Eileen Ogintz - Kids Guide to Los Angeles County

Thank you to Meghan McCloskey and Jonathan Boydston for their research help and Melissa Miller for contributing the games. Thank you to all the young people who contributed their travel tips, especially to Los Angeles native Christopher Morales who gathered all of his friends suggestions.

All the information in this guidebook is subject to change. We recommend that you call ahead to obtain current information before traveling.

Copyright 2013 Eileen Ogintz

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437.

Editor: Amy Lyons
Project Editor: Lauren Brancato
Layout: Maggie Peterson
Text Design: Sheryl Kober
Illustrations licensed by Shutterstock.com

e-ISBN 978-1-4930-0695-3

DID YOU KNOW?

LA has 75 miles of coastline.

More than 40 million people visit LA per year.

There are 88 cities in Los Angeles County.

Greater Los Angeles, or LA for short, is made up of five counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura. The area stretches from the desert to the sea and the mountains to the valleys.

Where do you think you want to go first?

The good thing about LA is whatever you like to doplay or watch sports, go shopping, try new foods, go to the beach, see cool museumsyou can do it all here!

Do you think you want to be a movie star!? Sure, a lot of people come to Los Angeles to get into the entertainment business, but that wasnt always the case.

Whats Cool? Getting lunch from a food truck, whether you want a taco, Korean barbecue, or fried chicken. You can find where the trucks are on the Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association website (socalmfva.com).

DID YOU KNOW?

Los Angeles is known as The City of Angels. In Spanish, Los Angeles is roughly translated as the angels. Los Angeles originally was named El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles (The Town of the Queen of the Angels).

The first settlers were farmers who came here around 1781at the same time the American Revolution was being fought. Nothing is left of their homes, but walk down Olvera Street (W-26 Olvera St., Los Angeles; 213-687-4391; calleolvera.com)right near where those first farmers livedand you can see the Avila Adobe (10 Olvera St., Los Angeles; 213-485-6855; elpueblo.lacity.org/elpaa1.htm), the oldest existing home in Los Angeles. Olvera Street is a lively Mexican marketplace where you can get everything from a taco to a sombrero.

Stop by the Plaza Firehouse (125 Paseo de la Plaza, Ste. 400, Los Angeles; 213-485-6855; elpueblo.lacity.org/elppfh1.htm)the first firehouse built in the cityand see the old firefighting tools and trucks.

There are 27 historic buildings here at the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument.

Today Los Angeles is a mixture of many cultures and languagesHispanic, African American, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean among them. Just a few blocks from Olvera Street is Little Tokyotake a stroll around the Japanese Village Plaza (335 E. 2nd St., Los Angeles; 213-617-1900; japanesevillageplaza.net) and learn about the Japanese-American experience at the Japanese American National Museum (100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles; 213-625-0414; janm.org). There is also Chinatown (North Broadway at North Hill Street, Downtown, Los Angeles; 213-680-0243; chinatownla.com). If you are here during Chinese New Year, you can catch The Golden Dragon Parade that celebrates this holiday in Chinatown (lachinesechamber.org).

Check out the Cathedral ofOur Lady of the Angels (555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles; 213-680-5200; olacathedral.org). It looks like a fortress, but it is actually a big churchin fact, its one of the worlds largest cathedrals. The Walt Disney Concert Hall (111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles; 323-850-2000; laphil.com/philpedia/about-walt-disney-concert-hall) is not only the home of the LA Philharmonic orchestra, but it is also a very famous building. You can take a free tour!

Have you heard of the famous Staples Center (1111 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles; 213-742-7326; staplescenter.com) where the LA Lakers, Clippers, and Sparks basketball teams play? A lot of famous musicians play here too. Doesnt it look like a flying saucer?

Right across the street from the Staples Center is L.A. Live (800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles; 213-763-5483; lalive.com) with a huge theater, megaplex movie theater, and more, including the Grammy Museum (800 W. Olympic Blvd., A245, Los Angeles; 213-765-6800; grammymuseum.org). Grammy trophies are the top awards for music. Here you can try your hand at mixing and rapping.

There is a lot to see downtown! (Lets not forget City Hall: 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles; 213-978-1059; lacityhall.orgon clear days you can see all around from the observation deck).

Whats Cool? The 90 blocks of southwestern downtown are famous for fashionistas and bargain hunters. Check out fashiondistrict.org. Youll find clothes and neat things for kids between 12th Street and Pico Boulevard and designer knockoffs on Santee Alley between Santee Street, Maple Avenue, Olympic Boulevard, and 12th Street. Visit dailycandy.com/los-angeles to find out the latest pint-size trends.