Dorothee Brantz

Dorothee Brantz, an urban historian at the Technische Universität in Berlin, grew up in a small western German town before going on to study and teach capital cities. Her first trek to the U.S. was as a high school exchange student to North Carolina. And though Chicago is her favorite American city, she says, “I’m also very partial to Washington. I don’t quite know why.” Read more about Brantz below.

Q. What music have you listened to today?
A. Tiesto and some classical.

Q. What is your favorite word?
A. Pasha. It’s the name of my cat.

Q. What is the last thing that inspired you?
A. My students.

Q. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A. A teacher.

Q. What is your favorite cocktail?
A. A gimlet.

Q. What is your greatest extravagance?
A. Sleeping in.

Q. If you could take only one more journey, where would you go?
A. The rainforest.

Q. What is your favorite thing about Los Angeles?
A. The mixture of the city and the ocean.

Q. What profession would you like to practice in your next life?
A. I like the one I have. Maybe just leisure.

Q. What is your most prized material possession?
A. My books.

Q. Who is the one person living or dead whom you would most like to meet for a drink?
A. Somebody who is going to live in 100 years.

To read more about Brantz’s panel on Los Angeles and Berlin, click here.

*Photo by Aaron Salcido.