LA ROAD TRIP | La Brea Tar Pits & Page Museum

The La Brea Tar Pits (or Rancho La Brea Tar Pits) are a group of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed, in urban Los Angeles. Asphaltum or tar (brea in Spanish) has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years. The tar is often covered with dust, leaves, or water. Over many centuries, the bones of animals that were trapped in the tar were preserved. The George C. Page Museum is dedicated to researching the tar pits and displaying specimens from the animals that died there. The La Brea Tar Pits are a registered National Natural Landmark.

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LA ROAD TRIP | Hollywood's Chinese Theatre

TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman's Chinese Theatre and later Mann's Chinese Theatre) is a movie theater on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard. The theater was renamed in January 2013 when the TCL Corporation, a Chinese electronics company, purchased the naming rights for over $5 million.

Built over 18 months, from January 1926 by a partnership headed by Sid Grauman, the theater opened May 18, 1927, with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's film The King of Kings. It has since been home to many premieres, including the 1977 launch of George Lucas's Star Wars, as well as birthday parties, corporate junkets and three Academy Awards ceremonies. Among the theater's most distinctive features are the concrete blocks set in the forecourt, which bear the signatures, footprints, and handprints of popular motion picture personalities from the 1920s to the present day.

Go to our Facebook Photo Gallery to see photos of Hollywood's Chinese Theatre. And click here to see all our photo albums.

LA ROAD TRIP | Historic Bob's Big Boy

BIG BOY BOB | Bob's Big Boy in Burbank is an example of the emerging California coffee shop style that exploded in Los Angeles in the 1950s and a point of historical interest in California. Built in 1949, the structure is related to World Fair pavilions of the pre-war period by its long, low, horizontal roof line and wide canopies. Its asymmetrical shape alternates from sharp angles at the entrance to smooth, inward curving picture windows facing the street. Certainly the building's most striking aspect is the monumental freestanding Bob's sign which soars vertically 70 feet and its trademark chubby boy in red-and-white checkered overalls holding a Big Boy sandwich (double-decker cheeseburger). Johnny Carson frequently mentioned Bob's Big Boy on the Tonight Show and the Beatles ate there during their 1965 US Tour.

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LA ROAD TRIP | Hiking Hollywood

HIKING HOLLYWOOD | For us, few things in all of LA can top hiking Mt. Hollywood between the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood sign. And to prove how much we like it, here are more than 100 photos of our time on the trails.

Go to our Facebook Photo Gallery to see photos hiking trails in around Hollywood. And click here to see all our photo albums.

LA ROAD TRIP | Hollywood Nights

HOLLYWOOD NIGHTS | A nighttime look at Hollywood from Hollywood Boulevard and from high atop Mt. Hollywood and the Loews Hotel at the Hollywood and Highland Center. 

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Risky Business at 30 | Iconic Film's Anniversary Screening Features Original Ending

Produced by Jim Albritton | It's hard to believe, but Risky Business turns 30 on August 5, 2013. Newsocracy attended a special Academy screening of the now iconic film and has the story. To learn more about academy screenings at Oscars outdoors, go to http://www.oscars.org.

LA ROAD TRIP | I Love Lucy

Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz revolutionized TV with the creation and production of their show, I Love Lucy, on CBS. They were the first to use a multi-camera format before a studio audience to shoot the popular situation comedy or sitcom. And they unknowingly invented the rerun during Lucy's pregnancy. In an effort to give her some time off, previous episodes of I Love Lucy were broadcast in place of original episodes. The studio they formed, Desilu, went on to produce some of TV's most iconic shows in TV history, including Star Trek and The Untouchables. 

Go to our Facebook Photo Gallery to see photos of Lucy memorabilia at the Hollywood Museum. And click here to see all our photo albums.

Ole Miss Football Players Visit Batson Children's Hospital

Produced by Jim Albritton | Four Ole Miss football players visited Batson Children's Hospital. Collins Moore, Robert and John Ratliff and Charlie Scott played with patients and toured the Eli Manning Children's Clinics and the Children's Cancer Clinic. 

LA ROAD TRIP | Griffith Observatory

Griffith Observatory is an icon of Los Angeles, a national leader in public astronomy, a beloved civic gathering place, and one of southern California's most popular attractions. The Observatory is located on the southern slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, just above the Los Feliz neighborhood. It is 1,134 feet above sea level and is visible from many parts of the Los Angeles basin. The mission of Griffith Observatory is to inspire everyone to observe, ponder and understand the sky. 

Go to our Facebook Photo Gallery to photos of the Griffith Observatory. And click here to see all our photo albums.

LA ROAD TRIP | The Hollywood Museum

The Hollywood Museum, the official museum of Hollywood, has the most extensive collection of Hollywood memorabilia in the world. The museum, featuring four floors of exhibits, including an entire floor dedicated entirely to Marilyn Monroe, is home to more than 10,000 authentic showbiz treasures: one-of-a-kind costumes, props, photographs, scripts, posters and vintage memorabilia from films and TV shows. The museum also showcases the history of Hollywood and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Hollywood Museum is housed in the historic Max Factor Building where Max Factor, Hollywood’s Makeup King, created the looks of Hollywood’s Golden Era stars including Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Garland, Mae West, Jean Harlow, Lucille Ball and Marilyn Monroe.

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LA ROAD TRIP | The Getty Center

The J. Paul Getty Museum's estimated 1.3 million visitors annually make it one of the most visited museums in the United States. The museum's collection includes pre 20th century European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, and decorative arts; and 19th and 20th century American and European photographs. 

The $1.3 billion Getty Center in Los Angeles is also well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles. It opened in 1997. 

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LA ROAD TRIP | UCLA and the UCLA Medical Center

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. It is the second-oldest of the 10 campuses of the University of California system. UCLA is considered a Public Ivy and flagship campus of the UC system. It offers 337 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines. With an approximate enrollment of 28,000 undergraduate and 12,000 graduate students, UCLA is the university with the largest enrollment in the state of California and the most popular university in the United States by number of applicants.

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LA ROAD TRIP | Peter Falk Receives a Star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame

The late Peter Falk, a TV and movie actor most famous for his role as Columbo, received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on July 25, 2013. Falk's close friends Joe Mantegna, Paul Reiser, Dick Van Dyke and Ed Begley Jr spoke and participated in the ceremony on Hollywood Boulevard. 

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LA ROAD TRIP | US Surfing Open in Huntington Beach

With a rich history dating back to 1959, the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, California boasts one of a few of North America’s six-star World Qualifying Series (WQS)-rated men’s and women’s events. Offering the highest-possible allotment of qualifying points and overall cash prizes totaling $200,000, the prestigious competition is critical to American surfers aspiring to reach the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) elite World Tours.

Go to our Facebook Photo Gallery to see photos of the US Surfing Open in Huntington Beach, California. And click here to see all our photo albums.

LA ROAD TRIP | Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Hollywood Forever Cemetery, originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles, California. It is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, adjacent to the north wall, or back, of Paramount Studios. Among those interred or entombed in the cemetery are a number of important personalities and famous persons, including men and women from the entertainment industry, and important people in the history of Los Angeles, and their relatives. The cemetery is active and regularly hosts community events, including music events and summer movie screenings. 

Go to our Facebook Photo Gallery to see photos of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. And click here to see all our photo albums.