Angels Walk Hits Figueroa
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — A year after the guidebooks were printed, stanchions for the Figueroa Corridor Angel's Walk are now finding their way into the ground. The walk route stretches from Wilshire Boulevard down to Exposition Park, and is one of several Angels Walk routes Downtown. Funded largely through Metro's Call for Projects, the Figueroa Corridor route's local match was partially funded by DLANC.
The self-guiding walking routes provide an interesting history for the area, but the program suffers from a lack of ongoing support. There is no website for Angels Walk that lists the various walks available, nor is there any way to find PDF or web versions of most of the guidebooks. Once printed and distributed they're simply unavailable.
The good news? These are correctable mistakes. Set up a website with full materials, then create an info sticker that can go on each stanchion. Suddenly a good idea gets a brand new life.
David Kennedy on January 28, 2008, at 11:46AM – #1
Here's a URL to one of the older brochures. Seems to date to the late 90s.
http://www.cityofla.org/ANGELSWALK/
The funding for these walks seems to be focused on the stanchions, which are actually pretty classy. They spend some real money to hire local writers. I remember hearing Pat Morrison of the L.A. Times doing the writing on one of them.
Alas, as you observe, the brochures themselves seem to be an afterthought. Distribution is a mystery. I recall there used to be an office in the Bradbury Building where these brochures were available. You actually had to send a dollar through the mail to get one.
Definitely, the walks should be available via the web. Podcast versions should be available, too. I'd think this would be a no brainer for promoting downtown. It is really a neat little project. However, the marketing effort for downtown seems to be quite fragmented and ineffective.
Desert Bruin on January 28, 2008, at 12:41PM – #2
Thanks David. Now will you be endorsing Barak Obama today?
shannon on January 30, 2008, at 12:17AM – #3
speaking of podcasts, i just found this through a link from the conservancy's website: http://www.downtownlawalks.com/?f=podcast