THE 35th ANNUAL MEETING OF THE
SOCIETY FOR SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE HISTORICAL STUDIES
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
April 1-4, 2004
Tinseltown. City of Angels. La-La land.
No matter what you call it, Los Angeles is not generally known as the academic
Mecca of the United States. The Annual Meetings of the SSPHS, set
this year on the campus and the Westwood surroundings of UCLA, provide an
opportunity to discover Los Angeles as those who live in its academic community
know it: a place of vibrant, wide-ranging and international exchange,
a walking city, filled with museums, beaches, and some of the most outstanding
universities and libraries in the world.
The conference this year will cross disciplinary boundaries,
with music, literature, history, the visual arts all comprising part of
the program. A series of important roundtable discussions will assess
the relevance of Spanish and Iberian history especially in relation to contemporary
international crises. These roundtables will take place at The J.
Paul Getty Museum, and feature a reception and special viewing for SSPHS
conferees of the exhibition, Window onto Spain: Drawings and Prints from
Ribera to Goya along with Spanish Art found in the Museum’s permanent collection.
In addition, new technologies will be on display with access to UCLA’s Virtual
Reality Portal of Santiago de Compostela's Romanesque Cathedral. You
can hear the sounds of live music played inside a cathedral in the 12th
century. The conference also promises to be filled with a variety
of activities and opportunities to explore UCLA and Los Angeles.
HOTEL INFORMATION
Rooms have been reserved at two hotels in Westwood close to the UCLA campus.
They are within 20 minute walking distance to the campus and also a shuttle
service will be provided. The main conference hotel is the luxury
Doubletree Westwood. (www.losangeleswestwood.doubletree.com)
The Doubletree is a superior hotel that has offered us an extensive discount
on its rates and blocked out an unlimited number of rooms for the conference
participants. Rooms are available for a conference rate of $149.00
for singles or doubles and suites for $299.00, quite far below this hotel's
usual price.
The other hotel is the Century Wilshire Hotel located about 30 yards from
the Doubletree. 30 rooms have been reserved for the conference at
rates ranging between $95 - $125.
TO MAKE A RESERVATION AT THE DOUBLETREE:
By Phone (310) 500-4300 and speaking to Shahin the Reservation Manager.
By email to her at sbabali@doubletreelawestwood.com
Be sure to specify the name of the conference the SSPHS and the dates.
TO MAKE A RESERVATION AT THE CENTURY WILSHIRE HOTEL:
By phone (310) 474-4506 or fax (310) 474-2535
By email CWHOTEL@aol.com
The CUT-OFF date for making reservations at either hotel is 11 March
2004.
GETTING TO LOS ANGELES
By Plane
UCLA and Westwood are best served by Los Angeles International Airport
(LAX), the third busiest airport in the United States. All major US
and international carriers serve LAX with non-stop flights from many major
cities. One exception is Iberia. Connections are easily made.
You may also choose to fly into Burbank Airport although the commutes are
much longer to Westwood.
By Train
Amtrak serves Los Angeles’ Union Station, one of the marvels of WPA architecture
in Los Angeles. Service from all parts of the United States is still
available.
Getting to the Hotels and UCLA from LAX:
-Taxis are readily available 24hrs/day and should cost around $30
to the Doubletree, Century Wilshire, or UCLA’s campus. The fare could
be slightly more if your itinerary includes LA’s famous traffic congestion.
-Shared shuttle service is also a ubiquitous, 24hrs/day option,
with the two largest companies, Supershuttle (
http://www.supershuttle.com/htm/cities/lax.htm
) and Primetime Shuttle (
http://www.primetimeshuttle.com/SoCal.htm
) offering pick-ups at all terminals under the Orange Shared Van signs.
You can make reservations with them directly. There are also dozens
of companies any of which will pick you up without a reservation outside
each of the terminals. The first two are the “official” or recognized
carriers of LAX. Price for shuttle services is around $18.00 per person
to Westwood.
-Renting a car is also easy at LAX. All major companies and
some not-so-major ones serve LA and have airport locations.
-Public transportation via bus is also available from the airport
to the hotels and to UCLA’s campus. Santa Monica’s public bus system,
the Big Blue Bus, serves LAX, with the #3 that takes you to the UCLA campus
terminal, the end of this line. Culver City’s Public Bus, the green
bus, also has a route that runs between UCLA and the airport, the #6?
These services are not 24 hour. Both buses have stops on Westwood
Blvd., just a short distance north of Wilshire Blvd. From there the hotels
are a short two blocks and a half east on Wilshire. Bus prices are below
a dollar. The free shuttle to the Long-term parking will take you to the
bus terminal at the airport.
More information about LAX, ground transport, lists of the rental car companies,
and contact information for the public transportation systems, are available
at LAX’s own website: http://www.lawa.org/lax/
.
GETTING AROUND LA
If you are not planning on renting a car, one can get to the beach or to
downtown on a number of bus routes. It is a bizarre geological and
temporal fact that any destination from Westwood is around 20mins to an hour
away on public transportation. Distance is not a factor. The
beaches, downtown, Hollywood, the Getty Museum and other points of interest
are all accessible. Numerous restaurants are within walking distance or a
short car ride.
Possible points of interest:
The Huntington Library
The Clark Library
The J. Paul Getty Museum
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
(LACMA)
Museum of Contemporary Art
(MOCA)
A list of restaurants and further information on how to reach museums,
Santa Monica and Venice beaches and promenades by public transportation
will be included in your registration folder.