Eric Brightwell Of Pendersleigh & Sons Cartography,

Uncovers The Real LA (PHOTOS)

Ever been to Cambodia Town? How about the Far Eastside or Little Seoul?
Eric Brightwell's been there, mapped it and possibly even coined the name. To date, he's drawn 118
maps of LA neighborhoods and still figures he's only mapped about 10% of the city's 'hoods.
An Iowa native, Brightwell never wanted to live in LA but is now in love with the place. He's lived in
quite a few cities across the country and believes LA may be the most misunderstood of them all.
Over the last decade, Brightwell has explored forgotten pockets of Los Angeles and, three years ago,
began drawing what he saw. Now, as Pendersleigh & Sons Cartography, Brightwell is a modern-day
cartographer, deciphering the patchwork of neighborhoods that make up LA's colorful identity.
He discovers new neighborhoods, names overlooked neighborhoods and pencils little-known
attractions in long-recognized neighborhoods.
Brightwell says he hopes his maps help people see their communities in a way that makes more
sense than a vast grid of streets. He also hopes that they inspire Angelenos to get out and exploring
the city they live in.
Click through Brightwell's maps, and don't overlook his clever, fun-facts captions. Below the
slideshow, see his Q & A with HuffPostLA about the "behind-the-scenes" of his map-making.
Los Feliz - A neighborhood that tour guides usually try to oversell as hip, edgy and artsy. There's a
degree of truth to that, although to a much larger degree its middle class, familial and Armenian. It
does, however, boast a Leonardo DiCaprio Computer Center.
Little Tokyo - My borders of Little Tokyo are more expansive than most and include at least 30
Japanese restaurants, gardens, temples and other businesses on adjacent blocks. Because it's largely
Korean and there are sometimes tensions, there's an annual Little Tokyo Korea Japan Festival and a
bilingual newspaper for the neighborhood's inhabitants called Bridges.
Angeles Forest - A vast, sparsely populated (by humans) area that Angelenos use as their wooded,
mountainous playground. Barely a week passes, it seems, that someone doesn't get lost or plunge
their car off a cliff here.
Antelope Valley - A largely desolate area known for having the most racially integrated city in the US
(Lancaster), failed Utopian communes and meth production.
Little Saigon - If you visit Little Saigon (often referred to as Bolsa), you'll find the Vietnamese
population and character extends far beyond the official borders. Most who've never been probably
have no idea about it's durian smoothie-serving lingerie cafe/gamble dens and Italo-disco-fueled
house parties.
Angeleno Heights - LA's Victorian and Craftsman oasis. It's played San Francisco on TV and
appeared in the video for Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
City of Industry - Garbage trucks that run on cheese by-products, a MacDonald's that only exists for
commercials and film (Mac & Me) and a shape like a sea dragon with Avocado Heights for a brain.
Far Eastside - I've never heard anyone else use this term but these are the predominately Asian
cities east of the Eastside, in the San Gabriel Valley.
Midtown - People tend to digest Midtown in smaller chunks like Mid-Wilshire and Mid-City West. It's
full of really tiny, obscure neighborhoods, mostly developed after the 1920s when much of the land
west of Hoover was opened up. A great place to walk which is convenient because traffic there
seriously sucks!
Inland Empire - The broadest definition of the IE includes all of Riverside and San Bernardino
Counties -- a region is larger than Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island combined.
A lot T shirt printing artesia of Angelenos think it just refers to everything further east than they're
willing to drive.
Cambodia Town - Cambodia Town is one of LA's grittier neighborhoods but if you venture into many
of its restaurants, there are stunning Khmer women singing deeply funky, amazing music.
Eagle Rock - So named for a large rock that casts an Eagle-like shadow at certain times of the day. It
also has a shopping center affectionately known as the "Filipino Mall."
Sunset Junction - Sunset Junction was previously known as Sanborn Junction, after John D. Sanborn
developed 142 lots in the neighborhood. The American gay rights movement arguably began in
earnest there in 1966. It also has Sheila Klein's Vermonica, basically a less-celebrated but possible
inspiration for Chris Burden's installation outside of LACMA of light posts (as seen in 4 million
Facebook profile pictures).
Mar Vista - Formerly known as Ocean Park Heights and home to the beautiful Gregory Ain Mar Vista
Tract as well as the the Mar Vista Philharmonic.
South Gate - Holds the distinction of being the 16th largest city in the county. It was named after
Cudahy Ranch's South Gate Gardens and is nicknamed "The Azalea City." In the 1950s, a racist
white gang, The Spook T shirt printing artesia Hunters, fought to keep blacks from living there.
Today, it's less than 1% black but also only 3% white... and 95% Latino.
East Pasadena - The lowly, unincorporated sibling to hip South Pasadena and regular Pasadena. Its
irregular western edge is owed to the fact that Pasadena keeps annexing bits of it.
Historic Filipinotown - Nearly everyone who lives around P-Town knows of it from the signs but
doesn't think that any Filipinos live there. Presumably, they never explore it on foot. It is largely
Latino and Korean but there are thousands of Pinoys as well as several Filipino markets, restaurants,
organizations and more.
Mount Washington - Home of LA's oldest museum (Southwest Museum of the American Indian), the
former Mt. Washington Hotel, a couple of homes designed by Fung + Blatt and the steepest street in
Los Angeles (Eldred Street).
Fairfax District - At one point, the center of LA's Jewish population, it still has many Jewish
institutions as well as "The Original Farmer's Market," CBS Television City and the New Beverly
Cinema.
Yucca Corridor - A small neighborhood that one stretch of was once nicknamed Crack Alley.
Nowadays, its known for an even more addictive substance - Village Pizza. It's had its share of
colorful residents including Ed Wood, cults (including the Screamers, the Night People and
Scientologists) and neighborhood watch groups (the Ivar Hawks, Cherokee Condors, Las Palmas
Lions, Wilcox Werewolves, Whitley Rangers and Hudson Howlers).
Mideast Side - Another desination I made up for the area between Midtown and the Eastside. A lot of
non-natives have taken to calling it "The Eastside" which is a bit like referring to Staten Island as
Brooklyn. I'm not sure what they call the actual Eastside (LA east of the LA River). I don't think their
appropriation is malicious, just clueless.
Little Bangladesh - One of the earliest and crudest maps I made. The poorly whited-out bit covers
over a business that turned out to be Korean upon inspection. Although one of LA's newest, official
ethnic enclaves, the Bangladeshi population's roots here go back to the 1960s.
San Gabriel Valley - In LA, when people say "The Valley," they mean The San Fernando Valley. The
San Fernando has a sleepy charm. It's apparently where hair metalheads retire too. The SGV is, in
my opinion, the most underrated region in the county. Home to much of LA's best food, nightlife and
diversity.
The Harbor - The Harbor, centered around San Pedro Bay, was originally a shallow mudflat known
to the indigenous Tongva as "The Bay of Smokes." Today, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of
Long Beach together form the fifth-busiest port in the world after the ports of Shanghai, Singapore,
Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Little Seoul - A lot of people think Little Seoul must be another name for Koreatown. It's actually the
popular name for what's officially known as the Korean Business District of Garden Grove. I've never
heard anyone call it that.
Long Beach - The second largest city in LA County after Los Angeles.
Bunker Hill - Back in the day, it was a posh Victorian neighborhood. After all the toffs moved out, it
became something of a slum. Then the city tore it all down, lowered it and tossed some sky scrapers
on it, giving us most of our downtown skyline.
Toy District - The Toy District emerged in the 1970s, primarily due to the efforts of the Woo family.
Although officially larger than than my map, I only included the four blocks that actually sell toys.
Anaheim - Home of Little Arabia. Oh yeah, and Disneyland!
Hacienda Heights - A largely residential area whose residents are mostly Mexican-American or
Taiwanese-American. It's also home to the enormous Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple, nestled in the Puente
Hills.
How do you map a neighborhood?
I'll look to see if there are pre-existing maps. Usually, for cities, there are. In that case, I prioritize
things like parks, bodies of water, hills and odd features.
For neighborhoods, it's becoming more common to have maps online. I noticed Google Maps has just
added some neighborhood boundaries, although I'm not sure whose definition they are. Sometimes
I'll look at city records and see where the neighborhood signs are or just decide on my own
definition. If the sign says "Arts District," for example, but there is only a sushi academy or a
Japanese temple on the block, then I might just call it part of Little Tokyo.
What's unique about your maps?
I usually try to make neighborhoods seem like they're in some way disconnected from their
surroundings. One of the things I like about old maps is how the immediate surroundings are
accurate and then get more and more distorted or vague -- there might be Cyclopes in the
neighboring community -- we just don't know! I also sometimes play with and mock stereotypes or
insert little in-jokes to myself and locals who get them.
Have your maps been disputed?
Oh yeah. People will say "I don't think of that neighborhood as South Bay," or "Your map tells me I
live in Mar Vista but I tell everyone Venice," or even "That's not a real neighborhood!" People can
get pretty riled up but usually they're cool and often want to point out something I might find
interesting or useful.
What are you working on right now?
I'm currently working on making a large print of the entire county with every LA neighborhood,
including Catalina and San Clemente Islands drawn to scale. I'm also working on t-shirts. And
hopefully postcards and a book in the future!
How would you describe LA to someone who's never been (or to those of us who live here but are
ignorant)?
LA is huge and varied yet even people who live here blindly accept mischaracterizations and pass
along stereotypes that have almost nothing to do with most Angelenos' reality.
LA does have seasons. The climate is chaparral. If you're from a temperate climate, you may not
recognize them but they're here, and no less "real seasons" than you get in the Midwest or
Northeast.
About 40% of Angelenos are foreign born -- mostly from Latin America and Asia. There are more
Latinos than white people and more Asians than black people.
If you think the people are shallow and the city is culture-less, that's a reflection on you and your
people, not LA.
Most importantly, you will never know LA if you don't get out of your car!
Check out Brightwell's blog for Amoeba Music and gentleman's store, Brightwell.