Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Downtown L. A. revisited

My husband and I like watching California's Gold TV show which is hosted by Huell Howser. In one of his recent shows he visited Clifton's Cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles. The place looked interesting and we thought of taking a visit to the place. Downtown LA was my stumping ground many years ago when I lived a few blocks from it. Everyone within a short bus ride would go there to shop. May Company and Sears have their stores there. My former landlady worked at May Co. until she retired. May Co. is now Macy's.

I now live with my husband about 40 miles from the heart of Los Angeles. Embarking on a mini-adventure would also let us take a peek at the old place. We decided on a week day on the second Thursday of this month. We took the most convenient way to travel there nowadays -- the
Metrolink (train), then a bus that goes around the city.

Enlarge images by clicking.


We were on the landing level--right at the top of the first steps--as the upper deck was already full. At this level there were only a few seats, about 18. We sat across a family headed to one of the towns before it reached downtown. In 50 minutes the train pulled in at the Union Station, it's final destination.


We boarded a bus, and we found the place in no time at all.


The sign at the window before the entrance.


The steps leading to the second floor balcony.


A moose head at the second floor railing.


Another stairs leading to the second floor dining room.


A stuffed deer right above a water fall.


The view from the second floor looking down.


A cabin with a small water fall beneath.

Clifton's was built in the 1930s and the forest theme is still the same to this day. The interior was kind of dark because of the woodsy decor.

We had lunch there and I had roast beef and mashed potato with gravy and green beans. My husband had fried chicken wings and some kind of veggies. The food was okay. After lunch we stepped out to the sidewalk and planned our next stop. Then we turned to our right and walked northward. And we walked, and walked...and walked...and walked...and w...a...l...k...e...d...


22 comments:

Ebie said...

Mari, my old office was on One Wilshire Blvd and at the corner of Grand and 7th, Clifton's was there and I frequent that place if I do not brown bag. My favorite is the Swedish Meat Ball. We order carrot cake for birthdays at work. It has been closed for a while. Two months ago we tried Clifton's on Broadway, I still saw some of their staff still working there.

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

hi mari,

thanks for sharing your tour, what a nice place........ganda.

i remember the restaurant, a little bit the same in....i forgot the name of the rest.....Dresden... East Germany.
kasing pareha, not all but mostly sa gi-show mo nga pics.

ganda dyan sa inyo, and the weather too,
daming makita and do shopping.

Macy´s co.....i always have an email nito....ganda ng tinda nla, kaya lang mas mahal ang postage when i order from them.....lol

sigi, uwi na ako, naghintay ang mga plansahin ko, ang dami talaga,....for 4 persons?....dami, thanks i like to plansa as to clean the windows.....lol

windows namin, sabi ni bernie, hindi na daw makita ang kapitbahay........hahahahaha

have a nice weds...........

Nance said...

Sounds like you and hubby had a quality time together, dear!

That resto sounds interesting but i don't think I'd like to see that moose and stuffed deer while i eat! lol
Thanks for the tour, dudette!

Unknown said...

Those are wonderful set of shots Mari. I've been missing some of your posts now...

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

hello mari,

meron akong ginawa....not ginawa,,,,,post and load only.

can you visit my blog?...sandali lang?


thanks

http://mahalkaayo.blogspot.com/2009/07/talks-of-my-mind.html

Mari said...

Ebie,
You were so close to Clifton's.

Huell Howser interviewed some of the employees and some have worked there for years. Clifton's must've been a good employer. Funny I used to frequent downtown before, but never noticed the place.

Mari said...

vicki,

Puntahan mo ulit ang restaurant at kunan ng litrato at i-blog mo. Ganda siguro.

Mahal nga sa Macy's. Di ako namimili sa tindahan nila. Diyan na lang ako sa Walmart at Dollar store. LOL

Naku, ang hirap maglinis ng salamin. Di ko na rin makita ang kapitbahay ko...pero buti rin para di nila ako makita kahit nakahubo. LOL

Sige at maglaba pa ako. Napagud kasi kahapon sa pasyal naman.

Mari said...

Nance,

Yup, I have to drag him out there. Something different to see.


Pacey,,

Same here. I haven't bloghopped to your place for quite sometime now. I'm having a hard time logging on lately. Will visit you soon.

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

hehehehehe

natuwa ako sa reply mo dito.......hehehehe

meron dito walmart, kaya lang malayo sa amin kaunti....mostly mga americans ang naggrocery-namili.

tapos dyan dollars store.....euro store, dito......see kasing pareho lang.

mahilig din akong pumasok sa euro store uy.....lol

natutuwa ako, last weekend, sabi ni bernie, yon kabitbahay hindi na daw nakita.........ay siya ang naglinis....din this week panay ang ulan....

naku, ikaw baka ....baka ikiha? ka nag bold-naked Star.........mabuti star, diba....lol

thanks nagustohan mo ang talks of my mind.......

sigi, off na ako, punta kami ngayon sa school ni kim, graduation nya, high school.........another step naman cya.

Thanks God

bye..........

Inday said...

Walking is a good exercise Mari. lol.

Anyway, the place is pretty impressive! I would love to dine in that kind of cafe rich in History.

And the metrolink-bus ride sounds fun too!

Photo Cache said...

I love to watch that show too. As a matter of fact I get a lot of tips from that show on where to go next around this area.

BTW, isn't that cute that a guy with southern drawl is showing Cali? That to me is part of the charm of the show.

Mari said...

Bonnie,
Hubby and I love to walk.

It's fun to ride the metrolink. It's clean and relaxing. No stress, no hassle with parking...and cheap. LOL

Mari said...

Photo Cache,
Yes, he's ah-my-zing. LOL

Inday said...

I do agree about the "cheap" thing. That is one good thing in America compared to ours here.

docgelo said...

i've been to most spots in LA when we had a vacation years ago but our relatives failed to bring us at clifton's. it looks like an interesting place to me.
and what you had for lunch while you were there made me crave at half hour before midnight as i read this post. :D

thanks for sharing.

Mari said...

Bonnie,

;-D


docgelo,
The food is forgettable. LOL

When guests come over for a visit they usually are taken at the more known places in the area, like Universal Studios, Disneyland, Sea Word San Diego, and so forth. For food I would recommend Todai a Japanese Buffet Restaurant. It has branches around LA area, and the food is truly the best.

ALiNe said...

I should visit downtown when I go there next month

dodong flores 도동 플로오리스 said...

Wow, what a tour! It's hard to find such old and forest-themed place like Clifton's nowadays...
I'd love to visit places like that too...

Mari said...

dodong,
It's a one-of-a-kind eating place; a must see for tourists.

Thanks for the visit.

sandy said...

I really enjoyed this whole series. Saw familiar places through your photos. We have been visiting all the various beaches in So Cal, something we haven't done for a long time.. One day we went to Farmers Market in LA, another place I hadn't been since I was a teenager.

Mari said...

Sandy,
Nice of you to drop by.

Isn't it nice to see old places once more? The only time I was at Farmers' Market (in Fairfax) was years and years ago. I should drag my husband and see the place again. I used to work a few miles from there.

Thanks for the visit.

Los Angeles Upper GI Endoscopy said...

Thanks for sharing about your tour i like your tour experiance.....