If you come here as a first time visitor, you will see one of Los Angeles' premiere shopping districts. If Westwood Village didn't impress you during the late eighties and early nineties, you should reconsider it now as it is more flourishing and picturesque than ever. A dedicated community alliance won the struggle to reclaim this little gem from a decline in popularity and economic setbacks. Why not give indoor malls a break and experience the newly regained excitement and vigor of this culturally rich, historic neighborhood. Recent reports indicate that crime rates have continued to remain low since efforts began to restore the Village's popularity.
There are over 600 merchants and stores in this district including practically everything under the California sun. The movie theatres are numerous and exceptional here. Hollywood premiers are commonplace. The reasons are: its central location, the historic buildings look great with long red carpets in front of them, the auditoriums and screens are huge and the film prints are of the utmost quality. One theatre of note is Mann's Westwood, about one block from UCLA at 1050 Gayley Avenue. The marquee and architecture are circa 1920. Be sure to go early for tickets on a weekend and visit one of over a hundred restaurants, something for every taste and budget.
You can come to the Village for one or two specific reasons, but it seems to have been designed for those who love to walk around without an agenda. You will not be at a loss for things to see or do. The Armand Hammer Museum, Geffen Playhouse, the UCLA Center for the Performing Arts and the Fowler Museum of Cultural History all hail from the within the UCLA campus and the Village's borders. New features to enhance your visit include many additional trees, street furniture, year round twinkle lights along Gayley Avenue and decorative crosswalks. The numerous commercial high-rises in the vicinity add to the pervasive cosmopolitan feeling in the air.
During the day, this shopper's haven is for the whole family. Catch a matinee, leave the kids in the Westworld arcade while you check out the shoe stores. Night time however, is a little different. This is dating territory. The college crowd will be in Maloney's swilling a few brews. By night, the ambience throughout the town is trendy with a large dose of flashiness.
Some shops have been here for decades, including Stan's Corner Donut Shop, LaMonica's New York Pizza, Fatburger, Flax Art Supply and Monty's Steak House. Many prominent buildings date back into the late 1920's and these are punctuated with stucco, red-roofed Mediterranean-style homes on residential streets. One of the founding engineers named these streets after a handful of his UC Berkeley professors (Hilgard, LeConte, Gayley). The complimentary blend of influences here lend the area its distinctive charm.
Bordering the beautiful, thriving academic campus and community of UCLA (which is worth a visit in itself), the Village is located just off the San Diego Freeway (I-405). Take the Wilshire Boulevard exit, head East and turn left on Gayley Avenue, Westwood Boulevard or Glendon Avenue. A recent addition to five City Parking structures is a 400 space garage. Go to 1036 Broxton Street and the garage is clearly marked. Here and at the other lots, you may park free for one hour. The second hour is free if you have it validated by one of over 100 participating merchants.
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