around town: culver city

Sep 05, 2024

The streets of LA don’t carry have the same romantic hot city summer feeling of other cities. In New York, for example, there’s an overwhelming energy. It’s likely you’ll find yourself caught in a downpour because the air is full of anticipation and its about to burst. Everyone’s sweaty. It’s hot.

The city rn feels less a lot less sexy than that. There’s more pavement. Less shade. Walking outside feels more like suffering than leisurely strolling.

For me, this is when the west side of the city truly shines. Presenting a respite from daily urban life, as well as a reminder to enjoy one of the city’s best assets: its close access to the sea. Whenever I’m craving a little comfort and a breath of cool AC air, I enjoy the cool and unbothered Culver City.

an overview

Culver has art. design. weird + controversial architecture.
Interesting divisions like hayden tract + west culver, downtown
Cool neighborhing neighborhoods like west adams, mar vista
Close proximity to ocean (treat yourself to a dip while the waters warm!)

Some history

Culver City has a number of walkable areas and infuses its modern conveniences (home of 3 targets!!) with a design-forward approach. The city’s roots in the entertainment industry saw the production of iconic movies like gone w the wind and wizard of oz. now, media offices like apple amazon + hbo and sony are just 1 mile from helms walk, an interior design destination in historic helms bakery. Helms Bakery, operated from 1931-1969, officially served the Summer Olympics held in LA in 1932 and in Germany in 1936.

Through its grandeur Hollywood roots, Culver City is home to constant transformation and its bold architectural statements, like the heavily discussed Wrapper Building, suggest its important presence in LA. One thats unafraid of making its mark.