The Los Angeles City Guide

THE LOS ANGELES CITY GUIDE You can't buy tickets for the biggest tourist attraction in LA but nevertheless Chris is going all out to see how easy it is to spot a celebrity. His hunt will lead him to try the latest celebrity craze and a breakfast dish that's uniquely American. But the fun really begins when he catches up with Celebrity Guru, Richard Reid. Will his travels lead him to Kimye or Brangelina? ABOUT MEL’S DRIVE-IN Chris’ first stop on his star hunt is for a spot of breakfast at Mel’s Drive-In – often frequented by celebrities and one of the most famous restaurants in California. The restaurant was immortalized in George Lucas’ 1973 classic American Graffiti. The first Mel’s opened in 1947 in San Francisco – this was the first drive-in restaurant in the country. The drive-in restaurant idea became huge very quickly so much so that in the first months of business, sales alone covered the cost of opening and construction for owners Mel Weiss and Harold Dobbs. The first location had parking spots for 110 cars and seating inside for 75 people. By the mid 1950s, California was the state with the highest car ownership in the country and this fed perfectly into the idea of drive-in restaurants. All of these restaurants had “carhop” servers – essentially waiters who would take food and drinks out to customer’s cars where they would eat instead of being inside the premises. Mel Weiss estimated that Mel’s stores were serving 15-20,000 hamburgers a day as part of their annual sales of over $4 million in 1954. The eventual rise of fast food chains such as McDonalds and Burger King pushed the carhop craze to the back seat and by 1972, Weiss and Dobbs sold off all the Mel’s locations to the Foster’s chain. By 1976, Fosters had filed for bankruptcy and all Mel’s stores closed – the original being demolished that same year. In 1985, Mel Weiss’ son, Steven had the idea to reopen the Mel’s franchise with a store in Lombard Street in San Francisco. The store was a huge success - opening day was flooded with patrons who wanted to bring their kids to a piece of their youth. Within two years, Weiss opened another store – this store was on the same site as a store he worked at as teenager. During renovation, he uncovered many elements of the original Mel’s design which he painstakingly refurbished to establish the sense of nostalgia that’s so important to his business. After the success of the two San Francisco stores, Weiss opened the first southern California store of the new generation of Mel’s in LA suburb, Sherman Oaks in 1989. Again, Weiss chose a retro building in LA that was in keeping with the nostalgia and old school feel of the Mel’s franchise. The store quickly became a family favourite and late night haunt for the LA faithful. After adding another San Francisco location, Weiss opened a second LA store in 1997. This store was opened on the Sunset Strip in another classic building. Slated for demolition to make way for a strip mall, Weiss applied to City Hall to move Mel’s into the building, thus keeping it alive. The property owner called Wiess “the savior she’d been waiting for” and the most iconic of the new generation of Mel’s was born. The Sunset Strip store is the most photographed and filmed at of the Mel’s and is the only store open 24 hours a day 7 days a week CRYO THERAPY Chris’ next stop is at one of the newest crazes in the LA celebrity scene – cryo healthcare. Brought to the United States by Dr Jonas Kuehne, cryotherapy is designed to treat a variety of inflammatory conditions. Whole Body Cryotherapy or WBC is a systemic anti-inflammatory treatment involving skin exposure to ultra-low temperatures for a brief, controlled period of time. It can treat rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, musculoskeletal injuries, autoimmune disorders, skin disorders and sporting injuries. This therapy is very popular with professional athletes in the NBA, MLS, MLB and NFL. Cryo Healthcare in Los Angeles was the first treatment clinic of its kind in the United States and has two clinics on North La Cienaga Blvd and Ventura Blvd. VENICE BEACH WITH RICHARD REID After having no luck on his own, Chris decides to meet up with A-list celebrity know-it-all Richard Reid at the world famous Venice Beach. Venice Beach is a beach on the on the west side of Los Angeles on the Pacific Ocean. Originally a seaside resort town founded in 1905, the town merged with Los Angeles in 1926. Venice has always been associated with the artistic and creative of many generations. In 1950s and 1960s, Venice became the home to the Californian beat generation with a plethora of art and poetry. To this day, Venice is known as a hotspot of progressive thought and social change. With this thought as its basis, the vibrant Venice Beach boardwalk is an explosion of colour, artists, street performers, vendors, palm readers, mystics, skaters and gawkers. These street performers do everything from miming to fire breathing, walking on broken glass to inscribing your name onto a grain of rice. The boardwalk (officially named the Ocean Front Walk) is a pedestrian only promenade that stretches for approximately 2.5 km. The boardwalk is often described as ‘circus-like’ because of its hive of activity and people from all walks of life. The western side of the boardwalk, between the footpath and the actual beach is where all of the performers and temporary vendors set up. On the eastern side of the footpath are all the permanent storefronts that sell every T-shirt you can think of (from the explicit to standard tourist) to medical marijuana to tattoos and piercings. Other highlights of Venice include Muscle Beach, bike trails, handball and tennis courts and in particular the basketball courts. The basketball courts of Venice are renowned for their high level of ‘street-ball’ and have been the home courts for numerous fledgling NBA careers and even filming locations for films like White Men Can’t Jump. The nearby Venice Breakwater is a noted local surfing spot for many Los Angelinos. Venice is and has been home to an almost endless array of A-list movie stars and musicians. Current celebrities calling Venice home include Julia Roberts, Kate Beckinsale, Angelica Huston and Nicholas Cage. Past notable residents include Robert Downey Jr, Jim Morrison (who met his Doors band mate Ray Manzarek in Venice), Viggo Mortenson, Elijah Wood, Hulk Hogan, Sting and Zach Galifanakis. HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY After exhausting all his options, Richard tells Chris that there is one spot where they are guaranteed to find some celebrities. A place where once they’re there, they never leave: Hollywood Forever. Hollywood Forever Cemetery is located in Hollywood on Santa Monica Blvd. One of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles, it was originally founded in 1899 under the name Hollywood Memorial Cemetery. The back half of the land that was originally plotted out for the cemetery became the home to Paramount Pictures, which remains in operation at this location today. Its proximity to this famous Hollywood film studio led to Hollywood Forever being the chosen resting places for many early Hollywood directors, screenwriters and actors. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. The cemetery is the only one in Hollywood proper and is 25 hectares. In 1939, the cemetery was purchased by convicted felon and millionaire Jules Roth. Roth was a controversial figure who had many conflicts with relatives of people buried at the cemetery due to his seeming disregard of the dead. For example, he allowed nearby Paramount employees to park their cars on the grounds and many remains were damaged due to lack of care and upkeep of the grounds. Roth died in 1998 and the state of California revoked their license due to outstanding tax bills and the state of the grounds and mausoleums. New owners came in that year and purchased the entire ground for $375,000, renamed it Hollywood Forever and poured millions of dollars into the restoration and upkeep of the ground and facilities. Hollywood Forever is the final resting place to many of Hollywood’s elite and famous including: • Johnny Ramone: Real name John Cummings, Johnny was guitarist and founding member of influential punk band The Ramones. Known for his conservative political views in later life, the Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Johnny Ramone has his own statue at Hollywood Forever • Dee Dee Ramone: Real name Douglas Glenn Colvin, Dee Dee was the co-founder and main lyricist and songwriter of the Ramones • John Huston: One of the legendary directors of cinema, John Huston pioneered American cinema, winning Academy Awards along the way with such films as The Treasure at Sierra Madre, Prizzi’s Honour, The Maltese Falcon, Moby Dick, The Night at the Iguana and Casino Royale • Don Adams: legendary comedy actor best known as special agent Maxwell Smart in Get Smart for which he won three Emmys. Also the voice of Inspector Gadget. • Jayne Mansfield: One of the most famous actors, singers and entertainers in the world through the 1950s, Jayne Mansfield was one of the original blonde bombshells and an early Playboy bunny. One of her 5 daughters is Mariska Hargatay – Detective Olivia Benson on Law and Order: SVU • Cecil B.

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