Tripping Back To Old Bakersfield

Hat tip to my friend at Amy's New York Notebook for pointing out the interactive map of Old Bakersfield created by The Bakersfield Californian. Although some may argue that Bakersfield is hardly a part of Los Angeles, the histories of both places are linked just as surely as are their futures, and so I don't think it's too much of a stretch to make note of it here.

Like a lot of Los Angelenoes, I can't say I know much about Bakersfield. My intial, knee-jerk reaction, I must admit, was to write it off as another dusty town that became the butt of bad jokes. But, thanks to some good friends who've lived and worked there in the past, as well as a few news assignments that forced me to spend several nights there, my familiarity with Bakersfield has improved. And, I have to say, the more I learn about the place, the more I find something to like.

Thanks to this map, I've learned a great deal more. How else would I have become aware, for instance, that in the 1950s a bar in the Padre Hotel featured a girl on a swing and a girl in a tub on stage?

It's worth the time to check out the map, if only to get some ideas.

— TJ Sullivan in LA