As I walked into Exposition Park, I saw a cat wandering along the sidewalk near the road. I stopped to watch it for a while, and it became a bit nervous when it realized I was watching it. It soon retreated and I thought little more of it. I assumed it was a wild cat rather than someone’s pet. It was only a few minutes later that I came across another pair of cats. They were playing together and initially seemed interested in my presence and then retreated too. I assume that the park must have a few cats in residence.
Tag Archives: Los Angeles
A Twin Tub A-12 Sitting by the Parking Lot
Google Maps can really be your friend. I was hoping to find the time to get to see the space shuttle stack in Expo Park while I was back in LA if possible. I went on Google Maps to see how to get there and the layout of the area and I saw a tag for an A-12. Sure enough, the twin seat Lockheed A-12 is mounted on display right next to the parking lot. It is tucked in between the lot and a pathway over a dip in the grounds. It is rather tight to the parking lot which made getting shots a touch tricky but the early morning light when I was there was the best angle for it. I was pleased to add an unusual airframe to the briefest of visits!
Riding the E Line in LA
My morning trip to the California Science Center could have involved a quick Uber ride but, since I was in LA to discuss light rail projects, it seemed more appropriate that I take the train down there. The station wasn’t too far away, and the E Line dropped me off right next to the park. Whenever I am using some form of transit, I do try to get a photo or two. You never know when they might be useful for a presentation or for adding to a proposal.
Endeavour Assembled in the Construction Site
I made a big mistake a decade back when the Space Shuttle Endeavour was moved through the streets of LA from the airport to the California Science Center where it has been on display ever since. I was in California and could have made a trip down but, for various reasons, didn’t end up doing so. I have regretted it ever since. The beginning of 2024 was the time when they relocated the shuttle from its horizontal position to a new installation where it is stacked on the external tank and boosters in the launch position.
I had a work trip in January that took me to LA and I was really hoping to see the stacking because the external tank was due to be lifted into position between the boosters. Sadly, there was no spare time from arriving to departing and I didn’t get a chance to see it other than a brief glimpse from my Uber as I drove to and from the airport.
A couple of weeks later, I had to go back again. By this time, the shuttle orbiter had been lifted into position on the stack too. It is wrapped up to protect it from the weather since the whole stack is outside until they finish constructing the rest of the museum around it! On the final day of my trip, I was heading to the airport in the morning. I figured I could just squeeze a quick detour down to have a look at the shuttle before I went to the airport.
It is quite surreal seeing a stacked shuttle in the middle of a park. It is even more strange because there is a lot of construction all around it obscuring your view of the subject. I walked all around the area (at least where it was possible to go given the ongoing construction) looking to see what I could see. Some of the angles had a better view but these were also backlit. I ended up trying hard to find ways to let the tank block the sun! I also was surprised to come across the lifting frames for the orbiter which, having served their purpose, were now sitting on the ground by a fence. Not sure what happens to them now!
Construction of the museum will continue through this year. I read somewhere that the structure will be completed by about July but I am not sure how accurate that is and whether that includes all of the fit out. When it will be possible to visit the finished exhibit, we shall see. It should be something to see when it is done. I have seen Atlantis and Enterprise so, after this, I just need to get to NASM to see Discovery.
Sparrow Visitors
Imperial Hill gets loads of visitors and plenty of them eat lunch while up there. Consequently, the sparrows are keen on the place too and they get pretty confident with the people around. While I was up there, I figured I should try and get a few sparrow shots as well as other flying things. If I wanted to focus on them, they are so close and fearless that it should be easy to do.
SoFi Stadium
When I last went to LA, the racetrack in Inglewood had been flattened and construction was underway on the new football stadium. Since then it was completed and opened as SoFi stadium. I was keen to see it in person having seen it on TV a lot. I made sure to be sitting on the left of the plane thinking I could get some shots of it from the air. Having previously photographed the racetrack, I mistakenly thought it would be further south and had a longer lens on the camera. The stadium is closer to the approach path so I had way too much lens and only got shots of parts of it.
However, after my meetings wrapped up, as I headed back to the airport, I did drive by the stadium. There were tours available but I didn’t have too much time so instead parked up and walked around a bit of the outside. I mainly used my phone to take some shots – good for shooting through fences – and also stitched together some shots to make some panos.
The stadium is really impressive to see in person. There is plenty of development going on in the area around it and I imagine it is going to quite transform Inglewood over time. Whether that is for the better or not, we shall see. The landscaping certainly adds to the impressiveness and the overall structure is far larger than just the football stadium which seem to sit inside it and feel rather dwarfed. If you get a chance to go by, I would certainly recommend it. Spending billions on sports stadiums is a controversial topic but this one has certainly got something special about it which is what you would hope for when it cost as much as it did!
Dodger Stadium
The approach to Los Angeles International from the north brings you in from the coast heading east almost directly over downtown before turning south and then west to make the approach to the north complex. This approach gives you a very good view of Dodger Stadium. I had the camera to hand as we came in so grabbed a few quick shots of the park. With the MLB dispute now solved, there should be crowds showing up here before too long (if they haven’t already depending on when I post this).
Air France A380
The Air France A380s have gone away. Their retirement had already been identified prior to the COVID-19 outbreak but it accelerated their departure. I had shot them on a few occasions with SFO and LAX being regular destinations. Since I won’t be seeing them again, here is a farewell tribute to the Air France A380. Hope one or two of the airframes find a second life.
Rebuilding the Taxiways at LAX
In recent years, LAX underwent a reconfiguration of the norther runways. I understand this was partly to accommodate the A380 operations which, when initially introduced, created some restrictions on other operations as a result of the runway spacing. They respaced the runways. I wondered whether any of the aerial photos I had taken at LAX showed the differences that had been made.
My first flight was during the reconfiguration process. The change to one of the runways had already been made and could be seen in the spare surface were the original northerly edge had been. Other work was underway around the thresholds and in the underrun. The photos from later show the finished configuration. The threshold of the inner runway has been moved from its original location and the underrun work is now complete. Things like runways feel like they should be so permanent but, as with any man made construction, they can be taken apart and rebuilt if that is what is needed.
Stadium Construction Update
A previous post showed the start of construction of the new stadium in LA. When I was on that trip, my arriving flight had passed right by the construction site but I didn’t have a camera to hand at the time. I made another LA trip more recently and, this time, I had a camera at hand as we made our final approach. Obviously the construction process has moved on a bit but there is still plenty to be done. Maybe I will make some more trips and get further updates in the future.