Searching for "LaLa Land" In The Hood

 "A bit of madness is key
To give us the color to see
Who knows where it will lead us?
And that’s why they need us,
So bring on the rebels
The ripples from pebbles
The painters, and poets, and plays
And here’s to the fools who dream
Crazy, as they may seem"

 On Thursday February 16th, 2017, my friends Lynda, Maria, Karen, Sherri and I  retraced scenes in the movie La La Land that were filmed in Long Beach. From the El Cordova (Rose Tower) apts where Emma Stone's character Mia lived to The Blind Donkey bar in downtown Long Beach, the location of Ryan Goslings "Seb's Bar".   A totally fun girls night out!  

First stop the beautiful El Cordova apartments (aka Rose Tower).*  

*EL CORDOVA APARTMENTS (ROSE TOWERS)
1728 E. 3rd St.
Architect: George D. Riddle
Builder: Monarch Construction
Long Beach Historic Landmark

"An outstanding example of Spanish Colonial Revival courtyard apartments. It resembles a village in Southern Spain, with landscaping and a tiled fountain as the focal accent.
The Rose Towers was built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style in 1928 by Monarch Construction, and designed by architect George D. Riddle. This 20-unit site began as apartments and later became "own-your-owns" and now has been converted to condos.

 It is a beautiful example of lush landscaping and elegant design. The Rose Towers consists of two matching buildings flanking a dramatic two-level courtyard. Each unit has a lovely view of the courtyard. This certainly is no "cookie-cutter" layout."-L.B. Heritage.org. 

 

 We had a nice chat with John who owns one of the units. He was able to tell us some fun things he experienced during the filming of La La Land. We appreciated his generosity of time given to  five, giggly, enthusiastic,  movie fans.

  Apartment #16 on the upper right side was   "Mia's apartment " (Emma Stone's character)  in the movie.

We then walked to the corner and turned down  "Bird Street" behind the apartments.  This is the alleyway that Ryan Gosling's character drove down to pick Mia up for a date.

 Next stop "The Blind Donkey"

 
located at 149 Linden ave. Long beach 90802 
open daily 5PM to 2AM and we were just in time for Happy Hour (M-F 5-8:00)

 This is the location that became "Seb's Bar" , the place that Ryan Gosling's character had always dreamed of owning.

 In this scene Emma Stone's "Mia" is out on a date with her husband when they wander by chance into a   jazz bar down these stairs...only for Mia to encounter her long lost love Ryan Gosling  playing the piano in "Seb's" place.

 We had arrived shortly after the Blind Donkey opened and happily seated ourselves at the bar  

This is Kyle who was the nicest bartender. He makes the best drinks and was so friendly and again very patient with all our questions about the making of the "La La Land" scenes here.  

*link listed below for the filming of La La Land in Long Beach

 Kyle also serves a great "Moscow Mule"!

 We were so excited to be here and enjoyed reliving the La La Land scenes up close and personal. So much fun!

 Round two....

 Great accommodations for large groups

 Darts and a pool table add to the fun.

 Thanks Kyle for a great time. 
 We highly recommend "The Blind Donkey" for a  fun place to hang with friends, great  drinks and a super cool bartender! 

 

 As you can see we left here in a blurry haze...

  (everyone but me that is!)

 We had fun shopping at nearby stores...

 

Last stop Pancho's for dinner...

What a great friend's night out! 

 Mission accomplished in La La Land!

*Here's a youtube with more information on the filming of La La Land in Long Beach
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PsVDX8uP_s