This January 14, 2024 visit to the Getty Center happened on the last day of the William Blake exhibit. Thus, crowds beyond the average jammed into the parking structure, the "three-car, cable-pulled hover train people mover," and the galleries themselves. Outside, the clear skies made for easy viewing across Los Angeles from Santa Monica Bay to Downtown.
If you look real close facing east-ish, you can spot Century City, the Park LaBrea apartments, the Beverly Center Mall, the Ninety Two Towers at the west end of the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, and the downtown L.A. skyline in the far distance.
Facing west-ish, you can spot the Santa Monica Bay itself as well as the beach cites all the way down to a hazy Palos Verdes Peninsula.
A vibrant sunset appears later in the video with an array of colors certain to give you a pause, a tingle, perhaps even a meditative moment.
Of course, people watching figures prominently in this brief glimpse of the Getty.
Walking through Westwood Village this afternoon, one couldn't help but notice a lot of people dressed in black clothing setting up and preparing for tonight's premiere of THE FIRST OMEN at the Fox Village Theatre.
Snapshot L.A. is predicting heavy traffic in the village tonight, with reduced available street parking, blinding klieg lights, tyrannical black clad staffers ordering you around, impatient low-level studio employees waiting to be allowed entrance, press members oblivious to anyone they can't recognize, pedestrians blocking the sidewalk straining to see a real movie star, and a select number of said movie stars vomiting in the rear alley.
Okay, let's imagine we've finished our workout or left the theatre after the matinee ended or humped it down from UCLA to Westwood Village to find ourselves enjoying a cup of coffee at Alfred's while sitting on a seat at the window. Alfred's is located at the north-east corner of Westwood Boulevard and Lindbrook Drive. This historic building was originally a Ralphs Market. During my time at UCLA, the Bratskellar, a restaurant and bar, occupied the space. A huge roaring fireplace dominated the restaurant and the foyer had a telephone booth I used regularly. During rainy weather, this proved to be an excellent choice for drying out and getting wet (hehehe). Prior to this Alfred's incarnation, a Peet's Coffee rested here. Some say there's a link between Alfred's and Peet's, but I hear contradictory stories. Who knows?
Anyway, sitting at this window on a rainy day in Los Angeles, people watching (one of my favorite hobbies) can be a pure delight. I'm posting this video twice, once in real time and once in fast speed. You can decide which version works for you.
My favorite sequence in this video is watching a driver park his HUGE SUV in the red zone in front of the store, put on his hazard lights, walk into Alfred's, order a coffee drink, and finally return to his illegally parked vehicle. What's AMAZING to me is that he didn't get a ticket. Westwood Village has ALWAYS been a tough place to park and the traffic police are legion. Good for him! I hope he enjoyed his afternoon coffee. I did mine. (Black, no sugar or milk.)
If you enjoy this for people watching, ASMR, or meditation, or for just zoning out, ENJOY YOURSELF! This is another little bite of human history. Just think: a hundred years from now someone might watch this to get a glimpse of life in 2024. History is bad ass!
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