The Tar Pits are a must-do for our out-of-town guests. To think that in the middle of the Wilshire District, a very affluent area (maybe a mile or two east of Rodeo Drive) there is this small park that has a huge pit of tar that still bubbles. There is another pit that is being excavated, and has been for years. There is more tar seeping up through the ground, and maybe 3 years ago or so a tiny little pit began, and got big enough that they had to fence it in. I find this stuff pretty fascinating - and to imagine what the world we live in today - how it was hundreds and even thousands of years ago.
They erected the Page Museum next to the largest pit, and it contains reconstructed animals that were found in the tar pits.
When I was growing up we used to call this part of our "inland tour" where my family would take guests to the Tarpits, Hollywood, Griffith Park Observatory, etc.