Dateline: Saturday, June 4, 2016. Our Mission... to check out the brand new extension of the Metro Expo Line that now reaches all the way to the beach in Santa Monica from Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA)...
We started our trip at the end of the line at 4th and Colorado Ave. in Santa Monica and rode the train to its termination at the 7th St. Metro Station in DTLA at Figueroa. Thereafter, we changed trains to the Red Line for the short trip to Union Station adjacent to Chinatown where we had in mind a sampling of
"Howlin Ray's Nashville Hot Chicken" located in the Far East Plaza... only to discover a 100 plus foot long line of hungry diners waiting... so we opted for another favorite haunt,
CHEGO which serves up Korean BBQ.
In any case, here are the photos we shot of this trip to DTLA and back...
Approaching the Santa Monica terminus of the newly completed Metro Expo line below by walking along 4th St...
The Metro Downtown Santa Monica Station, below...
Los Angeles bound...
All aboard!...
First stop at 17th St./SMC Station...
Bergamot Station, below, at 26th St...
Expo/Bundy Station, below...
Expo/Sepulveda Station, below...
Approaching the Culver City Station...
USC Gaelen (Basketball) Center has an adjacent metro stop!...
Just delivered... Wow!... (x-ref:
PORSCHE trademark)
Arrival at 7th St. Metro Station... the end of the Expo Line and then a transfer down one flight to the approaching Red Line train... with a short hop on to Union Station...
passing Pershing Square...
and Civic Center...
Skateboards AOK!... (x-ref:
Skateboard brands can be registered as trademarks in International Class #28)
Arrival at
Union Station... the first set of stairs leading up to ground level...
and then one more set of stairs up to ground level at Union Station.....
Heads up, Dodger Fans!...
Starbucks, below, at Union Station (x-ref: STARBUCKS COFFEE shop retail services are registered as service marks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)
Below,
TRAXX, the famed diner at Union Station...
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| Exterior, Union Station |
Love the signs below! Chinatown to the right!... but first.....
... a quick audit of
Olvera St.!...
and then it was just a few more blocks to our destination in Chinatown to the Far East Plaza, home to the recently opened eatery,
Howlin Ray's Nashville Hot Chicken... or so we had hoped... The line was nearly to the street and 50 plus people waiting... so we opted for another restaurant in the same plaza, local favorite Korean BBQ joint,
CHEGO (same owner as the famed L.A. food truck chain, KOGI BBQ), where we enjoyed the No. 2 Combo: Chubby Pork Belly Bowl, Gooey Fries and a beverage...
(sidenote: both HOWLIN RAYS and CHEGO are restaurant service marks)
partial profile selfie at Chego, below...
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| Chego Pork Belly Bowl and Gooey Fries... |
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SRIRACHA chili sauce packets at Chego... (sidenote: the owner of this brand of chili sauce has reportedly not claimed trademark rights to this name,
SRIRACHA, opening the door to many copycat brands...)
and then we walked south on Broadway and over the 101 Freeway leaving Chinatown with our next destination L.A.'s famed Grand Central Market on So. Broadway...
Grand Central Market (GCM) below...
Below, Already Famous
EGGSLUT diner at GCM...
Below, famed GCM located
G&B Coffee... always a popular gathering place for the thirsty...
and then we departed GCM with our destination being the 7th St. Metro Station where we would take the metro train back to Santa Monica...
... passing Pershing Square along the way, below...
traveling west on 7th St. toward Figueroa...
passing Flower St...
... and
Diplomat Cigars on 7th St. just east of Figueroa...
Below, straight ahead on the northwest corner of 7th St. and Figueroa is the ongoing construction site of what will be L.A.'s Tallest Skyscraper funded by a Korean bank...
and then we took a slight detour over the the shopping center at the southwest corner of 7th St. and Figueroa only to later realize that the 7th St. Metro Station was underneath the building on the northeast corner of same...
Below, the 7th St. Metro Station is underneath this building on the northeast corner at Figueroa...
... turns out there are no restrooms downstairs here.....
and then I climbed aboard the west bound Expo Line back to Santa Monica...
passing Culver City...
and approaching the Palms Station...
Below, Bergamot Station in Santa Monica...
17th St./SMC Station, below...
Back to where we started... Downtown Santa Monica... the end of the line.
*** Video Alert ! ***
Arrival At Downtown Santa Monica Metro Station: The Video
A nearby coffee vendor making some cold hard cash! Well done!...
Looking back at the Downtown Santa Monica Metro Station at 4th and Colorado...
Below, the Colorado Esplanade leading west to the Santa Monica Pier...
*** Video Alert ! ***
Santa Monica Pier Bound Along the Colorado Esplanade: The Video
Overcast skies because of the heavy marine layer persist along the coastline below...
*** Video Alert ! ***
3 Second Video of the Santa Monica Pier...
Below, the famed Carousel on the pier...
the still gritty promenade beside the pier...
Santa Monica Lifeguard Headquarters at the foot of the pier on the south side...
L.A. County Ocean Lifeguards on duty, below...
Rookie Lifeguards (blue trunks with yellow rescue can) in training...
Below, rookie lifeguards being taught by a seasoned LACo Lifeguard Captain...
... and then we left the beach, up the pier to Ocean Ave. and along the Third St. Promenade which was just as crowded as the pier... and finished up back where we started this morning at 4th St. and Wilshire Blvd... where my office is located and where I pay dearly for monthly parking...
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| 401 Wilshire Blvd. |
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Respectfully submitted,
William Maguire
Law Offices of William E. Maguire
www. TrademarkEsq.com
(All photos and videos by & Copyright William E. Maguire 2016.)
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