A TOUR DE FORCE SEE DOWNTOWN THROUGH THE EYES OF L.A.'S BIGGEST FAN.

Byline: Evan Henerson

Staff Writer

The city is heating up, and wanderlust is starting to set in. You could cash in those frequent-flier miles, gas up the SUV or book a time-share week.

But where historical sightseeing is concerned, Charles Phoenix contends there truly is no place like home.

On periodic weekends throughout the year, Phoenix -- perhaps the city's best-known retro historian and chronicler of all things kitsch -- dons Mickey Mouse ears, dusts off his bullhorn and boards a vintage school bus bound for downtown Los Angeles, where our own local Magic Kingdom awaits.

In his six-hour Disneyland Tour of Downtown L.A. -- the next one is scheduled for May 20 -- Phoenix parcels downtown into a series of stops that correspond to the Anaheim theme park's various "lands." If you view things correctly, L.A. -- with its historic buildings and peculiar institutions -- has its very own Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland and all the rest.

"We even get to ride on Autopia, which is the freeway," says Phoenix, a one-time fashion designer and classic-car buyer turned slide collector and historian. "The Gold Line is raised from Union Station to Chinatown. It's not a monorail, but we pretend it is. So we're taking an El train to Adventureland."

As the day progresses, guests continue to Olvera Street (aka Adventureland), the Bradbury Building and Grand Central Market (Main Street U.S.A.) and the Walt Disney Concert Hall (the Castle). There's a puppet show at the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre (Fantasyland) and lunch at the venerable Clifton's Brookdale Cafeteria (Frontierland).

Several of the "attractions" on the tour are well-known, in-plain-view sights that Angelenos are aware of but have never bothered to check out. Others are positively hidden treasures: How many people even know about the sunken-garden fountain directly across the street from the Music Center?

"I've been so dedicated to sharing these special vintage places in downtown L.A., which I kind of realized were falling out of people's consciousness," he says.

"Most of the people who take the tour are what I love to be: a tourist in my own town," adds Phoenix, who grew up in Upland and now lives in Silver Lake. "That's basically what you are when you go downtown, unless you work downtown."

Children and grandparents alike have braved Phoenix's bus. Snooty diners have been known to thaw when confronted by the cornucopia offered at Clifton's. The tour covers a lot of stops, and Phoenix says he doesn't go into great historical depth at any location.

"It's a highlight tour," he says. "If you want to know more, I hope you're inspired to get on Google and do some Googling. I certainly don't know everything about these places. In fact, I make most of this stuff up."

OK, so Phoenix is kidding about that last part, but he's not above throwing in an outrageous or impossible "fact" just to keep his tour participants on their toes.

"He's a guy who really just loves downtown L.A.," says Andrea Kirk, editor of the Web site Eyespyla.com. "From the title of the tour, you might think he didn't. But he's not really making fun of it."

Indeed, though his tone may not be reverential, Phoenix intends no disrespect. What others might view as tacky or hugely corny, the retro man says is anything but.

"Quaint is getting rarer and rarer," he says. "I'm not saying today is a better or worse time than the '50s or '60s. There's something wonderful about every time. Quaint is special to me, especially quaint in a big city."

Kirk, who took the Disneyland Downtown tour last year, recalls being particularly taken with the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre, where puppet shows have been staged for 46 consecutive years. She also dug being on a school bus, "which, for adults, is a blast to the past."

Agreed, says Phoenix.

"I grew up in Southern California, and we only got to ride school buses when we went on a field trip," he says. "So I associate school buses not with going to school but with going somewhere special."

For those of you who don't want to board a school bus, Phoenix regularly takes his guests across America, using other people's vacation slides as his prism. His latest presentation, "The United States of Charles Phoenix," opens the 2007 Ford Amphitheatre season on Friday.

Phoenix says people keep sending him vacation shots taken from all over the world and admits he'd love visiting many of the places. Still ...

"I'd feel guilty going to another country," he says. "I feel like I should be visiting my own country."

Evan Henerson, [phone]

[e-mail]

CHARLES PHOENIX'S DISNEYLAND TOUR OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

Where: Meet at Union Station, 800 N. Alameda St., L.A.

When: Noon to 6 p.m. May 20.

Tickets: $65. [phone] or www.charlesphoenix.com.

THE UNITED STATES OF CHARLES PHOENIX

Where: Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. E.,

Hollywood.

When: 8:30 p.m. Friday.

Tickets: $25. [phone] or www.fordamphitheatre.org.

TOURS OF LOS ANGELES

Dearly Departed Tour explores infamous death, scandal and murder sites in L.A. There's a standard tour and a Helter Skelter tour. [phone]. www.dearlydepartedtours.com.

Esotouric Tours visits Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles, sites of the real Black Dahlia murders, John Fante's "Dreams of Bunker Hill" locations and more. [phone]. www.esotouric.com.

Museum of Neon Art Neon Cruise is a nighttime bus tour of neon signs, movie marquees and permanent installations of contemporary neon art. [phone]. www.neonmona.org.

Historic Egyptian Theatre offers a visit to Sid Grauman's 1922 theater. Tour price includes a movie ticket. [phone], Ext. 3. www.egyptiantheatre.com.

Redline Tours offers walking tours of Hollywood and Downtown L.A. [phone]. www.redlinetours.com.

Beverly Hills Trolley Tours offers a 40-minute tour of the city's art and architecture, including, of course, Rodeo Drive. [phone]. Click "For Visitors" at www.Beverlyhills.org.

Los Angeles Conservancy Tours is a series of walking tours that exposes history buffs to Angelino Heights, the Biltmore Hotel, Broadway theaters, City Hall, the downtown skyline, Highland Park, the city's historic core, Little Tokyo and more. [phone]. www.laconservancy.org.

Friends of the Los Angeles River Walks offers guided 90-minute walking tours once a month at strategic points adjacent to the L.A. River. Upcoming walks include Los Feliz, Studio City and the Sepulveda Basin. [phone]. www.folar.org.

Segway Tours leads you past the Hollywood sign, stars' homes or the Pacific Design Center, with looks at rural, urban or coastal L.A. via two-hour guided tours on Segway vehicles. [phone]. www.segwow.com.

Architecture Tours L.A. offers four-hour tours with an emphasis on architecture. Locales include Silver Lake, Hancock Park/Miracle Mile, Pasadena, Downtown L.A. and Hollywood, and there's also a Frank Gehry tour. [phone]. www.architecturetourla.com.

Hollywood Escapes features Harry Medved, author of "Hollywood Escapes," leading tours of L.A.-area film sites. [phone]. www.hollywoodescapes.com.

-- Compiled by LA.com

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Charles Phoenix will present his retro "The United States of Charles Phoenix" on Friday at the Ford Amphitheatre.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer

(2 -- cover -- color) Think you know L.A.?

City tours are full of surprises

(3 -- 5 -- color) Tour guide Charles Phoenix specializes in taking visitors to the "in-plain-view" sights of Los Angeles. Phoenix, a retro historian, also is known for his slide shows of found photos from the '50s and '60s.

Box:

TOURS OF LOS ANGELES (see text)