Los Angeles International Airport Celebrates 80 Years

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is now celebrating its 80th anniversary year. Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) invites the public to explore the history of LAX through the galleries at the Flight Path Learning Center and Museum that feature an array of memorabilia and classic photos of aviation pioneers and airport history. Vintage aircraft models, airline pilot and flight attendant uniforms from Pan Am, TWA and other carriers are on display, and an on-site research library that was formally dedicated earlier this year in honor of William A. Schoneberger (noted aviation historian and author) is now open. Flight Path is located in the Imperial Terminal (6661 W. Imperial Highway) and is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays (admission and parking are free). Originally known as Mines Field, the LAX site has been used as a general aviation field since 1928. During World War II, it was used for military flights. Commercial airline service started in December 1946. The present terminal complex was constructed in 1961. In the early 1980s, LAX added domestic and international terminals and a second-level roadway.
www.lawa.org
www.flightpath.us

New Hop-on, Hop-off Downtown Tour

Starline Tours is now offering a Downtown LA Hop-on, Hop-off tour. The London style double-decker bus tour is narrated and has 13 stops in Downtown where guests can hop-on and hop-off for a 24- or 48-hour period from the time they begin using their tickets. As part of the new service, and at no extra cost, Starline Tours will connect the Downtown LA route with the popular Hollywood Hop-on, Hop-off tour. This will make it possible for visitors to sightsee throughout LA with only one ticket. Tour buses depart Grauman's Chinese Theatre from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily and pick up from hop-on, hop-off locations every half hour. Downtown service runs until 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available at LA INC.'s Visitor Information Centers in Downtown and Hollywood. Twenty-four-hour tickets cost $30 for adults and $20 for children. Forty-eight-hour tickets cost $40 for adults and $30 for children. Family ticket packages covering transportation for two adults and up to three children cost $90 (24 hours) or $125 (48 hours). Among the tour stops are Walt Disney Concert Hall, Olvera Street, the historic movie theaters along Broadway, the Los Angeles Central Library, STAPLES Center and the L.A. LIVE entertainment district. Riders also have the opportunity to hop-off the bus and take a tour with companies that offer more detailed tours of Downtown, such as the Los Angeles Conservancy, Red Line Tours, Esotouric Bus Adventures and Urban Shopping Adventures.
www.starlinetours.com

dineLA Restaurant Week Returns in 2009

LA INC., American Express and the LA restaurant community have announced that dineLA Restaurant Week will return to Los Angeles in 2009. Taking place Jan. 25-30 and Feb. 1-6, 2009, dineLA Restaurant Week is the largest countywide food event of the year that allows guests to sample many different types of cuisine, dining neighborhoods and restaurants. Over the two consecutive weeks, residents and visitors have the opportunity to indulge in specially priced three-course menus from a variety of LA's best restaurants. During its inaugural dineLA Restaurant Week in 2008, more than 100,000 consumers dined out at 143 participating restaurants. dineLA is a dynamic marketing initiative between LA INC., American Express and the LA restaurant community to promote the scale and variety of LA restaurant and food experiences to locals and visitors. dineLA's comprehensive website provides detailed information and search capabilities for over 2,000 area restaurants; chef profiles; a culinary events calendar; monthly enter-to-win giveaways; e-newsletter; online chef and restaurant videos; as well as engaging and timely editorial content.
www.dineLA.com/restaurantweek
www.dineLA.com

Sports Museum Opens in LA

Arguably the largest and broadest known collection of iconic sports memorabilia and collectibles in the world will be unveiled to the public on Nov. 28, 2008. Located at the corner of Main Street and Washington Boulevard in Downtown, just one Metro station south of STAPLES Center, the 32,000-square-foot Sports Museum of Los Angeles (SMLA) will house more than 10,000 pieces of memorabilia and collectibles in more than 30 galleries. The collection is valued in the millions and contains items dating back to the 19th century from football, basketball and baseball to golf, tennis and biking, among many other sports. The museum celebrates the advances of sports equipment through the centuries and the intersection of sports and pop culture. In addition to a treasure trove of Southern California sports artifacts, SMLA possesses objects that chronicle American and international sports history. What makes the museum even more unique is that the unparalleled collection belongs to just one person, the museum founder and CEO Gary Cypres. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays to Saturdays. Hours are extended during the summer months. Admission is $17.50 for adults; $14 for seniors and students with ID; $11 for children ages 5-12; and free for children under the age of 5. Special rates are available for groups of 15 or more.

High End Shopping in the Valley

Shopping in the San Fernando Valley has recently become even more stylish and elegant with the opening of the new 120,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus store at Westfield Topanga. The specialty department store that defines luxury shopping opened on Sept. 5 at the Canoga Park shopping center, which also features such high-end shops as Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Coach, and others. The opening of the Neiman Marcus store is part of the $500 million renovation of Westfield Topanga. Westfield is also investing $700 million to create The Village, a 31-acre site which will be an outdoor shopping, dining, living, working, entertainment and community district. The Village will connect Westfield Topanga to the north and Westfield Promenade to the south. With more than 500,000 square feet of new retail shops, 75,000 square feet of new restaurants and cafés, boutique office space, two office towers and a 300-room hotel, The Village is on track to become the largest mall in Southern California.
www.westfield.com/topanga