Bukowski's Los Angeles (1 Viewer)

I am going to have one and a half days in LA in a couple weeks, and I want to see as much of Bukowski's LA as I can.
Does anyone have any suggestions of must sees? Maybe some things that aren't as popular.
Anything in close proximity as other things?
I am also going to be trying to see Bunker Hill and explore a little of Fante's LA.
Thanks everyone.
 
I'm afraid Bukowski's Los Angeles is long gone. You can see a few of the apartment buildings he lived in, but the neighborhoods are not the same neighborhoods Bukowski lived in. Though for the most part, the apartment buildings themselves are pretty much unchanged, the ones still standing. If you like looking at apartment buildings. And of course DeLongpre is a historical site now. But it's still not the same place - and certainly not the same neighborhood - as it was when Bukowski lived there.

And on a similarly disappointing note, Bunker Hill doesn't exist. It was flattened 50 years ago and where the hill used to be there are now office towers. The loss of Bunker hill was crippling to the vibes of Los Angeles, but Los Angeles is all about "progress" and change. The Angel's Flight funicular railroad is still downtown, but it is in a different location than it was in Fante's day. There are no apartment buildings around Angel's Flight, just more office buildings.

I understand the desire to search out the some of those places to try to catch some kind of feeling. But Los Angeles is not conducive to that kind of nostalgia. We crush the old shit and replace it with new shit every day. I'm not sure that's entirely a bad thing, but it's not great if you're looking for history.
 
I observed something quite similar when I went to New Orleans in 2010. I accumulated three addresses for LouJon Press and sought them out. I found two of the three and not a bit of evidence of anything remotely related to LouJon Press. Fortunately, Pirate's Alley is still there and I likely stood where Gypsy Lou sold a painting or three in the early '60s, but overall, it was disappointing.

Maybe go to Russo and Frank, order a steak with French fries then pick up your plate and move to a quiet section of the restaurant and declare loudly to no one in particular "Now, I am" to create a simulated Buk experience.
 
Good to know about LouJon and New Orleans. If I ever found myself there, I'd probably try to dig up something.

The lady had business in London a few years back and I had a day to myself. While others were hitting Stonehenge or the Abbey Road location, I opted to dig up the neighborhood where Burroughs lived instead - Duke Street, St. James right next to the Piccadilly Circus ("the dilly boys"). Everything appeared to be exactly the same - high-end shops selling shoes, hats, suits, cigars, etc. Didn't see anything indicating he lived there though. When I got back to the hotel I found out a 1000 sq ft apartment in that building was selling for $1,000,000. Jesus.

It definitely felt cool to catch a vibe there. LouJon Press would probably feel the same, at least to me.
 
Yea, like Purple Stickpin said, Musso and Frank's would be a good stop...and isn't the main branch of the LA post office still there?
And his final resting place isn't far from LA.
 
The post office is still there, yeah. But again, I don't know what's to be gained from standing there looking at it. Even if you could get inside you'd see big air conditioned rooms full of automated machinery doing what Bukowski used to do.

Though Philippe's is across the street, and I'd rather have lunch there than Musso & Frank...
 
Well I'm assuming this person has never been to LA...Being from another part of the country, or world, sometimes it's interesting to just soak in the atmosphere of a place... being born and raised in the south, I always enjoyed the different feel and sounds and smells of places like LA. Just driving through an old neighborhood like the DeLongpre area was fun to me...
 
I'm afraid Bukowski's Los Angeles is long gone. [ . . . . ]
Hi casperbyrd, it would be my greatest of pleasures to say something contradicting mjp, but unfortunately, he's right in every point he came up with.
Sorry lad.

p.s.: Musso's comes with a prize-tag. Just sayin' in case you expect something where you can eat on a budget.

p.p.s.:
still, it might be not totally disappointing going to DeLongpre to have a look for yourself. From there you go just around the corner on a 5 min walk to stand in front of the North-Mariposa building. I guess, on a single one-day-visit, that's as close as you can get.
 

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