The Original Farmers Market at Third & Fairfax boasts just about 2,984 different delights to behold upon any single visit, making the landmark a big historic basket brimming with plenty to look at and like toffee, jams, limeades, postcards, those kitschy license plates with various names all help to create a happy visual swirl.
But the charming replica Gilmore gas station on the north side of the public market is a showstopper, a place where tourists and locals alike linger. It's a callback to the corner's auto-focused past, when gasoline was king, and today's fruit stands and souvenier shops were still a distant future memory.
The past also lives on at the annual Gilmore Heritage Auto Show, which serves, like the replica gas station, as another picture-worthy tribute to days gone by. It's a once-a-year thing, on the first Saturday in June, and like visiting Farmers Market, it is free. Free and full of eye-filling things to see.
So what will fill your eyes on Saturday, June 6? Dozens upon dozens of oldie wheels and vintage gleam and fenders that have seen their share of the road. Car collectors and motor mavens roll out their pride and joys, parking the dream machines where the Farmers Market and The Grove meet, and closer to the clocktower'd landmark itself.
Thunderbirds are the theme of the 2015 show, and while you'll see cars of different makes, count on T-birds to rule the roost.
Overall? There'll be nearly a hundred cars, many with their hoods popped, and peeking through windshields and admiring hood ornaments and chatting up the vehicles' owners is all encouraged.
You'll have a burger and fries and milkshake, of course, inside the market, to round out the whole time-machine-y feel of the day, right? It seems to fit the era.
The Scene
Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.
A suggestion, however: Don't stroll down to the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue after your Farmers Market visit. This would typically be a post-show outing for many Gilmore Auto Show attendees, to get more car love in, but the museum is undergoing a renovation, and is currently closed.
Though you should drive by the auto institution, on your way to the market or your way home. Wowza. Have you seen that souped-up new facade yet? Maybe save a cooling limeade at the market for after you see it. It's hot.
The vintage car coolness vrooms at the Original Farmers Market from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 6.
