The hook
Two hundred and two antique street lamps stand in a grid outside the art museum on Wilshire, lit every night, free to walk into whenever you want.
01Why it's worth it
The artist Chris Burden bought his first cast-iron street lamp at the Rose Bowl flea market and couldn't stop, hunting down and restoring two hundred and two of them, most cast in the 1920s and '30s for the streets of Hollywood, Glendale, Anaheim, and beyond. He painted them all the same soft gray so the eye reads the differences in their old ironwork, and packed them into a dense grid at the entrance of LACMA. Since 2008 it's been one of the city's instant landmarks. The lamps all still work, run on solar now, and come on at dusk, so the real time to be there is after dark, walking through a little forest of glowing lampposts salvaged from a Los Angeles that mostly no longer exists.
02How to experience it
It's on Wilshire at LACMA in the Miracle Mile, about six hours from the Bay, next to the tar pits. It's outdoor public art, free and open around the clock, lit from dusk to about 10pm. Go after dark for the effect. It pairs with the tar pits and the museums right there.