Oddity Odysseys
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      • The Laguna Beach Pirate Tower
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      • The S.S. Dominator Shipwreck
      • The Last Bookstore
      • Picnic Table #29
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THE BERLIN WALL ON WILSHIRE

Walking down Wilshire Boulevard with Drew, I could not have been more proud to wear my “I <3 LA” shirt. The SAG-AFTRA building! The La Brea Tar Pits! The urban light installation of LACMA! Original pieces of the Berlin Wall! Yes, you read that correctly.
In front of 5900 Wilshire Boulevard (The 32 story SBE Entertainment Group Building) stands ten pieces of the Berlin Wall. It is the largest stretch of the original Berlin wall outside of Germany. We both could not help but stop and stare for a few minutes. Then Drew may or may not have tried to climb it. Anyways.  Since it’s construction on August 13th, 1961 until it’s demolition on November 9th, 1989, the Berlin wall was the defining symbol of the Cold War. ​
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So, how did it get all the way to Los Angeles? A plaque posted on the first panel of the wall gave an explanation:  “The Wall Along Wilshire was assembled in 2009 as a component of The Wall Project, the Museum’s public art initiative commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Wende Museum invited L.A-based artists Kent Twitchell, Farrah Karapetian and Marie Astrid Gonzalez to participate in the project and paired the with French-born, Berlin Based muralist Thierry Noir who was one of the first artists to paint on the Berlin Wall in 1984. Through their participation, the installation recalls the outdoor “Eastside Gallery” in Berlin, made famous by the international artists whose collective intervention transformed the Berlin Wall into a canvas reflecting real and imagined divisions. The last four segments contain original graffiti from Cold War Era Berlin, including an iconic image of Bimer’s green bear. The Wall Along Wilshire is a part of The Wende Museum’s permanent collection.”
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After walking around the wall, I came back to the front while Drew did his amazing photography and stood for a moment to take it all in. I heard two people come and stand behind me.  They captured my thoughts exactly:

“Did you know this is part of the original Berlin Wall?" 
“What?! No. No.…no way!! Wow…that’s SO cool!”

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  • New Episodes
  • Episode Archive
    • 2020 Episodes >
      • The Lummis Castle
      • The Sky Slide
      • The Galleta Meadows Sculptures
      • Burro Schmidt Tunnel
      • The Global Angel Wings Project
      • The Topanga Time Tunnel
      • Solstice Canyon
      • The Kea Mill
      • Tankland
      • Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village
      • Cabot's Pueblo
    • 2019 Episodes >
      • The Shoemaker Tunnels
      • The Canned Heat Suicide House
      • Angels Flight
      • Echo Mountain
      • Amir's Garden
      • The Amboy Crater
      • Hazel's Volcanic Gardens
      • East Jesus
      • Rock-a-Hoola Waterpark
      • The Mojave Lava Tube
      • The Mosaic Tile House
      • The Krampus Run
    • 2018 Episodes >
      • Devil's Gate Dam
      • Salvation Mountain
      • The Cat House
      • The Sutro Bath Ruins
      • Bring Your Own Big Wheel
      • The Wave Organ
      • The Bay Bridge Troll
      • The Peephole Cinema
      • Nike Missile Site LA-88L
      • The High Tower Elevator
    • 2017 Episodes >
      • The Bridge to Nowhere
      • The Musical Road
      • The Old Los Angeles Zoo
      • The St. Francis Dam
      • Phantasma Gloria
      • The Sunken City
      • Nike Missile Site LA-96C
      • The Prohibition Tunnels
      • Vasquez Rocks
      • Big Horn Mine
      • The 2017 Total Solar Eclipse
    • 2016 Episodes >
      • The Laguna Beach Pirate Tower
      • The Great Wall of Los Angeles
      • Murphy's Ranch
      • The Chemosphere
      • The Los Feliz Murder Mansion
      • The Music Box Steps
      • Bronson Cave
      • The Shakespeare Bridge
      • The S.S. Dominator Shipwreck
      • The Last Bookstore
      • Picnic Table #29
  • Contact Us