One thing that makes L.A. so interesting is that every pocket area you visit is unique in its diversity and culture. Mount Washington and nearby Highland Park are some of the oldest communities in L.A. having been developed as subdivisions around the turn of the 20th century. Both attracted a collection of Bohemian artists and intellectual types who embraced the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Whites began leaving the area in the 1940s for newer digs in the city as wells as for tract homes in the once agricultural San Fernando Valley developed after WWII. By the 1960s, Mount Washington and Highland Park were mostly Hispanic and dealing with serious gang problems.
I lived in Mount Washington for a year or so in the mid-70s when I moved back to L.A. from Orange County to pursue my acting career. I remember hearing about bodies being dumped off near our house by the Hillside Strangler. It was unnerving and after a flood in my bedroom during an El Nino year, eventually split for Studio City in the San Fernando Valley.
Gentrification brings a hip crowd
During the early 2000s, Mount Washington and Highland Park experienced a reversal of white flight when a younger population, who wanted easy access to downtown, began moving back because housing options were more affordable. Many renovated the once-worn Craftsman and Victorian homes that dot the hillsides.
This gentrification brought an array of artists, bohemian types, and young families to the neighborhood, who started businesses there. York Blvd off Avenue 50 in Highland Park is now a “cool” place to hang out because of its quirky boutiques, galleries, ethnic restaurants, and coffeehouses.
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Things to do in Highland Park and Mount Washington
Take in the architecture
While I was staying in Mount Washington, I enjoyed walking or driving around to see the old bungalows, larger old homes, and buildings near where I was staying. Even the old sidewalks and carriage garages appealed to my love of early 20th-century architecture.
Almost all the homes on the hillsides have massive amounts of steps going up to them. It may not be the most ideal living situation for seniors, but they are certainly interesting to look at.
The Southwest Museum of the American Indian, established in 1907 was founded by Charles Fletcher Lummis who was an anthropologist, historian, journalist, and photographer. It was relocated from downtown L.A. to Mount Washington in 1914 and housed in a Mission Revival building designed by architects Sumner P. Hunt and Silas Reese Burns to display collections of local Native American art and pottery. The venue is now owned by the Gene Autry Museum and is only open on Saturdays but is free to the public.
The L.A. Metro Gold Line has a station across the street from the museum and is easy access to Union Station downtown as well as Pasadena all the way to Azusa. Passengers going toward downtown can stop at the Heritage Square Museum (with a stellar collection of Victorian Homes) as well as Chinatown.
If you drive up the hill on Avenue 45 or from Highland Park, you can visit the Self Realization Fellowship International Headquarters and meditation gardens or Moon Canyon Park for spectacular views and serenity.
The Lummis Home – El Alisal was the home of Charles Fletcher Lummis built in the late 19th century in Rustic Craftsman Style. They offer weekend tours. Check for availability.
Highland Park has a perfectly restored 1930s era bowling alley called the Highland Park Bowl. Its steampunk-style décor offers a fun place to enjoy pizza, vintage soda, and craft cocktails.
York Blvd is also the location of the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre which has been putting on puppet shows for 6 decades. I went there as a child and later took my kids.
There are also a variety of pubs and eateries as well as old theatres, shops, and vintage shops worth visiting on Figueroa Street.
So, if you are looking for funky in Los Angeles, and have already visited Echo Park and Silverlake, check out Mount Washington and Highland Park. Chances are you will love them too.
What a delight, Rebecca!
So much fun getting tips from such a aficionado of Los Angeles. You know the city so well!
I love wandering neighborhoods not on the usual tourist routes when visiting towns and cities. Love to get a real feel for an area, the people, history, architecture. Interesting post!
Thanks, Meryl. I do too. You never know what you’ll find.
It’s fun getting to walk around and know different neighborhoods. Sounds so much better than when you lived there in the 70s. And if you ever want to travel the world again, your pet-sitting skills would take you far. I know of a blogger and her husband who traveled the world as petsitters–pre-Covid. They would get month-long assignments and really get to sightsee the area that they were living in.