LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
NEWS Volume 38, Number 52
INSIDE
Restaurant Highlights 13
2
A new cigar bar, crime falls, and other happenings Around Town.
5
Checking out some businesses that couldn’t cut it in 2009.
W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
December 28, 2009
A Most Entertaining Town Dudamel Dominated, But There Was Plenty More Music, Theater, Film, Puppets, etc. in Downtown in 2009
3
Standouts from Urban Scrawl.
4
A good year for local housing (really).
6
The sports scene’s wins, losses and divorces.
7
Play 4th and Long Football and win prizes.
8
city editoR
T
hose looking to be entertained in Downtown had no shortage of options in 2009. There was no shortage of highlights either. The community drew the focus of the classical music world with the debut of Gustavo Dudamel atop the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Film fans flocked to the area for a new cineplex and the return of a festival. Art lovers embraced a museum attempting to come back from the brink. Here are 10 of the entertainment standouts of 2009. Entertainment Story of the Year: Dudamel Mania: New Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Director Gustavo Dudamel took the city by storm when he replaced Esa-Pekka Salonen, who had led the world-renowned orchestra for 17 years. The Phil was not shy about marketing its young star, splattering his enthusiastic smile and dark, curly locks on the sides of buses and on banners draped over Walk Disney Concert Hall. The fever culminated on Oct. 8, when the 28-year-old Venezuelan made his Downtown debut leading the orchestra, conducting a new piece commissioned from composer John Adams called “City Noir.” Dudamel closed the night with Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony. After the performance, the crowd spilled onto Grand Avenue for a gala celebration. For that night and ever since, the city has swooned over the young conductor.
A Ring Thing: In 2009 the Los Angeles Opera launched its presentation of Richard Wagner’s four Ring cycle works. The first of the pieces by the anti-Semitic, 17th century composer was Das Rheingold in February. Die Walküre followed in April and the five hours of Siegfried was mounted in September (the final work, Götterdämmerung, opens in April 2010). The shows directed and designed by Achim Freyer filled the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. They also won raves, though they came with a cost — the $32 million price tag for the new works helped send L.A. Opera to the County late in the year, where they negotiated a $14 million loan. The hoopla will hit a crescendo next year, when the city comes together for Ring Festival L.A., which will include all four operas and hundreds of associated events. A Contemporary Return: The future of the Museum of Contemporary Art was in question a little more than a year ago following a financial crisis brought on by rising spending and a plunging endowment. MOCA Director Jeremy Strick resigned in December 2008, several planned exhibits were canceled, and in January the museum slashed its budget and reduced its staff by 20%. Additionally, the Geffen Contemporary annex in Little Tokyo remained closed most of the year. Now, a financial belt tightening led by new CEO Charles Young seems to be working, as tens of millions of dollars worth of gifts and pledges have been announced. On Nov. 15, the museum launched
photo by Gary Leonard
Gustavo Dudamel was the center of attention when he took over the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His Oct. 8 debut at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (followed by a gala celebration on Grand Avenue) drew worldwide press.
Collection: MOCA’s First Thirty Years. Filling approximately 50,000 square feet of exhibit space in both the Grand Avenue and Little Tokyo venues, it features approximately 500 paintings, sculptures, photographs and more from Ed Ruscha, Chris Burden, Alberto Giacometti and about 200 others. A gala dinner the night before
The Good, the Bad And the Broke Downtown in 2009 Saw New Landmarks, Bitter Battles and Plenty of Bankruptcy
Five great entertainment options.
14
14 CALENDAR LISTINGS 16 MAP 17 CLASSIFIEDS
by anna Scott Staff wRiteR
say the past 12 months were boring. Here are some of the year’s highlights.
or Downtown Los Angeles, 2009 was a year of extremes. Longanticipated landmarks opened to major fanfare, while some longstanding conflicts reached a boiling point. Then there was the economy, which impacted just about everyone who lives or works in the Central City. There was no shortage of headlines Downtown in 2009, and no one can
Everyone Goes Bankrupt: At least eight Downtown residential projects filed for bankruptcy in the past year, throwing a wrench in plans to bring thousands of new housing units on the market (not that it was a dead year, as more than 10 residential projects opened; see story on page 3). Some of those developments, see Year in News, page 10
F
The Voice of Downtown Los Angeles
the opening raised $4 million for the museum. Red Carpet: On Oct. 26, Downtown went to the movies, with the opening of the Regal Cinemas Stadium 14. The 14,000-square-foot multiplex at L.A. Live debuted with the see Entertainment, page 12 rendering courtesy of AC Martin Partners
by RichaRd Guzmán
The year in policing.
In April, officials with Korean Air and Thomas Properties Group announced plans for a $1 billion development to replace the Wilshire Grand hotel. It was the most bullish sign of the future in a year dominated by the down economy.