CULVER CITY, Calif. -- Snag one of the terrace seats under the palm tree at the
Once the MGM back lot where films such as ``The African Queen " and ``Gone With the Wind " were filmed, Culver City is suddenly hot -- thanks to a big infusion of cool, cash, and culture courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment 's decision to invest in its corporate hometown. The huge
For an East Coast visitor who expects lots of activity packed into a few square blocks, Culver City is just the right bite of Los Angeles, with a sunny, palm-lined pedestrian mall, gracious old Spanish-style architecture, easy parking, and enough sights and experiences for a funky, off-the- beaten-track weekend. You can park the car and walk for blocks. No freeway knowledge required. Culver City is a throwback to small-town America, with a big spritz of LA glitz.
A few miles east of Venice Beach and the yachts at Marina Del Rey , Culver City could easily be bypassed by out-of-towners who mistake it for just another LA suburb. That was true once, but today Culver City is a gem, with two star-studded live theaters, many chichi gastro pubs, sidewalk cafes, a weekly farmer s' market, a jazz club, blocks of antiques boutiques, comedy clubs, free outdoor concerts, dozens of art galleries, and studio tours.
There's also enough film history here to buoy any movie buff. There's a monument where the first zoetrope was built, a wall mural of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz on the building that housed the Desilu offices. A familiar-looking white-pillared mansion across the street from Trader Joe's was David O. Selznick 's office and the set for the opening scene of ``Gone With the Wind." Turn down one corner and there are secondhand stores and terrific Mexican dives. Take a right, and you peer into a sleek pilates and gyrotonic studio.
Some locals say that the drive to open the Kirk Douglas Theatre in October 2004 was the catalyst for Culver City's cultural surge. An outpost of LA's famous Mark Taper Forum , the Kirk Douglas (www.taperahmanson.com ) is a renovated, palace-style movie theater where Douglas's first movie premiered. Douglas and his son Michael were among the local movie stars who raised the money for the intimate theater, which presents edgy, provocative plays, many of them world premieres.
Just a few blocks away, Tim Robbins and others opened The Actors' Gang (www.theactorsgang.com ) at the former Ivy power substation, the train station used in all those movies about writers trekking out from New York to LA. Founded in 1981 by a group of ``renegade theatre artists ," the Actor s' Gang says that its mission is ``to create bold, original works for the stage and daring reinterpretations of the classics ." Actors fight to get cast in the productions. The good news for visitors is that tickets cost $25 per seat and are easily available in advance online.
A few blocks deeper into Culver City, you'll find the huge Helms Bakery complex. The bakery closed in 1969, but developers imagined the plant as a design center. Today it is the site of trendy furniture, clothing, and home design shops, surrounded by cute eateries, loft office spaces, postproduction studios for the movie business, and a cozy jazz and blues club. On a recent weekend, jazz legend Mose Allison sat at the piano and played several sets of his unique blues. Our seats, purchased five minutes before showtime, were a foot away from where he played.
With Culver City's culture and night life came a cache of first-rate bistros. Soon it became a foodie destination complete with a professional cooking school, and Surfas , perhaps the best and most eclectic restaurant supply store in the country. Elsewhere in the area, the pace of restaurant openings has slowed, but Culver City is experiencing a boomlet, with several newer spots locating in the middle of the Helms Bakery complex. On one side of the driveway is the Jazz Bakery, and La Dijonaise , a sharp little French bakery; on the other side in a former commercial laundry space is Kazuto Matsusaka's two-year-old Asian cafe, Beacon, which quickly sprang to the top of most LA best new restaurant lists.
A successful restaurant in the neighborhood is a come-on to other chefs, and in the last year, Ben Ford (son of Harrison) launched Ford's Filling Station , LA's first official gastropub, a pub where the menu features top-shelf ingredients . Two more hot chefs followed: Michael Wilson, a young star from Venice Beach, is opening Wilson, a ``top-tier" wine bar and cafe, and Erik Oberholtzer is launching Tender Greens, an organic casual dining spot he hopes will be a national model. Six more bistros are under construction. Culver City also has a full complement of nice, not-so-trendy eateries where local residents and studio folk chow down. (For committed stargazers, breakfast can be a bonanza at Jennie Cook's Double Dutch Dinette on Washington.)
If there's one weakness in a Culver City weekend, it's the hotel scene. Although the Culver Hotel is on the register of historic places, the emphasis is on quaint, not quality. It's where all the Munchkins stayed during the filming of ``The Wizard of Oz." You can visit their rooms, complete with all the ``little people" memorabilia. The hotel was owned by John Wayne, and his second-floor suite is just plain creepy. The desk clerk will give you the key if you ask nicely, and you can snuggle your toes on the same shag rug as the Duke. If you are seized by a desire to spend the night, the VCR has a stack of his greatest films.
Our suggestion: Visit the hotel for the old Hollywood kitsch but unpack your bags nearby at Marina Del Re y, Santa Monica , or Beverly Hills -- all less than five miles away.
Contact Louisa Kasdon, a writer in Cambridge, at louisa@louisakasdon.com. 
