What’s in My Loft? In a Special ‘Downtown Living’ Section, Residents Show Off Their Homes SEE PAGE 9
MARCH 23, 2015 I VOL. 44 I #12
INSIDE THIS WEEK photo by Gary Leonard
Plan May Save Broadway Theaters | 5 Meet New County Supe Hilda Solis | 6
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Restaurant Guide Arrives Next Week
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he Downtown Los Angeles restaurant scene has never been more vibrant or diverse, and the most difficult decision might be the first one: Where are you going for breakfast, lunch or dinner? Answering that becomes a bit easier next week, as on March 30, Los Angeles Downtown News will publish its annual Restaurant Guide. The 44-page glossy magazine will feature more than 70 places to grab breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, snacks, sweets and more, touching on new additions to the dining scene as well as landmark locations. The easy-to-use guide has all the information hungry and thirsty Downtowners need: hours, delivery, catering, happy hour, WiFi, entertainment options and more. Altogether, 80,000 copies of the Restaurant Guide will be printed; in addition to the 40,000 distributed with the issue, Guides will be available at Downtown locations such as hotels, stores and restaurants throughout the year. The guide is also online at downtownladining.com.
Program Seeks to Lure Tech Companies to Downtown
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owntown is increasingly gaining technology companies, and is already home to innovative businesses such as massive online retailer Nasty Gal. However, local leaders think
TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS that should only be the tip of the wired iceberg. The Downtown Center Business Improvement District this week is holding its first event in a new program that seeks to convince tech companies to move to the Central City. The effort, dubbed Get Urban, will kick off Thursday, March 26, with a tour of four Downtown office spaces that could serve as headquarters for tech companies. The tours, which are free (advance registration is required) will take place monthly, and will also showcase some of Downtown’s dining, entertainment and shopping options. “Get Urban brings the vibrant, urban experience to employers and shows them how to capitalize on Downtown’s incredible momentum to attract and retain their workforces by offering great workspaces in a thriving urban environment,” said Carol Schatz, president and CEO of the DCBID, in a prepared statement. The DCBID also plans to take Get Urban on the road, with presentations in surrounding markets. This week’s tour runs from 2-5 p.m. Additional information and reservations are at downtownla. com/geturban.
Heart of the City 5K Runs Into Downtown
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o you feel like jogging or walking 3.1 miles in the name of raising money for a Downtown hospital? If so, you’re in luck, as there is still time to join 2,000 participants at the third annual Heart of the City 5K, hosted by Downtown’s California Hospital Medical Center. The event starts at 8 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, at the hospital at 1401 S. Grand Ave., and participants will loop around Grand Avenue, Figueroa Street and 11th Street. Adult registration for the
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dog-friendly event (seriously) is $40, and proceeds go to the California Hospital Medical Center Foundation. The event will also feature an appearance from the Laker Girls, a dog costume contest, a music and race expo and food trucks. Race-day registration opens at 6:30 a.m. Additional information is at heartofthecity5k.org.
L.A. Opera Hosting Big Costume Sale
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he acclaimed Los Angeles Opera has a big costume shop in the Arts District. However,
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the shop is moving to new digs, and before it does, the staff is seeking to unload a number of pieces. On Saturday, March 28, from 10:30 a.m.4 p.m., members of the public can pick up full costumes or accessories from productions that appeared on the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage including Aida, The Barber of Seville, Lucia de Lammermoor and Salome, among many others. There will be more than 1,000 costumes on 90 racks, and other goods will be placed on tables. Among the items, according to the company, are “handcrafted hats, uniquely designed shoes, numerous masks, theatrical jewelry, peContinued on page 28
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March 23, 2015
Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis
Coming Soon: Downtown’s Really Big Time
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o much is happening right now in Downtown. Housing complexes continue to open, as do restaurants and stores. More businesses are moving to the Central City, as are more residents. There are a greater number of evening and weekend cultural opportunities than ever before. At the risk of a cliché, this is nothing compared to what’s in store. It may be hard to grasp in the early spring, but the summer and fall are going to be huge for Downtown Los Angeles, with happenings that will draw national and international attention. Now is the time for area stakeholders to start planning for the activity and to anticipate how they can benefit and show off the community. The first major event will come July 25, when the Special Olympics World Games begin. While competitions will take place across the region, much of the action will be in Downtown, and over nine days Los Angeles will host 7,000 athletes and 3,000 coaches from 170 countries. Some 500,000 spectators are expected to watch the games. This will be Los Angeles’ biggest sports event, in terms of sheer numbers, since the 1984 Summer Olympics. The logistical planning is well underway, with headquarters in U.S. Bank Tower, but this will be a major showcase for the community, with abundant international press revealing Downtown and other areas to the world. Local groups and business owners should be getting ready today for what the games will bring. It will be a similar situation on Sept. 20, when The Broad opens. The $140 million Grand Avenue art museum from Eli and Edythe Broad will be the biggest addition to the Los Angeles cultural scene since the debut of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2003. It also has the potential to be a game changer for Bunker Hill, as the museum, with its free admission policy and artworks chosen from a 2,000-piece collection, will draw visitors from around the world. There is, again, tremendous potential for Downtown, with reporters from around the globe doing stories not just on the museum and how it came to be, but related pieces on the surrounding neighborhood. Area leaders should be preparing for how to welcome these people and how to maximize the press. This will be Downtown’s time in the spotlight. The third event, the opening of the Whole Foods in the G8 apartment complex on Nov. 4, won’t have a national or international resonance, but nothing may be bigger in 2015 for those who live or work in the Financial District, the Historic Core, South Park and other nearby neighborhoods. The project will be in a building with 700 housing units, and there will be a welcomed new vibrancy in the neighborhood. All of these happenings are months away, but they will arrive before you know it. Downtown needs to plan today for its big future and embrace what comes.
AEG and South Park After Farmers Field
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ew people were surprised this month when officials with Anschutz Entertainment Group announced that the powerhouse company is no longer moving forward on the $1.4 billion Farmers Field project, and that AEG will not seek an extension for the rights to develop 15 acres of city-owned land adjacent to the Los Angeles Convention Center. The project’s momentum had slowed considerably in the last two years, and recently announced competing stadium proposals in Inglewood and the city of Carson seemed to close the door on AEG’s Downtown play. The natural inclination at such a moment is to look at what went wrong, and that has been done (including in Los Angeles Downtown News). However, the end of the project also offers an opportunity to reflect on AEG’s deep and deep-pocketed attempt, as well as its commitment to South Park and greater Downtown. AEG spent more than $50 million on its ambitious effort, and while this was done with the goal of turning a profit and maximizing its investments in L.A. Live, Staples Center and the Convention Center hotel (the company also manages the Convention Center), a successful project would also have been an incredible win for Downtown Los Angeles and the rest of the region. Although the idea of the 68,000-seat stadium was nurtured by former AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke (who would leave the company in 2013), its financing ultimately came from company head Phil Anschutz. He aimed high, and sometimes when you aim high, you miss. The idea of returning football to Los Angeles drew the most attention, and yes, we would have liked to have had one or even two teams playing home games in Farmers Field. However, for the city the biggest potential benefit was that as part of the stadium agreement, AEG would bankroll a $400 million upgrade of the Convention Center. This would have meant getting past the current configuration of two separate buildings, which meeting planners dislike, and instead having a larger contiguous space, plus the potential of using Farmers Field as an overflow area. Pulling this off would have allowed Los Angeles to land some of the enormous conventions and trade shows that now bypass the city in favor of regional rivals such as San Diego and Anaheim. Additional conventions would have meant more business travellers, more hotel stays and more restaurant patrons. It would have
generated more sales tax and sparked the building of additional Downtown hotels. It would have created thousands of jobs during the construction process and thousands more after completion. Although National Football League owners may not care, these benefits are what made Farmers Field far better for the regional economy than the proposals in Inglewood and Carson. Even though it is no longer on the table, a Downtown stadium tied to a Convention Center overhaul remains Los Angeles County’s ideal football solution. AEG recognized this, and the company did many things right on the public front. It worked with reputable firms on designs and conducted the largest environmental impact report, at 10,000 pages, in the city’s history. The biggest misstep — and it was a very big one — was the move to put the entire company up for sale in September 2013, just as the City Council was asked to approve the deal for the city-owned land. Like the stadium itself, that sale never happened. Some people will be skeptical of praising a big business, particularly after a project failed, but the attempt at Farmers Field needs to be taken in the context of the evolution of Downtown. AEG made a major investment in South Park, first with Staples Center, when no other company would. Its risk only grew after that, with the L.A. Live complex and the 1,001-room Ritz-Marriott Convention Center hotel. These projects were together worth billions of dollars, and none of them came easy. L.A. Live and the hotel could have faltered, particularly when the recession hit. Indeed, as the economy nosedived, numerous Downtown projects were halted. What’s amazing isn’t that AEG failed on the football stadium, but that it has had so much success in reshaping South Park. This has inspired other companies to invest billions more in the area, including the under-construction Metropolis and Oceanwide Plaza (the renamed Fig Central) projects. All of that ties in to AEG’s vision for Downtown, and even as the football stadium is dead, the company is moving forward with a $500 million expansion of the Convention Center hotel. Another 755 Marriott rooms are expected to open in 2018. Given the company’s track record, we’re guessing that will be part of a line of future projects, and not the last one.
March 23, 2015
Downtown News 5
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Housing Plan Envisions Revival of Broadway Theaters Developer’s 40-Story Building Could Include Upgrade of Three Small, Aged Spaces By Eddie Kim ustralia-based developer Joseph Hellen has a long track record of refurbishing old buildings in the Historic Core. Now, the nearly 90-year-old property owner is entering new territory: He has spruced up his plan for a 40-story apartment tower with a proposal to renovate and activate three small Broadway theaters. Hellen has long been trying to get a housing tower at 525 S. Spring St. off the ground. In the effort to move the project forward, he is looking to include an upgrade of the Roxie, Cameo and Arcade theaters, three small spaces that sit next to each other at 518-534 S. Broadway. He envisions spending around $160 million or more, said Greg Martin, vice president of Hellen’s Downtown Management. “This is largely Mr. Hellen’s own money that would be used, so he has wanted to be careful and take his time. It’s going to be his stamp on it, definitely,” Martin said. The tower would rise on what is currently a surface parking lot between the Alexandria Hotel and the Spring Arcade Building. Renderings depict a modern, white structure with undulating horizontal floor lines that create wavy balconies on upper levels. The 360 units would be one- to three-bedroom residences built to condominium specs (though they would likely open as apartments). The design comes from Steinberg Architects in collaboration with TSK Architects. Downtown Management is working with the city on design feedback and public input, said
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Simon Ha, a principal at Steinberg and former managing partner at TSK. The developer could file plans with the city within six months, he said. Hellen’s Downtown projects include the Spring Arcade Building at 541 S. Spring St. and the Jewelry Trades Building at 220 W. Fifth St. He has tried to develop the Spring Street site several times in the past 10 years. Previous iterations included a parking structure with retail, then a 12-story apartment building. In 2013, Hellen tapped architecture firm Martinez + Cutri to craft a 40-story design. A sticking point has always been what happens to the theaters. Fourteenth District City Councilman José Huizar opposed a previous plan on the site, saying a new structure would block rear access to the venues, thereby hampering their activation. Hellen purchased the 1910 Arcade, the 1931 Roxie and the 1910 Cameo decades ago, with plans to demolish the structures and build a retail complex in their place. He announced a $55 million project in 1992, but was met with fierce opposition from the Community Redevelopment Agency and preservation groups. He eventually scrapped the plan. “We paid through the nose for the theaters thinking we could demolish them,” Martin said. “Big mistake.” The theaters for years have mostly held swap meet vendors. Downtown Management’s renovation would refurbish the facades and signage and upgrade the interiors. Martin imagines the
venues hosting live entertainment, and said the plan has sparked some early flickers of interest from potential tenant-operators. Still, he added, the tight confines make it a tricky sell. “I’ve heard that the theaters are too small to be profitable, and that any entertainment use would need corporate sponsorship, and that there’s no appetite for that now,” Martin said. “It seems the people with vision have no money, and the people with money have no vision.” Another option, said Martin, is a retail conversion of the theaters, similar to what Urban Outfitters did with the 1917 Rialto Theater at 810 S. Broadway. Huizar’s Bringing Back Broadway Initiative has sought to activate the street’s collection of historic movie palaces. The revival of historic entertainment venues on Broadway is a trend that needs to continue, said Ken Bernstein, manager of the city Office of Historic Resources, one of the entities that would have to approve an upgrade plan for the Roxie, Cameo and Arcade. While the office has not yet reviewed Hellen’s proposal, Bernstein noted that its approval depends on whether a renovation restores the properties’ traditional look and feel. “We would look at the suitability of a new use to the historic character of the space and its architecture. Some uses require more intrusive alterations or additions than others,” Bernstein said. “[Our] standards stipulate that new uses should minimize changes to the historic character of the property.” The proposed theater renovation is part of
image by Steinberg/TSK Architects
An early design for the 40-story tower at 525 S. Spring St. shows a modern aesthetic with white paint and undulating balcony lines.
Downtown Management’s request to increase the amount of parking at the high-rise site. Current guidelines call for no more than three stories of above-ground parking, Martin said. The idea is to get additional floors, for a total of six, and to use some of the parking for people attending events at the theaters. Some elements of the glassy, modern design will also likely change based on feedback from the city, said Ha. The architect and developer are in talks with city departments about how the tower’s aesthetic can fit in the “historical context” of the neighborhood, he said. Huizar spokesman Rick Coca said the councilman is waiting until plans are filed with the city to comment fully on the proposal. eddie@downtownnews.com
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March 23, 2015
A New Face In the First District County Supervisor Hilda Solis Discusses Downtown, Its Growth and Its Challenges By Eddie Kim eatly framed photos line the walls of First District County Supervisor Hilda Solis’ Civic Center office, spotlighting moments from her 30 years in politics. Solemn
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CONVERSATIONS getting-to-work candids sit next to celebratory election pictures and snapshots of Solis at the side of President Barack Obama. Solis, 57, has carved a long, looping round trip of a career. She grew up the third of seven children in a working-class La Puente family. She flew up the political ranks in her late 20s and 30s, starting with a community college trustee seat and moving into the California assembly, then the state senate, then Congress in 2001. She became Obama’s Secretary of Labor in 2009, a post she held until 2013. In December, Solis assumed the supervisor’s seat long held by one of the county’s most influential poli-
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ticians, Gloria Molina. Los Angeles Downtown News sat down with Solis last week to discuss her past, Downtown’s present and the future of the neighborhood. Los Angeles Downtown News: As a native of Los Angeles, what do you think about the changes in Downtown over the past decade? Hilda Solis: What is fascinating to hear is that there’s 50,000 residents that live in Downtown. When I was starting my campaign I was captivated by that. You can see the livelihood on the street on Broadway, at places that I came to as a kid and never came back because it wasn’t safe. Now you see people walking their dogs, you see nightlife. I’m someone who grew up out in the suburbs, and I’ve never had to represent Downtown. It’s surprising to see all the development. Q: Concerns arise anytime a community sees quick growth. What are your
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photo by Gary Leonard
March 23, 2015 priority issues in and around Downtown? A: Gentrification. The lack of affordable housing. The impact it’s having on the homeless population, which I’ve seen increase because of several factors. We have to think about where people live and work and whether we can make affordable places for people in the metro area so they don’t have to commute. We don’t need more traffic in Downtown — we already get bottlenecks. We have to look at how we’re planning developments with a real keen eye. People should be able to say, “This is what we want to see,” before a developer comes in. That hasn’t always been the case and there’s been, in some places, an overdevelopment of unaffordable housing. We should, as a county, be able to incentivize developers to set aside low-income or affordable units, especially with our homeless housing issue, and the number of people who work and just make minimum wage and can’t save. Q: You’re taking over Molina’s seat on the panel that oversees the Grand Avenue mega-project. There recently was a breakup between developer Related and SBE, its hotel and financial partner. What should happen next? A: They’ve had a history of ups and downs and they’ve had over, I believe, 11 instances in which they haven’t met requirements or standards and they’ve had to ask for extensions. At some point we’re going to have to ask, “Where are we financially and on identifying a hotel partner?” We’ve come this far and it’s been a work in progress for so many years, but I want to make sure the public is aware of what’s happening. And I know Related has given conces-
DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM sions on public access and benefits, but I’d like to see more of that. Q: Similarly, what about the county’s other huge mixed-use project in Downtown, the La Plaza Cultura Village near Olvera Street? A: I’m just reviewing the information and plans right now and I want to make sure that the surrounding community had input. If these are county monies, are we looking at affordability and public access? Of course I want more people to come Downtown and go to Olvera Street. But I want to continue the rich cultural history that is there and promote that substance. Q: With so much development happening in your district, do you plan to hire a real estate guru? A: I’ll be bringing someone on board shortly who has that background. As I sit here in my fourth month, I’m thinking about the land-use issues that come up almost every day, especially at the board meetings. For someone like myself, who is coming in after working on bigger federal policy efforts, it’s very different. But not so different in that I can’t understand and make good decisions on how you bend the values so that there is justice. To me, justice is very important — making sure that we’re spending people’s public dollars efficiently, and that we’re transparent as much as possible. Q: What lessons from your time in federal government are you bringing to this county role? A: I learned a great deal working at the federal level. You’re working not only on a domestic political basis but also internationally. It really taught me how important personal relationships are. It’s about listening and getting out
in the field. I like to go out and do my own research. I’ll go around the county and visit offices unannounced because it’s important to see what the employees face, what the facility looks like, what management is doing, to get a sense of whether we’re doing OK or what we need to improve on. Q: Homelessness remains a problem throughout the county, though it is most pronounced in Downtown. Your district includes part of Skid Row. What can your office do to address the matter? A: I’m interested in getting a strike force team to get people talking to folks on Skid Row wherever we find them and provide them, in a nonthreatening way, assistance. The war on drugs and other policies, it’s been our own communities hurting each other. To mend that and give assistance, namely in the form of housing vouchers, especially to veterans, is something I’m excited about. I don’t think all the services should be in Skid Row. We’re seeing people from as far away as Claremont and the San Gabriel Valley and so on. A lot of folks come from out there, or they’re picked up for jail and they don’t make it back out that far. I would rather have people close to where they came from, with their families, to stabilize them. We need to do more education about what homeless housing and homeless people look like, and what kinds of projects can make a big difference. Q: The county plays a big role in transportation, and there are efforts underway in Downtown to prioritize the pedestrian, bike and transit experience over driving. Good idea?
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Downtown News 7 A: Because we’re in a dense area here in Downtown, it makes sense to get people walking and biking and build parklets and things like that. Maybe there’s not even a need for cars, and maybe if you do need one, you can use a Zipcar [laughs]. Those are things I’ve seen in D.C. and other big cities that utilize different forms of transportation. Bikes that you can rent with your credit card — I used to do that in D.C. and that was my outlet, my recreation. Especially with elderly people, if they know that it’s safe to get out and walk or use the bus, if there are good services for them, we’re going to see a more friendly air and ambiance overall in our communities. Q: What advice did Molina give you when you took the job? A: She would just tell me that there’s a lot of good things you can achieve here that you can’t do in the legislature, Congress or even the cabinet level. You’re not only a legislator, you’re also quasi-judicial and the executive branch, too. That’s really unique and many people don’t understand that or appreciate it. It’s fascinating how many people work for the county — over 100,000. At the Department of Labor it was like 15,000. The budget here is $26 billion, much more than what I was used to in D.C. But while we’re one of the biggest counties, there are people who can’t afford homes and can’t find good jobs. Not everyone is aware what is offered in Downtown. That’s going to be our responsibility, to shine a light and burnish that diamond in the rough so people will want to come here. eddie@downtownnews.com
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March 23, 2015
Big Changes Proposed For Seventh Street Busy Corridor Could See Landscaping Improvements, Wider Sidewalks and Diagonal Crosswalks By Eddie Kim eventh Street is one of Downtown’s busiest corridors, thanks to the convergence of the Metro rail station at Flower Street, numerous retail and dining options, and a huge number of offices. The activity on the sidewalks and the street will only continue to boom as two giant projects take shape. The Ratkovich Company’s $180 million The Bloc, a reinvention of an aging retail, office and hotel complex at Seventh and Flower streets, is slated to finish in the fall. Meanwhile, Hanjin International is building the $1 billion replacement for the Wilshire Grand Hotel. When it opens in 2017, the structure on the northwest corner of Seventh and Figueroa streets will have 900 hotel rooms and 400,000 square feet of office space. At 73 stories and with a sloping roof, it will be the tallest building west of the Mississippi. That makes this a prime time for the city to plan for the future of Seventh Street, and the Department of City Planning is doing just that. With $9.175 million from Hanjin as part of the Wilshire Grand replacement’s community benefits package, the department is diving into an effort to make the street more useful and attractive to pedestrians, cyclists and transit users. The project would affect Seventh Street mainly between Figueroa and Olive streets, with addi-
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tional work on the connections to City West on Seventh Street and Wilshire Boulevard. The project is still in the design phase, but features could include protected bike lanes, widened sidewalks, dedicated transit platforms for bus and streetcar riders, new landscaping and more. “We’re taking advantage of the Wilshire Grand’s construction with the timing,” said City Planner Nicholas Maricich, who is overseeing the effort for the city. “There are efficiencies here because they already have to do streetscape improvements around their site. We’re getting more bang for the buck rather than doing the work via a bid.” Currently, Seventh Street features a total of three driving lanes, with two westbound lanes and one for eastbound drivers. These are sandwiched between two un-buffered bike lanes, as well as parking/loading lanes along the curb. Initial designs show three improvement “packages,” though Maricich noted the features in the different plans could be mixed and matched. The first option involves creating round sidewalk extensions at intersections to shorten crosswalks, along with transit platform “islands.” A second plan suggests extending sidewalks from the current 15 feet to 22 feet, with the elimination of street parking and loading lanes in addition to the creation of transit platforms.
image courtesy of Melendrez/Department of City Planning
Proposed features of the Seventh Street improvement plan include protected cycle tracks, wider sidewalks, dedicated transit platforms and new landscaping.
A third plan would involve a sidewalk extension to 20 feet. It would also add transit platforms and bike lanes protected from car traffic by a three-foot-wide landscaping barrier. Initial reactions to the plans have been positive, and stakeholders are open to the idea of cutting street parking and loading in favor of widening sidewalks, Maricich said. He noted, however, that such work would likely be the most expensive option, as sidewalk renovations can trigger costly underground utility relocations. He said City Planning does not expect to be able to afford every proposed feature. Carol Schatz, president and CEO of the Downtown Center Business Improvement District and the Central City Association, called the plan a big step toward making this part of Seventh Street a signature district in Downtown. She
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noted that the effort would help reverse the decimation of businesses on the corridor that took place in the 1990s with the construction of the Red Line and then the recession. “Anything we can do to make this an iconic retail and hospitality street is great, and making it more walkable will certainly add to that,” Schatz said. Go Diagonal A presentation of the ideas on Jan. 27 to area stakeholders also showcased landscaping, bike racks, and new wayfinding signage. Another possibility is the implementation of “pedestrian scrambles,” or diagonal crosswalks that allow everyone to cross at the same time. That would help reduce conflicts between turning cars and people crossing the street, said Mark Geragos, a lawyer and owner of the Fine Arts Building at 811 W. Seventh St. “It’s been a huge success in Pasadena, and it’s something I’ve wanted to see for some time,” Geragos said. “But this work in general could be a great thing, especially if it’s anything like what’s happening along Spring Street and Broadway.” Construction would cost $5 million-$5.5 million, with the rest of the money going to the planning and permitting process. Maricich said the Department of City Planning hopes to finish the design within six weeks, then delve into permits in the second half of the year. Construction would probably begin in late 2016, he said. It remains unclear how long construction would take, as the city has yet to decide between tackling the renovation block-by-block versus all at once, Maricich added. Either way, the changes will have a lasting Continued on page 28
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March 23, 2015
Downtown News 9
DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM
DOWNTOWN LIVING
What’s in My Loft? Downtown Dwellers Share a Few of Their Favorite Things By Jacqueline Fox, Photos By Gary leonard
Tara Kuhnert & Carey Hotchkis Great Republic Lofts
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ara Kuhnert, a painter, and Carey Hotchkis, who works in floral design, traded Century City for Spring Street’s Great Republic Lofts last summer. The move to their 1,100-square-foot home also marked the beginning of a new journey — their Be a Tall Poppy, a floral design boutique and art gallery, will open soon at Eighth and Santee streets. They’re expecting big things for themselves and the neighborhood. “I’ve been all over the world and I’ve never lived in a more exciting city,” says Hotchkis. 1. Some people take vacations to relax. Others are more active. “This is a paddle from the Vogalonga boat race held each year in Venice, Italy, says Hotchkis. “I did the race with a group of people, all 21 miles of it along the canals of Venice, back in 2012. It’s signed by all of the members of the dragon boat we were commandeering. There’s nothing like it because no one can use a motorized boat of any kind. It’s all these kayaks and wooden boats, all paddled and hand-powered vessels. Tara and I are planning to do the race together this May.” 2. What’s in a name? For Kuhnert, that question resonates. “This tea see What’s in My Loft?, page 21
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10 Downtown News
March 23, 2015
DOWNTOWN LIVING
What’s in My Loft? David and Karen Gray Tomahawk Building
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avid and Karen Gray’s move from the Pacific Palisades to the Historic Core 18 months ago was not only a dream realized for David, but also something of a return. David’s firm, David Gray Architects, purchased, restored and converted the Tomahawk Building into lofts about a decade ago. When the
tenant in a roughly 1,900-square-foot residence announced he was leaving, the two made the decision to move in. “David’s always wanted to be Downtown,” said Karen. “So when the tenant left I said, ‘You’ve always wanted a Downtown adventure. Let’s go have one.’”
1. Building things, particularly things with intricate angles and impossible detail, fascinates David. Not just buildings, but also boats. “I got this wonderful antique marlin fishing boat 20 years ago in a maritime antique store in Boston,” he says. “I’m guessing it was built right around 1890. I’m not sure who the artist is, but I am a big fan of maritime pieces and this one is just so striking and detailed.”
you do the next best thing. “I first rented this painting in the 1980s for about $15 a month from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,” says Linda. “They used to have a rental program in the gallery. I couldn’t afford to pay for it, but I wanted a real framed piece of artwork on our walls. It’s by a Los Angeles artist named Hilde Shapnick and it’s called “Aurora V1.” I had been renting it for a year when the museum offered to let me buy it for $250. At the time, it was all about posters being
2. When you can’t afford to buy a painting,
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see What’s in My Loft?, page 11
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What’s in My Loft? Continued from page 10 thumbtacked to the walls. It was my first piece of real art.” 3. A wood sculpture by Seattle-based artist George Tsutakawa has double meaning for David. Tsutakawa was one of his professors at the University of Washington. Additionally, his parents bought the work. “It’s been in my family for about 65 years,” David says. “George was really better known for his paintings and for the beautiful fountains he created, but not necessarily for his wood sculptures. This is one of only a few wood sculptures he ever did.”
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4. How do you get a 400-pound dining room table with a glass top up to your loft? In pieces. “I built this table about 20 years ago,” says David. “I used to live at the beach and I was inspired by the waves of the ocean and how they played up against the horizon for the design. It’s been with me a long time. Getting it up here was not easy. I had to take it apart myself down on the street and bring it up piece by piece.”
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12 Downtown News
March 23, 2015
DOWNTOWN LIVING
What’s in My Loft? Kelly Rigg Biscuit Company Lofts
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n 2007, Kelly Rigg gave up renting in Silver Lake to buy her own home in the Arts District’s Biscuit Company Lofts. She had considered different parts of Los Angeles, but acted on a hunch that the change happening in other portions of Downtown would eventually take hold in this community as well. “It was a bit of a risk,” says Rigg. “But I really sensed an eastward movement spreading.”
Eight years later, she’s been proved right. The film producer also now has a record as a district pioneer. 1. Given Riggs’ job and her Berkeley graduate degree in film, it’s not surprising that her home has movie cameras, editing machines and other gear. A vintage Sony Tincon color video camera stand outs, though for a personal reason. “This was my dad’s,” says Rigg. “He’s not a filmmaker, but he was always taking movies of family events and things. I always wanted it as a kid because I always wanted to make films. I was the girl in school with a camera. In fact, I shot my entire senior year of college on videotape.
Now everyone is doing this stuff with their iPhones and Instagram, but I was interested in documenting everything way back when.” 2. The oversized, inlaid screen above Rigg’s bed may be Japanese. Or it could be from India. No one knows. That said, it is something of a family treasure. “My parents had this when I was born,” Rigg says. “When they downsized a few years ago they wanted to get rid of it and I said, ‘I’m taking it.’ I used it as a room screen and divider when I first brought it up to the loft, but then a designer friend of mine suggested I hang it. It was a good move. It suits
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see What’s in My Loft?, page 13
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Downtown News 13
DOWNTOWN LIVING
What’s in My Loft? Continued from page 12 the wall well and really completes the space.” 3. Rigg has a collection of glassware from her grandmothers, who both passed away. “I adored both of my grandmothers so much,” she says. “When it was time to go in and sort out all of their things, I knew instantly I wanted some of these wonderful glass sets that they had. They each had a really cool mix of 1960s liquor and highball glasses, and then there’s these stunning Art Deco glasses with the ladies on them. I just had to have them. They make me happy.” 4. Rigg had long eyed a neighbor’s Modernica room divider. “I told him I loved it and he promised me that if he ever moved out of the building, that I could have it,” she says. “About five years ago he did move out and he kept his promise. It’s probably the most talked-about thing in my loft. When I have parties, everyone wants to know where I got it or who made it. A lot of people know Modernica from the TV show ‘Mad Men.’ They use the company’s pieces for their sets.”
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14 Downtown News
March 23, 2015
DOWNTOWN LIVING
Satisfaction on Bunker Hill The Charms of Watching a Community Evolve By Rod Riggs t’s hard not to be smug while looking out a living room window at the end-of-the-business day traffic on the 110 and 101. Raise your glass: “Heigh-ho, commuters. I’m home.” Life on Bunker Hill is satisfying. The onetime reclamation area is more than
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MY DOWNTOWN a haven for Angelenos who want to avoid the daily drag up and down the freeways. It’s a viable, desirable address. It’s a pedestrian paradise. Residents walk to the Music Center, the Central Library, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and city, county, state and federal offices. Life on Bunker Hill is satisfying. In little more than two years, Grand Park has become a destination for families with small children and seniors who simply want to sit in the sun and watch little kids play in the fountain. Amenities have proliferated along with the residential population, although retail outlets still are few. Sidewalks once devoid of pedestrians now carry passersby of all ages, providing entertainment for coffee-sipping people watchers. The crown on the hill, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, has set the tone for the area for 50 years. It replaced now long-forgotten Victorian houses in a spasm of urban renewal. The Ahmanson Theatre and Mark Taper Forum soon augmented the campus.
Downtown paused. It was populated by dirty, ugly, often-unoccupied buildings that once held hotels, department stores and offices. The economy and lack of perceived purpose inhibited new activity. My wife and I were drawn from our thenhome at Lake Arrowhead by Music Center attractions. We could drive to San Bernardino, take the Metrolink to Union Station, the Red Line to the Civic Center and walk to the box office. After a pleasant lunch and afternoon performance we could be back home by 9 p.m. But not all performances are matinees. Evening events represented a bigger, more expensive effort. We considered a pied-à-terre. Almost no one wanted to live Downtown in 2002. There was little money and only a burgeoning market for residential conversions. The appetite for those came later. We bought a condo from a family that had occupied it for 20 years but invested little in upkeep. I rented an office in the Fine Arts Building. Our friends said we were nuts. What we got was access to Bunker Hill and its attractions. True, it was pretty quiet after the 9-to-5 group left. The Central Library offered evening programs and there were a few attractive restaurants, but overall there was little reason to go out after dark. We learned to take early morning walks to Central Avenue or Seventh Street for coffee. The dedication of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels was a prelude to the change. We watched the Caltrans and police headquarters
photo by Gary Leonard
For decades the Music Center dominated life on Bunker Hill. In addition to hosting events for visitors, it’s a place for local people who want to volunteer with the L.A. Phil, the L.A. Opera and other cultural organizations.
buildings go up and federal buildings come down and got the sense that our town was becoming a city. We watched the silvery panels of the Walt Disney Concert Hall cling to the frame. Soon gala programs opened the venue. The menu of volunteer jobs expanded at the L.A. Phil, the Los Angeles Opera, Center Theatre Group, REDCAT and the Music Center itself. We learned to use DASH and the Metro system. We sold one car and took the other out maybe once a week for grocery shopping or medical appointments. Life became even more satisfying as we became part of a neighborhood. Cautiously, building owners began to convert their holdings to residential use. Lofts came first, then more luxurious plans. The residential population swelled. Commercial expansion followed slowly and erratically. Restaurants opened and closed. Per-
sonal services came and went. Convenience stores popped up. Residents applauded when Ralphs opened on Ninth Street, followed several years later by Smart and Final on Figueroa. The mall at Seventh and Figueroa underwent years of turmoil before settling on a format. The Colburn School built a residence hall while across the street, Eli Broad’s museum crouches behind its veil. Huge projects have been proposed for the corner of First Street and Grand Avenue, each smaller than the one before. When dreams and dollars meet, a mixed use will be built to fill the space. When we first announced plans to move to Downtown Los Angeles, friends were aghast. “Aren’t you afraid?” they asked. It’s true there were “street people” around. Two events mark the spectrum of our experience with them. One maintained a “condo” of grocery carts near a bench at the west end of the Third Street
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March 23, 2015 tunnel. Walking to my office, I usually offered a “good morning.” One day my wife passed with a bundle of helium balloons, “Oh, I just love balloons,” he called. She separated one from the bundle and held it out to him. He ran across Flower Street, took the balloon, knelt and kissed her shoes. The balloon danced over his condo for a few days, then disappeared. So did he. Another man lounged on a parking meter near the World Trade Center as we walked past. A half-block later he tapped us both on the back. “I need money,” he said. I stopped and asked calmly, “What are you doing?” “I don’t know what I’m doing, but give me cash,” he responded. I tried to remain calm, told him I was reaching in my pocket. I got out a money clip and gave him the currency, perhaps, $15. He grabbed it, ran toward Third Street and turned west around the corner. Negatives do exist. Street trees that shade the asphalt push roots under sidewalks, creating a walkway that is dangerous in many locations. Pedestrians have to learn to watch for drivers turning right regardless of the color of the traffic signal. I have lived in many places coast to coast. My longest residence is Bunker Hill. I find it very satisfying.
Rod Riggs, 1930-2015 Journalist, Children’s Book Author and Downtown Resident By Jon Regardie od Riggs, a longtime reporter in San Diego before moving to Downtown Los Angeles, where he wrote a series a children’s books, has died. He was 85. Riggs passed away on March 10. Rod Riggs was born Jan. 9, 1930, in Aurora, Ill. He attended the University of Nebraska, where he studied journalism. After a stint in the Army that ended in 1953, Riggs began his journalism career at a newspaper in Kearney, Neb. From 1957-1975, he was the co-owner and managing editor of Iowa’s Ames Daily Tribune. After moving to the West Coast he worked for six years at the San Diego Transcript, and then as a business reporter at the San Diego Tribune from 1984-1997. He won numerous awards during his career, and interviewed figures including Nikita Khrushchev, during a visit to Iowa in 1959, and several U.S. presidents. After retiring and moving with his wife Mary to Bunker Hill in Downtown, Riggs continued to write, including for Downtown News. In 2005, Riggs, working with illustrator Wendy Summerville, published Symphony Phil, about a mouse who lives in Walt Disney Concert Hall. It was stocked at the Disney Hall gift shop and other locations. Three more Symphony Phil books would follow. In 2009, a live version of Symphony Phil appeared at a Toyota Symphonies for Youth concert at Disney Hall. In a first-person piece for Downtown News, Riggs reflected on being a children’s book author. “Phil has been more fun than almost anything I’ve done in a career as a newspaper writer,” Riggs wrote. “I’ve read the books to second graders from Thousand Oaks to Richmond, Va. I’ve signed copies in Downtown Los Angeles, Lake Arrowhead and Sherman Oaks. Friends and customers across the country ordered by mail. The Phil books are on shelves in stores on Larchmont, in Pasadena and in Phoenix.” Riggs was a writer to the end, said a longtime family friend. Although he was ill, he eagerly accepted and jumped into the accompanying assignment to write about life on Bunker Hill. He never mentioned his condition to the editor who assigned him the story. Riggs filed the story on the morning of March 10. He passed away that evening. Riggs is survived by his wife, Mary, six children and six grandchildren.
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DOWNTOWN LIVING
Downtown News 15
16 Downtown News
March 23, 2015
DOWNTOWN LIVING
A Community, an Intersection In the Historic Core, Two Separate Pathways Become One By Will Wright unday afternoon. I’m on the patio at Cole’s reading a James Salter novel, drinking a Bloody Mary. A man walks by on the sidewalk above. Stops at the railing. Looks at my dog Lexington a moment and then turns to me.
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MY DOWNTOWN His eyes, silver and sharp. His pants, ragged. Tshirt, torn. A spot of dried blood on his lips. “I’m so [expletive] tired of it, man.” He drops to his knees at the railing and tears swell.
“I’m so tired of being homeless.” As I sit and listen I hear he’s just been punched in the face by another man down Sixth Street. He says it was right in front of the cops. “They didn’t do nothing, man. Not a damn thing.” His tears are real. This isn’t theatrics. This isn’t a man massaging a buck out of my hand. This is a human sharing a moment of vulnerability. “I just want out, man,” he tells me, pointing a finger at his head and pulling an imaginary trigger.
For five years now I’ve been living at the Pacific Electric Lofts. If I look east outside my window, down Sixth Street, I see Skid Row: the Star Apartments, LAPD Central Station. If I look west, I see Bunker Hill: U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, Deloitte & Touche.
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March 23, 2015
Downtown News 17
DOWNTOWN LIVING
portation systems this side of Dodge. Today, the building and the neighborhood around it are at the center of a crossroads, a social and mobility hub, a nexus between thousands of homeless people and thousands of people living and working in Downtown Los Angeles. The building serves as an intersection between two distinct futures, two separate pathways that come together as one. Living in the Historic Core for five years and attending to Downtown’s revival for the past 12 has been quite a ride. It’s been one long journey that leaves me exactly in the same place while so much around me has changed exponentially. Gone are MJ Higgins Gallery, Fitapaldi’s, Little Radio, Little Pedro’s, Crazy Gideon’s, 410 Boyd, Cole’s when they had Chimay on tap, pool tables and sawdust on the floor. Even Pete’s Cafe is no longer Pete’s Cafe. We now have Wendell, Beelman’s Pub, Mignon, Crane’s, Preux & Proper, Verve, The Stocking Frame, Redbird! Spring Street Park has become the neighborhood’s living room. Some people are quite happy. Others are quite hungry and we endure each other as deeply as we can. We are all in it together walking down the sidewalks of life. Some might say: Rising tides lift all ships — unless your ship has sunk. As a community, Downtown is not sustainable economically. Downtown is expensive — this is not a place where one can age in place gracefully. For many, DTLA is a temporal destination. Like a salt bath to dip your toes into, not a feather bed to find rest upon. Every day, many of us are one paycheck away from pulling out our own tents and resting our heads on the sidewalks of Sixth Street. I’ll be that guy with the foot-long beard and the thousand-yard stare reading Gravity’s Rainbow. My tent may be from REI, but my financial vulnerability is as equal to any. Living in the Pacific Electric reminds me of this every day. We’re all in this together. Information Society Three days later, I’m on the porch at the Spring Street Bar enjoying a moment with a friend when the man with the silver eyes walks by. I’m not sure if he remembers me, but he seems a bit in better spirits. Still hungry, still homeless though. His mind is active and he’s responding to the music that we can hear inside. It’s a band from the ’80s. “Modern English? Material Issue?” he asks. “No, what band is this? Information Society,” he corrects himself and begins reciting a few of the words: “Here I am in silence. Looking around without a clue. I find myself alone again. All alone with you.” I realize this man must be about my age, maybe even younger. But he’s worn thin and aged like driftwood. That night on my walk home, I admit to myself that I wasn’t doing enough to make a difference. I wasn’t doing enough to matter. I’m living next door to several thousand humans who are all sick and tired of being homeless. What irrecoverable step did they take, what stone did they trip over? There must be a way to heal, to inspire, to encourage and open the hearts of others to the yawn of possibility. What can I do to add value to your life? That question, if I can find the strength within myself to ask all others, will bring joy and delight to my own daily struggle. Pacific Electric Lofts. Late the next morning. Up on the rooftop dog run waiting for Lexington to do her stuff. A hummingbird zips around my head. Stabs its beautiful beak into a “hot lips” salvia bush in a planter nearby, the flowers white with red edges like smudged-out lipstick stains. A hummingbird on the rooftop of the Pacific Electric in Downtown Los Angeles, its coat neon green, with an oily tinge of crimson. This hummingbird is quite happy, it seems.
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18 Downtown News
March 23, 2015
DOWNTOWN LIVING
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By Adriann Cocker hifting shadows bely the changes in the Arts District. The warehouses and rail yards are being razed or converted. The mammoth One Santa Fe rises and there is increased foot traffic along once-desolate stretches of Mateo Street. That’s just the start. Earth movers are making way for more retail in the At Mateo project. A park is rising near area anchor Urth Caffe. Gone are the days when our streets quieted down on the weekend, peppered only by the sounds of movie shoots or
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loft parties. What once was a creative, small-town feel has given rise to an uber-hip collection of independent stores, bars and eateries, garnering the attention of those west of the 405, as well as East Coasters. Even though it’s evolving, a palpable vitality still exists, stemming from a mix of makers and creators. Our home base, which we once had to beg our unadventurous friends to see, has become a bona-fide destination. People come for the colorful street art, the backdrop to many a blog photo shoot. Now there’s so much more to explore: weekend flea markets, indoor climbing at LA Boulders, craft beer at Angel City Brewery, and cold-brewed coffee at the likes of Blacktop and Blue Bottle. Our little family sometimes seems out of place here, as those who flock to this epicenter of creativity and gastronomy sometimes outshine us. I’m coming to terms with it. After all, we came here for the promise of possibilities, too. See, we weren’t in the first or even the second wave of artists. This place has so much history that our eight years in the Arts District make us relative rookies. The unique look, the energetic feel, the accessibility of creative neighbors and the chance to take my husband’s fledgling photography to a new level drew us to the Arts District in the first place — grocery stores be damned. As a native Angeleno, the Arts District has been home to many of my firsts. As a teenage fan of live, raw music I headed to a darkened Al’s Bar, now gone. It felt as if we were on the edge of no-man’s land, and upon leaving after a show, we always wondered if our car would still be there. A decade later my husband and I, looking for inspiration and loft life, found a welcoming artistic community with sparse amenities, rough edges and a sense that anything goes. We got our beloved rescue dog, Ki, who sparked many local friendships. When we had our child, we wondered about trading in the creative energy for something easier. Back then, the Arts District was an unlikely choice for a family, lacking green space and the ease of suburbia’s spots for buying diapers and organic baby food. On the other hand, it offered a closeness of residents, both pioneers and new, that seemed to parallel small-town life in this otherwise sprawling city. Continued on page 19
March 23, 2015
Downtown News 19
DOWNTOWN LIVING
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The grassy expanse at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising is a getaway point in South Park, a place where it’s easy to bring a blanket and sit quietly with lunch and a book.
By Dawn Davis ’ve always been a city girl. Although I grew up in suburban New Jersey, Manhattan was just a short bus or train ride away. I could literally feel my energy change when, by bus, we’d cross that New Jersey/New York line in the Lincoln or Holland tunnel. No matter where life has taken me — Charlotte, Cleveland, Orlando — I’ve always had a strong relationship to the city and its downtown. It was no different when I moved to Los Angeles
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ARTS DISTRICT, 18 We stayed, and have reaped the benefits and felt the twists of change. The Arts District has transformed around us, the smalltown feel overwhelmed by the waves of explorers. As part of the trade-off we’re now enjoying the fruits of this alluring, suddenly walkable location. We feast on focaccia and delicious Italian fare at Factory Kitchen and salivate over Bread Lounge’s Parisian sandwich on their house-baked olive-ciabatta bread. We can go from picking up modeling clay at Artist & Craftsman Supply to selecting one-of-akind gifts at Poketo and end up at EightyTwo, playing the video games of our youth. We’re eagerly awaiting the new Grow market, opening at One Santa Fe. Even with the additions, we still have accessible creativity and inspiration. My husband loves to photograph the changing street canvases (though fewer), shifting structural landscapes and peek-a-boo art pieces, some tacked onto telephone poles. We marvel at our neighbors’ outstanding artwork, street side or in their studios, though sadly many pioneers have been squeezed out due to rising rents. We frequent Woo Souvenir and Design Shop. Insider tip: I shop while my kid plays the pinball machine — win-win! In a few years, we may be just blocks from a usable, greened stretch of the Los Angeles River. Many of the things I never imagined in the Arts District are now taking root. And isn’t that the allure of the Arts District? The impossible still feels possible here. Outside of the box is a tangible place, existing on the edge of Downtown and bounded only by our imaginations. I’ll see you out there.
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love most about city living — everyone thrown into a salad bowl and tossed around, bumping up against each other. From the moment I moved in, I got involved with the local business improvement district. Call me nosey, but I am very interested in what is going on in my neighborhood, whether new buildings, new merchants, or crime stats. Jessica, Amanda and Jessica at the BID welcomed me as an active resident, and when they discovered I’d been volunteering for Operation Healthy Streets in Skid Row, they asked if I’d be willing to do outreach with our homeless neighbors in South Park. I didn’t hesitate. Once a week, I ride with Jesse from the SP Clean Team and we check on all our regulars and make contact with anyone new. I don’t spend a ton of my free time in South
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There are two reactions when you tell someone you live in South Park. The first, usually from someone unfamiliar with Downtown, is, “Like the cartoon?” Eye roll. The second, from someone who knows the area, is, “Oh, South Park. Fancy.” I get the reaction, but in my case it’s not true. I have a 380-square-foot sanctuary in a building erected in the early 1900s. It has a scissorsgate elevator and an amazing ethnic mix of neighbors: There’s an English woman who work in homeless services, an Asian med student across the hall, Latino guys who love their Sunday morning soccer on either side of me, and an African-American woman who babysits for the building manager. Fancy? Not close, but this is probably what I
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most of the time. To me, it’s basically a tourist attraction, and many of the people I talk to feel the same way. Then again, the plus of having L.A. Live in the neighborhood is the BID Safety Team and the LAPD make sure that the people who come down to attend the activities feel safe. That makes the neighborhood feel safe. Living in South Park is like having a great secret. It’s pretty quiet down here, which is good, because I work from home now doing voice over. A long walk or a quick trip on the Metro or the DASH bus gets me to the Historic Core. The other part of that secret is that I feel like I’ve found a place where things are about to get really exciting. There is a ton ready to burst up out of the ground down here. Things are going to get crazy good.
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Park. Most of the friends I’ve made Downtown are in the Historic Core. Still, there are reliable destinations. Bottlerock is my favorite local hang to go watch the Kings. They have a great happy hour. I walk to Ralphs for groceries, occasionally have a meal with friends at the Panini Café and, when I don’t feel like driving to Venice for a beach day, I’ll grab some lunch at Ralphs and head to Grand Hope Park, spread a blanket or sit at one of the FIDM tables and read. While L.A. Live is nearby, it’s not my cup of tea. There is the occasional trip to Smashburger or Red Mango and the Grammy Museum, of which I am a member. I also appreciate L.A. Live’s occasional “Dark Nights,” and will check out the art and vendors there. I like the $8 Movie Tuesdays, too. Still, I pass right by the rest of L.A. Live
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What’s in My Loft? Continued from page 9 set is actually a gift my mother bought for me when I was born,” she says. It’s Royal Tara bone china from Dublin, Ireland, where my mother is from. She named me Tara, and right after I was born she found the set and held on to it for me. She kept it in a beautiful, mahogany china cabinet while I was growing up. I used to peer in at it and admire it and she’d say, ‘That’s yours. I’m keeping it safe for you until you’re older.’ It’s been traveling with me everywhere I’ve been since graduating from college.”
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3. Another personal item for Kuhnert is a hat made entirely of peacock feathers. “This was my grandmother’s hat. It’s from the 1920s and it’s so entirely and completely delicate and intricate. I remember her wearing it when I was a young girl. She passed away in 1999 and it was one of the things that belonged to her that I really wanted to hang on to.” 4. Kuhnert’s father, Manfred H. Kuhnert, is a successful painter who also ran his own gallery in Laguna Beach. Several of his paintings adorn the loft, but one carries particular sentimental value. “This was my father’s first published print,” said Kuhnert. “He painted it in 1970. It’s title is ‘Figure Setting #5.’ It’s very special to me because it marks a really important moment in his life as an artist. Now it’s here in our loft, Downtown, where I’m preparing to start a company that carries on his legacy and his dreams.”
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photo courtesy Darryl Moran/The Franklin Institute
The recently opened California Science Center show Dead Sea Scrolls: The Exhibition features more than 600 items. It runs through Sept. 7
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which pre-date the oldest previously known copies by more than 1,000 years. These are s’ supported by historic artifacts, Sea Scroll d a e ‘D including a three-ton stone ’s r ds ente from Jerusalem’s Western Wall Science C oks at the Crossroa Lo n and ossuaries (bone boxes) from Exhibition Culture and Religio the early Roman period, as well as e, Of Scienc a trove of scientific materials that explore the history and preservation of the scrolls. By Emily Manthei Though the show focuses on items tied to n 1947, shortly after the end of World War II Israel, exhibit organizers stress the historic and and the atrocity of the Holocaust, and less universal aspects. than a year before the establishment of the “This show is not about the writings, the Bibstate of Israel, a group of Bedouin shepherds lical sources. We didn’t see this as a religious exwandered into a cave in Khirbet Qumran, on hibit,” said David Bibas, the Science Center’s Cuthe northwestern shores of the Dead Sea. Here, rator of Technology Programs. Instead, he said, less than an hour from Jerusalem, they came there were “intersections of culture, history and across some extraordinarily preserved manuarcheology.” scripts written on decomposing animal skins Preservation and Display roughly 2,000 years ago. Much remains in question about the Dead These soon became known as the Dead Sea Sea Scrolls, including who placed them in caves Scrolls, and were heralded as one of the most and why. Some experts believe the scrolls were important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. They were seen as a vital link con- written by scholars in Jerusalem and were hidden in Qumran during the Roman conquest of necting modern-day Jews to the ancient HeJerusalem and the destruction of the Second brew people and religious traditions dating Temple. Another theory says the scrolls were back more than 3,000 years. created by a community of Jewish sectarian Those findings are the basis of Dead Sea Scrolls: The Exhibition, which recently opened at scholars residing in Qumran. After being preserved for millennia by the the California Science Center in Exposition Park. arid desert air, the scrolls are now held in a speThe show, the largest of its kind outside of Isracial conservation laboratory established by the el, with more than 600 items, will be on display Israel Antiquities Authority. through Sept. 7. They ended up in Exposition Park partly The highlight of the touring show is actual thanks to David Siegel, the Consul General of fragments of the scrolls, including parts of anIsrael in Los Angeles. His office helped fund cient copies of the Old Testament, some of
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the local installment of the show, as did private Jewish, Christian and other donors. “This exhibit is a celebration of the Abrahamic tradition, the monotheistic tradition,” Siegel said during a press event for the show, citing the religious significance of the text of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the formation of Judaism, Christianity and, later, Islam. The show, put together by the Israel Antiquities Authority, is introduced by a small series of items arranged in reverse chronological order, representing Israel from 2015 all the way back to 1200 BCE. It is intended to be similar to an archaeologist digging deeper to find older layers. Once the viewer has made the journey 3,000 years to the past, the main galleries present a stream of artifacts, detailing the region as it existed in Biblical times. “History takes a lot of time to shape — it’s an evolution,” said Debora Ben-Ami, senior curator of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “Religion is the same. It takes time to shape.” Historical objects in the exhibit give viewers a
glimpse into ancient symbols and worship practices, as well as the way people once lived. There are clay pots used in a traditional Jewish home, and some of the pottery and jewelry found in the exhibit is marked with a stamp bearing an important family’s seal. There are also in-home altars and figurines once used for daily worship. Some scrolls on display are from books in the Torah or Old Testament, but there are also other scrolls that offer insight into life in Biblical times and, in some cases, into the uses of the objects on display. For example, a liturgical text titled “Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice” may have been used in formal Sabbath services. A marriage contract and the apocryphal book of Tobit, found only in the Catholic tradition, are also among the items. Another portion of the show focuses on the science of dating and preserving the artifacts. The exhibit explains how recent advances in molecular biology allow scientists to test the DNA of the animal skins on which the scrolls were written to identity the species and even animals used. This, in turns, helps researchers put together fragments that were from the same original scroll. The exhibit also explains how, using technology developed by Pasadena’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, spectral imaging allows scientists to track deterioration of the scrolls over time, and even detect future deterioration before it is visible. Displays on carbon dating and the parchment sources used for writing the scrolls also make for interactive elements. Dead Sea Scrolls is complemented by a new 3D IMAX film, Jerusalem, narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch. It soars high above the city and delves deep into sacred sites as it follows three women of different faiths who each call Jerusalem home. Overall, the exhibit aims to provide a broad, cohesive approach to a number of subjects. Yes, there is a religious aspect, but organizers stress that it goes beyond Judaism and encompasses other cultures, as well as science, history and even politics. “It highlights what we all have in common,” said Siegel. Dead Sea Scrolls: The Exhibition runs through Sept. 7 at the California Science Center, 700 Exposition Park Drive, (213) 724-3623 or californiasciencecenter.org. Although entry to the Science Center is free, Dead Sea Scrolls requires a special admission ticket. Entry is $12.75 for museum members and $19.75 for non-members with discounts for seniors and students.
photo courtesy Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library, Israel Antiquities Authority, photographer: Shai Halevi
The highlight of the show is fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The 2,000-year-old writings were discovered in a cave in 1947.
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Polishing the Glass Slipper New ‘Cinderella’ Is a Modern, Old-Fashioned Classic By Jeff Favre f all the fairytale princesses in the land of happy endings, Cinderella currently commands the spotlight. A live action hit movie has updated the version most people know, Disney’s animated classic, which itself was loosely adapted from the 17th century story by Charles Perrault. Now, in a well-timed move, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella has opened in Downtown Los Angeles. The show, which debuted on Broadway in 2013 and ran for two years, is touring the country. Fresh and funny, while retaining the elegance of its 1957 television version, the live musical Cinderella is at the Ahmanson Theatre through April 26. Directed by Mark Brokaw, it stars an enchanting Paige Faure in the title role (though she goes by “Ella”). The only musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II to be written for the small screen, Cinderella, over the decades, has become a collage of something old and something new. The original, seen by tens of millions of people, put Julie Andrews in the glass slipper (only a poor quality kinescope remains). It was revived for TV, starring Lesley Ann Warren, in 1965, and again in 1997, with pop star Brandy as the princess and Whitney Houston as the fairy godmother. Each incarnation has a different book and a revised song lineup, with some musical numbers coming from the discard pile of the Rod-
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gers and Hammerstein canon. The master tailor who has sewn a seamless patchwork for this latest effort is Douglas Carter Beane. His book is modern without relying on too many tropes that could quickly date it. Best of all, he has added the humor. The laughs are plentiful and are appropriate for children (the show is recommended for those 6 or older), even if they won’t get every quip. Beane’s storyline borrows from the Perrault plot, with a few twists. There’s still a horrid stepmother (Fran Drescher, in a wonderfully annoying role), but her stepdaughters aren’t evil, in particular Gabrielle (Kaitlyn Davidson), who secretly is in love with the democracyminded rebel-rouser Jean-Michel (David Andino). Her sister Charlotte (Aymee Garcia) is a funny, self-obsessed whiner. The big change comes in the form of the usually dull prince. Topher (Andy Huntington Jones) can slay dragons and monsters, while simultaneously pondering what he should do to bring meaning to his life. He’s simple and naïve, but he cares and wants to be a better person. Most key elements are there, from the royal ball to the fairy godmother, a beggar woman known as Crazy Marie (a charismatic Kecia Lewis, who has a remarkable vocal range). The first act closer actually provides an unexpected cliffhanger, which is no easy task for such a familiar tale. Of course, the show wouldn’t exist without the music, and the songs written both for Cinderella, as well as for other productions, are a
Paige Faure is the title character and Andy Huntington Jones plays Prince Topher in a touring version of Cinderella at the Ahmanson Theatre.
photo by Carol Rosegg
feast of Hammerstein’s operetta style, which helped shape mid-20th century musical theater. Rodgers’ lyrics lean toward the thematic more than the specific, so a song such as “Me, Who Am I?,” originally intended for the show Me and Juliet, fits nicely as an opening lament for the prince. The casting is a dream come true. Faure’s angelic voice and genuine sense of kindness is the essence of the future princess. Jones, as the prince, is a portrait of honesty and humility. It’s easy to see why Cinderella would fall for him. Lewis is a powerhouse singer who anchors the most memorable number, “Impossible.” The sole Tony for Cinderella went to William Ivey Long, whose use of magician-style quick changes from Crazy Marie to fairy godmother, and from Cinderella’s rags to gown, earn gasps
and applause. The comedy capper to the costumes comes after Marie transforms into a beautiful fairy. Cinderella says, “But you’re a crazy woman. What are you doing in that beautiful gown?” Marie replies, “You’d be surprised how many beautiful gowns have crazy women in them.” It’s that type of irreverence, combined with the respect for the music — Danny Troob’s orchestration provides a rich and cohesive package — that make Cinderella a modern, old-fashioned classic. Most of the songs may not be the hummable, catchy pop style that fuel long-running Broadway hits, but this Cinderella has the elements to keep it relevant for the next generation. Cinderella runs through April 26 at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 9724400 or centertheatregroup.org.
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THOUGHTFUL DANCE, BIG LAUGHS AND A BOOK FESTIVAL FILL DOWNTOWN THIS WEEK
ROCK, POP & JAZZ
Self-identity is a fickle thing. For all the hours you’ve wasted with your talking doctor, perhaps you’d prefer to pop in and see BeginAgain, the transformative contemporary dance affair that lands at REDCAT this week. On Thursday-Sunday, March 26-29, choreographer Zoe Scofield and visual designer Juniper Shuey team up to offer a radical interpretation of the inner workings of humankind in an interlocking duet of motion. BeginAgain plays Thursday-Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. At 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org. After years of women pounding figurative glass ceilings and working for laughs in dank basement clubs, the comedic mainstream is finally comfortable admitting that they can be funny. One of the funniest is Amy Schumer, who’ll be dishing out laughs by the theater-full on Friday, March 27, at the Orpheum. Perhaps you know Schumer from her season on “Last Comic Standing.” Or maybe you’re one of the many raving about her Comedy Central show “Inside Amy Schumer.” Whatever the case, the grand building on Broadway will be rocking during her 7:30 and 10 p.m. shows. Tickets are going fast. At 842 S. Broadway, (877) 677-4386 or laorpheum.com.
THREE You know how kids age fast? Well, the L.A. Chamber Orchestra’s once nascent Baroque Conversations series is now nine, and this week continues its habit of providing illuminating chamber music concerts to Downtowners. Andrew Shuman, LACO’s principal cellist, helms the program on Thursday, March 26, at 7 p.m. in the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall. The focus of the show will, naturally, be the cello and its orchestral role as illustrated by pieces from Bach, Marcello, Vivaldi and others. Tickets are still available. At 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-1050 or colburnschool.edu.
photo by Justin Stephens
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For those still reading text longer than 140 characters, Grand Park’s third annual Downtown Bookfest offers a wonderful opportunity to get together with fellow bibliophiles. The lawn will be festooned with myriad literary pleasures on Saturday, March 28, from noon-5 p.m. Expect bookmaking, free live theater, pop-up booksellers and a reading from Los Angeles Poet Laureate Luis J. Rodriguez, among many other options. Guests are encouraged to leave their copies of Fifty Shades of Grey at home. At 200 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-8080 or grandparkla.org.
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photo by JD Ramage
Blue Whale 123 Astronaut E. S. Onizuka St., (213) 620-0908 or bluewhalemusic.com. March 23: Maksim Velichkin. March 24: Bobby Bradford Quartet and The Vinny Golia Sextet. Put them together and you get a Tentet. March 25: Korduroy and Maxox. March 26: Jens Kuross Presents Nobody’s Pretty. March 27-28: Chris Potter’s Underground will not actually take place underground. March 29: Dwight Trible. Bootleg Bar 2220 Beverly Blvd., (213) 389-3856 or bootlegtheater.org. March 23: Before Dugas were Dugas, they were in famed Canadian outfit The Duhks. If this name doesn’t ring any bells, you are clearly not from Winnipeg. March 27, 9 p.m.: Non-genre specific pastiche enthusiasm unites nostalgia by committee band Sweet Bump It. March 28, 9 p.m.: See if you can guess what Japan Night 2015 bands Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re, Quorum and The Fin all have in common. March 29, 9 p.m.: In case you missed Dugas on Monday, you can see Dugas on Sunday. Club Nokia 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-7000 or clubnokia.com. March 26, 8 p.m.: You should catch tonight’s classic R&B vocal outfit before they expand their name to Boyz II Men II Senior Citizens. March 27, 8 p.m.: Just because we didn’t even know Jazmine Sullivan has been on a three-year hiatus from the music industry doesn’t mean that we don’t care. Escondite 410 Boyd St., (213) 626-1800 or theescondite.com. March 29, 10 p.m.: You can always count on pistol-packing lothario RT N the 44s for Sunday night pleasures. Exchange LA 618 S. Spring St., (213) 627-8070 or exchangela.com. March 27: Crookers. March 28: Worthy. Nokia Theatre 777 Chick Hearn Court, (213) 763-6030 or nokiatheatrelalive.com. March 25-26, 8 p.m.: You may know Charlie Wilson as the bomb dropping front man for the Gap Band. Or you may not. We have no idea what you know. March 27-28, 8 p.m.: Ricardo Arjona is riding the aesthetics of the Ricky Martin bubble to fame or famine. Orpheum Theatre 842 Broadway, (877) 677-4386 or laorpheum.com.
photo by Tim Summers
By Dan Johnson : calendar@downtownnews.com
ONE
Monday, March 23 Adam Johnson and Blaine Harden at Aloud Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7500 or lfla.org. 7:15 p.m.: Novelist Johnson and scholar Harden find a nexus as they discuss their methodologies for approaching the conundrum that is totalitarian North Korea. No, this is not about the abysmal movie The Interview. WWE RAW Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7100 or staplescenter.com. 4:30 p.m.: Are you ready for the greatest athletes in sports entertainment? Did you know that wrestling is considered sports entertainment? Wednesday, March 25 Marcelyn Gow at SCI-Arc 960 E. Third St., (213) 613-2200 or sciarc.edu. 7 p.m.: We’re positive tonight’s lecture is a cogent, coherent analysis of architecture. saturday, March 28 Downtown Bookfest Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-8080 or grandparkla.org. 12 p.m.: Bookselling is but a fringe benefit to this bibliophilic exercise as live readings, theater, crafts and many more activities fill out an all-ages event for the literate and literate hopeful.
TWO
EVENTS
March 23, 2015
photo by Cynthia Smalley
24 Downtown News
A quick vocabulary primer: RPGs are super scary explosive projectile weapons, but also Role Playing Games in which participants take on the personalities and magical powers of fictional characters. So when we say She Kills Monsters is a comedic take on the RPG, and is now playing at the Loft Ensemble through May 3, we have the latter meaning in mind. An absurdist journey about obsessives cavorting through a fantasy environment promises laughs, cultural recognition and what the press release refers to as “randy ogres.” Interpret as you may. The Arts District show plays Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. At 929 E. Second St., (213) 680-0392 or loftensemble.org.
Send information and possible Don’t Miss List submissions to calendar@downtownnews.com.
March 23, 2015 March 27, 7:30 and 10 p.m.: Amy Schumer is rumored to be funny. Two shows in one night will be your chance to confirm or deny. March 28, 8 p.m.: Last week’s warning regarding the cavalier use of psychedelics for a Widespread Panic show expands to tonight’s Pink Floyd Experience gig. Just because it’s a cover band doesn’t many the trip will be any less intense. Redwood Bar and Grill 316 W. Second St., (213) 652-4444 or theredwoodbar.com. March 23: Sterile Jets. March 25: The Singles and The Devils Twins. March 26: Bad Antics, Virginia Reed, Love Moon, Yaawn and Bitch School. March 27: Schitzophonics, The Blackerbys, No Longer Idle and Rock ’N Roll Suicides. March 28, 3 p.m.: Carrots, Get Wreckt and Micah. March 28: She Dominates, Vatican Assassins, Orwell’s Nightmare, Enemy Proof and Landfill. March 29: LA Bestia (the band not the restaurant). The Regent 448 S. Main St. or theregenttheatre.com. March 28, 9 p.m.: It’s ’90s night at Bootie L.A. We’re praying for a Warren G/White Town mashup: “I could never be your regulator.” Seven Grand 515 W. Seventh St., (213) 614-0737 or sevengrand.la. March 24, 10 p.m.: Bring your matching tracksuits and Nikes because improvisational jazz band The Makers have a plan to rendezvous with a spaceship in the tail of the HaleBopp comet. The Smell 247 S. Main St. in the alley between Spring and Main or thesmell.org. March 24: Yonatan Gat, Dog Party and AQH. March 26: Plague Vendor, Lords of Venus. March 27: Terry Malts, Wild Moth, Hollow Sunshine and Pocketknife. March 28: Post Life, Seaweed Salad and Likes.
THEATER, OPERA & DANCE Bob Baker’s Something to Crow About Bob Baker Marionette Theater, 1345 W. First St., (213) 250-9995 or bobbakermarionettes.com. March 28-29, 2:30 p.m.: The puppets are getting downright agrarian as Bob Baker’s marionettes sojourn into the American heartland in Something to Crow About. Global Taxi Driver Union Center for the Arts, 120 Judge John Aiso St., (213) 625-7000 or eastwestplayers.org. March 28, 8 p.m. and March 29, 2 p.m.: The stories of countless taxi drivers from across this wide world come into theatrical focus with Leilani Chan’s work. The Marriage of Figaro Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7219 or laopera.org. March 26, 7:30 p.m. and March 29, 2 p.m.: Figaro hits the scene in the Rossini classic that, inevitably, you have hummed some part of during your life. REDCAT Studio REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org. March 23, 8:30 p.m.: Dance, theater and multimedia all have their moment in the sun as this experimental and developing works funnel again delivers the goods. She Kills Monsters Loft Ensemble, 929 E. Second St., (213) 680-0392 or loftensemble.org. March 28, 8 p.m. and March 29, 7 p.m.: Role playing games get the theatrical treatment in this satirical journey through the heart of the absurd and fictional heroic quest. Sleepaway Camp Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main St., (213) 617-1033 or downtownindependent.com. March 24, 9 p.m.: Every Tuesday this irreverent stand-up comedy cavalcade takes up residence at the Downtown Independent. Zoe | Juniper BeginAgain REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org. March 26-28, 8:30 p.m. and March 29, 7 p.m.: World-class choreography and art direction convene in this kinetic examination of the human condition.
CLASSICAL MUSIC Tuesday, March 24 London Symphony Orchestra With Tilson Thomas and Yuja Wang Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7211 or musiccenter.org. 8 p.m.: The celebrated conductor and USC alum Michael Tilson Thomas made a name for himself in Boston and San Francisco. Nowadays, he throws that baton around for the London Symphony Orchestra. He and attention-grabbing pianist Yuja Wang will be dropping in with numbers from Britten, Gershwin and Sibelius. Thursday, March 26 LACO: Baroque Conversations 3 Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 or colburnschool.edu. 7 p.m.: The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s first cellist Andrew Shulman leads a primer on the instrument with a talented cast of supporting players and music from San Martini, Marcello, Vivaldi, De Fesch, Insane Clown Posse and Bach (we made one of those up). Continued on next page
Downtown News 25
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26 Downtown News Continued from previous page Friday, March 27 Faculty Showcase Recital Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 or colburnschool.edu. 7:30 p.m.: From vibraphone and guitar combos to bassoon and contra bassoon numbers, Colburn School instructors come out to drop some fine numbers. Sunday, March 29 Gil Shaman Plays Bach Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7211 or musiccenter.org. 7:30 p.m.: Six solos from the maestro form the core of tonight’s violin-oriented show.
LAST WEEKS ANSWERS
CROSSWORD
FILM Downtown Independent 251 S. Main St., (213) 617-1033 or downtownindependent.com. March 23-26: Get animated about anime with The Last: Naruko the Movie. It references Armageddon, the moon getting close to Earth and a bunch of other things. March 23-26: Jean Luc-Godard himself directs Goodbye to Language 3D, which digs deep into the 3D experience. One of the stars is, we kid you not, Godard’s own dog, who plays a dog named Roxy. Grammy Museum 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-6800 or grammymuseum.org. March 25, 7:30 p.m.: All Things Must Pass laments the demise of Tower Records. Not to disparage the importance of the MP3, but we miss the smell of newly opened CDs. IMAX California Science Center, 700 State Drive, (213) 744-2019 or californiasciencecenter.org. Galapagos 3D. If it was good enough to blow Charles Darwin’s mind, it’s probably good enough for you! Forces of Nature promises a panoply of nature’s worst destruction.. Experience the gripping story full of hope, crushing disappointment and triumph in Hubble 3D. Regal Cinemas LA Live 1000 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 763-6070 or lalive.com/movies. Through March 19: The Divergent Series: Insurgent 3D (11:20 a.m., 2:20, 5:20, 8:20 and 11:20 p.m.); The Divergent
Series: Insurgent (1, 4, 7 and 10 p.m.). See website for additional details.
MUSEUMS African American Firefighter Museum 1401 S. Central Ave., (213) 744-1730 or aaffmuseum.org. Ongoing: An array of firefighting relics dating to 1924, including a 1940 Pirsch ladder truck, an 1890 hose wagon, uniforms from New York, L.A. County and City of L.A. firefighters, badges, helmets, photographs and other artifacts. FIDM Museum FIDM, second floor, 919 S. Grand Ave., (213) 624-1200 or fidmmuseum.org. Ongoing: The FIDM Museum presents Artfully Adorned, an exceptional collection of fragrance, cosmetics, and ephemera from the house of Lucien Lelong. This group of objects was donated by Monique Fink, wife of artist Peter Fink, who worked for Lelong as package designer and interior decorator. Ongoing: Accessories from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection surveys footwear, fans, gloves, purses and hats. California African American Museum 600 State Drive, (213) 744-7432 or caamuseum.org. Through July 5: Formerly of Watts Tower Arts Center fame, Mark Steven Greenfield’s lengthy career in the arts receives its due in Lookin’ Back in Front of Me: Selected Works. Through May 3: From Women’s Hands features work from five African-American women housed within the CAAM Courtyard. Ongoing: The multi-functional Gallery of Discovery offers visitors the opportunity to connect with the lineage of their own fam-
March 23, 2015 ily, engage in artistic workshops, educational tours and other programs of historical discoveries. Hear recordings of actual living slaves from the Library of Congress archives and discover stories from the past. California Science Center 700 State Drive, (323) 724-3623 or californiasciencecenter.org. Ongoing: Mission 26: The Big Endeavour presents Los Angeles’ very own Space Shuttle/tree destroyer in all its splendor. Ongoing: Science in Toyland presents physics through favorite kids toys. This hands-on exhibit engages museum visitors with Dominos, Sails and Roller Coasters in a fun, but informational primer on friction, momentum and chain reactions.
MORE LISTINGS Hundreds of listings of fun and interesting things to do in Downtown Los Angeles can also be found online at ladowntownnews. com/calendar: Rock, Pop & Jazz; Bars & Clubs; Farmers Markets; Events; Film; Sports; Art Spaces; Theater, Dance and Opera; Classical Music; Museums; and Tours.
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Downtown News 27
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March 23, 2015
ArOUnD tOWn, 2 riod wigs, gladiatorial armor and even slave cuffs!” (L.A. Opera’s exclamation point). Prices are $25-$600 and there will also be a “diva rack” of costumes worn by Plácido Domingo, Kiri Te Kanawa, Frederica von Stade and others; those are $1,000-$5,000. The sale is in the costume shop parking lot at 330 S. Alameda St.
Rail Conference in Downtown This Week
A
lot of people ride public transportation in Los Angeles. Many of them also like to talk about riding public transportation. They’ll get their chance this week in Downtown. The Rail Users Network is hosting its annual conference on Friday, March 27, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the offices of the Southern California Association of Governments (818 W. Seventh St., 12th floor). The Making the Transition from Roads to Rail Conference will include four panel discussions, including talks focused on transit-oriented developments, and rail expansion and the emerging regional and inter-regional rail network. The event includes a Saturday “behind-the-scenes” tour of Union Station and Metro’s rail operations center. Registration is $85 in advance and $90 at the door. Registration and additional information is at railusers.net.
Correction
NEW LOCATION OPENING SOON! THURSDAY
MARCH 26
201 W. WASHINGTON BLVD.
We invite you to join us at our NEW McDonald’s restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles. When we open the doors on March 26 our new McDonald’s restaurant will be one of just 18 in the world to provide our Create Your Taste experience for lunch or dinner!
The March 16 preview feature of the Cinderella musical at the Ahmanson Theatre incorrectly identified some members of the cast. The character of the stepmother was actually played by Fran Drescher; Kaitlyn Davidson filled the role of the sister Gabrielle; and the other sister, Charlotte, was played by Aymee Garcia. Additionally, Paige Faure, who plays Ella, portrayed the fairy godmother, not the stepmother, during a childhood performance.
Seventh Street, 8 impact on street life, said Clare De Briere, chief operating officer at The Ratkovich Company. The developer had always planned major streetscape improvements around The Bloc, but the overall effort brings a coherent and cohesive plan that pushes Downtown toward a more pedestrian future.
All of your favorites - Our world famous French Fries, Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, Premium Salads, etc - will still be on the menu, but we will also be taking McDonald’s burgers to a whole new level of greatness. You will be able to completely customize your burger with new flavors, choose your own ingredients, and have it delivered with table side service. Create Your Taste is going to be different from anything you’ve experienced at McDonald’s. Mark your calendars for March 26 - Join us for lunch or dinner and be one of the very first in the world to experience Create Your Taste. All of us at your Downtown Washington and Hill McDonald’s are excited and we hope you will be too! McDonald’s Opening Soon! 201 W. Washington Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90015 (Across the street from LA Trade Technical College)
McDonald’s 201 W. Washington Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90015 (across the street from LA Trade Technical College) © 2013 McDonald’s. At participating McDonald’s.
photo by Gary Leonard
The work on Seventh Street is timed to take advantage of the upgrade of The Bloc and the construction of the replacement for the Wilshire Grand.
“The easier it is for people to get around other than their private car, the better,” De Briere said. “We have a huge parking lot at The Bloc, but the reality is, how do we make the neighborhood more efficient for people who are already in Downtown? There are some concerns about the project. Eric Bruins, director of planning and policy at the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition, expressed optimism for the overall plan, but said the city should review how a mix of bikes, buses, cars and potentially a streetcar on a congested road could become more problematic. Kerry Moy, who is a co-owner of Seventh Street’s Wokcano and 3rd Generation restaurants, also expressed support for the plan, but said it doesn’t address his chief concern about the corridor: how the number of homeless people and panhandlers on the sidewalk impacts businesses and pedestrians. Those and other issues can be discussed at upcoming public meetings about the project. The next is expected in early April, Maricich said. eddie@downtownnews.com