Close your eyes and imagine Los Angeles. You could conjure up palm trees, beaches and blue skies. Traffic-clogged freeways, the downtown skyline, or the taco truck on your corner.
You know what this city looks like.
But do you know their sounds?
The rhythms and noises of a place can be as unique as a signature. Each place has its own.
Can you locate these characteristic sounds of the Los Angeles area?
Click here to find out if you are right.
This is Los Angeles International Airport. At LAX, you hear the same messages over and over again: Mayor Karen Bass welcoming you to the city, an announcement to sign up for TSA PreCheck, a gate change announcement. One thing you won't hear in the terminal is the roar of airplane engines (that's by design). There is chatter in many languages as travelers pass each other. While you wait for your suitcases to go down the slide, your trip (and theirs) is coming to an end.
Click here when you have your answer in mind.
This is BMO stadium.
The first time I went to an Angel City game, I didn't know the applause. Luckily, a kind fan shared the words. The chants are in Spanish and English, reflecting the fan base of the Los Angeles women's professional soccer team. When a specific drum hits, Angel City fans know exactly what to shout.
When the speaker tries to get the audience's attention, it is a woman's voice. That's not something you hear in every stadium.
Tap here when you've heard enough.
This is Griffith Park.
If you're looking for peace and quiet in Griffith Park, don't start at the drum circle. When they get together on Sundays, you can feel the energy in their improvised rhythms. Nearby, children scream as they run through a playground, interrupted by the occasional ringing of an ice cream cart.
As you walk up the trails, you are followed by the sound of your feet hitting gravel and the cawing of crows.
At the top is the Griffith Observatory, where a Tesla coil spits electricity and telescope demonstrator Todd Kunioka guides visitors through the cosmos.
Tap here when you have a guess.
This is the Santa Monica Pier.
Larger gathering places tend to attract proselytizing, whether in front of the White House, Times Square, or on our own Santa Monica Pier. That's the first thing you hear when you reach the end of Route 66: that Jesus loves you.
Walk further and you'll hear the sounds of the West Coaster's gears grinding and then the screams of its passengers. The stereos of street performers fighting for your attention and their melodic voices make it even more romantic as the sun sets over the horizon.
Click here to reveal the location.
This is Venice beach.
At the skate park, you can tell by the sound whether or not someone lands a trick. When they fail, there are skids and noises. If you land it, there's a satisfying thud and the sound of polyurethane rolling on poured concrete. Then comes the cheering.
There's a friendly basketball game (and the accompanying trash talk) on the courts. A young street artist shows his imitation of Michael Jackson. Zoltar invites you, for a small fee, to try to make a new fortune.
You already know what to do.
This is the Flight of the Angel.
Angels Flight is a short ride: on the funicular, it takes about a minute to get from the base of Bunker Hill in the city center to the top. But people make the most of it. Tourists pose for Instagram-perfect photos.
A bell rings a warning: your car, named Sinai or Olivet, is arriving. It's a rickety ride along the 123-year-old rails of what is said to be the world's shortest incorporated railway. Once you reach the top, the operator gives you a souvenir ticket stub paid for with your Metro Tap card – the sound of old meeting new.
