This ride will guide you through the historical LGBTQ+ neighborhoods of Silver Lake and Los Feliz past landmarks and sites of LGBTQ+ resistance, resilience, and community-building.

Length: 4 Mile loop from Metro Vermont / Sunset Station (nearest Bike Share Station is on the Northwest corner of the Vermont / Sunset Station near Maubert & Vermont)

Conditions: Mostly flat with some short, low-grade hills, with some bike lanes on commercial and residential streets. Try out an Electric Metro Bike!

Sights: 

• Out of the Closet Thrift Store: The store directly funds AIDS Healthcare Foundation's HIV/AIDS programs and their new housing services, as well as on-site pharmacies and free HIV testing.
• Prospect Studios: In 1967 the first edition of the Advocate, a prominent local LGBTQ+ magazine, was published in the basement of ABC Television Studios West, now Prospect Studios.
• Manzanita Community Garden and Rainbow Steps: Be sure to swing by this urban community garden, complete with rainbow steps leading up to Sunset Blvd. 27% of LGBT adults reported experiencing food insecurity in the year prior. Community gardens pave the way for sustainable communities.
• The Black Cat: After a raid on the restaurant in 1967, the Black Cat was the site of one of the first civil demonstrations against police brutality and entrapment of LGBTQ+ people. This happened two years before the Stonewall Uprising on the East Coast.
• Vista Theater: The Vista has a long history of being an LGBTQ+ community space, including hosting the first Outfest Film Festivals in L.A. from 1982 – 1985.

Accessible via Bus and Rail (for assistance in planning your trip, please visit Metro Trip Planner (hyperlinked):

• Metro Local: 2, 4, 175, 180, 181, 204, 206, 217 (late night only)
• Metro Rapid: 704, 754
• LADOT Dash: Hollywood, Los Feliz/Observatory
• Metro Rail: B (Red) Line to Vermont/Sunset Station

Notes: Always return your Metro Bike to a Metro Bike Share station to end your trip. Never leave your Metro Bike unattended!

Directions:

• Check out a bicycle from the Maubert & Vermont Bicycle Station near the Vermont / Sunset Metro Station and head towards Sunset Blvd. Make a right turn on Sunset Blvd.
• Turn right onto Kenmore Ave. As you pass the intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Kenmore Ave, you will pass Out of the Closet.
• Turn right onto Franklin Ave.
• Turn right onto Talmadge St. As you pass Prospect Ave, you’ll see the Prospect Studios sign on the left-hand side.
• Left on Sunset Drive (not Sunset Blvd)
• Right on Manzanita St.
• Right onto Fountain Ave, followed by an immediate left onto Myra Ave (protected left-turn at light)
• Left onto Effie St.
• Right onto Manzanita St. You’ll see the Manzanita Community Garden and Rainbow Steps straight ahead.
• Left onto Witt Pl.
• Right onto Sanborn Ave. Right before Sunset Blvd, towards the far-end of this block, but you will be able to see the iconic sign from the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Sanborn Ave.
• Turn right onto Sunset Blvd.
• The Vista Theater will be on your right-hand side.
• Turn right onto N Vermont Ave at Vermont/Sunset Station.