Los Angeles’ park neighborhoods

Drive to the shady corner of Griffith Park known as Ferndell (or Fern Dell, depending on the source), park by the Trails Café, then head uphill. Yes, on foot. Follow the West Observatory Trail for about a mile up the scrubby hills until — voilà! — three domes and a flawless lawn appear. That’s Griffith Observatory, the city’s hood ornament. It opens at 10 a.m. on weekends, noon on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Browse the wonders of science within the 1935 building, which reopened in 2006 after a dramatic addition, mostly underground, that added dozens of exhibits and a cafe. Though shows in the Samuel Oschin Planetarium cost $3-$7 a person, most of the building is free. Outside again, savor one of the city’s best views. Check out the bust of James Dean. (His 1955 movie “Rebel Without a Cause” includes scenes here.)  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

After a cup at LAMILL Coffee Boutique (1636 Silver Lake Blvd.) and a stroll along the east or west reservoir footpaths, you meet Massino Smith, who wheels you through the hills in her minivan, spinning the stories behind the dozens of homes whose open floor plans, big windows and spare geometry were revolutionary in their time. In the 2300 block of Silver Lake Boulevard, you go pedestrian to explore a colony of Neutra buildings (including his former home, which is open for tours 11 a.m.-3 p.m. most Saturdays). Atop Micheltorena Street, you glimpse the craziest tennis court ever, cantilevered from a hilltop as part of the Silvertop estate designed by John Lautner.

Pictured: LAMILL Coffee Boutique.  (Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times)

Elysian Park, near downtown, is home to Dodger Stadium. But first, take Stadium Way or Echo Park Avenue to Academy Road. And pretty soon — boom! — you’re at the Los Angeles Police Academy, where you’re likely to hear shots from the nearby firing range. Show up between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. on a weekday, and you can eat at the L.A. Police Academy Revolver & Athletic Club’s café, where the 9mm burger is a bargain at $5.95. Don’t miss the old photos, nightsticks, handcuffs, brass knuckles and true-crime magazines on the walls. If you get a chance, thank a cop. The city’s crime rate has been dropping since the early 1990s, and homicides happen about as often as they did in 1967, when the population was far smaller and Don Drysdale was pitching in the nearby stadium.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Speaking of which: The Dodgers play 81 home games a year in Dodger Stadium (which dates to 1962), and if you can afford it (remember, you’re paying the many divorce lawyers of owners Frank and Jamie McCourt), see one. But whether you do or not, consider a nightcap at the Short Stop on Sunset in Echo Park. For decades it was a cop bar, and it has a police patch collection by the pool table and a set of lockers where officers used to lock up their guns. The cops stopped coming a decade ago, and a younger, shaggier set has claimed the place. There’s a jukebox, a batch of old Dodger pictures, a mirror ball hanging over the dance floor and a vintage photo booth. Mug shots, three bucks.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

An evening game at Dodger Stadium.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Rise before dawn. Get to the Griffith Observatory parking lot (which is free but fills fast). Start at the Charlie Turner Trailhead, just north of the lot, and hike uphill. You’re climbing Mt. Hollywood, whose peak (1,625 feet) offers staggering views. It’s a three-mile round trip through scrub and chaparral, the pines of Berlin Forest and the shady oasis of Dante’s View. From the mountaintop on a clear day, you can see the sun rise to the east and a sliver of Pacific to the west. Almost every day, you’ll get an eyeful of the Los Angeles basin, the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Mountains and the Hollywood sign on nearby Mt. Lee. (There’s no hike to the Hollywood sign, and no access to it. Do this instead.) As the mist lifts from the ridges, listen to the birdsong — and the Koreans. This trail closely resembles one in Seoul, and dozens of Korean Americans like to begin their days with hikes here. So does City Councilman Tom LaBonge, who hollers greetings in Korean and carries a football on his daily dawn hikes.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Do happy people live in Los Feliz? Well, some. But the area got its name from José Vicente Feliz, an 18th century settler who received this real estate through a Spanish land grant. The Greek Theatre, home to many summer concerts, is a few blocks north of the commercial district on Vermont and Hillhurst avenues. Barnsdall Art Park (including Frank Lloyd Wright‘s Hollyhock House and a picnic-ready grassy knoll at 4800 Hollywood Blvd.) is a few blocks south. Once you snag a parking spot (or arrive at the Sunset-Vermont Metro stop), walk Vermont between Franklin and Prospect avenues.

Pictured: Fred 62 (1850 Vermont Ave.).  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Begin with people watching and caffeination in a sidewalk seat at Figaro (1802 N. Vermont Ave.), which carefully cultivates its French flavor, or Fred 62, a 24-hour retro-kitsch diner with lime-green walls. Both draw celebrities and often show up on TV, and among customers at either, you may encounter attitude.

Pictured: Figaro.  (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

For larger outdoor dining areas and more people-watching, there’s also Alcove Café at 1929 Hillhurst Ave. and Home restaurant at 1760 Hillhurst Ave. Browse Skylight Books (1818 N. Vermont Ave.), and check this week’s T-shirts at Y-Que Trading Post (1770 N. Vermont Ave.), where today’s news is tomorrow’s silk-screen theme. (Recent inspirations: the fragile states of Egypt and Charlie Sheen.) If you stay on the block for dinner or drinks, the dull façade of Dresden Restaurant (1760 Vermont Ave.; since 1954) conceals a neighborhood treasure: the lounge act of Marty and Elayne, who have been playing and singing, Tuesdays through Saturdays, sometimes in matching caftans, for nearly 30 years.

Pictured: Alcove Café.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Andrew Aberth watches a basketball game at Agave Cantina (1745 N. Vermont Ave.). The bar serves over 300 different bottles of tequila.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Juicy Burger (6340 Hollywood Blvd.).  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Los Feliz 3 movie theater (1822 N. Vermont Ave.).  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

A mural along Vermont Avenue depicting actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who grew up in Los Feliz.  (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

The Los Angeles Zoo can’t match San Diego‘s, but it’s cheaper ($14 an adult), and it’s right in Griffith Park. A new Asian elephant area opened in December, but the best entertainment is still the Campo Gorilla Reserve, where your kids might get within inches of a gorilla’s nose (with a thick viewing window in between). Their near-human attributes (we mean the gorillas) are endlessly absorbing.

Pictured: Campo Gorilla Reserve at the Los Angeles Zoo.  (Mariah Tauger / For The Times)

American flamingos at the Los Angeles Zoo.  (Mariah Tauger / For The Times)

A chimpanzee sits atop a rock after having an altercation with another chimp at the Los Angeles Zoo.  (Mariah Tauger / For The Times)

A California brown pelican at the Los Angeles Zoo.  (Mariah Tauger / For The Times)

A lion and lioness take a nap at the Los Angeles Zoo.  (Mariah Tauger / For The Times)

If you’re more interested in human doings, the Autry National Center’s Museum of the American West, just across the street, may surprise you. It covers not only Indians, cowboys and other newcomers but also pop culture’s portrayal of them. And it has a great gift shop full of books, art, music, blankets and belt buckles.  (Mariah Tauger / For The Times)

“The Sower,” a sculpture by Herb Mignery at the Autry National Center’s Museum of the American West.  (Mariah Tauger / For The Times)

Remember that weird spark Melrose Avenue had in the 1980s? Something like that is happening now at Sunset Junction, the stretch of Sunset Boulevard storefronts near Sanborn Avenue in Silver Lake.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Slouching twentysomethings with high cheekbones and thrift-shop wardrobes. Budding authors and auteurs, poised over their MacBooks by the blue-and-white Nicaraguan tile work in Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea or listening to Jacques Brel under the parasols at the Casbah Cafe.

Pictured: Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea (3922 Sunset Blvd.).  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Casbah Cafe (3900 Sunset Blvd.).  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Now’s your chance to inspect the 300 artisanal cheeses at the Cheese Store of Silverlake (3926-28 Sunset Blvd.), the 24 flavors of ice cream made from scratch at Pazzo Gelato (3827 Sunset Blvd.), the eight kinds of currywurst cooked at Berlin Currywurst (also at 3827 Sunset; opened in February).

Pictured: Cheese Store of Silverlake.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Tacos Delta (3806 W. Sunset Blvd.).  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Pazzo Gelato sells 24 flavors of ice cream.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

To soak it all up, find street parking (arrive early) or grab a spot in the little lot on Sanborn just west of Sunset. Lunch at Forage (3823 Sunset Blvd.). Listen for stray solos outside the Silver Lake Conservatory of Music (3920 Sunset Blvd., co-founded by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea).

Pictured: Forage.  (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

Browse the $12 shadow puppets at ReForm School (3902 Sunset Blvd.), the comic books at Secret Headquarters (3817 Sunset Blvd.), the music at Vacation Vinyl (3815 Sunset Blvd.), the mixological marvels at Bar Keeper (3910 Sunset Blvd.). You get extra points for coming on a Saturday morning, when the Silver Lake Farmers’ Market sets up near Sunset and Edgecliff Drive. You lose those points if you show up unaware on the summer weekend of the annual Sunset Junction Street Fair (Aug. 27 and 28 this year), when live bands and vendor stalls take over the streets and as many as 75,000 revelers (paying $15-$20 each) crowd in.

Pictured: Secret Headquarters comic book store.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Bar Keeper.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Echo Park, a blue-collar Latino neighborhood for decades, keeps getting trendier and more affluent. Start with a stroll around the Echo Park Lake — if there’s water in it. (City officials plan to drain it for repairs, perhaps as soon next month.) Cruise the aged ladies of Carroll Avenue — that is, drive past the greatest concentration of well-tended Victorian homes in Los Angeles, seven blocks south of Sunset by way of Douglas Street. And walk Sunset between Echo Park Boulevard (where a striking Ricardo Mendoza mural wraps around a clinic building) and Taix (pronounced “tex”), the long-enduring French restaurant (1911 Sunset Blvd.) where Park Avenue comes to an end. You’ll find stalwarts such as the Echo Park Pawn Shop (1702 Sunset Blvd.) and Pescado Mojado seafood (1701 Sunset Blvd.) jostled by newcomers such as the bookshop-café Stories (1716 Sunset Blvd.). The Echo and its downstairs sibling the Echoplex (1822 Sunset Blvd. and 1154 Glendale Blvd., respectively) are two of the city’s leading venues for live rock music. El Prado (1805 Sunset Blvd.), once a dive bar, is now downright genteel (and plays mostly old vinyl on its sound system).

Pictured: Echo Park Lake.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

On Thursday nights, the nonprofit Echo Park Film Center (1200 N. Alvarado St.) screens alternative and/or documentary films, asking only a $5 donation. But before the day gets away, you need to hit the storefront labeled Time Travel Mart (1714 Sunset Blvd.) In the rooms behind, tutors from the 826LA organization (another nonprofit, part of a national network founded by author Dave Eggers) offer free academic help and writing workshops for students ages 6 to 18. Upfront, the outfit raises funds by selling supplies for time-travelers — you know, like robot milk ($19.99 a bottle) and centurion helmets ($99.99 each). If you pretend this is all normal, the clerk at the counter will too.

Pictured: Echo Park Film Center.  (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

Got kids? Proceed to the ponies near the southeast entrance of Griffith Park at Los Feliz Boulevard and Riverside Drive. There, Tuesdays through Sundays, your child (age 1 or older) can sit on a tethered pony (which will make eight circles for $3) or ride two laps, untethered, on a larger oval track (also $3).  (Mariah Tauger / For The Times)

On weekends, the scaled-down Griffith Park & Southern Railroad carries children and parents for $2.50 a ride, and more trains await in Travel Town and at L.A. Live Steamers at the north end of the park. The park’s biggest playground, Shane’s Inspiration, is a short drive from the ponies, and along the way there’s a spot to rent bikes and a historic merry-go-round that’s open weekends all year and every day in summer. Show up around noon on a Sunday and between carousel tunes you’ll hear a strange throbbing in the air. That’s the Griffith Park drum circle, always free, frequently fascinating.  (Mariah Tauger / For The Times)