ANTEBELLUM BLOG: RICK CASTRO LOVES HOLLYWOOD

in case you didn't know i walk to work everyday.
if i don't walk i take the subway or bus. i highly recommend the DASH line. you can go anywhere in hollywood for 25-cents! on a rare occasion i drive my car if i have to bring in something large or if i'm late.

why do you walk you may ask.. it's not a very LA thing to do... well besides going against streotype here are the reasons i walk to work-

* i need to loose weight. when you get older the pounds come on quickly.

* i refuse to pay $3 per gallon to all those fat cat- oil barons.

* it's my little way of going green. minor, but at least i'm not contributing,

* when you walk you expose your self to new things and people on daily basis.

* I LOVE HOLLYWOOD!

there is no place like it in the world.
yes, i am one of those true-blue hollywoodphiles. i love the idea of hollywood, what it once was, the dream of hollywood & the disillusion of hollywood in it's present state. there really is no place like it in the world. hollywood has glamour, style, seediness, trash, sex, lust, romance, longing, fashion, phony & fucked-up all in one city block. the only place left that still resembles times square-NYC of the 70s and london's soho of the 80s.

here is my walking diary for friday- January 15th.. the route i took was franklin ave to las palmas ave.

(the alto nido apartments- the first scene of sunset boulevard)

(supposedly the black daliah lived in this room. that was her window)

(the lily pad pools of the alto nido)

(backside of the foutenoy-
the residence of johnny depp during the early 80s when he was in a rock band called six gun method)

(the ojai-
current residence of john carpenter & j. explosive. they have a great lobby. i am waiting for a tea invite)

(chateau de fleurs) - former residence of club fuck founder- cliff diller

(front door of the montecito, once a seedy building thru the 70s, former drug dealer & beautiful trannie jane gaskill used to live there.

( my bus stop on franklin & las palmas- the dash bus only 25-cents!)

(the methodist church on highland & franklin-
back in the 80s we used to call it the AIDS church, (very politically-incorrect) one of the first churches in the country to raise funds for AIDS)

(las palmas senior citizens center)

( a great view of the catholic church on sunset blvd. looking from las palmas ave... hollywood has allot of churches)

(the tip of the highland tower, one of the oldest buildings in hollywood.. with construction in the foreground)

(here is one of the many reasons i love hollywood. from the street i notice the quaint little apartment)

(as i get closer i see that there is a courtyard and fountain)

(on closer inspection i find a sweet little statue)

(and surprise another hidden treasure of hollywood. this beautiful 1920s courtyard. one of the residents- barry- was very pleased that i enjoyed his building.... he's seated on the right side)

(the las palmas apartments. can you believe this was the location of the final scene in pretty woman)

(yet another church. this one is baptist, located on las palmas ave & selma ave,,, made famous as a hustler location for john rechy -circa 1948 and then peter berlin in 1974)

(these construction sites are ubiquitous around hollywood.. spacecraft is the construction/design company for all the "new hollywood" spots like geisha house, opera, citizen and all things new, rich and generic)

(bella ristorante- the new hollywood, the atmosphere is generic, but the food is actually very good)

(the decay and ruins of old hollywood. the leftover sign for university newsstand on las palmas ave since 1928, closed permanently in 2008. the tattoo shop is in the building that was once the goldcup- the infamous hustler coffeeshop from the 1970s)