Griffith Lookout: The Griffith Lookout is one of the few landmarks where visitors can observe the sheer breadth of L.A.’s terrain. On a bright, clear day, you can see as far as Santa Catalina Island and Santa Barbara Island. On a normal one you can see just far enough to notice the smog settling atop the Century City AMC, like a real Angeleno.

Stahl House: Nobody famous ever lived here,” Bruce Stahl once said about his father’s magnificent modernist residence deep in the Hollywood Hills. The Stahl House, or “Case Study House #22,” was commissioned by the former pro-football player and graphic designer Buck Stahl in 1959. Despite its proximity to fame, serving as the backdrop for numerous blockbuster films, Stahl insisted that the real star was the home itself—one incapable of being outshined.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art: By geotagging a photo at LACMA’s Urban Light installation, you are automatically inducted into its online gallery of over 50,000 Instagram posts. The dense forest of streetlights is easy to get lost in, but don’t worry, your path is sure to be well-lit.

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Venice Canals: Some claim that Jim Morrison slept on the roof of his friend’s Venice Beach apartment, but it’s verified that the Venice Canals hosted Bobby Klein’s famous shoot with The Doors in 1967—some of the first publicity pictures of the band for their debut album release.

 Hollywood Hills / Hollywood Sign: Joni Mitchell famously made the Hollywood Hills her home, stating that when she first came to LA, she came across the statement: “Ask anyone in Los Angeles where the craziest people live and they’ll tell you Hollywood. Ask anyone in Hollywood where the craziest people live and they’ll say Laurel Canyon. And ask anyone in Laurel Canyon where the craziest people live and they’ll say Lookout Mountain. So I bought a house on Lookout Mountain.

Hotel Roosevelt: It turns out that all you need to create Hollywood hotel history is four hours, a few cans of paint, and a specialized interest in the mirage of the California swimming pool, at least in Hockney’s case. For frequent visitors like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, a digital camera and a few four-letter words could also do the trick.

Griffith Observatory: Founder Griffith J. Griffith may have been the first person to accuse LA of being “fake,” eloquently suggesting that “man’s sense of values ought to be revised.” In a city filled with fleeting, mortal stars, his Observatory points us to higher ground.

Elzie Crisler Segar, creator of the beloved Popeye cartoon, is believed to have first developed the idea on the Santa Monica Pier, where he met a Norwegian sailor who inspired the fictional, spinach-loving one. Now host to 8 million visitors each year, the pier was once nearly demolished—slated to become a resort-island-route bridge in the 1970s—and only saved by the collective resistance, courage, and outrage of its residents. It’s fitting that Popeye’s place of inception echoes his integrity, strength, and resilience.

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Photographed by Ian Morrison.