Twilight: El Centro and Fremont

It's been a while since I prowled around at night with my camera. (Note to self: Prowl around more at night with your camera!)

Possibility

I love the old buildings on Fremont and I hate to see an empty storefront there. So let's do a twist on my favorite game -- and give me yet another chance to make you guys do all the work as I recover from this blasted cold:

If you were going to open a business in this spot, what would it be?

Great Staging

I hadn't seen many old cars out and about since the storm last week. Then, today, I spotted this one in front of Fremont Centre Theatre. Bravo!

Stylish Cyclist

I like the sweater, but I can't begin to express how much I love those red shoes.

In the place where the tree falleth...

The late afternoon always creates a lot of drama across the front of Grace Brethren Church on Fremont Avenue. The lower the sun sets ... the bigger the palm tree shadow grows until it dwarfs those beautiful stained glass windows. I wonder what the sanctuary looks like inside with that dark giant crossing the panes, and then passing. There's a metaphor in there somewhere about spirit, or maybe temptation, or it could just be a classic example of pagan/Christian rivalry. Then again, Thoreau is the one who said, "My profession is to always find God in nature."

But, I digress.

I haven't truly captured the magic of this daily occurrence with my photo -- you can't see how lovely the windows look or how much they glow even during the day -- but you get the idea.

Mixed Medium

If you drive past the corner of Mission and Fremont, you'll notice a huge corner lot that has been fenced in, tarped up and plastered with For Sale signs for as long as anyone can remember. If you park your car, walk over and pull back the plastic to peek through the chain link, you'll see a big dirt hole with weeds and a few forgotten objects. In reality, it looks like construction was halted on a project at some point after bulldozers had started digging for an underground parking structure.

But in a photographer's fantasy, it looks like a still life arranged by Andrew Wyeth.

(Con)Text

Communication from a fence? Sure, why not? I enjoy making the world my oracle.

Remember the way the freeway signs gave advice to Steve Martin in the film LA Stories? Wisdom is everywhere if you look for it. (With all the vanity license plates and graffiti in Los Angeles, driving the freeway can be a little like throwing the I Ching!) My favorite message-in-the-environment was on a wall I used to pass by on Hollywood Blvd back in the 80s. Someone had spraypainted "Agnes Moorehead is God" in bright red across the cinder blocks. I always thought it made about as much sense as anything else.

But this? Someone went to a lot of trouble to craft this message with yellow string into the chain link fence surrounding the empty lot at Mission and Fremont. Seriously, the string was tied down well enough to withstand the Santa Ana winds. Does this artist jones for the Christmas trees found in this lot in December? Perhaps the Halloween pumpkins? Is this a message about the bad economy? Iran? Is it a jilted lover's veiled threat to an ex-sweetheart? Hipster code giving directions to a rave? (Maybe these two are involved...)

Actually, it's lyrics to a UK Alt-rock band Placebo's song of the same name. It's a cool song, but an odd choice to knit into a fence. Who knows, maybe the next day this string tagger woke up, thought about it and muttered with incredulity, "Where is my mind?"

Jewels in the Night

Remember these windows? They're sweet, respectable and downright demure during the day ... but just look at how wildly they glam it up at night.

There's a metaphor here somewhere.

Maybe Browning had it figured out when she wrote,

"Yes," I answered you last night;
"No," this morning, sir, I say:
Colours seen by candlelight
Will not look the same by day.

Or maybe it's just fun to find the drama in things. (Even stained glass windows.)

Spiffy Ride

And to think... before I moved to South Pas I used to go weeks and even months without seeing a vintage car.

I wonder how long I can keep up this trend?

Windows like jewels...

I always slow down to look at these beautiful windows when I drive on Fremont. I wonder if they were created at nearby Judson Studios? Judson's historic stained glass artisans have been filling windows with color and magic for almost 112 years -- 89 years in the present location, just outside of South Pasadena in the Highland Park/Garvanza section of Los Angeles.

Works of Art

Thanks to an email tip-off from observant GOSP reader Dbdubya, I managed to run out yesterday and get a picture of this vintage English Mini parked in front of Fremont Gallery. Notice how the Old Car Fairy who seems to present me with these shots managed to, yet again, match the car to the surroundings. In this case, the orange paint seems to be from the same expressive palette that touched the paintings in the window.

At least that's how it appears to this woman's eyes.

(Speaking of which, make sure to check out the new exhibition at the gallery: Through Women's Eyes. It opens February 7th.)

Settings: Part 6

I'm can't resist playing my favorite game with this one...

Climb into your imaginary director's chair and tell me: if this door opened in a scene of a movie, what would you find inside?

JM Antiques and Toys

Every time I drive down Fremont and pass this cool little storefront, I try to catch a glimpse of what's inside. I like to imagine that it contains all the toys from my childhood: Kiddles, a Spirograph, a Mrs. Beasley Doll (without the glasses missing,) a pristine version of the Mystery Date Game, a real EZ Bake Oven (made back when they really could burn little fingers and create gooey little cakes,) Tinkertoys, Shrinkydinks -- and all the other old school/ lead paint/choking hazards of my youth. I'm looking forward to exploring this store. Who knows what I might have forgotten? Or, more likely, who knows what I might discover?

Now, if you could reclaim any wonderful old toy, what would it be?

Holy Family Catholic Church

The front of Holy Family Catholic Church is like most cathedral-style places of worship. It's lovely, ornate, traditional and not unusual in any way. But just take a look at what is on the other side of it! When I drove around back and saw this mural beaming into the dark night, I didn't think of the obvious bible quotations. The most famous, of course, is Matthew 19:14, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me." And the most dreaded, oft-repeated quote I recall from my own Lutheran elementary school days was Proverbs 6:20, "Keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother." (I heard that one in the principal's office more than once.)

What lingered in my mind as I drove away was something Gandhi said: "If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children."

I must say, this is the most beautiful back parking lot I've ever seen. If you turn down the street between the high school and the church, you can't miss it. It's a stunning evening view ... this mural on one side of the road, and this glowing column on the other.

Sanctuary

I always look at all the beautiful bricks when I see Calvary Presbyterian Church during the day. But at night... I can't help but stop and stare at these lovely glowing doors.

Fremont Centre Theatre

Is it Rapunzel's castle? Not quite... but any number of wondrous other tales are told behind this beautiful window. It's part of the Fremont Centre Theatre, specializing in plays that are "original, unique, and obscure --with a few old favorites from time to time." The husband and wife team of James Reynolds and Lissa Layng Reynolds opened the Fremont in 1997, utilizing their extensive theater and business experience. But they're not just bringing great dramatic productions to the San Gabriel Valley. (Valley Magazine named the Fremont as Best Equity Waiver Theater.)When they're not lifting up the curtain, they're lifting up the local community. As volunteers and fundraisers they have contributed to local women's shelters, the South Pas police department, the Pasadena Humane Society, and Foothill YMCA. They have also directed local elementary school productions of Shakespeare -- for which they each received Distinguished Service Award from the local PTSA. Who needs a fairy godmother with helpful neighbors like these?

Ton of Bricks

Calvary Presbyterian Church offers up an inspiring Old World backdrop to any stroll along Freemont Avenue. Whenever I see beautiful brickwork like this in Southern California, I always wonder how it has survived decades of seismic activity. I lived in Venice Beach during the Northridge Quake. Almost all of the brick chimneys in the area fell down, and many of the old brick facades on the boardwalk buildings were damaged or outright crumbled. Along the main streets in neighboring Santa Monica, it looked like stores had been bombed: the sidewalks were strewn with broken bricks and shattered glass. All over the greater Los Angeles area, friends saw giant cracks form in their ceilings and walls, and almost everyone had something made of brick that just fell down. If this lucky church managed to stand up against that kind of periodic Southern California shaking…well, maybe I should consider joining the congregation!