Eagles Related Sights to See in Southern California

[Maleah]

So a couple of friends and I are thinking about a road trip to California this summer and I was wondering what some Eagles related places there are to see. For instance, I'd love to take a picture of the hotel that was on the album cover of Hotel California. Any help would be appreciated!

[Glennsallnighter]

Maybe you could stand on the corner in Winslow Arizona? Or see Dan Tanas or the Troubador? Just ideas! Or some of the venues they played in.

[Maleah]

Actually we're thinking about either California or the Route 66 road trip, which I believe goes right by that corner in Winslow, AZ! lol I would love to get my picture taken there!!! Dan Tana's and the Troub would both be very cool as well, thanks for the ideas! Don't have a clue where they are so hopefully we could find them. LOL

[sodascouts]

I've been to LA twice and seen some Eagle sights. It's lots of fun!

Of course, Dan Tana's and the Troubadour are obvious choices. If you go to Dan Tana's, look for the little piece of railroad hanging on the wall. It is a piece of the railroad that used to go down the middle of Santa Monica Boulevard, and was donated by Don and Glenn to the restaurant to remember the days they hung there, before "the tracks that ran down the boulevard" got rolled away. If you're gonna eat there, be prepared to shell out. It's expensive. Check out their menu to get an idea.

The Troubadour is right next door. You'll see Eagles stuff hanging on one of the walls. It's small and dark, but if you squint you can imagine Don is sitting at his favorite stool in the middle of the bar or Glenn is over at the corner table eyeing the guys who, at the time, were more famous than he was, wanting to be like them.

Drive up Mulholland and you'll pass the Coldwater Canyon and Laurel Canyon areas where the guys used to live.

The Beverly Hills Hotel, which is the hotel on the cover of the Hotel California album, is a must-see as well (as you've already said). I've only driven by, though.... never had the guts to walk inside such a posh place.

And yes, I know Don condemns it but.... check out the Sunset Grill on Sunset Boulevard! They make great shakes! It's a bit hard to find because the place is pretty small and the sign is high up. The parking is awful, but it's worth the effort. It looks nothing like it used to and it doesn't have the atmosphere that Don sang about, but it's a landmark nonetheless, whether he likes it or not! It's also next door to a Guitar Center with a "Walk of Fame" in front of it, which you might appreciate, Maleah.

You can also drive by the Eagles offices on Glendon Avenue, but they're just part of a generic looking complex.

While these aren't technically Eagles-related places, I also recommend you hop by the Rainbow Bar and Grill and the Roxy. They might not be in their prime anymore, but they've got a lot of musical history there. They're also located right next to each other.

I gave a brief review of my adventures with Dreamer and PLS in LA here - it may help:
https://www.eaglesonlinecentral.com/...8671#post28671

[Maleah]

Nancy you are so awesome. Thanks for all of that! Complete with links to maps and such! You're a rockstar. I'm pretty excited about this! Not so much about the drive but because I've never been to Cali and it would be SO cool to see places with so much history!!!!

[Peekaboo]

Actually we're thinking about either California or the Route 66 road trip, which I believe goes right by that corner in Winslow, AZ!

Sorry, I'm getting away from the topic here but I'd just thought I'd add that Route 66 also goes right through my hometown of Weatherford, OK. There's even a Route 66 museum in Clinton, OK which is just 15 miles west of Weatherford.

[Freypower]

I went to LA in 1986 and had a cab driver drop me off at the Troubadour, which was closed. I went to the Beverly Hills Hotel, walked into the lobby and actually went down a corridor to use a toilet. Then I found a souvenir shop and bought a T shirt which I wore when I saw the band in 1995. I was outside the entrance to the Polo Lounge but I didn't think they would let me in because I was a scruffy tourist. If I ever go back I intend to try going in. I could not afford to stay there but I don't see why I shouldn't have a drink at the bar.

[eaglesvet]

Actually we're thinking about either California or the Route 66 road trip, which I believe goes right by that corner in Winslow, AZ! lol I would love to get my picture taken there!!! Dan Tana's and the Troub would both be very cool as well, thanks for the ideas! Don't have a clue where they are so hopefully we could find them. LOL

Route 66 does go right through Winslow, AZ. About 15 years ago BK (before kids), hubby and I visited the SW and toured the usual sites---the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Las Vegas, and then Bryce and Zion Canyons in Utah. He had this infatuation of Route 66, and so made sure that we traveled on as much of it as possible while we were out there...right through 'that corner' and beyond!

On a side note, we actually have The Route 66 Cookbook. I just looked in it to see what restaurants it features from Winslow. Apparently, the place to be is the Falcon Restaurant for homestyle fare since 1955! Try anything with their famous BBQ sauce (it sounds to die for--no fewer than 20 ingredients!), as well as their rice pudding. That's the only restaurant whose recipes are featured in the cookbook, but the text does mention a few others in Winslow. The best Chinese food in town can be found at The 2 Star Cafe. There apparently are two tiny remnants from the 1940's in Winslow that are rarely found elsewhere today--Valentine Diners--which are prefabricated aluminum diners built in 7-9 stool sizes: Irene's on 2nd St. and Leon Dodd's One Spot Grill on E. 3rd St. (ev's note: copyright of cookbook is 1993, so I would definitely check ahead on all of these locations. It seems like the only sure thing might be the Falcon.)

[eaglesvet]

I've been to LA twice and seen some Eagle sights. It's lots of fun!

Of course, Dan Tana's and the Troubadour are obvious choices. If you go to Dan Tana's, look for the little piece of railroad hanging on the wall. It is a piece of the railroad that used to go down the middle of Santa Monica Boulevard, and was donated by Don and Glenn to the restaurant to remember the days they hung there, before "the tracks that ran down the boulevard" got rolled away. If you're gonna eat there, be prepared to shell out. It's expensive. Check out their menu to get an idea.

The Troubadour is right next door. You'll see Eagles stuff hanging on one of the walls. It's small and dark, but if you squint you can imagine Don is sitting at his favorite stool in the middle of the bar or Glenn is over at the corner table eyeing the guys who, at the time, were more famous than he was, wanting to be like them.

Drive up Mulholland and you'll pass the Coldwater Canyon and Laurel Canyon areas where the guys used to live.

The Beverly Hills Hotel, which is the hotel on the cover of the Hotel California album, is a must-see as well (as you've already said). I've only driven by, though.... never had the guts to walk inside such a posh place.

And yes, I know Don condemns it but.... check out the Sunset Grill on Sunset Boulevard! They make great shakes! It's a bit hard to find because the place is pretty small and the sign is high up. The parking is awful, but it's worth the effort. It looks nothing like it used to and it doesn't have the atmosphere that Don sang about, but it's a landmark nonetheless, whether he likes it or not! It's also next door to a Guitar Center with a "Walk of Fame" in front of it, which you might appreciate, Maleah.

You can also drive by the Eagles offices on Glendon Avenue, but they're just part of a generic looking complex.

While these aren't technically Eagles-related places, I also recommend you hop by the Rainbow Bar and Grill and the Roxy. They might not be in their prime anymore, but they've got a lot of musical history there. They're also located right next to each other.

I gave a brief review of my adventures with Dreamer and PLS in LA here - it may help:
https://www.eaglesonlinecentral.com/...8671#post28671

Wow, Nancy, you are quite the travel guide! I had visited friends in Cali when I was single, right after graduation. We had a blast. We did the Beverly Hills thing, and also just went by the Beverly Hills Hotel and took pics without going in...but I had no idea that it was the hotel on the album cover. Had I known, we might have done otherwise! Unfortunately, those friends have both moved back East. Wait, that's not what I mean...it's great that they've moved back East, now I get to see them more often!
What I meant was, in terms of visiting them in Cali...oh brother!

BTW, does Don denounce the Sunset Grill because it has changed so much?

[sodascouts]

Yeah, Don doesn't like how the Sunset Grill now looks just like any other fast food chain, as opposed to the "old world charm" it had before. Indeed, it does seem to have been much cooler then. There was very little indoor seating - most just sat on a stool on the sidewalk at an outdoor counter. That's why you could "watch the working girls go by" - you were right there, outside. Here's a black and white photo of it, and here's an old color photo of it (though small). They still have some tables and chairs outside, but as you can see from their site, that unique aspect is done with.

What Don apparently doesn't understand are some things I found out about from one of my Californian friends, who likes to go there. The reason they changed the format was not because they had "gone corporate" but because it turns out that the old format was causing health code violations. My friend confirmed this, saying that you could see from your seats how nasty and dirty the grill itself was getting from the exposure. Here's how it looked in the end. Also, the "old man from the old world" was not forced to sell - he wanted to retire, and was happy to get a good price for his business. He still eats there.

Certainly Don is entitled to decide he doesn't like the new look/feel of the restaurant and therefore he doesn't want to eat there. He's entitled to say it no longer represents what it did when he wrote the song.

However, I do think it's a bit unfair of him to act like they did something wrong by modernizing to meet health standards, or that it's wrong that it was bought by a corporation from the old man. Would he rather the old man got nothing for it, and it just closed ignominiously? He actually tells everyone who asks (and some who don't) to stay away! When I told my friend this, her response was "F--k Don Henley. They make good shakes here." I had to laugh at that.