- 7). Spend Saturday evening at the Zip Fusion Korean restaurant at 11301 West Olympic Boulevard. In addition to some amazing cuisine this locale offers three karaoke rooms for patrons to enjoy. Close to Sawtelle Boulevard, this restaurant falls into the neighborhood known as Little Osaka or Japantown. Make a day of walking through the hustling and bustling streets and stop in little shops and at the carts of street vendors. When dinner beckons, Zip is ready for you. Sightseeing is free, and the only money you spend is for your dinner and for the karaoke.
