Far Enough From the Madding Crowd

Many of us consider Greater Los Angeles so over-developed and so well traveled that the thrill of discovery seems long gone. The region, however, is long on charms and abundant with one-of-a-kind treasures that reward just a bit of effort. Here’s a sampling of some of our favorite off-the-beaten-path places. And remember: They’re secret, so keep it on the q.t.

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Echo Mountain/Mt. Lowe, Altadena

Because the notion of history is such an undervalued commodity in Los Angeles, making a connection with the past often feels more like seance than sightseeing. At the foot of Lake Avenue in Altadena, where it intersects with Loma Alta Drive, is a grand gateway to the past. The lower Sam Merrill Trail leads up to Echo Mountain and beyond to the old rail bed of the Mt. Lowe Railway--its path studded with evocative ruins of a long-vanished world difficult to even imagine.

Mt. Lowe was named for professor Thaddeus S.C. Lowe, a “retired” millionaire who in the late 1800s (with the help of civil engineer David Macpherson) built a mountain railway full of hairpin turns at vertigo-inducing heights. At the summit, he created an opulent resort known as the “White City,” which included an observatory and zoo. The narrow-gauge railway operated from 1893 to 1936--and in its prime attracted millions. The centerpiece was a grand hotel offering everything from fine dining to a casino, until it fell to ruin after a string of mishaps--fire, windstorms, falling boulders.

It’s a steady climb on a trail full of deeply fragrant chaparral, whimsical canopies of flora and a steady series of switchbacks that reveal unimaginable views of Greater Los Angeles (and on a winter day, Catalina). Once you’ve reached the old rail bed, the lower portion of the Sam Merrill Trail ends and the railroad bed continues a few more miles up to the top of Mt. Lowe. You’re greatly rewarded for your efforts not just with the spectacular views, but in contemplating the fodder of one man’s elaborate dream--rusted cable wheels, puzzle pieces of foundation, old railroad ties, staircases to nowhere. Plaques give you a sense of the history; your imagination will not only fill in the blanks but richly embroider them.

* Exit the 210 Freeway at Lake Avenue. Drive north (3.4 miles) to where it intersects with Loma Alta Drive. Hike begins to the left of the stone gateway.

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Catalina Verdugo Adobe and the Oak of Peace, Glendale

The best things are sometimes found sunk within the crevices--stashed between the folds of neighborhoods or along the periphery of our daily routes, a reward of serendipity. The Catalina Verdugo Adobe is set back on a sleepy residential block, within earshot of the busy slur of commuter traffic on Canada Boulevard. Behind an iron fence is a messy tangle of terraced gardens dotted with statues of saints, benches and wood steps rising to other hidden nooks beyond. Just off to the side you’ll find a knot of trees and the remains of gnarled stump. Next to that, a wood marker tells the story of the Oak of Peace, the site where, in 1847, the United States and Mexico negotiated a peace treaty that surrendered California to the U.S. The tree died of “natural causes” in 1987 and now only remnants poke through the hard earth. The adobe, with its wraparound tile porch and low-slung roof, is one of the oldest buildings in Glendale. Its brick patio and picnic tables make it a natural for family picnics or an eerie exercise in early California time travel. Since the 1840s, lots of life has grown up around old dreams bulldozed to make room for new ones. This lush and richly historic patch of land offers a chance to not just put, but keep, it all in perspective.

* 2211 Bonita Drive, Glendale.

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Parking Structure at 4th and Broadway, Santa Monica

Even though our cars might not be the most restorative of private hideaways, sometimes there are secrets that only parking structures allow us. If you find yourself in Santa Monica running ahead of schedule, snake up to the roof of one of the many high-rise parking structures blocks from the water. One of the better ones, at 4th and Broadway, boasts an incredible rooftop view from the west-facing spaces. Most late afternoons, you’ll have the entire show to yourself and your pick of best “seats” in the house. At sunset, the sky blushes from rose gold to pink to crimson until just a sliver of light remains, looking like an ember. The ocean spreads out beneath it, a highly buffed surface that resembles a stage. As the sun sinks into it, it too turns an array of colors. As dusk settles into twilight, the lights of the condos blink on--the flickering blue light of the TV, the yellow tungsten glow of living room lamps--there’s the news to watch, dinner to get. The Promenade fills up; white Christmas lights blink year-round from the trees. When the Ferris wheel at the pier begins to light up, along with the other tilt-a-whirl amusements, it recalls Santa Monica’s fantasy-by-the-sea past, not so much vanished, but different.

* 1440 Broadway, Santa Monica. Level 9/The roof.

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Museum of Contemporary Art at California Plaza, Downtown

The open office is designed to promote many things--camaraderie, the free flow of ideas, productivity. But anyone who works in such a setting knows this: All that camaraderie is enough to make you want to, well ... take a hike. There is an antidote for the downtown L.A. set; a patch of green and a splash of calm in the middle of an urban thicket. Just around the corner from the Museum of Contemporary Art Store, along the walkway to the Omni Hotel, are two rectangular reflecting pools flanked by curved metal benches and a curtain of lush hedges and trees. The fountains, set in a rose-colored marble, trickle tranquilly. And after a while, the onslaught of construction and traffic becomes white noise. On any given afternoon, you might find California Plaza Towers workers in suits and ties munching a sandwich, tourists resting their feet, a line cook in his smock, smoking, plugged into his iPod; a couple courting surreptitiously--all of them eluding a deadline, a crisis, or a duty, if only for a moment.

* 250 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles.

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Korean Bell of Friendship and Bell Pavilion, San Pedro

Sometimes secret places hide in plain sight. Located on a rise of land on the edge of the Angels Gate Recreation Center in San Pedro, the otherworldly Bell Pavilion is as startling for its beauty as its incongruity. The pagoda-like pavilion houses a 17-ton carved metal bell that was a gift from the people of the Republic of Korea on the occasion of the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976. Symbolizing hope and friendship, the bell is etched with four pairs of goddesses and Korean spirits. But those are not the only gems on display: The perch of land upon which it sits offers a 360-degree panorama of the working harbor, quaint bungalows and a quiet strand of beach dotted with palm trees. Colorful flowerbeds border the path leading to the pavilion--stubborn pansies bending in the cold marine wind. Although there is no seating around the pavilion, clusters of picnic tables just below look out onto the water. On a recent afternoon, a random collection of city folk settled into various forms of respite: a city worker took a snooze in his car parked facing the water’s edge; a pair of adults dangled on the swings; a new mother rolled a stroller across a verdant patch. Even in the brisk shock of the wind, everyone has a chance to exhale.

* Angels Gate Recreation Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro.