Local Gems: West LA
Join us for the first CicLAvia Sunday of the 2026 season—and our 65th CicLAvia Sunday since 2010! CicLAvia—West LA is on Sunday, April 26th, from 9am to 4pm on a brand-new route!
Santa Monica Blvd and Westwood Blvd are home to diverse communities where you’ll find historical sites, arthouse movie theaters, vibrant local businesses, the prestigious University of California, Los Angeles, and even some Old Hollywood glamour. This CicLAvia Sunday offers a chance to explore some of the many local gems in the area outside of a car!
Check out our Interactive Digital Map to plan out your day, and keep in mind that CicLAvia is not a race. Enjoy the event at your own pace, snap some photos, and learn some history with us at CicLAvia—West LA.
This Local Gems post is written by guest writer John Perry, a local transportation advocate. You can see more of his work at his website, Transiting Los Angeles, where you’ll find local guides and videos about LA transit!
Santa Monica Boulevard
Kuruvungna Village Springs
1439 S. Barrington Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Just a couple short blocks north of the route is a significant site considered sacred by the indigenous Gabrielino-Tongva community. This is Kuruvungna, which translates as “place where we are in the sun,” site of a Tongva village and a natural spring that provides habitat for native plants and wildlife. Today, the site is protected by the Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation, which has created a museum and cultural center that preserves artifacts, cultivates demonstration gardens, and hosts workshops and events to educate the public about the Gabrielino-Tongva people.
The center is open to the public on the first Saturday of the month from 10am-3pm, and will be open to welcome guests on CicLAvia Sunday from 10am-2pm.
“Pachamary” Mural by Kristy Sandoval, Qusqo Bistro and Gallery
11633 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
On the outside of Qusqo Bistro is this newly created mural painted by Kristy Sandoval, a Los Angeles based artist from Pacoima. Pachamary reflects the integration of Indigenous culture with modern beliefs, a deep connection to nature, and the strength of women. Through this work, Sandoval invites us to reflect on how we find balance in nature and highlights the Indigenous cultural practices that give us a sense of grounding and connect us to our earth.
West Los Angeles Civic Center
1645 Corinth Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Built between the mid-1950s and ‘60s, the West L.A. Civic Center is a notable example of Mid-Century Modern architecture. It reflects the postwar growth of Los Angeles, as the city government expanded to create branch centers to serve the rapidly growing city. Facing Santa Monica Blvd is the West L.A. Regional Branch Library, the oldest building in the complex, while the centerpiece of the Civic Center is a colorful amphitheater, sporting a swooping, parabolic arch roof. The plaza surrounding the amphitheater is adorned with vibrant murals and is a very popular skateboarding location, having appeared in many skateboarding films since the 1990s.
The Civic Center also hosts the West L.A. Farmers Market, featuring local goods and live music every Sunday from 9am-2pm, so be sure to drop by on CicLAvia Sunday. A pit stop will be located on the route adjacent to the farmers market.
CineFile Video
11280 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
On the corner of Santa Monica and Sawtelle Blvd is a retro video rental store. Dating back to 1999, this legacy business continues to serve cinephiles with a curated selection of classic films, international cinema, cult classics, and rare finds. Today, CineFile stands as one of the last stores in Los Angeles that buys, sells, rents, and trades movies in many physical formats, including VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K—helping keep the tradition of discovering films on the shelf alive.
Nuart Theatre
11272 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Next door to CineFile, this classic single-screen movie theater was built in 1929 and serves as the flagship location of the Landmark Theatres chain, becoming the first Landmark location when it opened back in 1974. The Nuart hosts a mix of programming, including arthouse, indie, documentary, and foreign language films, with a midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show every Saturday night. A special hub button featuring the Nuart Theatre will be available to purchase at the Santa Monica Blvd hub on CicLAvia Sunday!
Westwood
Tehrangeles
Along Westwood Blvd between Santa Monica and Wilshire Blvd
Tehrangeles, also known as Persian Square, is the cultural center of Los Angeles’ Iranian-American community, the largest community of Iranian descent outside of Iran itself. A Persian community began establishing itself in Westwood in the 1960s, growing substantially following the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Today, this stretch of Westwood Blvd is home to many businesses that cater to the local Iranian community, with signs written in Farsi and restaurants selling authentic Persian cuisine.
UCLA Nimoy Theater
1262 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Opened in 1940, this theater has had a long and illustrious history. Originally built as a live performance theater under the direction of Frances Seymour Fonda, wife of Henry Fonda and the mother of Peter and Jane Fonda, the venue was soon converted to a movie theater that screened newsreel footage during World War II. For many years it was known as the Crest Theatre, and in the 1980s it received an Art Deco-inspired remodel that added the current facade, an elaborate sunburst light fixture, and hand-painted murals of classic Hollywood and Westwood landmarks inside the auditorium. In 2018, the theater was acquired by UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance and underwent an extensive renovation with support from Susan Bay Nimoy, who renamed the theater after her late husband, famed actor and director Leonard Nimoy.
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park
1218 Glendon Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Located a block east off the route, just south of the corner of Wilshire and Glendon, is this tiny but famed cemetery noted for being the resting place of many Hollywood royalty. Hidden behind the Westwood Branch Library and a pair of tall office buildings, here you’ll find the graves of Don Knotts, Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Merv Griffin, Rodney Dangerfield, Dean Martin, Billy Wilder, Jack Lemmon, Farrah Fawcett, Fahrenheit 451 author Ray Bradbury, and most famously of all, Marilyn Monroe. Many of the famous comedians interred here brought a sense of humor with them to the grave, as can be seen from the humorous epitaphs inscribed on their tombstones.
Hammer Museum
10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
On the corner of Wilshire and Westwood, the Hammer is a UCLA-affiliated art museum that focuses on cutting-edge contemporary art, with a special connection to its home city as reflected by its biennial Made in L.A. series, devoted exclusively to Los Angeles artists. There is also a selection of European masters on display from the collection of the museum’s namesake, Armand Hammer. The galleries surround a serene courtyard with plenty of seating, including a set of playful spinning chairs designed by Thomas Heatherwick.
Among the temporary exhibitions open on CicLAvia Sunday will be Five Centuries of Works on Paper: The Grunwald Center at 70, a selection from one of the nation’s foremost collections of works on paper; Several Eternities in a Day: Form in the Age of Living Materials, which features twenty-two artists from North, Central, and South America who embrace the use of natural materials; and SPACE IS THE PLACE: Selections from the Hammer Contemporary Collection, a selection of works that focus on the themes of afro-futurism, belonging, placemaking, and the act of taking up space. Admission to the museum is free to all, with restrooms and drinking fountains available, and CicLAvia Sunday participants are welcome to enter!
Westwood Village
Along Westwood Blvd between Wilshire Blvd and Le Conte Ave
Following the opening of UCLA’s Westwood campus in 1929, the neighborhood just south of campus was developed by the Janss Investment Company into a business district that would serve UCLA students and residents of the surrounding neighborhoods. Westwood Village was one of the first of its kind in the country, a master-planned suburban shopping center with thematic architecture throughout. Today, Westwood Village is still noted for its Mediterranean Revival architecture, with eye-catching towers and landmarks placed at strategic points.
Broxton Plaza
Broxton Ave, between Kinross and Weyburn Ave
In the heart of Westwood Village is a new, car-free pedestrian space. Completed just last year in 2025, Broxton Plaza is the largest pedestrian plaza in the City of LA and offers plenty of seating, lawn games, and al fresco dining from the many eateries that line the plaza. Broxton Plaza regularly hosts a program of events, including the Westwood Village Farmers Market every Thursday afternoon. A special hub button featuring Broxton Plaza will be available to purchase at the Westwood hub on CicLAvia Sunday!
Regency Village Theater
961 Broxton Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Just a block off the route, viewable up Broxton Avenue from the plaza, is the Regency Village Theater. Opened in 1931 as the Fox Westwood Village Theater, this venue has hosted many movie premiers over its long history. The building sports a soaring Art Deco tower that has become a Westwood landmark, with carved winged lions facing each direction from midway up the tower. Along with the Bruin Theater across the street, which also dates back to the 1930s, the Fox was purchased by Regency Theaters in 2010. Regency embraced it as a symbol of the company, with many moviegoers seeing the theater’s iconic spire in Regency intros before their movie. Both theaters closed in 2024, but the Regency Village Theater is currently undergoing renovations, with a planned reopening by American Cinematheque in 2027.
Geffen Playhouse
10886 Le Conte Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Just around the corner from the Westwood hub on Le Conte Ave, the Geffen Playhouse has been hosting groundbreaking theatrical productions since its opening in 1995, after the theater was purchased by UCLA with support from media mogul David Geffen. Built in 1929 as a Masonic clubhouse, the building was converted into a commercial center in the 1970s, with a theater called the Westwood Playhouse. The building was designed by architect Stiles Clements, who also designed what is now the Citadel Outlets, and its courtyard has a ceramic tile fountain made by the noted 1920s tile manufacturer Malibu Potteries. The Playhouse has two theaters that host a wide variety of shows every season, from Broadway plays, concerts, and large holiday productions to more intimate performances and workshops.
UCLA Campus
North of Le Conte Ave
The Westwood hub sits across the street from one of the main entrances into the UCLA campus. While not directly on the route, the campus is a short distance away and holds many lovely, car-free spaces. A couple blocks east of the Westwood hub, on the corner of campus off Le Conte and Hilgard Ave, is the Mathias Botanical Garden, a serene retreat that serves as a living museum, with plants from all over the world situated along a peaceful stream that features a waterfall and a koi pond.
In the heart of campus, facing the main quad, are the two oldest buildings on campus: Royce Hall, a concert hall whose twin-towered front has made it an icon of the university; and Powell Library, the main library, which sports a central tower topped by an octagonal dome. Inside, you’ll find a grand reading room with elaborate architectural flourishes. It’s considered historically significant for being the location where Ray Bradbury wrote an early draft of his novel Fahrenheit 451, making use of the library’s typewriter rental service. Follow along the main steps leading downhill to find the Fowler Museum, an anthropology museum with collections that focus on the cultures of Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas. On the eastern edge of campus is the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden, a prestigious outdoor sculpture garden situated in a beautifully landscaped section of campus, featuring works from some of the most famous sculptural artists of the 20th century.
We can't wait to see you all at CicLAvia—West LA on April 26! Don’t forget to sign up for our mailing list so you don’t miss out on updates and information about future programs.
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Photos courtesy of: John Perry, Kristy Sandoval, CineFile Video, Eric Staudenmaier (via the Hammer Museum), and Hunter Kerhart (via the Geffen Playhouse).
