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Glendale
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Urban · Easy

Glendale

An art deco downtown wedged between two mountain ranges and a famous cemetery.

Glendale sits in the Verdugo Mountains' shadow, an old streetcar suburb that grew into LA's fourth-largest city. The downtown still wears its 1925 art deco bones — the Alex Theatre marquee, brick storefronts on Brand Boulevard — and the hills above hide a 1904 stone manor, a 1,200-acre cemetery that doubles as a sculpture park, and one of the densest Armenian communities in the world. This hunt walks the seams.

The Map

Your route

Offline directionsOpen in Maps

Pinch to zoom. Tap a marker to see the stop name. The dashed line traces the suggested walking order.

The Hunt

Turn-by-turn stops

Each stop shows the walking distance and direction from the previous one, plus a tap-through to your phone's maps for step-by-step directions.

  1. 01

    Alex Theatre

    "Start at 216 N Brand Boulevard. Find the 100-foot neon spire above the marquee. Count the rings of light circling it."

    34.1471, -118.2543Start walking here
  2. 250 m~3 min walkhead SSW from stop 1
    02

    Americana at Brand

    "Walk two blocks south to 889 Americana Way. Find the trolley line and the central fountain with the bronze 'Spirit of American Youth' statue. How many notes does the dancing fountain play between shows (per the sign)?"

    34.1452, -118.2557Walk from stop 1
  3. 230 m~3 min walkhead NNE from stop 2
    03

    Glendale Central Library

    "At 222 E Harvard Street, find the ReflectSpace gallery inside the entrance. Read the name of the artist whose mural wraps the children's wing."

    34.1471, -118.2547Walk from stop 2
  4. 1.4 mi~29 min walkhead NW from stop 3
    04

    Brand Library & Art Center (El Miradero)

    "Drive to 1601 W Mountain Street. Find the white Moorish-revival mansion with three onion domes at the head of Brand Park. Count the domes from the front lawn."

    34.1626, -118.2693Walk from stop 3
  5. 1.5 mi~32 min walkhead S from stop 4
    05

    Casa Adobe de San Rafael

    "Stop at 1330 Dorothy Drive. Find the white-walled 1865 adobe surrounded by a small public garden. Read the year painted above the door."

    34.1410, -118.2693Walk from stop 4
  6. 1.5 mi~31 min walkhead SE from stop 5
    06

    Forest Lawn Memorial Park — Glendale

    "End at 1712 S Glendale Avenue. Drive to the Court of Freedom and find the full-size replica of Michelangelo's David (relocated several times). How many of Michelangelo's other sculptures are recreated on the grounds?"

    34.1271, -118.2503Walk from stop 5