Here's a hint:
Focus on the sign on the building in the background.This is Lanewood Avenue. (Go ahead and check out the link; you can see the trees from satellite photos.)
Yes, it's in the heart of Hollywood, between the famous boulevards of Sunset and Hollywood. A couple blocks north one would find no trees but a sidewalk lined with the names of famous people in five-pointed shapes, but here, there's this mini-forest in front of every building on the block.
And only in front of the buildings on this block. And only on this one block to the east of La Brea Ave. And nowhere else on the surrounding blocks, the surrounding city, and (for the most part) the surrounding metropolitan area, can one find pine trees this tall or in this concentration.
Here's the view of the pines from the nearest major intersection.Notice the street sign under the traffic signal.
(Click to enlarge.)
And I have no idea how they got there. I presume some developer planted them at the same time, years ago. (A search has revealed no insight, but I admit that's hardly surprising. Frankly, it's somewhat heartening to know that not every single bit of possible human information has been documented beyond all possible mystery.)
Um, yeah. I understand that you will find this utterly unremarkable, because you haven't walked in the area, passing the dilapidated strip club where the homeless camp in its litter-strewn alcove, crossing the intersection where billboards like the one below on the right are not uncommon*,
then taking another fifty steps and turning down this tranquil block of giants, only to emerge from under their shade and within three minutes navigating through tourists and striding blithely past the theater where the Oscars will be held in another week and a half.So I guess this post (that displays my simultaneous fascination with and disdain for Hollywood) is mostly just for me. (I'll leave the obvious jokes for you to compose in response to that in the Comments.) Thanks for tolerating the self-indulgence (again).
* Really. The attorney for Rodney King. In the civil suit, I presume.
i live on lanewood, and love your post.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the trees on Lanewood:
ReplyDeleteThat street cuts through one quater of what, in 1902, was called the West Hollywood subdivision of the Rancho La Brea. Rollin B. Lane bought the property in that year. Lane also built the mansion (in 1909) that became the Magic Castle.
Lane's wife Katherine was one of the main proponents of urban tree planting in early 20th century Hollywood. (Check Who's Who.)
Lane's widowed mother had remarried in her later years. Her full name then was Olive Pickett Lane Wood.
And there you have both the trees and the steeet name.