"The
feeling
remains...
Even after
the glitter fades"
Stevie Nicks
|
Allen revisits L.A.
Hi
Nancy
Well, I
finally did it. I ventured back to LA on the week-end of 10/22/04. It's the
first visit back since 1970.
I'm
gonna be completely honest here...
It
felt like LA has definitely seen better days. The wide expanse of the city is
completely filled with either houses, strip centers, and more buildings. I
really didn't feel any magic there anymore. It's just a big city, kinda
trashy, and extremely over populated.
I
went to Venice Beach, where I could only vaguely feel the charm that once
was there.
I went
to Cantor's Deli, and I was let down again. The area is very trashy with lots
of boarded up store fronts. The food was so-so. But they did have some old
HullaBalloo magazines hanging on the wall in the front. One with Morrison. One
with Hendrix. One with Janis. I forget who was on the 4th one. It's kind of
like a tribute where Cantor's talks about the 60's scene and the Deli.
I
went to my old house in Laurel Canyon. 8865 Wonderland. That house apparently
had burned down, and it's been replaced with a new dwelling. It does have a
nice Orange tree right in the front by the street, with fruit on it. Many of
the oranges have fallen to the ground. I went up to the top where Lookout
kinda meets Wonderland. Believe it or not, that looks exactly the same. Thank
G-D. The view is still awesome. Of course I couldn't see Catalina...I
used to see it in '70. It's more crowded with houses now, but that charm is
still present. There was quite a traffic jam just getting there around the
Country Store LOL.
I
couldn't even recognize the intersection of Sunset and Crescent Heights. I
used to cross Sunset at Crescent Heights to go back up into Laurel Canyon back
then. Scwabs and Z & Z were on Crescent Heights-it's all been replaced
with an eliptical Strip Center.
And
there's no magic left where The Whiskey is. Just a commercial street...
It
was all a bit depressing. I'm just so happy that I was there in '70.
Those memories will never leave me.
You
had asked my permission to post some of my LOVE Arthur Lee reviews when I saw
them 10/14 and 10/15. I did respond with a Yes. I can't seem to find them on
your site...unless you haven't done it yet LOL.
take
care...at least the memories live on
Allan