Aoyama tree

After driving to Compton for a look at the easy-to-miss Eagle Tree, I read up on another historic tree in Los Angeles County...the Aoyama Tree in Little Tokyo...and then took a walk over there.

Turns out I've passed by this sprawling ficus tree a dozen times without realizing its historic significix. It's in the parking lot (or I should say literally in the parking lot as the roots are covered by asphalt) next to MOCA, and the 50-footer was planted in 1920 in front of the Koyasan Buddhist Temple before it relocated to the current location on 1st Street. The resilience of the tree through the years, including the wartime internment of Japanese Americans, makes it a symbolic force to reckon with...and now even the anti-ficus crowd will leave this bad boy alone.

The f'n end of F&M

A Farmers & Merchants Bank in North Long Beach closed in December. In the world of online banking, ATMs, and mini-branches inside supermarkets, I suppose a local bank has no use for a 12,500 square foot space.

Nice design...from 1962...

Rock lobster

A big honkin' boulder is making its roundabout way from a Riverside quarry to LACMA. I took a lunchless lunch break today to see the 340-ton rock while it decamped for the day in Lakewood. This must be what it's like to see circus animals parade into town.

It's wrapped up to protect it while traveling. That thing is huge...

Roadside history

Like a chump I can't help reading every historic marker and roadside plaque that comes my way. I appreciate reading about historically important places and events, but sometimes it's funny to see a commemorative plaque set up a considerable distance from the actual site. I know of a marker on Monterey Road in South San Jose pointing out the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine...12 miles to the east!

This one in Compton isn't quite so far off...sure it's on a semi-major street, but with no street parking allowed and only private parking lots nearby, it's not very accessible....

Flatiron Los Angeles

Sure, Manhattan has the Flatiron Building everyone's familiar with, and other cities claim their own flatiron-shaped buildings, like the one built in 1897 in Atlanta and Columbus Tower in San Francisco.

Keeping a lower profile are a couple flatiron buildings in Los Angeles...

This one is the Raphael Junction Block Building on Spring Street in Chinatown..

And here's a flatty on the corner of Main and 3rd...

Love your enemy's mom

Alley-facing side of the Rosslyn Hotel...of course, loving your enemy only works if you accept your enemy's love...can you handle that?

Goodnight, Paul's Electronic Discount

It's closing time for Paul's Electronic Discount on Broadway. You know their number was up when you see their old sign still advertising Kodak. I need to get some pictures of the other electronics shops down the road before they shut too.

The bottom photo is a look at the inside through the roll-up door...my poor dog was startled by the sounds of demolition, slipped out of her collar, and trotted leashless up the sidewalk. This dude at the nearby bus stop said, "Cool dog. Walks herself."