Doug and Anna

I’ve noticed that the intersection of Bronson Avenue and Hollywood, not far from the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard the Hollywood (101) Freeway and the Tommy’s Burgers at the corner, has been a hang out for people living on the street. It’s not far from the Salvation Army’s Weingart Youth Center, and there are generally a half dozen or so kids who look to be in their teens hanging out at all hours. I’d had in mind for some time to talk to the folks who spend their days there, but many of the regulars haven’t been around in the last several weeks. On a recent Thursday afternoon, a middle-aged guy who said his name was Doug was sitting on the sidewalk, leaning back against a wall with his eyes closed, when I walked up to him. He said he was a diver and hadn’t worked in four months and had arrived in L.A. with his girlfriend 10 days earlier. Unable to find steady work up in Seattle, they made the decision to leave because “the economy sucks and the weather sucks, and if you’re going to be miserable you might as well be miserable in the sunshine.”

Top two images from the Nikon, bottom two from the Ikon.