Synopsis

"L.A. Restaurants" opens with a panned shot recorded while driving past Cole's P.E. Buffet in downtown Los Angeles, which was founded in 1908 and claims to be the oldest restaurant and bar in the city. In a manner reminiscent of the typological catalogues of gas stations and buildings on the Sunset Strip first explored in his seminal artist's books of the 1960s, Ruscha documents sixty-four restaurants emblematic of "Old Hollywood" across the LA region. This visual perambulation moves in a spiral formation, from the outer limits of the San Fernando Valley along Ventura Boulevard to the centrally located restaurants near Culver City.