lc 03 2020 by Larchmont Chronicle

Larchmont Chronicle

VOL. 58, NO. 3

• DELIVERED TO 76,439 READERS IN HANCOCK PARK • WINDSOR SQUARE • FREMONT PLACE • MIRACLE MILE • PARK LA BREA • LARCHMONT •

IN THIS ISSUE

Sunday Farmers’ Market ‘is here to stay’

Trace history of your home with the 1940 census n Home sleuthing

SECTION THREE

BACK FROM Iowa. 1-16

GAME’S ON at St. Brendan.

1-18

S. LA BREA is on the map. 3-10 For Information on Advertising Rates, Please Call Pam Rudy 323-462-2241, x 11 Mailing permit:

n Councilmember Ryu announces March 14 meeting to discuss

By Julia Stier With the 2020 Census just around the corner, the Larchmont Chronicle is searching through the records of the 1940 census — which were finally released to the public in 2012 after being held for the mandatory 72-year waiting period — to show our readers a way to learn a bit about their homes’ histories. The U.S. Census is taken every 10 years. The numbers collected dictate the number of seats each state gets in the House of Representatives. The next census will take place this month — in March. See Census, p 10

cars shut down traffic on Melrose Avenue. When patrons and employees failed to heed police demands, officers stormed “Melrose Place 25 Cap,” located at

By Caroline Tracy Councilmember David Ryu has announced a meeting to discuss a simmering controversy concerning the Larchmont Sunday Farmers’ Market and a small playground designed to replace six of the city surface parking lot’s existing 34 spaces. The meeting was prompted by e-mails from Windsor Square resident Gary Gilbert that generated an outpouring of concern from Market patrons and local residents. Meeting March 14 The community meeting will take place on Sat., March 14, from 2 to 4 p.m., at Marlborough School’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 250 S. Rossmore Ave. (2nd Floor). There is street parking in the vicinity, and limited on-campus parking for cars and bicycles may be accessed from westbound Third Street, just west of Arden Blvd. Controversy incited On a morning last month (Feb. 18), many residents of our corner of Los Angeles awoke to e-mails and social media posts from a neighbor, alerting them that the existence of the Sunday Farmer’s Market is at risk. The alleged reason: the mini playground that the city has

See Pot Shop, p 7

See Sunday Market, p 7

Beloved Bergin’s remains the same. Whew! n St. Pat’s on the menu

By Sondi Toll Sepenuk Unlike the little house in Disney/Pixar’s movie “Up,” Tom Bergin’s Irish Pub won’t be at risk of a balloon bouquet lifting it off to the great unknown. But the Tudor-Revival-style structure, which has weathered several openings and closings in its 84-year history, feels like it’s from another era, being threatened by growth and looming highrises that flank it on every side. Luckily for Los Angeles, though, the beloved pub reopened again in December 2019 under new management and new historical status, and it still is firmly planted on a stretch of Fairfax Ave. between See Bergin’s, p 20

MARCH 2020

FAMILIES visit the popular weekly market on Larchmont.

Police storm Larchmont area pot shop, close street

Guns drawn, police surrounded a local cannabis business Feb. 23 around 4 p.m. demanding that the inhabitants “come out with your hands up” while at least seven parked police

Summer Camps & Programs

Read our annual list of spring and summer camp offerings, activities and school programs in the April issue. Advertising deadline is Mon., March 16. For more information contact Pam Rudy, 323-4622241, ext. 11.

GUNS DRAWN, police surround local cannabis business last month, demanding that those inside “come out with your hands up,” while police cars block traffic on Melrose Avenue.

www.larchmontchronicle.com ~ Entire Issue Online!

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

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Editorial

Calendar

By John Welborne

A special community . . . and equally special readers The staff members at the Larchmont Chronicle join me in thanking our supportive readers who not only have sent the Chronicle your checks in the reply envelopes included in recent issues, but also have written personal notes of encouragement to us. That means, and says, a lot — not only to us — but also to the community around us. It is evidence of what makes this community so desirable, not just today, but for more than 100 years. Your encouragement to us and your concern for — and commitment to — our neighborhoods and the city that surrounds us is a hallmark of Larchmont and its environs. As always, your local newspaper (since 1963 — “thank you,” Jane and Dawne) will continue striving to provide our readers the local stories (and informative advertisements) that we hope add to the quality of your lives and also benefit the community.

Bike Lanes, Trees and Our Farmers Market Many commuters are starting to use bicycles to get around the city and, with the increasing number of automobiles, safely sharing the roads is becoming a challenge. There was a recent proposal to install flashing lights along 4th Street from Highland to Rossmore to facilitate bike traffic. Unfortunately, when more closely examined, this idea became immediately problematic for a myriad of reasons: 1) Bicyclists often do not obey traffic signs, especially STOP signs, so encouraging this traffic through our community would be a danger to pedestrians; 2) Although the plan called for car traffic to be ‘diverted’ by signage, the reality is many commuters ignore these signs and power right through neighborhoods; and 3) The inevitable traffic accidents will result in the city installing true traffic signals, something that has happened consistently with these kinds of solutions. Fortunately, members of our community spoke up and this proposal has been tabled, which means that, for now, it is “on hold”. The Association will continue to keep you informed if this proposal gets activated. The Association is working with neighbors and the Council Office regarding the Larchmont Sunday Farmers’ Market’s operator’s long-held goal of expanding the market. Councilmember Ryu’s office has scheduled a community meeting on Saturday, March 14, 2-4 p.m. at Marlborough School to allow all neighbors to express their views on the Larchmont Farmers’ Market and play space at the city’s parking lot at 209 North Larchmont Blvd. Spring seems to have arrived quickly this year, so tree planting will soon commence. If you need a street tree let us know via our website and the tree will be planted at the Association’s expense. o o o If you’re planning to make any changes to the street visible portion of your house, including hardscaping, and windows, check with our HPOZ Planner Suki Gershenhorn (suki.gershenhorn@lacity.org), before starting. The HPOZ Preservation Plan, which regulates our HPOZ, can be found at http://www.preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park. There is also an online form you can fill out to help speed up the process (http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial. screening.checklist). Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System — tinyurl. com/yyr3unhc — and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180.

Adv.

Fri., Sat., Sun, March 6, 7, 8 – Larchmont Sidewalk Sale. Sun., March 8 – Daylight Savings begins at 2 a.m.; turn your clock forward one hour. Wed., March 11 – Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council board meeting at The Ebell, 743 S. Lucerne Blvd., 7:30 p.m., greaterwilshire.org. Sat., March 14 – Miracle Mile Residential Association annual meeting, Korean Cultural Center, 5505 Wilshire Blvd. 10 a.m. Sat.-Sun., March 14-15 – Wilshire Blvd. street closure in the Miracle Mile. Tues., March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day. Thurs., March 19 – First day of spring.

That’s the question inquiring photographer Talia Abrahamson asked locals along Larchmont Blvd.

Thurs., April 2 – Delivery of the April issue of the Larchmont Chronicle.

Letters to the Editor Girl Scout partners

Thanks for this great article! (“Girl Scouts put cookie sales earnings to good use.”) I do want to say that my partner in crime, Alysoun Higgins, has been a fabulous GSGLA Leader of Troop 495, and a pleasure to co-lead with these past 10 years. Amy Kiehl Miller

Clarifications on homeless housing

Thank you so much for including me in the article (“City Council candidates talk on issues of our time”). I

Correction In last month’s listing of “Candidates and Measures to Appear on March 3 Ballot,” we inadvertently left out the candidates running in the March 3 primary for the 33rd Congressional District. The candidates were incumbent Ted Lieu, Liz Barris, Albert Goldberg, James Bradley, Sarah Liew and Kenneth Wright.

Larchmont Chronicle Founded in 1963 by Jane Gilman and Dawne P. Goodwin Publisher and Editor John H. Welborne Managing Editor Suzan Filipek Associate Editor Billy Taylor Contributing Editor Jane Gilman Advertising Director Pam Rudy Advertising Sales Caroline Tracy Art Director Tom Hofer Classified and Circulation Manager Rachel Olivier Accounting Jill Miyamoto 606 N. Larchmont Blvd., #103

Los Angeles, CA 90004 323-462-2241 larchmontchronicle.com

‘What are your spring break plans?’

would like to clarify a couple of comments that were not printed as I said them. I didn’t actually say “I’m very opposed to bridge housing where people who are the most vulnerable are housed next to drug addicts.” There is only one word missing — but it’s an important one. I said “I’m very opposed to bridge housing where people who are the most vulnerable are housed next to practicing drug addicts.” I have many, friends that are recovering addicts and / or alcoholics. They are incredibly successful in every area of life, and some of the kindest people I know. Being an addict is not an issue, being a “practicing” addict is very different. Also, the “housing first” model encompasses bridge housing and permanent supportive housing. “Housing first” refers to the federal program that views housing as (Please turn to page 8)

2020 Census getting underway

This month (approximately March 12-20), the U.S. Census Bureau will begin inviting households to respond to the 2020 Census questionnaire, either online, by phone or by mail. The questionnaire will ask you about yourself and everyone living in your home, whether you own or rent, your phone number, race and age among other facts. The census count helps determine housing, school, and other programs as well as the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. It’s vital to be counted, and it is required by the U.S. Constitution. Census Day is observed nationwide April 1.

“We’re planning to go to the San Diego Zoo. Also, we have plans to go to SeaWorld.” Enock and Katia Benavides with David and twins Annie and Daniela East Hollywood

“We usually have friends coming out of town from New York, and we hang out with them.” Triplets Magdalena, Isabella and Christian OrtegaChristiansen Hancock Park

“I want to go to Spain. If I’m not working, I want to leave. I want to travel.” Etienne Cuadra Koreatown I think I’m going to Vegas on spring break with my family.” Samantha Alhilly Koreatown

“I would like to go to Palm Springs. Now we’re going to have this discussion later today.” Monica Rodriguez Hancock Park “I’d love to go skiing.” Stan Duprey Hancock Park

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

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Tips in the age of COVID-19: wash your hands — often

By Suzan Filipek Updates about the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) seem to change daily, but practicing safe habits is universal and timeless. “If you’re sick don’t go to work. Get the flu shot and wash your hands,” Dr. Suman Radhakrishna, chair of infection prevention at CHA HPMC (Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center), told us at the end of last month. Why the flu shot? “It’s one less thing to worry about,” she says. “Most people who are infected [with COVID-19] have very few symptoms,” she adds. What’s more, symptoms of the virus are similar to the common cold and flu: body aches and fatigue, congestion, low-grade fever and coughing. Only two percent of those

infected succumb to the disease, and they are usually already suffering from other medical condiDr. Suman tions, said Dr. Radhakrishna Radhakrishna. To prevent the virus from spreading, recent warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend staying home if you have a cold. Traveling is safe as long as you avoid high-risk areas, where concentrations of COVID-19 are

widespread: China, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea (check the CDC.gov for updates). Otherwise the risk is very, very low. “Personally, if I had a ticket for a cruise, I would do it,” she said. When in crowded areas, such as planes, use your hand sanitizer, which is a good rule of thumb in any situation, she adds. “Whether you’re 55 or 80 you have to be careful.” Avoid touching your face: especially your nose, mouth and eyes, which can easily transmit bacteria and viruses from surfaces and other people.

If you have a fever coupled with shortness of breath and believe you have been exposed to the virus, call an urgent care facility or your primary care physician. Testing for the virus is done in-house at CHA HPMC, and it has been simpified to two parts. The turn-around to get results is approximately 48 hours. Until a vaccine is approved, expected to take more than a year, safety measures are paramount. A little makeup would’t hurt either, adds the doctor. Wearing mascara will help keep you from touching your face, she said.

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CEDARS teen program. 15 POLICE BEAT COUNCIL REPORT AROUND TOWN SCHOOL NEWS ENTERTAINMENT Theater Review At the Movies

7 8 12 14 18 19

SECTION TWO VIEW:

Real Estate, Libraries Home & Garden

GARDENING.

HOME GROUND 2 REAL ESTATE SALES 4 ON PRESERVATION 6 ON BOOKS, PLACES 8 LIBRARIES 11 BRIDGE MATTERS 12 PROFESSOR 15 CLASSIFIED ADS 15

SECTION THREE

MIRACLE MILE

1-32

HAND SANITIZER should be applied often, especially in crowded areas.

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

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St. Vincent ‘March for Meals’ promotes friendship with sustenance

Isolation and loneliness vs. By Rachel Olivier St. Vincent Meals on good meals and cheer Wheels (SVMOW), 2303 MiVeronica Dover, executive ramar St., which has been director at SVMOW, wants to called the country’s largest remind people that in addition (approximately 2,000 daily to nutritious meals, safety clients) privately funded se- checks and friendly home visnior nutrition program, ob- its to seniors who might be serves “March for Meals” this lonely or isolated is another month with other MOW pro- benefit of the programs. grams across the country. According to a survey by an The month-long celebration American Association of Reencourages people to par- tired Persons-sponsored poll NEW YEAR ticipate by hosting a fund- on healthy aging, one in three NEW YOU! raising event, volunteering older adults says he or she to deliver or serve meals for lacks regular companionship, erase the holiday stressesout with… DMH the month and speaking andSPA, onespin, in four says, mani he or ped she about MOW programs on so- feels isolated from other peocial media. ple at least some of the time.

Larchmont Boulevard Sidewalk Sale! Friday Saturday & Sunday March 6th 7th 8th

©LC0320

Sponsored by The Larchmont Boulevard Association

CLIENT EDDIE receives daily meals with a side of friendly companionship from volunteer Marie.

ISA, center, gets daily visits from volunteer Lupe (left) and driver Maggie (right).

Another part of the survey on aging found that people who identified as lonely had an increased number of physician visits. While meals from the program are medically tailored to clients’ needs — such as heart healthy, diabetic, renal or low sodium — as well as targeted to holidays and special occasions, those meals supply only part of the picture. According to Dover, “when asked, many seniors state that if they had to choose, they would take the daily visit over the meal.” SVMOW volunteers and staff who work as “runners” to deliver meals also are performing a de facto wellness check on seniors. Typically, the program has the same runners deliver to the same clients each day. This consistency allows for companionship to build during visits. The runner is familiar with the senior’s basic details such as family life or routine. It also means that the runners are the first ones to notice changes in a client’s health. The runners are a line of defense for the clients and can alert a doc-

tor or social worker to get a senior the needed intervention. Good cheer Dover said that recently a client called to thank the staff and let the organization know how grateful she was for her

runner and driver, because they stopped each day to speak with her. She emphasized how much it meant to her now that she has no one anymore. A hot, nutritious meal combined with consistent, caring human interaction goes a long way to offsetting the isolation experienced by many seniors living alone and homebound. And with an aging population here and nationwide, the need within every community will only grow. This month, reach out to someone you know who might need a hot meal and a caring friend. Learn more at stvincentmow.org.

SIGNING the final steel beam.

Tower rises at CHA HPMC

CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center leadership, employees and the construction team signed the final structural piece of steel for the hospital’s new inpatient tower last month before it was hoisted into place. The five-story tower is part of a three-phase, $400 million upgrade at the medical center at 1300 N. Vermont Ave. The new campus is expected to be complete in 2021.

TOPPING OUT the new building at CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital.

Larchmont Chronicle

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FA R M E R S M A R K E T

855-827-5623

C O N TA I N E R S T O R E . C O M

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

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Larchmont Village Plaza parking lot refreshed Security cameras added for underground garage As regular users have noticed, there has been a major refreshment and refurbishment underway in recent months. Driveway and ramp surfaces were refinished. Paint and lighting have been brightened up inside the garage. There is new directional signage. Plus, a new security system has been installed. Given some customers’ uncertainty about using the convenient facility

because it is underground, plus rumored security incidents, the owner has installed an elaborate system of security cameras to monitor and record activity on all floors of the structure. The system is expected to be fully operational this month, according to Liz Lopez of Modern Parking, Inc., operator of the lot on behalf of the city. This story originally ran in April 2019.

PARKING SPACES usually are plentiful in the city’s underground garage next to Rite Aid and under Trina Turk, etc.

SECURITY CAMERAS are installed throughout the underground garage on Larchmont.

PARKING LOT booth and attendant welcome drivers to the surface and underground parking facilities next to Rite Aid.

Sign up now to serve as a volunteer at the Wilshire Country Club when the Ladies’ Professional Golf Association (LPGA) returns to the neighborhood, Mon., April 20 to Sun., April 26. The event will feature 144 of the world’s best female professionals competing over four rounds for a share of the $1.5 million purse. Each LPGA tournament is a massive undertaking, and its success depends on the commitment of an army of volunteers to serve critical needs such as marshaling, scoring, transportation, hospitality services and many other jobs. Volunteering is a good way to get a behind-the-scenes

look at a professional golf tournament, according to event organizers. Sign up before Thurs., March 7 and be entered into a drawing to play a round of golf at Wilshire Country Club. Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age and are asked to complete a minimum of three, 4-6-hour shifts. Volunteers also are required to purchase a uniform package for $55, which includes a golf shirt, hat or visor, volunteer pin, two grounds tickets, and breakfast and lunch for each day worked. For non volunteers, grounds passes are $25 daily, $45 weekly. Visit la-open.com for more information.

LARCHMONT OPTOMETRICS

(323) 465-9682

317 NORTH LARCHMONT BLVD

©LC0320

By John Welborne The easiest way to avoid a parking ticket on Larchmont Boulevard is to park in the City of Los Angeles underground parking structure. No meters to run out! Park all day and pay a reasonable $6 maximum fee when you exit. (And some merchants validate!) The driveway just south of the Rite Aid store leads to one-hour surface parking spaces and to the entrance to the underground structure where there is unlimited parking (until closing time). Parking hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mon. to Sat., and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sun. (which is free). With three underground levels, there almost always are at least a couple of dozen spaces available on the lowest floor, and there usually are spaces available on the upper floors as well. After parking, use the elevator or either of two stairways.

Larchmont Chronicle

Sunday Market (Continued from page 1)

approved to take a small portion of the city’s parking lot that the Market rents on Sundays. On Feb. 20, an article in the “Park LaBrea News” / “Beverly Press” debunked the rumor, explaining that Farmers’ Market operators just hoped — someday — to expand on Larchmont on account of their own enlarging vendor roster, but the Market absolutely is staying on Larchmont. Here at the Larchmont Chronicle, there was evidence as early as Feb. 6 that some people were beginning to link the community-created playground project with the rumored demise of the Farmers’ Market. On that day, Hancock Park resident Megan Derry wrote to the paper (and to Councilmember Ryu), expressing disappointment over what she had heard about a play area replacing the six parking spaces. “Here to stay” Over the course of subsequent days, and many NextDoor posts, it became clear that much of the information being disseminated was incorrect — namely, that the Farmers’ Market is leaving, that the playground is the reason why, and that residents have not been informed. Larry Guzin, president of the Windsor Square Association (WSA) that has spearheaded the “Playground Pilot Project” as part of the WSA’s, and others’, larger plan for the greening of Windsor Square and the surrounding community, begged to differ with the rumors. Said Guzin, in an e-mail: “I spoke to Rob Fisher [of the Council District 4 office] this morning [Feb. 18], and he stated there was “zero evidence” the Market was departing Larchmont, and that he had ongoing contact with the entity managing the market.” Then, in an interview obtained by the “Larchmont Buzz” with Melissa Farwell, director of coordination and development for Raw Inspirations, the manager of the Larchmont Farmers’ Market, Farwell told the “Buzz” on Feb. 19: “We will continue to be in the Larchmont area and hope to be for decades to come.” Farwell added: “We have been working closely with the [City Council] office to ensure that the Farmers

MARCH 2020

Market is in a location that works for the Farmers Market as well as the community.” Next, on Feb. 20, Councilmember David Ryu’s office began replying to all who had been inquiring in response to Gilbert’s several e-mail alerts. Said Ryu’s chief of staff, Nicholas Greif: “We can assure you that the market is staying in the Larchmont community, and there are no plans for the market to close down or leave the Larchmont area. ... Whether the market remains at its current site or shifts to a larger home on Larchmont itself, the market is here to stay.” Gilbert continues to emphasize his disagreement with the small playground, according to numerous additional e-mails he has sent, says John H. Welborne, in his capacity for more than 20 years as Vice President for Planning and Land Use for the WSA. [Welborne also has been publisher of this newspaper since 2015.] Says Welborne: “The playground proposal, which has been in the works since late 2017, always has included the continuation of the market.” Playground outreach Welborne said the background on this project (and the support of the other surrounding neighborhood associations, the merchants’ Larchmont Boulevard Association and others) has been widely reported in both the “Larchmont Buzz” and the Chronicle since early 2018. “Also, the greening project details have been on the WSA’s website for two years and remain there now.” Welborne noted that the removal of six parking spaces (and the relocation of the vendors whose tents now occupy

GARY GILBERT of Windsor Square at the March 1 Sunday Farmers’ Market.

POLICE BEAT WILSHIRE DIVISION

Furnished by Senior Lead Officer Dave Cordova 213-793-0650 31646@lapd.lacity.org Twitter: @lapdwilshire

OLYMPIC DIVISION

Furnished by Senior Lead Officer Joseph Pelayo 213-793-0709 31762@lapd.lacity.org Twitter: @lapdolympic

those six parking spaces) has been known to the operator of the Farmers’ Market since the proposal’s inception. It has been widely reported that the Farmers’ Market raised no objection at that time (or subsequently, according to Caroline Moser, President of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council (GWNC), who stated in a Feb. 19 lengthy NextDoor post: “There were two legally noticed public hearings in June and July 2019 at the GWNC Land Use Committee and Board of Directors meetings. ... [T]he operator of the Market told her liaison at the Larchmont Boulevard Association that the Market would NOT object to the proposed Playground Pilot Project. I do not believe the GWNC heard anything [to the contrary] from the Market operator at either the Land Use Committee or the Board meeting.” (Please turn to page 8)

SECTION ONE

CUSTOMERS AND EMPLOYEES appear to comprise the people escorted out of the pot shop at gunpoint.

Pot Shop

(Continued from page 1) 5635 Melrose Ave. at the intersection of Larchmont Boulevard. The officers escorted out seven people, lining them up against a chain-link fence with their hands up. Other police officers already had four men handcuffed next to a police cruiser nearby. There were 14 officers on scene, at

one point. After some time, it appeared from an eyewitness account that all 11 people were released without arrest. The Chronicle subsequently was unable to confirm any details with the LAPD Media Relations Division. According to Officer Norma Eisenman, information on the incident was not available from the Hollywood Division.

Larchmont Chronicle

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Reform the TOC program to encourage more housing lot, both in the pages of this newspaper and in community meetings across Council District Four. Many of you have heard about my threepronged approach: To build homeless housing, enact policies that keep people in their homes, and reform mental health care to help the sickest folks living on our streets. When I think about this crisis, I don’t just see the thousands of unhoused Angelenos living on the streets — I see the hundreds of thousands of fami-

Sunday Market (Continued from page 7)

First-hand reactions On Sunday, Feb. 23, I ventured to the Farmers’ Market as I have many Sundays before it. The air was crisp and the sun was shining. People seemed genuinely happy — happy to converse with friends and neighbors, happy to taste samples, happy to ask merchants questions about the products they were so carefully vetting. Despite their happiness, some people did express confusion. I asked vendors what they’ve heard about the impending playground and how it will affect them. They had all heard about it, save for a new vegan cheese maker (surprisingly delicious — try the black truffle), but hadn’t been told much. (They seemed to think they would be moved to another corner, squeezed in somewhere else within the parking lot’s footprint.) I spoke with patrons too. I had read a lot of the comments made on NextDoor, and I was expecting strong opinions. But I didn’t encounter anyone who was diametrically opposed to the playground. They just wanted to hear that their Farmer’s Market was safe. I told the people I spoke with what I knew, which is that the playground was planned to exist next to the market. As the market operator and the

SUNDAY SHOPPERS are Georgia and Lou Howe, with Louis and Byrdie (she en route to sell Girl Scout cookies across the street).

Council Office say, the Sunday Market “is here to stay.” However, when asked by the Chronicle what are his current views now that his requested meeting about the Market has been scheduled, Gilbert replied, on Feb. 28, in part as follows: “When plans to begin construction were announced, I received dozens of phone calls, asking why a children’s play space would be put in a parking lot with noxious fumes and moving cars close by, as well as how it would affect the market. It soon became clear that adequate outreach had not been done, but what was most disturbing was despite promises, there was no guarantee, nor is there at this time, that the market would remain in its current location.” As noted, the meeting is Sat., March 14, 2 to 4 p.m.

Prior parklet by the Larchmont lot

The city’s 2020 playground pilot project actually is not the first “greening” idea for the area that is now a parking lot. An earlier, one-day park space was created as part of International Park(ing) Day in 2007 by four friends who had graduated from Marlborough School nearly a decade earlier. As reported in the October 2007 Larchmont Chronicle, Marisa Schwartz, Dena Schwartz Stearns, Cate Norian Koch and Katie Bennett all took a day off work. They went to Anawalt — which loaned them some potted plants and sold them 50 square feet of sod, all of which the four women installed in the street, in the early morning hours, in the one parallel parking space

in front of the city parking lot on Larchmont Blvd. The 2007 Chronicle article quoted Bennett: “Larchmont is the perfect place for this. We need more public open spaces, especially in places like Larchmont, where the community converges.” In a recent conversation, Bennett reaffirmed that view — 13 years later. “Streetsblog LA” has a round-up of local 2019 Park(ing) Day parklets at tinyurl.com/tbqy8tm.

2007 Larchmont Park(ing) Day

Council Report by

David E. Ryu lies barely making it, who are a paycheck or two away from becoming homeless ourselves. If we are to truly solve this crisis of homelessness — which I believe we can do — we must solve the root causes that are driving people into the streets. This is why I proposed a package of renter protections in June of last year to reform Ellis Act enforcement, expand the California Renter’s Tax Credit, and incentivize more moderate-income housing. It’s why I’m fighting for policies like paid parental leave that focus on working families. Finally, it’s why I proposed reform to our Transit-Oriented Communities, or TOC, program a few weeks ago. The TOC program was borne out of Measure JJJ, passed by voters in 2017 to bring more housing around transit. The measure promised voters more affordable housing in transit hubs, and in return, developers would be allowed to build denser, taller projects. Unfortunately, as the TOC program is rolling out, that is not what we

Letters

(Continued from page 2) the first step to curing homelessness. The idea is: provide housing first, then hope the person stabilizes and accepts the treatment and services that they need in order to stay in housing and not return to homelessness. With the housing first model there is no requirement for behavioral changes; drug testing is not allowed; and participation in recovery services or rehabilitation services are suggested but not required. What I’m calling for is that we require people who are capable of participating in their recovery, to do so. I want to do everything we can to get people back to a life of independence, which will then allow more funds to be directed to providing quality care for the people that will never be able to live independently. Lastly, the McCadden project [Los Angeles LGBT Center Anita May Rosenstein Campus] was an absolute nightmare for the surrounding businesses. They had to take the initiative and incur the costs of tree trimming, exterior lighting, private security guard service, and installation of security cameras; and they personally went out daily and physically took down the tents. They then went to

are seeing. In reality, developers are using loopholes in the law to build the lowest amount of affordable housing possible while building towers of luxury units that few can afford. My reform is simple — tier the affordability requirement based on the market value of the neighborhood. So, in high-market neighborhoods like Greater Wilshire, where the profit margin for developers is greater, the affordable housing requirement should be higher as well. The TOC program was not meant to be a giveaway to developers — nor should it be. When 30 units of rent-stabilized housing are destroyed to make way for a luxury tower with 20 units of affordable housing, that isn’t progress — that’s displacement. We need a TOC program that works for us, and that allows for middle -class folks to live where they work. That means in neighborhoods where construction cranes are everywhere and developers are making a killing on taller, denser projects, we should be seeing more units for low-income and moderate-income Angelenos. This is just one of my many plans on housing and affordability in Los Angeles, but the plans are centered around the same idea: Making Los Angeles work for us. One of Los Angeles’ greatest strengths is its

the center and asked them to step in and help them, which they believe they did. It was only by the very hard work and tremendous monetary expenditures of the business owners that the area changed back into a place that they were able to function in. Thank you again for including me and I hope that this clears up any misunderstandings regarding my comments and my views on how we should be handling this crisis. Susan Collins Candidate for City Council, 4th District Write us at letters@larchmontchronicle.com. Include your name, contact information and where you live. We reserve the right to edit for space and grammar.

middle class. When my family moved here and squeezed into a 700 square-foot apartment in East Hollywood, we didn’t have much. But we worked hard, stayed focused, and I grew up to become a Los Angeles City Councilmember. That’s the Los Angeles dream — and I’m fighting every day to ensure that dream can still be a reality.

skin

deep by Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald

Q: There’s no other way to say it: I’m starting to look “jowly”. What are my options other than a facelift? A: I get it. You want more contour and less sag. The Profound laser yields remarkable results for sagging skin around the mouth, cheeks and neck. You can think of it as “facelift lite”. And the best part? A single treatment is required. Here’s how it works: a handheld device allows us to deliver radio frequency energy via microneedles. Just one treatment provides significant improvement in the appearance of wrinkles and skin laxity. In three months you’ll see the maximum benefits: new collagen means firmer, smoother skin; increased elastin means skin that resists sagging and wrinkling; and boosted hyaluronic acid means plumper skin cells. You can imagine why we’re so enthusiastic about Profound. Contact our office for a consultation and welcome back a sculpted jawline and youthful contours. Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald is a Board Certified Dermatologist located in Larchmont Village with a special focus on anti-aging technology. She is a member of the Botox Cosmetic National Education Faculty and is an international Training Physician for Dermik, the makers of the injectable Sculptra. She is also among a select group of physicians chosen to teach proper injection techniques for Radiesse, the volumizing filler, around the world. Dr. Fitzgerald is an assistant clinical professor at UCLA. Visit online at www.RebeccaFitzgeraldMD. com or call (323) 464-8046 to schedule an appointment. Adv.

325 N. Larchmont Boulevard, #158 Los Angeles, California 90004 www.windsorsquare.org 157 N. Larchmont Boulevard

Please see the Association’s full-page report, on the page at right, concerning the Larchmont community playground pilot project underway since early 2018. The Windsor Square Association, an all-volunteer group of residents from 1100 households between Beverly and Wilshire and Van Ness and Arden, works to preserve and enhance our beautiful neighborhood. Join with us! Drop us a line at 325 N. Larchmont Blvd., #158, Los Angeles, CA 90004, or visit our website at windsorsquare.org. ADV.

©LC0320

The homelessness crisis bears down on our city unlike any other. We see it every day, we read it in the news, and all of us — from donations to volunteering — do what we can to help. But here’s the truth: Homelessness is just the most visible tip of the iceberg. Our city, much like cities across the nation, is facing a crisis of affordability. Los Angeles’ middle class, which is what made our City into a thriving metropolis, is under threat. I talk about homelessness a

Larchmont Chronicle IN EARLY 2018, the Windsor Square Green Space Project looked at this community’s 1911 neighborhood (the heart of which is the 1920s neighborhood commercial shopping street of Larchmont Boulevard, north of First Street) to: • Honor and protect its historic heritage, its buildings and their surroundings. • Serve the community, residents and the City. • Plan for a green future, incorporating the aesthetic and park-like intentions of the original designers. … with observations, analysis and proposals intended to implement the goals. Several aspects of this mission recently have been, and are being, reviewed in related efforts, and the February 2018 Study referred to those (Homes and Canopy) while focusing on the third topic, Green Commercial Boulevards and Public Spaces. The third topic was explained in the three pages at right. Multiple community groups agreed to support the proposed pilot project. This material has been posted on windsorsquare.org for the past two years (and might be more easily read there now), but the Windsor Square Association is reproducing the material here to assist in the current community debate.

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Exploring Green Space Options

A Greater Wilshire Community Study of Aesthetic Environmental Maintenance and Improvement with the Windsor Square and Larchmont Boulevard Areas as Prototypes for other Communities

From the Windsor Square Association

From the Larchmont Boulevard Association

From the Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association

From the Hancock Park Homeowners Association

From Hope-Net and the Larchmont Family Fair

From the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council

Adv.

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Census

(Continued from page 1)

1940 CENSUS form for 400 Rimpau Blvd. shows that the Schiller family, all of whom but one daughter were born in Missouri, lived in the home. The form also gives data like employment, income and more. The 2020 Census starts this month.

Another example: Last October, the historic Tudor-style home at 361 N. Citrus was torn down. Since the house had stood there since 1927, we were able to track down some of the history of its inhabitants. In 1940, Attorney Kenyon B. Lee rented the house for $100 per month, and he lived there with his wife Hazel and son Kenyon F. Lee Jr.

Kenyon had five years of college education, and, while he worked 54 hours per week for 52 weeks, his salary was reported as zero. Dorothy Chandler Estate Up next is a house that has gone by many names in its lifetime, including “Los Tiempos,” “The Dorothy Chandler Estate,” and “The White House of the West.” This

multi-monikered house is best known for once being the home of Dorothy and Norman Chandler. However, according to the Census, in 1940 Antoinette Fuller, her son Robert, and their Canadian-English housekeeper, Marion Harington, occupied the house. One of the more expensive ones on the block, the house was valued at $40,000. Ms. Fuller had a college education, but she did not work, and for working 39 weeks as housekeeper, Harington earned $630 for the year. Easier than you think While accessing the archives can seem a little overwhelming at first glance, it’s really

not. Here is how I made my way through: The website is most easily navigated if you have a street address. If you’re curious about the history of your home, on the homepage of the 1940 Census webpage, 1940census.archives.gov, click on the big orange “Get Started” button. On the “Getting Started” page, scroll down until you see the title, “Do you know the location where the person lived?” and press the orange “Start Your Search” button. To begin, enter the state, county, city and street. Once you enter this information, it (Please turn to page 23)

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Ever wonder who lived in your house over half a century ago? What they did for a living? How they lived? The census archives are aiming to answer those questions by providing us with a look at the everyday people of our localities, the ones who don’t always make it into the history books. The official website for the 1940 Census, a part of the National Archives, grants visitors full access to the 1940 Census images, maps and descriptions. To give an accurate-as-possible look at the nation in 1940, the site contains 3.8 million images, taken from over 4,000 rolls of microfilm. Look into the past We took a look into the past at some historic homes in the Greater Wilshire area. One example is the residence at 400 S. Rimpau Blvd. (the home right behind the Nat King Cole home on Fourth and Muirfield). Missouri-natives Carl J. Schiller, his wife Elizabeth, and their 17-year-old daughter Anne once occupied that house. According to the Census Schedule, although Schiller had a college education, he had not worked the previous year, and was coded as OT, meaning that he was unable to work. Elizabeth had a high school education, and she was marked down as caring for the household. Anne, their daughter, was unemployed and in high school.

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Oscar-nominated fashion at FIDM gala, ‘Bombshell’ make-up wiz at art show Around the Town with

Patty Hill “Joker;” Mitchell Travers, who has designs from two films on display, “Hustlers” and “Late Night;” fashion designer Kevan Hall with fellow co-founder of the Black Design Collective TJ Walker; costume designer guild president Salvador Perez; Michelle Cole; Nick Verreos and David Paul; FIDM President Toni Hohberg; Museum Curator Kevin Jones and Museum Director Barbara Bundy. This exhibition (you have got to see the outrageous “Rocket Man” costumes by Julian Day) is free and open to the public until Sat., March 21, Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

We are an elected advisory body to the City of Los Angeles, made up of volunteer stakeholders who are devoted to the mission of improving our communities and bringing government closer to us.

FIDM COSTUME GALA DREW TJ Walker, Ruth E. Carter and Kevan Hall.

COSTUME DESIGNER Mona May with Toni Hohberg, FIDM president, at the opening.

and art world stars alike gathered at the Los Angeles Convention Center for the opening night party of the 25th annual Los Angeles Art Show. Golden Globe-nominated actress Sofia Vergara was the gracious host of the fundraiser to benefit St. Jude Children’s

Research Hospital. The VIP attendees got to see a special sneak peak of this year’s programming, which featured over 130 galleries, museums and cultural institutions from 23 countries. Kazu Hiro’s Iconoclasts exhibition, fea(Please turn to page 13)

• • • There were lots of community gatherings to assist aspiring candidates with their campaigns last month. Adam Schiff was at a home on Van Ness Ave. one Sunday morning. And, in their quests to occupy the Fourth District City Council seat, Susan Collins, Sarah Kate Levy, Nithya Ramen and David Ryu have been making the rounds. In Hancock Park on Feb. 27, in the Rossmore Ave. penthouse of Marilyn and John Wells, David Ryu talked about his accomplishments and goals and responded to guests’ questions at the event organized by John and Jill Bauman, Mike and Lisa O’Malley, Jeff Rake and Paulette Light, Brendan and Allison Schallert and the Wellses. • • • On Feb. 5, Hollywood fashion

Majestic Time Piece

Big Sunday gala event is March 12

Join the Conversation All GWNC meetings are open to the public. Agenda items may be submitted to info@greaterwilshire.org

The fifth annual Big Sunday Gala, honoring Michael Skloff, Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i and Hulu, will be at Candela, 831 S. La Brea Ave., Thurs., March 12 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Skloff, who is the composer for Netflix’s “Grace and Frankie,” (filmed at Paramount Studios), serves on the board as well as helps out at events, including playing in the Big Sunday Band. Smith-Anoa’i is CBS executive vice president of entertainment diversity, inclusion and communication. She also serves on the Big Sunday board, and she engages corporate and volunteer support for Big Sunday. Tickets are $250 and are available at bigsunday.org/gala.

Board of Directors

Wednesday, March 11, 7:00pm Ebell of Los Angeles – Dining Room 743 S. Lucerne Blvd., 90005 Land Use Committee

Tuesday, March 24, 6:30pm Marlborough School – Collins Room, D-200 250 S. Rossmore Ave., 90004 Outreach Committee

1st Saturday of the month at 9:30am Bricks & Scones Café 403 N. Larchmont Blvd., 90004 Environmental & Sustainability Committee

Tuesday, March 3, 7:00pm Marlborough School – Large Conference Room Munger Hall 250 S. Rossmore Ave., 90004 Transportation Committee

Monday, March 23, 7:00pm Marlborough School – Collins Room, D-200 250 S. Rossmore Ave., 90004

Good Shepherd gala at Vibiana

Get Involved!

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We have open Board and Alternate seats on the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council available. For more information, please email info@greaterwilshire.org

www.greaterwilshire.org info@greaterwilshire.org

PENTHOUSE home of Marilyn and John Wells on Rossmore Ave. was the venue for Q&A at a fundraiser for David Ryu.

Good Shepherd Center for Homeless Women & Children’s second annual gala, “Together Towards Tomorrow,” is Sat., March 21 at 6:30 p.m. at Vibiana, 214 S. Main St., in Downtown Los Angeles. The Roaring ’20s fundraiser features an open bar, dinner and dancing. Maureen and Don Binder will be honored. Visit gschomeless.org.

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Costume designers, other film industry executives and friends of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) Museum gathered for the opening gala of the 28th annual “Art of Motion Picture Costume Design” on Feb. 1 in downtown Los Angeles. More than 800 guests viewed the exhibition of 100 costumes from 30 films, including costumes from all five costume designers nominated for the Academy Awards. After viewing the exhibition, guests entered an over-the-top reception in a large tent festooned with crystal chandeliers and an entrance that featured a gigantic swag of polished blue chiffon. Among the fab and glam enjoying gourmet vegetarian fare and martinis were Mathew Hancock; featured costume designer Ruth Carter, who won last year’s award and designed for Netflix’s “Dolemite Is My Name;” Mark Bridges, nominated for his designs in

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Try your luck at casino night at Lebanese Foundation Play backgammon or ping pong and enjoy tea with pastries and sandwiches at a tournament, and enjoy games of chance at a casino night, both hosted by the Lebanese American Foundation at the House of Lebanon, 4800 Wilshire Blvd. Admission is free to the

L.A. ART SHOW attendees: Scott Diament, CEO/president; Kassandra Voyagis, executive director; Kim Martindale, producer/ partner; Rob Samuels, vice president/partner.

backgammon and ping pong tournament on Sun., March 8 from 3 to 6 p.m., although contributions will be accepted. Backgammon players are welcome to bring their own game tables. Both tournaments will be followed by an award ceremony for the winners.

Join us for exciting summer

Around the Town

programs for students entering grades 1-6 at our expanded

turing photo-realistic, largerthan-life sculptures of the heads of Abraham Lincoln, Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo and Jimi Hendrix, drew admirers before they even entered the fair. Oscar-nominated Kazu (for his special effects makeup on the film “Bombshell”) was accompanied by cast members Charlize Theron and John Lithgow. Throughout the evening, attendees were entertained by roaming performers from Cirque du Soleil’s “Volta,” live sculpting by Ichitaka Kamiji, and renowned muralist Robert Vargas, who completed a new mural honoring the late Kobe Bryant. Other attendees included the prolific Sue Wong (whose gowns were on display), Joanna Cassidy, Tig Notao, Andrew Howard, Elizabeth Chambers, Los Angeles Art Show president/CEO Scott

campus in West Hollywood

(Continued from page 12)

June 15-August 14, 2020 1- and 3- week sessions available

New this summer at CEE! Camp S.H.A.K.E. Second City Improv

Photos: Alex Berliner/ABImages

Otis College of Art & Design

Diament, producer/partner Kim Martindale and executive director Kassandra Voyagis. Mark your 2021 calendars for Feb. 10 to 14. This event just gets better and better! “Good art inspires; good design motivates.” Otl Aicher And, that’s the chat!

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were introduced, including Hilary Esketh Crahan, of Windsor Square. Las Madrinas was founded in 1933, during the Great Depression, when 65 civic-minded Southern California women organized to raise funds for the Convalescent Home of Children’s Hospital, which was founded in Los Angeles in 1901. Today, CHLA is ranked the top children’s hospital in the western United States, first in California and fifth in the nation for clinical excellence in the prestigious “U.S. News & World Report” honor roll of children’s hospitals.

Dentistry for Children and Young Adults

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The Unincorporated Life

ART SHOW ATTENDEES included Charlize Theron (“Bombshell”) and make-up wiz Kazu Hiro.

Las Madrinas concludes year with gift to CHLA

At the organization’s annual meeting in February, Las Madrinas president Katie Hult presented to Dr. Mark Krieger, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) director of the Neurological Institute and Surgeon-in-Chief, a major contribution to The Las Madrinas Endowment for the Chief of Neurology Chair and the Neurological Institute Epilepsy Program at CHLA. At the meeting, Kelly Rouse, the incoming president of Las Madrinas, and other board members for the coming year were elected. In addition, the newest members of the group

Spend an evening playing poker, blackjack and craps at a casino night Sun., March 29 starting at 5 p.m. Reservation is $100 and includes gambling chips, dinner and entertainment. For more information, visit houseoflebanon.com. RSVP to hol@houseoflebanon.com.

U L ATA S

“Educating the Hearts & Minds of Young Women Since 1906”

5515 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028 ♥ (323) 461-3651 ♥ www.immaculateheart.org

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THIRD STREET

HARVARD WESTLAKE

YESHIVAT YAVNEH By Shoshana Zisblatt 8th Grade

By Siobhan Schallert 8th Grade

PILGRIM

OAKWOOD SCHOOL

Third Street Elementary celebrated Black History Month with a variety of educational and enrichment activities. My favorite event was the Black History Assembly which featured performances by many of our classrooms, including my classroom’s Double Dutch jump rope presentation. I also liked the Black History heroes-of-the-week board our school set up by the front entrance to teach us about important African Americans who contributed to U.S. history. Our school also celebrated Valentine’s Day! My class did an art project and decorated cookies. We all bought fruit, frosting, sprinkles, and whatever else we wanted to make a delicious treat. We talked, laughed, and had a blast! Our 5th graders organized a Candy Gram drive to raise money for our school by offering to deliver candy and cards to students, teachers and staff. We hope you had a great Valentine’s Day too! Third Street has many exciting events coming up in March. We will have our PTA Reflections Art Ceremony, where students whose work received an award will be recognized in a school assembly. Our annual Walkathon fundraiser is also in March. Our students will walk laps around a track carrying water cups in a competition, do an obstacle course, freeze dance and have tons of fun as they raise money for the school via pledges from family and friends.

March 3 marks the day that HarvardWestlake hosts its sixth annual Special Olympics day. Special Olympics is the largest non-profit sports organization that helps people with physical and learning disabilities on the globe, helping children, adolescents and young adults with special needs participate in various sports activities and training programs. Recently, the organization’s Help Group has extended its program opportunities to help homeschooled students and LGBTQ+ youth. Harvard-Westlake’s Community Council organizes the event. Instead of requiring all students to participate in the Special Olympics event, Community Council hopes to assemble a smaller group of students that would be able to have more active and one-on-one participation with the Special O kids. One major goal for Community Council and the school in general is to motivate students to see community service as voluntary pleasure, not a grudging requirement. In the grander scheme of events, with the advent of the new block schedule next school year, Harvard-Westlake is striving to create more built-in school time for community service activities. Next year, for every cycle of our school week, the administration will set 55 minutes of “community flex” time; during this period, clubs will meet and community service activities will commence.

This month, Yavneh celebrates Tu B’Shvat, the Jewish Agricultural New Year (a “birthday” for trees!) In honor of the special day, students all over the school will be creating projects and going on field trips. Some will visit the Tanaka Farm, and others will go on nature hikes. We also celebrate nature by partaking of new fruits, blessing and appreciating the bounty of food we are fortunate to enjoy. The 8th grade also began this month with a Learn-a-Thon, in which various inspiring speakers came to Yavneh and helped us raise funds for our annual graduation trip. The central theme for the learning day was “The Beauty and Majesty of Israel,” the destination of our senior trip in June. In sports news, volleyball season has begun, with a record number of students trying out for the teams! Practice is in full swing, and we are looking forward to beginning our games in just a few weeks, under the leadership of our incredible coaches. Yavneh is also preparing to participate in Math Counts, an annual math competition for middle school students. Led by Yavneh’s Math Department instructors, two teams of students will represent the school later this month at the competition, which takes place at the Northrop Grumman headquarters. We wish them the best of luck!

Last month was February, and here at Pilgrim that meant celebrating and educating about Black History. We value a truthful education, and that means learning and celebrating all the cultures we can. To do so we brought in Professor Melina Abdullah, one of the founders of the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement, to speak to all of the school about what Black History means and what we can all do to make sure that we understand how far we have come, and how far we still have to go together. We also had a Black History museum set up in the Mayflower House (directly across the street from Pilgrim) basement. It showcased images, books, and art describing the history of Black America. It also had pieces of art and poetry done by students at Pilgrim to help them better understand the culture. On another note, we are preparing for our annual jogathon, a fun run of sorts where we raise money for projects based at the school. It’s going to be an exciting month at Pilgrim, and we hope you will join us.

At Oakwood, the month of March is when the highly anticipated Immersion Program begins! Before Spring Break, students attend two weeks of specific classes tailored to their interests, or new topics they’d like to explore. So far, I’ve been in Computer Animation, in which I learned about the process of how to create an animation on Adobe Animate. Then, last year, I was in Roller Coasters: Physics in Action, where I learned more about physics, and how roller coasters depend on this science. While these courses were centered around travelling inside the Los Angeles area, Immersion also offers trips that take you out of the country and state. This includes heading to Peru to take an indepth look at indigenous culture, or flying to Alabama to learn more about civil rights history. Overall, Immersion’s purpose is to offer new opportunities to students, allowing a hands-on experience without the boundaries of a classroom. Once Immersion ends, spring break will begin, along with the third and final trimester in the school year.

ST. BRENDAN

March 11. The following week is a very anticipated one! Many of our 6th, 7th and 8th graders will take a five-day trip to the East Coast to visit Washington D.C. and colonial Williamsburg! They will visit well-known landmarks such as the White House, the Washington Memorial and many more with the Worldstrides Organization. After our middle schoolers get back from their trip, we have a hot dog lunch on the 25th, and our Winter Sports Banquet on the 26th to celebrate all of our winter teams and committed athletes.

By Sofia Kirilov 4th Grade

By Celine Park 11th Grade

By Scarlett Saldaña 9th Grade

By Olivia Martinez 8th Grade March is an exciting month at Saint Brendan School. On March 6, our 1st graders will lead our First Friday Mass to kick off the month. The 8th graders look forward to finding out the schools they have been accepted to in the beginning weeks of the month. We have an In-n-Out lunch coming up on

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Larchmont Chronicle

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Teens, hospital, patients benefit from volunteer program

By Talia Abrahamson Hundreds of teenagers choose to drive, each week, to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Grove. As part of the hospital’s Teen Volunteer Program, these teenagers don blue-and-white striped jackets and step into the bustling hospital campus to assist with clerical and clinical tasks. With over 2,000 total volunteers helping hospital staff, teen volunteers make up about 330 volunteers during the academic year. Over the summer, the program accommodates anywhere from 500 to 800 teen volunteers. The program draws from high schoolers, 14 to 18. During the academic year, teen volunteers commit to a minimum of two-hour weekly shifts, which turns into three-hour weekly shifts in the summer. Volunteers learn Director of Volunteer Services Casey McGuire, who oversees the teen volunteer program and has worked at the Volunteer Department for the past 10 years, said including teenagers within the working medical environment benefits both the hospital and the teenagers. “It’s giving the teens an opportunity to learn about accountability and responsibility, and how to interact with and communicate with people, many of whom are not

TEEN VOLUNTEERS, left to right, Patricia Valdezco, Arielle Zaytsev, Vanessa Herrera, Angela Davidian.

only substantially older than the teens are, but also are people who are not feeling well or are unable to always interact with the teens, in ways that other members of society, who are hale and hearty and ambulatory, can,” McGuire said. “I think of this as a tremendous opportunity to help provide opportunities to teens, but also help shape those teens and help them to grow up into being adults.” Volunteer Coordinator Mayra Mejia is the first point of contact for teen volunteers. She worked at Cedars-Sinai as a teen herself through the Youth Employment and Development (YED) program, which is a separate program offered in partnership with the Los

Lego ‘Art of the Brick’ on view at California Science Center “The Art of the Brick,” a display of more than 100 Lego sculptures by Nathan Sawaya, is at California Science Center, 700 Exposition Dr. Highlights of the exhibit include a 20-foot tyrannosaurus rex and re-imagined versions of Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” and Leonardo Da Vin-

ci’s “Mona Lisa.” The exhibit also features nine activity stations where visitors can design structures and solve various Lego brick challenges, such as recreating a famous building or bridge, making a mystery object and building a Lego brick car. Visit californiasciencecenter.org.

Rosewood STEM Magnet Urban Planning & Urban Design WE ARE ENROLLING Be part of groundbreaking history and enroll at the first urban planning and urban design STEM magnet in LAUSD. Rosewood is a community that nurtures the whole child and though a STEM, it has many pathways to meet your child’s needs and interests. Contact our main office for guidance with the application process. Visit www.rosewoodelementary.org or call (323)651-0166 Your child may be eligible for transportation.

503 N. Croft Ave., LA, CA 90048

Angeles Unified School District and Regional Occupational Program, and has been working at the hospital ever since. “[They] are young and want to determine whether healthcare is a good career path for them,” Mejia said. “It’s exciting. They keep me going. It makes me happy to see other people happy and helping other people.” Teen volunteers work in departments across the hospital, including the nursing office, admissions, security, Women’s Guild Simulation Center, Division of General Internal Medicine, surgery and pre-operative units and in mostly clerical occupations under administrative supervisors. Patient interaction For volunteers who prefer more patient interaction, nonintensive care units offer volunteers the chance to enter patient rooms and interact with

CEDARS teen volunteer Aaron Harouni.

nurses and clinical employees. They answer patient phone calls, deliver flowers, offer amenities, file paperwork, retrieve and clear meal trays, run errands for staff and hold conversations with patients. “Teens represent an inspiration to patients,” McGuire said. “Teens are young. They’re vibrant. They’re helpful. And to be a patient or a visitor in a patient’s room, and to see a young person come in, who is here out of the goodness of their heart, to help and to interact with them, gives them hope. Not only hope for themselves, but hope for the world and what the world is going to be 10 years from now or 20 years from now.” Program expanding The program has been expanding as more departments and teenagers express interest in participating in it. The hospital, too, has been increasing in size, so more

Photos by Bill Pollard

teenagers have been needed to meet growing numbers of patients and employees. “If we have the capacity inhouse and we have the desire in the community, well, that’s our mission,” McGuire said. “Our mission is to provide volunteers to the medical center and to provide volunteers with the opportunity to volunteer.” Shift hours can contribute toward school students’ community service requirements. “I want every teen to have the best quality experience,” Mejia said. “It’s not about the quantity. I want them to have a great time here, so my goal is for them to give, and at the same time take home, that great accomplishment.” Visit cedars-sinai.org/volunteer-services/high-school-students.html. Talia Abrahamson is a senior at Marlborough School and a Cedars-Sinai teen volunteer.

IMMACULATE HEART

By Samantha Hutchinson 12th Grade At Immaculate Heart, we are welcoming the upcoming spring season, with lots of celebrations and activities! Our spring sports teams, track and field and softball, are gearing up for their seasons with intense conditioning and daily practices. The league meets and games are coming up quickly, so we’re all hoping for a successful season for our teams. Meanwhile, our drama department, dubbed the Genesians, is rehearsing its rendition of the Broadway musical “Caroline, or Change” for our

PAGE

By Isabella Argiropoulos 4th Grade Spring is in the air and this is also my birthday month! My name is Isabella Argiropoulos and I would like to tell you about the many fun and educational events at Page Academy in March. The Shoe Drive I told you about in January, in support of funds2orgs who will distribute our collected new and gently used shoes to people in need, wraps up this month – which grade will win the shoe race? On March 2, we will participate in Read Across America celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Studnts will come to school in their PJs, enjoy a green eggs and ham snack (for real!) and the older students will

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spring production. Students have also just started preparations for Mary’s Day, our spring tradition that takes place in early May. Coming up on March 13 is our beloved tradition of the Spring Luncheon, which has been going on for 75 years and will take place this year at the Glendale Hilton hotel. The day will feature a gourmet brunch, auction opportunities, a fashion show for the high school seniors, and time for Immaculate Heart students to spend with their parents. In other news, our winter sports ended on a high note for the Varsity Basketball team, which advanced to CIF-SS Division 4A playoffs and reached the quarterfinals for the first time in 32 years! We are so proud of our team and what they have accomplished! read Dr. Seuss books to our preschool students. In keeping with the spring season, don’t forget that Daylight Savings Time begins on March 8 and our clocks “spring” forward one hour! The following week, on March 13, it is 3rd quarter report card day – the school year has just flown by! The week of March 16 we will hold parent teacher/conferences and end the week with the Honor Assembly for this quarter. Congratulations to all our Honor Students! We will hold our Water Safety Assembly on March 20 so that all our students learn how to stay safe while enjoying water activities. We finish up the month with a field trip on March 27 to the Museum of Illusions where nothing is as it seems! The museum promises an interactive, immersive and fun experience for our students, where tricks will teach them about vision, perception, the human brain and science!

Connecting with the candidates in Iowa

By Anya Karumanchi The scintillating sun beating down, no jacket, light breeze. Not typically descriptors for the weather in early February in Iowa. However, when I traveled from Los Angeles as a student journalist to the Iowa Caucus, the unusually warm weather was one of the only things to remind me of home. I traveled to Des Moines with KidUnity from Marlborough School. Journalists, campaign staffers, and soonto-be caucus-goers were bustling around the airport and streets, with press badges, ID cards, and clothing with support for their candidate. In my hotel, you could interview Bernie Sanders’ staffers who were also staying there, with the live updates on the caucuses playing 24/7 on the TV. The most pertinent difference between the cities is the opportunity to connect with candidates. Living in Los Angeles, it is nearly inconceivable to ever have an opportunity to even catch a glimpse of a candidate, let alone talk to them. However, Iowa had been proven quite different much to my suprise. The first night I attended Andrew Yang’s rally. Right before my eyes, I beheld a world of renowned journalists, like CNN’s John King, and Yang himself who I was able to get close enough to take a selfie. Meeting Biden Similarly, I attended the Joe Biden rally the following day, being able to ask him questions about his candidacy and have a meet-up with his press

secretary. Even the people in the very back of the room had a chance to have a picture and/or a question or two with Biden. A space like this is unfeasible in a place like Los Angeles, with the population being so large. Even the families of candidates came to talk to each citizen like Chasten Buttigieg (Pete’s husband), who came to the campaign headquarters to help fire up some of the canvassers. STUDENT REPORTERS interview Iowa Candidates station Sen. Joni Ernst during her state’s cauthemselves for months in cus. Page One photo shows the writer Iowa, eager to gain sup- in the middle of other student journalists. porters in the small popWarren, Buttigieg too ulation. After Iowa everyAt my caucus in Drake Unithing is quick-moving, creating less time for candidates to versity, there were 847 peoactively engage with voters, ple, which is considered large suppressing much political for the Des Moines area, each candidate had to receive 127 excitement. Another difference is the votes. There, Elizabeth Warknowledge on each politi- ren was first, followed by Pete cal candidate from voters. Buttigieg. It is clear exactly In contrast to Los Angeles, who is in support for each where it feels only the few candidate. Although this process may who regularly follow the races are well-informed voters, seem simple, the Democratic in Des Moines, I interviewed National Committee (DNC) at random, everyday Iowans did not seem to feel the same. in grocery stores and restau- Due to malfunctions in the rants like Panera Bread. They app, and inconsistencies in proved themselves to know the results, this year’s caucus what is happening in the race. seemed to be unclear, arguOne woman explained to me ably devastating the purpose that Iowans take their duty of the caucus. By the time the as the first state in the United results were given, I, along States to vote for a nominee with all the candidates, had left Iowa, in preparation for with great seriousness. Finally, I think that the most New Hampshire. The push overt, but still significant, that the winner of Iowa is aspect is the non-secretive bal- usually given was diminished lot process. The age-old vot- some due to these results. ing in Los Angeles is the well- The future of the Iowa caucus known, basic, fill out your bal- is still questionable, as many lot secretly and drop it into the journalists talked about. box. Not in Iowa. This idea and Anya Karumanchi is a so-called “right” to secrecy is not at all present in Des Moines. Larchmont resident and student at Marlborough School. Rather, it is the opposite.

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

HOLLYWOOD SCHOOLHOUSE

BUCKLEY

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Registration for summer school has already opened up online for our Middle and Upper Schools. Buckley will hold a blood drive for all of Middle and Upper School students on March 4. Everyone who can is encouraged to donate. From March 5-7, the upper school will perform its annual spring play. This year they’re doing the classic British farce “Noises Off”. Everyone is extremely excited to see this production. The Lower School will have its yearly family dance March 11, where, as the name implies, all Lower School students are invited to attend a dance with their brothers, sisters, and parents. Eleventh graders will be taking SATs off campus on the 14th. The Lower School will hold a women’s history assembly March 20 where they will go over important women throughout history and their contributions to our society today. The following week, the Upper School will have Spirit Week. where students participate in a variety of competitions. Whichever class has the most points by the end of the week wins. Lastly, from March 28 to April 11, all Buckley students will be on Spring Break.

This month has been very exciting and stressful. First, the grade books are open to the parents, which is not the case most of the time. Usually, during a majority of the year, the grade books can be accessed only by students, their advisors, and their teachers. As 8th-grade students in regular and/or honors classes, next year we have the option of either taking geometry or geometry

By Jasper Gough 10th Grade

By Nikhil George 6th Grade

There has been a lot happening on campus at Hollywood Schoolhouse recently, especially with regard to academics. Last week, the fourth-grade class hosted their annual Poetry Cafe. Poetry Cafe is an event where students present their most original pieces of writing from the school year to their families. It was an intimate production that celebrated the fourth grade’s creativity, and best of all, food was served. In sixth grade, we have started a new program in English class called Place Out of Time, or POOT. Essentially, POOT is a digital classroom experience where students get to choose any historical or modern icon to portray in an online simulation, while also interacting with other important figures. What is their ultimate goal this year? Being the jurors in a court case that shines a light on the urgent environmental issue of climate change. I chose Cory Booker as my character because he is a politician who has accomplished many tasks to improve his state of New Jersey, and he brings fascinating ideas of philosophy and humanitarianism to the program. The sixth-grade history class has also just started a new lesson on one of my favorites subjects; ancient Greece! The ancient Greeks were home to some of the most powerful civilizations, such as the Spartans, and the very intelligent ones, like the Athenians, who created the concept of democracy, were a huge influence on how the U.S. operates, even today. Another huge educational component to Hollywood Schoolhouse involves service learning. We often partner up with organizations like Project Angel Food, PATH, and TreePeople for service learning. This year, we have added onto these organizations with a wonderful foundation called Formidable Joy, a non-profit started by one of our very own alumni parents, Cindee Rood. Our newest fundraising campaign’s mission is to help provide access to clean water in Malawi, Africa. The fundraiser will run from February 18 to March 6. Formidable Joy’s cause will additionally educate us students about the global water crisis, while also engaging us in a variety of enrichment experiences on campus.

By Avery Gough 8th Grade

SECTION ONE

honors, history or history honors, and biology and biology honors. To be eligible for geometry honors, there is a placement test taking place on the 16th and 17th. The history and biology tests were last month. Marlborough’s recommendation going into the 9th grade regarding honors classes thinks that no student should take more than one honors class. Another exciting announcement is that the annual Marlborough summer camp registration opened on March 1st and 12 pm. There are one-week and five-week sessions that include art, drama, leadership, math, sports, and science camps. Next,

there are many performances happening during the month of March. On March 16th there is a live performance at lunch, and after school in our CEI by Yale’s improv troupe, the Exit Players. On March 17th, there are the Twangers and Bangers + 21st Century Ensemble + Mangos Show. The Marlborough Ensemble Theatre performance, The Wolves is premiering on the 19th, 20th, and the 21st. Also, on the 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 26th are the MET, Chamber Choir, and the Dance Dimensions Auditions. Finally, I hope everyone has a very wonderful and relaxing spring break, so we can all be rested for quarter four.

LOS ANGELES HIGH By Kiara Llaguno 10th Grade

The Roman Pride Awards were held on Jan. 24 to honor both students and teachers for their great achievements. Before the ceremony took place, students and staff were able to experience a musical performance from the marching band directed by music director, Mr. Hoff. The event was hosted by student hosts, Rene Flores Merino and Karina Warren. Students were recognized for their accomplishments. On the subject of music, LA High’s music program has made great progress — originally starting off with 12 members to now, 44 members. LA High is looking to expand the program in the hope of growing a positive culture at LA High School.

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

SECTION ONE

Swordswoman, ghosts, life in a tiny theater, a fond farewell

Ford vs. Ferrari – in the neighborhood, at St. Brendan

A St. Brendan Basketball Association (SBBA) game in late February pitted the F150s (as in the Ford truck) against the Ferraris. All the teams are named for vehicles this year. Unlike the movie, the Ferraris won this race. The basketball season continues through March, with

the playoff games taking place Sat., Mar 14 and Sun., Mar 15. The championship game is Sat., Mar. 21. SBBA is a winter league for boys ages six to 14 that runs January through March each year. Obtain more information about this and the next season from stbrendanbasketball@gmail.com.

CalArts celebrates 50 years with alumni exhibit at RedCat The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) celebrates its 50th anniversary with an exhibit showcasing 10 prominent alumni artists’ work on view at RedCat, 631 W. 2nd St., through Sun., March 22. RedCat is a part of Disney Hall, where visitors may park. Part of the “50 + 50” initiative documenting CalArts evolution from the former Chouinard Art

Institute founded in 1920, limited editions and artworks are being offered to fund an artist-led scholarship endowment. Artists include John Baldessari, Anne Collier, Laddie John Dill, Joe Goode, Naotaka Hiro, Tony Oursler, Gala Porras-Kim, Stephen Prina, Barbara T. Smith and Carrie Mae Weems. Visit 50plus50.calarts.edu.

Theater Review by

Patricia Foster Rye fen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., 310-208-5454, geffenplayhouse.org. 5 Stars • • • The renowned Open Fist Theatre company opens its 30th Anniversary season with Rorschach Fest: three programs of short works performed in rotating repertory. Inkblot A, B and C are all plays by well-known playwrights famous for pushing the boundaries of theatrical invention. I saw Inkblot A, the awardwinning Ghosts, written and directed by John O’Keefe. Billed as an evocation of the afterlife, the play concerns the moments of transition into the great mystery and as such, is timeless. An inky black box of a set — as black as vaguely lit exit signs will allow, chattering voices that seem to come from everywhere, and six characters, all ghosts in varying stages of eternity. They describe their existence, their demise, what they see and more in a wonderfully spooky one act. Kudos to cast members Bryan Bertone, Cat Davis, Jan Munroe, Tina Preston, Elif Savas and Janine Venerable, for portraying the concerned spirits. Rorschach Fest continues through Sun., April 5. For a complete performance schedule go to openfist.org. Open Fist Theatre Company, Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave. 4 Stars • • • The $5.00 Shakespeare Company by Matthew Leavitt is a riff on a 99-seat theater in Los

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FORD vs. FERRARI on the St. Brendan School basketball court! Players are, left to right: 4, Jonas Diamond, F150; 10, Cooper Jacobs, F150; 20, Nelson LaBombard, F150; 4, Jack Byrne, Ferrari; 20, Brandon Alvarez – Ferrari; 44, Laith Abuhasyn, F150; 10, Rowan Ross, Ferrari; 50, Iggy Ault, Ferrari; Jude Lehrer, F150 (on the ground); and 44, Kyd Kalin, Ferrari.

Revenge Song: A Vampire Cowboys Creation by Qui Nguyen (“Vietgone”) tells the story of Julie D’Aubigny (played by Margaret Odette), a real-life 17thcentury queer swordswoman / opera singer. This is a rousing, romping, music-filled work that follows our heroine on her voyage of self-discovery and acceptance. The play blends rock and rap, in a melding of 17th-century France with modern theatrical production values. Original songs are by Shane Rettig, lyrics by Qui Nguyen. We have swordfights and puppets, super heroes and nuns, in a boisterous, very funny, non-stop adult-themed production. This is an excellent cast, especially Ms. Odette as Julie, Beth Hawkes as the delightfully ditzy Emily, and Amy Kim Waschke as the sexually charged host for the evening Madame de Senneterre. The multi-talented cast also includes Noshir Dalal, Tom Myers and Eugene Young, who double and triple in parts throughout the play. Director Robert Ross Parker has conducted this evening with style. This is a world premiere production commissioned from the Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company by the Geffen. The Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company was founded by Qui Nguyen and Robert Ross Parker and has for more than 20 years produced award-winning, innovative theater. This is a refreshing, very funny, wonderfully entertaining production. Don’t miss it. Through Sun., March 8, Gef-

Angeles, where there are often more people on the stage than in the audience. And where does a little theater fit in a town dominated by film and television? A familiar array of characters played by an excellent cast covers the struggle between an actor’s need to work and sustainable jobs, all while giving their interpretation of a “Midsummer’s Nights Dream.” The cast includes Kenajuan Bentley, Emerson Collins, Carolina Espiro, Natalie Lander, Luke McClure, Cindy Nguyen, Andy Robinson, Liza Seneca, Adam J. Smith and Jamie Zwick. There are plenty of inside jokes about small theater companies that will resonate with audiences used to being five feet, or less, from the actors. Renowned director Joel Zwick blends the comedy and bathos seamlessly that make the play very funny and relatable. Through Sun., March 8, The 6th Act production company at Theatre 68, 5112 Lankershim Blvd., 323-960-5068, fivedollarshakespeare.eventbrite.com. 4 Stars • • • Dear Readers: This is my last theater column for the Larchmont Chronicle. It has been a wonderful 12-year run, but now the time has come for me to move on to some other projects that have been waiting, too long, in the wings. Over the years, I have seen some amazing and magical theater here in Los Angeles, (in large and smaller theaters). Consistent throughout have been the casts and directors. They are not often given material equal to their talent but they always rise to superlative performances and productions. My hat is off to the smaller theaters which, during the recent revisions by Actors Equity, have managed to survive and continue to produce quality theater. Please continue to support local theater. See you at the show.

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

SECTION ONE

‘Emma’ is a joy, ‘Seberg’s’ life post-Paris, comedic ‘Gentlemen’

Emma (9/10): 117 minutes. PG. So many good things to say about this movie I don’t know where to begin. Delightful music, wonderful cinematography of evocative English locations, directed by Autumn de Wilde from a screenplay with captivatingly polite dialogue by Eleanor Catton, Anya Taylor-Joy as Emma is a, well, joy in the titular role. She is beautiful and haughty and self-possessed, dominating the lives of everyone around her. There’s an Oscar somewhere in Taylor-Joy’s future. One of my favorite scenes in all of film is when Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer fall in love dancing “The Leandler” in “The Sound of Music” (1965). That is replicated here when Emma and Mr. Knightley (Johnny Flynn) dance together near the end of the film. It is a beautiful, touching scene that I could watch over and over. Seberg (8/10): 102 minutes. R. This was not what I expected or desired, which was the story of Jean Seberg’s start and maturation in Paris. Instead, the film picks up after she had become a star and was involved in the black civil rights movement, both emotionally and sexually. This film follows her as she interacts with powerful people in the black power movement while, unknown to her, being closely monitored (spied upon) by the FBI in the persons of several fictional characters, chief among them Jack O’Connell, who is increasingly dubious of the rightness of what the FBI is doing. Not only does Kristen Stewart closely resemble the beautiful Seberg, she gives an Oscar-quality performance as the conspiracy against her continues to break her down. In English and French. The Gentlemen (8/10): 113

At the Movies with

Tony Medley minutes. R. The problem, or allure, depending on your POV, of this comedic film is that it is so convoluted you really don’t have a clue about what’s going on. It jumps back and forth between characters and events. It doesn’t immediately (or even anytime soon) become very clear until the absolute end. It has very good pace in its own tortuous way. It is filled with violence, but one saving grace is that there isn’t the idiotic car chase that seems endemic to this genre. While the acting is very good throughout, the movie belongs to Hugh Grant, who is selling a movie idea. Grant has given many delightful performances (2002’s “About a Boy” for instance) but this is far and away the best he has ever done. Downhill (8/10): 85 minutes. R. Much better and a half hour shorter than its inspiration, 2014’s “Force Majeure.” Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, who co-produced, carries the film with her outstanding performance as a wife who suddenly sees her beloved husband as something other than a knight in shining armor after an avalanche. Will Ferrell gives the good performance of which he is capable, exemplified by 2006’s “Stranger Than Fiction,” when he is not acting stupid. Call of the Wild (7/10): 93 minutes. PG. The beauty of Jack London’s classic novel “Call of the Wild” was that it told the story totally from the dog’s POV. This one doesn’t,

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and, ay, there’s the rub. Despite amazing CGI and performance-capture acting in creating the dogs and other animals, plus the presence of the always entertaining Harrison Ford (both of which are worth the price of admission), this one with its puerile Hollywood Ending isn’t as good as it could have been. The Last Full Measure (6/10): 115 minutes. R. Headed by a terrific cast, this is based on the efforts to get a posthumous Medal of Honor awarded to William Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine), a

21-year-old USAF pararescueman. Pitsenbarger voluntarily dropped down from a rescue helicopter into the middle of the Battle of Xa Cam My, one of the fiercest battles of the Vietnam War on April 11, 1966, and is credited with rescuing 60 men before losing his life. The film only barely touches on Pitsenbarger and his actions; his character is onscreen for maybe 10 minutes. It is basically the story of the people who fought for 30 years to get the medal awarded to him posthumously. But it never tells how he “res-

cued” the 60 men, leaving one to wonder what he actually did other than treating their wounds that set him above the more than 50,000 men who lost their lives fighting in Vietnam. The Burnt Orange Heresy (5/10): 99 minutes. R. Despite fine performances by Mick Jagger, Donald Sutherland and Elizabeth Debicki, drab direction of a potentially good story that results in virtually no tension makes this mystery a disappointing drag. The Rhythm Section (5/10): (Please turn to page 22)

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Celebrate Irish, Italian cultural festivals each year is the Original Farmers Market, 6333 W. Third St. Magee’s Kitchen, the Market’s first eatery, serves a corned beef, cabbage and potato plate all day long. Green beer and imported Irish beers are on tap at the West Patio’s E.B’s and Bar 326. In addition, there will be live music, some of it Irish, throughout the day, as well as other fun events. Visit farmersmarketla.com. Italian feast day If you’re not familiar with St. Joseph’s Feast Day (or even if you are), you can enjoy the St. Joseph’s Tables exhibit that opens at the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles (IAMLA), 644 N. Main St., Fri., March 6. St. Joseph, as the patron saint of immigrants and workers, became an important saint for Italian immigrants to celebrate after they came to the United States. Families created St. Joseph Tables, or

altars, to honor the saint on his feast day, March 19. The free IAMLA exhibit traces the history of these tables and the different manifestations of this tradition throughout the U.S. It runs through May 17. Visit iamla.org.

Kick-off St. Patrick’s Day with laughs

Start the party early with the pre-St. Paddy’s Day Comedy and Cocktails with Bill Devlin at the Irish Import Shop, 742 Vine St., Sat., March 14 from 8 to 10 p.m. Take a moment to shop imported Irish foods and gifts before the performance. Special guests that night include comedians Jamie Kennedy and Kevin Nealon. Drinks will be available with a donation to the Irish Clan Crac. Tickets are $20, with a percentage of sales going toward the Irish Import Shop legal fund. Visit billdevlin.com.

AUTHENTIC MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE “BEST FALAFEL IN LOS ANGELES”

Bergin’s

(Continued from page 1) Wilshire and San Vicente. Boston transplant The new operators, Boston transplants Fran and David Castagnetti, are no strangers to the restaurant business. The brothers’ love of food started at an early age. At 14, Fran was working at an ice cream stand in Boston, then worked in an Italian Bakery for years. In their two decades in the Los Angeles area, the brothers have found success with Firefly in Studio City, Union in Pasadena, and Michael’s in Santa Monica. They are now thrilled to be entrusted with one of our town’s most cherished and historic restaurants. “We got a call one day,” recalls a smiling, baseball capwearing Fran, “and we were asked if we would be interested in managing Bergin’s… We’ve opened a lot of restaurants, but we felt that the stars aligned and that this was a way to say thank you to Los Angeles for being our home for the last 20 years.” The number-one thing that Fran and David wanted to change about Bergin’s when they reopened it was… absolutely nothing. The historic shamrocks still cover the cathedral ceiling, the horseshoe-shaped bar is still cocooned within the sanctu-

ary of the original wood paneling, and the famous “House of Irish Coffee” is still serving up its signature drink using founder Tom Bergin’s original recipe. “This place is such a massive part of L.A. history,” explains Fran, “and I feel that we got the call because we were ready to protect what it is and what it was always meant to be.” Tom Bergin Tom Bergin, a former aviator and entertainment lawyer, opened the pub in Los Angeles in 1936. His family, originally from County Kerry in Ireland, ran the Old Horseshoe Tavern in Boston’s Haymarket Square. Feeling nostalgic for his dad’s old haunt, Bergin wanted to open his own Irish tavern in Los Angeles. He was granted a liquor license, reportedly the second oldest in the city, and he opened up on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. Several years later, in 1949, he moved a few doors south to the current location at 840 S. Fairfax Ave. Historic monument After several ownership changes throughout the years, fears grew that Bergin’s might be sold and purchased as a teardown. The Miracle Mile Residential Association (MMRA), the Los Angeles Conservancy and passionate neighbors and regulars joined (Please turn to page 27)

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By Rachel Olivier One of the joys of living in a city as diverse as Los Angeles is the ability to take part in multicultural celebrations year round. In March, two such celebrations include St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Feast Day. St. Patrick’s Day Honoring one of the patron saints of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day began as a somber feast to celebrate the saint who Christianized Éire, or Ireland. Over the years, the day came to be a celebration of Irish heritage, including listening to Irish music, eating Irish food and honoring all things Gaelic, be they Irish, Scottish or Welsh. There are many places in Los Angeles to celebrate on this Irish feast day, March 17. The list once again includes the venerable Tom Bergin’s, now back in business at 840 S. Fairfax Ave. Another really good local spot for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

SECTION ONE

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

Bergin’s

(Continued from page 20) together to seek official historical status for the venue, which claims (along with the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco) to have first introduced “Irish Coffee” to America. Bergin’s was once frequented by the likes of Bing Crosby, Cary Grant, John Wayne, Glenn Ford and Julia Roberts. As the result of the community efforts, the restaurant was successfully designated an Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM) in June 2019. “A place like this should be protected,” insists Fran. “It’s great to see growth. Growth isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes it stings, but… if the neighborhood grows, it’s only a good thing. Luckily, the city has protected this place, though. And they’ve been so gracious to us.” Former owner Derek Schreck has also been a huge part of the transition. “Derek has been very helpful, and I can’t thank him enough. He put his heart and soul into this place and has been such an amazing and valuable part of this transition,” said Fran. It’s the people When I asked Fran what makes Bergin’s different from any of the other restaurants he’s opened, his answer was immediate: the people. “People absolutely love this place and they have quickly become our friends,” says Fran. “We’re getting nothing but positive feedback. Everyone is so excited to tell us their history and people are saying ‘this is how it used to be.’” Cindy Trevino, Bergin’s bar manager, agrees. “People have been incredibly supportive, and we see the same people every day. I just met someone who got married in the parking lot many years ago. They were here with about 15 people, including friends and children.” Daniel Lugioyo, one of Bergin’s bartenders, feels that he’s landed his dream job. “The clientele is really special here,” says Lugioyo. “Just today we had a nice couple that met here 55 years ago on a first date.” And here’s the thing about Bergin’s: whether you’re 21 or 81, this is your place. The young and old, families, children, internet influencers, college students, tourists, actors, museum workers — they all come to Bergin’s to relax in a friendly, low-key environment. That low-key atmosphere includes more than just drinks. It includes easy, bar-friendly food. Fran and David brought in Firefly’s chef Erik Punzalan to create a pub-style menu to go with the extensive full bar. On the night of my visit, I

OPERATIONS Manager Fran Castagnetti and Bar Manager Cindy Trevino can be found nightly visiting with patrons at Tom Bergin’s.

tried as much of the menu as my stomach would allow. Starting with the smoked cod dip with malt vinegar chips and house pickles, I then moved on to my favorite small bite on any menu — the Brussels sprouts. Bergin’s did not disappoint. The sprouts were combined with sweet potatoes, mustard and honey for a perfect, crispy, light bite. But I wasn’t finished yet. Not

by far. Next came the fish and chips with tartar sauce and spuds, the fried chicken sandwich on a potato brioche bun with house pickles, house slaw, aioli and spuds, a shepherd’s pie (served in a clay pot with short rib, seasonal vegetables, Reggiano, mashed potatoes and gravy), and last but not least, I squeezed in one last favorite: the ole Reuben sandwich, made with sau-

SECTION ONE

erkraut, corned beef, Swiss cheese, mustard, and 1000 Island dressing. Of course, it was an absolute MUST that I wash it all down with not just one Irish Coffee, but two! St. Pat’s plans For St. Patrick’s Day, Bergin’s is planning to host its usual celebration, including both food and drink. “It’ll be the whole, all-day blowout parking lot party,” enthuses Fran. “We’ve been working on it for at least two months. There will be festivalstyle food, six to eight bars in the tented parking lot, and we’ll be open from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.” Bergin’s is a passion project for all of them – Fran, Dave and Cindy. From the dayto-day operations, to meeting regulars and making new friends, to hosting the city’s most celebrated St. Patrick’s Day party, the new managers hope to continue the legacy of the famed pub’s past.

BERGIN’S (along with the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco) claims to have first introduced “Irish Coffee” to America.

“If everyone who fought so hard to save this place came in and had a drink, we wouldn’t have to worry,” declares Fran. “I want to get the word out and make sure everyone knows that Bergin’s is open. We are the stewards of Tom Bergin’s, and we’re lucky to bring it back for the City of L.A.” For hours and a full menu, go to tombergins.com.

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At the Movies

(Continued from page 19) 109 minutes. R. An action film made by the producers of the James Bond franchise, this is the origin story purporting to create a female James Bond in the person of Stephanie Patrick (Blake Lively). The first half is banal absurdity. It picks up a little in the last half. Even so, nothing in the film makes any sense whatsoever, as it is just a collection of set pieces with no segues and little relation to one another. The questions are, is it worth sitting through the first nonsensical hour for the last 49 minutes? And, is the last 49 minutes of nonstop action worth sitting through despite the fact that the scenes are incoherent and full of flights of fancy? James Bond films are mostly comedic, but at least one scene leads into another and the segments are cohesive. In the unlikely event that they make more of these they should spend some time (any time

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

SECTION ONE

would be an improvement) on structure and interrelationship. Buffaloed (4/10): 93 minutes. R. After such a boffo comedic performance in “Zombieland: Double Tap” (2019), Zooey Deutch totally drops the ball in this morally opaque misstep about bill collectors in Buffalo devoid of humor or premise. The Assistant (3/10): 85 minutes. R. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovic” this is not. One day in the life of Jane (an unhappy Julia Garner, who has done such exceptional work in the Netflix show “Ozark”) is something that seems to be of no interest to anybody. Unlike Solzhenitsyn’s protagonist, Ivan, Jane is not a prisoner. Rather, she’s an assistant in some kind of film company with a goal of becoming a producer. The first half of the movie is her doing the mundane deeds of a gofer, making coffee, running (Please turn to page 23)

Wilshire Rotary celebrates a member’s milestone What better way to celebrate your 100th birthday than with friends and colleagues you’ve known for 54 of them? Alfred Woodill was honored by Wilshire Rotary Club at its luncheon Jan. 22. There to celebrate were Rotary President Ron Reyes, former City Councilmember Tom LaBonge and several local residents: John Miron, Dan Hodgkiss, Carolyn Layport, Fluff McLean and Scott Clifford. Also joining in the festivities were Rotary’s district governor and many past presidents and members as well as current ones. Woodill, who’s also called Woodie and Big Al, was born in Los Angeles, and he joined the Wilshire Rotary in 1965. He was a captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1941 to 1945, stationed in Africa and Italy. Trained as a fighter pilot, he flew B26 and B29 bombers. After the war, he graduated

THE CARE MOM RECEIVES AT BELMONT VILLAGE IS IN A CLASS ALL ITS OWN. For nearly 20 years, Belmont Village has faithfully delivered the highest standard of care for Los Angeles and Bay Area families. Our award-winning assisted living and memory care have become a cornerstone in the community. University collaborations with USC and UCLA have helped us champion unmatched cognitive health and wellness programs with positive, evidence-based results for residents. With exquisite spaces and superb hospitality, at Belmont Village you’ll experience senior living in a class all its own.

from UCLA with a business degree, and, in 1947, he was named executive director of the American Gem Society, from which he retired in 1987. During his time there, he helped develop standards to gauge color, cut and clarity of gems.

Windsor Square resident Michele Crahan, 83

Michele (“Missy”) McGarry Crahan, born in Los Angeles in 1936, died peacefully at her home Feb. 17. She had lived in Windsor Square for 54 years. In 1961, Crahan married Brian Isadore Bernard Dockweiler Crahan, a prominent lawyer and, later, presiding judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court. Judge Crahan died in 1989 at age 53. Missy Crahan is survived by their daughter, Hilary Esketh Crahan, and many nieces and nephews. Missy Crahan graduated from Marlborough School and USC School of Education. She taught in the Los Angeles Unifed School District, where she was a master teacher as well as a demonstration teacher. She was an active member of Junior League of Los Angeles, The Nine O’Clock Players of the Assistance League, Las Madrinas, Art Center 100, Trojan League of Los Angeles, Town and Gown of USC, the Order of St. Gregory, LMU Bellarmine College, Good Samaritan and St. Vincent’s auxiliaries, First Century Families and the Newman Guild at USC.

AFTER WWII, Alfred Woodill became head of the American Gem Society.

Services were held at Church of the Good Shepherd. In lieu of flowers or a donation, her family asked that friends please spend the day smiling.

Ethel Farrand, 98, Windsor Square

A longtime Windsor Square resident, Ethel Lasell Farrand, died at her home Jan. 12. An artist and avid traveler, she learned Russian for a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railroad in the former Soviet Union. Born in Shanghai, she lived with her medical missionary parents her first six years in China. After, her family settled in Pasadena, and she later attended Wellesley and earned an MFA in writing from Teachers College, Columbia University. She married prominent Los Angeles lawyer Knox Farrand in 1957. Knox, who died in 1988, helped revive the Windsor Square Association in the 1970s. A memorial will be held at a later date. Please email for details, which should be available soon. bon_lass@earthlink.net (Ruth Lasell), railtis@ cox.net (Sarah Lasell Iltis), dlasell1@aol.com (David Lasell).

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

SECTION ONE

Left: CENSUS form for 361 N. Citrus.

Right: CENSUS form for 455 Lorraine Blvd., the Norman and Dorothy Chandler home.

Census

(Continued from page 10) will yield multiple results. In order to narrow it down, you will be given the option to add a cross street. This will usually narrow it down to one document. However, each document is multiple pages long, so if you don’t see the house number you are looking for right away, don’t despair! You may have to review several pages. (The information for the Chandlers’ house was on page 33 out of 40.) The thing you will need most of all is patience. I had to go through multiple pages of the Census Schedule before I found the addresses I sought. If you’re looking for a specific ancestor, but don’t know the address, you will first have to look him or her up in the 1930 Census. While this will only tell you where the ancestor lived at the top of 1930, it will at least narrow down your search. You must provide the first name, last name, and state of residence. To get to the 1930 Census, once you are on the “Getting Started” page, scroll all the way down to the bottom … to the section that says “Still need help?” and click

At the Movies

(Continued from page 22) errands, etc. During the day she becomes suspicious that her unseen boss is having sex with a new hire and she files a complaint with HR. There is no denouement. The film just ends as she goes home at the

on the orange help button. Once on the help page, you can press the button that says “Search 1930 Census Records by Name.” Once you enter the pertinent information, it will pull up that person’s enumeration district (ED) in 1930. From there, you can choose to view the 1940 ED results that correspond with the 1930 results. The website can be a little frustrating to navigate because, at times, it is slow to zoom, scroll, or load. Also, since the census schedules are scans of actual, handwritten documents, they are not always super legible, and they can be hard to read. However, your persistence will pay off. Once you track down the address, you will have access to a plethora of information, including names, age, race, occupation, and education level. I also found it incredibly helpful to have a blank copy of the Census schedule on hand, as it made reading the categories and columns a lot easier. That can be found by Googling 1940 Census Schedule Blank. Get started with your research at 1940census. archives.gov. end of the day. The Traitor (3/10): 150 minutes. R. Yawn, it’s hard to believe that a film about a Mafioso who turns government informant in Italy could be this slow and uninvolving. But director Marco Bellochio accomplishes this seemingly implausible feat. In Italian.

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2020_GAF_Edo_Larchmont-Ad_HR_Print_withBreakfast.pdf SECTION ONE

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

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YOSEMITE, II

TOMATOMANIA

Hancock Park is on the Payne Foundation’s Native Plant Garden Tour. Page 13

Stunning 19thcentury landscape images drove the nation westward.

Page 2

Real Estate Libraries Home & Garden

Top tomato picks, edible plant sale and a talk on peacocks at Arboretum.

Page 14

VIEW

Section 2

LARCHMONT CHRONICLE

MARCH 2020

HANCOCK PARK • WINDSOR SQUARE • FREMONT PLACE • GREATER WILSHIRE • MIRACLE MILE • PARK LA BREA • LARCHMONT

325 N Las Palmas Ave | Hancock Park | $4,999,000 Enchanting Paul Williams Monterey Revival! Dramatic courtyard. 6Bd+4.5Ba. 325LasPalmas.com Loveland Carr Group 323.460.7606 CalRE #01467820, #0888374

100 S Beachwood Dr | Hancock Park | $4,395,000 Fab 4Bed/3.5 new bas in main house; garage has gst rm +ba over it & game rm w/wine cellar/ half BA under it! Lisa Hutchins 323.460.7626 CalRE #01018644

835 S. Longwood Ave. | Brookside | $2,750,000 Perfect home in coveted Brookside! Impeccably maintained 4Bd + 3.5Ba. 835SLongwood.com Loveland Carr Group 323.460.7606 CalRE #01467820, #0888374

243 N. Norton Ave | Windsor Square | $2,249,000 Exceptional opportunity in prime Windsor Square location! Large lot. 4+3. 243Norton.com Loveland Carr Group 323.460.7606 CalRE #01467820, #0888374

444 S. Sycamore Ave. | Hancock Park | $2,150,000

147 N. Windsor Blvd. | Hancock Park | $1,995,000

825 S. Muirfield Rd | Hancock Park | $1,825,000

COMING SOON. 1928 Art Deco delight. 3Bd + 3Ba + pool. 3rd St Elementary. 444Sycamore.com Loveland Carr Group 323.460.7606 CalRE #01467820, #0888374

First time on the market. Charming 2-Story 3+2 Spanish, great Windsor Sq. block near Larchmont

$100,000 Price Reduction! First time on the market in nearly 50 years. 3Bed/2Bath, pool & spa. Sandy Boeck 323.860.4240 CalRE #01005153

202 N Gower St | Hancock Park | $1,729,000 COMING SOON. 3 Bedroom + 2.5 bath on great lot near village. Loveland Carr Group 323.460.7606 CalRE #01467820, #0888374

316 Rossmore Ave #100 | Hancock Park | $1,575,000 New Price. Exclusive, full-service Country Club Manor. Bright 3+2 Architectural. 316Rossmore.com Loveland Carr Group 323.460.7606 CalRE #01467820, #0888374

Maria Gomez | Rick Llanos 213.705.1603 | 323.810.0828 CalRE #0126447 | #01123101

620 N Cahuenga Blvd | Hancock Park | $7,250/MO

522 S Bronson Ave| Hancock Park | $2,295,000 Wonderful remodeled English on picturesque S. Bronson w/ 3 bdrms, 3.5 ba’s & large yard. Rick Llanos | Lisa Hutchins 323.810.0828 | 323.460.7626 CalRE #01123101, #01018644

FOR LEASE in 3rd St. Elementary near Larchmont & LA Tennis Club. 4Bd + 3Ba. 620Cahuenga.com

109 S Kilkea Dr | Miracle Mile | Price Upon Request Charming courtyard Spanish w/ 3 bed, 2 ba’s + converted garage to office & wonderful gardens.

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The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2020 Coldwell Banker Realty. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Realty fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. CalDRE #: 00616212

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

SECTION TWO

Photographers carried a Kodak and largest camera of day, Part II

My trusty blue Volvo rolled southward along US 84 / US 285 in New Mexico’s Chama Valley recently, just after four o’clock in the afternoon. I saw, as I always do on this road, the small sign, “Hernandez.” And I saw, however briefly, in my mind’s eye, Ansel Adams’s photograph, “Moonrise, Hernandez.” It was taken at 4:49 p.m., on November 1, 1941.* An early moon rises over the distant Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The photograph catches the “low sun… trailing the edge of clouds in the west, and shadow would soon dim the white crosses…” in the village, Adams wrote later. The luminous image is possibly Adams’s best known. When Californian Adams (landscape photographer and conservationist, born 1902) was given his first camera at age 12 on the occasion of his first trip to Yosemite, pioneering landscape photographer Carleton Watkins was still alive. Watkins’s second trip to photograph Yosemite took place 48 years before the young Ansel made his first. But their work would dovetail: Watkins’s photographs would pave the way for the preservation of Yosemite. Ansel Adams’s photographs of national parks on behalf of the

Home Ground by

Paula Panich

U.S. Department of the Interior were instrumental in the expansion of the U.S. National Park Service. Adams in Yosemite Adams’s stunning photographs of the beauty of Yosemite are themselves among the best-known 20th century photographs of the West. But in the middle of the 19th century, when gold was discovered in California, the natural landscape was mostly considered (but not by all) for its yield — ore and timber — and the best land was so considered if it was flat, fertile, well-watered, and suitable for agriculture. Historian R.F. Nash and others have surmised that wild, untamed landscape generated fear; it would take decades for the idea of the value of natural beauty for its own sake to pierce the prevailing view of the Wild West. Watkins in Yosemite In 1914, the boy Ansel Adams likely carried a hand-

held folding Kodak, loaded with Kodak film. In the 1860s, though, Watkins began hauling into the Yosemite wilderness the biggest commercially available camera, which used 13”x16” glass plates on which to expose images. But those influential large photos of Yosemite were made because Watkins was an ambitious man. He wanted a bigger camera — and either had one made or made it himself, according to his biographer, Tyler Green, in “Carleton Watkins: Making the West American.” Two thousand pounds of equipment were hauled up those steep Yosemite slopes. The new camera accommodated 18”x22” glass plates — the negatives were 396 square inches — and were known as “mammoth” plates. Each weighed four pounds. The amount of chemicals necessary to prepare these plates for exposure would be triple that for a conventional camera, and they were hauled up the rock too. The chemicals would have to be spread on the plates in the dark (in a black tent) in a painstaking process. An eight-day trip to Yosemite in the 1860s for five people would cost about $340. (Approximately $11,000

YOSEMITE FALLS, about 1874, albumen silver print. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Gift of Weston J. and Mary M. Naef.

in today’s money.) Watkins and his crew stayed for three months, financed by a wealthy conservationist.

In the Instagram age, the image is all. It is hard to say which of such (unedited) pho(Please turn to page 15)

YOSEMITE VALLEY, 1866, albumen silver print.

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

SECTION TWO

Residents fear relocation from historic Rossmore apartment building

By Billy Taylor More than 30 residents were in attendance for the Feb. 25 Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council’s monthly Land Use Committee (LUC) meeting to discuss plans to renovate an apartment building at 410 N. Rossmore Ave. Residents say the building’s new owner, Atlanta-based Domos Coliving, intends to convert the rent-controlled apartments into coliving units. Domos co-founder Daniel Alexander told committee members that his company’s first priority is to upgrade the fire and life safety systems in the building. In regard to further planned changes, Alexander said that Domos is in the process of selecting an architect to develop the design for the building and that plans will be forthcoming. Alexander explained that coliving, or “professionalized roomating” as he called it, was not a “solution” to the affordable housing crisis, but it does provide “an option” for those who need it. Domos expects to offer leases to 200 people in a building where 54 currently live, he said. When asked to elaborate on a construction schedule, Alexander explained that the company is still six to eight

DOMOS co-founder Daniel Alexander speaks to the GWNC Land Use Committee to discuss his company’s by-right renovation plans for an apartment building in Hancock Park.

months away from phase one, adding that he expects construction to last as long as three years. Speaking for residents, Debbie Chesebro told LUC members that she “took exception” to Alexander’s presentation: “If they were concerned about life safety, they would have fixed our heat by now. Multiple people in the building have not had heat since January,” she claimed. According to Chesebro, 42 out of the 54 tenants in the building have signed a peti-

tion saying that they do not want to live in coliving units. Additionally, Chesebro alleged that the relocation company hired by Domos is giving tenants incorrect information in an effort “to trick people” out of rent controlled leases. Alexander told LUC members that he and his colleague, Richard Loring, the design and construction manager for the project, recently sent letter invitations to all residents to come meet with the two of them (not the relocation company) at the building to discuss the project, but no tenants came to talk because others had advised the tenants not to participate. Following the meeting, Loring confirmed to the Chronicle that Domos is committed to creating enough one-bedroom units within the new floor plan to accommodate all current residents wanting to return to the building after renovations are complete. Loring acknowledged that “improvements can be made in our outreach efforts,” but he noted that Domos has indicated an openness to meet with the two spokespeople the residents have nominated as representatives. The Chronicle reached out to Chesebro for more information on the allegation

that some residents are living without heat in the building, but Chesebro declined to comment, saying only that

residents are forming a “press outreach department” and that a formal statement will be released at a later date.

Ratkovich honored with Business Award at USC Wayne Ratkovich, Windsor Square, is among this year’s recipients of the USC Architectural Guild Dinner Awards. The 61st annual awards will be at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Wed., April 22. Ratkovich will receive the third annual Distinguished Business Leadership Award for his work to improve the quality of urban life. The UCLA graduate is the founder and CEO of The Ratkovich Company. Recent projects include the development of The Bloc, a $250 million transformation of the former Macy’s Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles, and The Hercules Campus, an 11-building complex of former Hughes Aircraft Company buildings with historic status. Locally, he saved and redeveloped the Wiltern Theatre and building early in his career. Ratkovich is currently developing a 42-acre waterfront site in San Pedro. “In a now lengthy career in real estate development, my

THE WILTERN THEATRE was among Wayne Ratkovich’s earlier projects.

gratitude to architects for the contributions they have made to our success has grown with each year and each project,” said Ratkovich. “More importantly, it is the work of architects that is improving the quality of life in our city and for that, we should all be grateful. To be honored by the Guild and the University is a touching tribute from a group I deeply admire. I think our roles should be reversed!”

MARCH 2020

SECTION TWO

Larchmont Chronicle

Real Estate Sales

AERIAL VIEW of the new Audrey Irmas Pavilion at Wilshire Boulevard Temple, east of the historic building, shows recent higher-density apartment development nearby. Photo by Gary Leonard, February 21, 2020

Single-family homes

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120 N. McCadden Pl. 209 S. Lucerne Blvd. 223 N. Lucerne Blvd. 354 N. Ridgewood Pl. 683 S. McCadden Pl. 268 S. Arden Blvd. 447 S. Highland Ave. 364 S. Mansfield Ave. 708 Lorraine Blvd. 585 N. Bronson Ave. 660 N. Gramercy Pl. 5114 Melrose Ave.

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

Hear about ‘Life in the Façade Lane’ March 25

Author and realtor Bret Parsons will speak on the diverse façades found on Los Angeles homes at “Life in the Façade Lane: Six Degrees of Architectural Separation,” the first in a series of lectures on classical architecture at the Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Ave., Suite B-396. The talk, Wed., March 25 from 6:30 to 9 p.m., covers the history of Los Angeles architecture, from Mediterranean villas and beach bungalows to San Fernando Valley ranch and desert adobe homes. Founded in 1781, Los Angeles grew from a small pueblo into a vast county with 88 distinct cities with varying topography and good weather. As the city grew, a number of architects, contractors and designers were called to design and build homes and other buildings to meet the demands of the population and businesses, including the booming motion-picture business. Presented by the Institute of Classical Art and Architecture, Southern California, and hosted by Mimi London, Inc., the lecture series also will include talks on the decora-

tive arts from 1880 to 1940, Tues., April 14, and Scottish architects who changed the world, Mon., May 4. There will be a talk by architect Richard Manions on Weds., Nov. 11. Tickets start at $55 for the general public, $30 for ICAA members. Season passes are also available for at $190 for the general public and $140 for ICAA members. Visit classicist-socal.org.

Travel back in time with Art Deco Society

Travel back in time with the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles (ADSLA) Sat., March 14 beginning at 10 a.m. A Catalina-themed vintage fashion show, tour of the 1929 Bullocks Wilshire building, 3050 Wilshire Blvd., and shopping at a vintage market place are featured. Tickets start at $70 for AD-SLA members and $50 for general admission. Ticket includes seating at one of two fashion show seatings, a Jean Harlow lecture and selfguided tour of the Bullocks Wilshire building. Visit adsla.org.

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$100,000 Price Reduction! First time on the market in nearly 50 years

825 S Muirfield Rd | $1,825,000 Beautifully maintained 1924 home. 3 bd/2 ba + office, converted garage w/full plumbing for ADU conversion/private entry/enclosed parking. Original plaster detailing/leaded glass windows in all front rooms. Batchelder tile fireplace + bay window in living rm. French doors to balcony off dining rm. Eat-in kitchen w/ample cabinets, stainless appliances, hard surface counters. Master bdrm w/en suite & walk-in shower. Brick backyard has patio, pool & spa. Ample storage throughout, including garage.

Sandy Boeck 323.687.6552 CalDRE: 01005153

251 N. Larchmont Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90004

3234 Rowena Avenue Offered at $815,000 TIC Unit | 2 Bed | 2 Bath | 1,134 Sq Ft

TIC units in Los Feliz filled with 1940’s character & charm with crown molding, high ceilings, large windows bringing in tons of natural light. Updated kitchen & bathrooms with stainless steel appliances, dishwasher, farmhouse sink, refinished hardwood floors, air conditioning, & washer dryer hookups. Bonus office/storage area with separate entrance. Common outdoor space & 2 parking spots. In Ivanhoe School District blocks from the areas best! 3232 Rowena Avenue Starting at $599,000 TIC Units | 1 Bed | 1 Bath | ~900 Sq Ft

Ali Jack Get access to inventory not yet on the market.

Windsor Square Native & Marlborough Alumna 213.507.3959 ali.jack@compass.com thealijack.com @thealijack

Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01991628. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate.

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Larchmont Chronicle

The Luck of the Irish and a triple threat to our neighborhoods

The Luck of the Irish came through for Tom Bergin’s House of Irish Coffee, which will celebrate its 84th St. Patrick’s Day this March 17, partly thanks to its becoming Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. (HCM) 1182 in June of last year. With March upon us, I hope that all of the readers of the Larchmont Chronicle will stop over for a gawk and wee drop of refreshment at the venerable old pub on Fairfax Avenue in honor of our city’s historic resources. Courtyard apartments It looks as if the Cohanzad

family of Wiseman Residential have caused quite a stir at City Hall with their attempt to illegally demolish the historic courtyard apartments at 7054-7058 Hawthorn Ave. in Hollywood. Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, CD13, showing much appreciated leadership, put forward on Jan. 29 a motion to have the property reviewed by the Cultural Heritage Commission and considered for HCM status. While the building’s ultimate fate is still unclear, this at least halts demolition for the time being, allowing for a full assessment of the property. It also gives

Travels to Hades at 7th St. Bridge

Heidi Duckler Dance (HDD), in conjunction with LA Opera’s Eurydice Found Festival, presents “Underway at the 7th Street Bridge” Sat., March 14 and Sun., March 15 at 7 p.m. The dance opera directed and choreographed by Heidi Duckler features HDD company dancers and music created by four composers. Inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem “Orpheus. Eurydice. Hermes,” the performance will take the audience on a journey to the underworld — situated in the un-

derbelly of Los Angeles’ historic 7th Street Bridge. Viewers will sit facing the train tracks at the 7th Street Bridge underpass, which will be transformed into a multidisciplinary public art space open to the public as part of a larger project in the works, titled “The Span @ 7th Street Bridge.” Tickets are $65 general admission / $45 senior and student, and $100 VIP, which includes VIP seating and a catered reception following the performance. Visit heididuckler.org.

On Preservation by

Brian Curran

an opportunity for the facts of the case to be reviewed, as well as for the vandals of Wiseman Residential to receive a deserved public shaming. A related motion introduced last year by Councilman Paul Koretz, CD5, was recently approved by the City Council, calling for an ordinance to increase the notification time for demolition from 30 to 60 days for all buildings over 45 years old, giving more time for historic assessments and processing of any potential HCM nominations. These two actions are both in response to the disreputable business practices of Wiseman Residential, and word on the street is that there are more such nefarious moves to come. SB50, SB330 and AB 1279 The defeat of Senate Bill (SB) 50 is a great success for Los Angeles. This victory was achieved through the united opposition of Los Angeles

state senators and the City Council as well as the many calls and letters sent by the readers of this paper. They all deserve our thanks. SB 50 posed a number of threats to historic preservation in our area, particularly with regard to breaking up of larger single-family homes within Historic Preservation Overlay Zones (HPOZ) into apartments, as well as the pressure to demolish historic multifamily housing for increased density. The effects of SB 50’s “evil twin,” SB 330, which was signed into law by Gov. Newsom late last year, are only just beginning to be felt. Two of its most troubling features include a requirement for local governments to determine if the site of a proposed housing development is historic at the time the application is deemed complete (a milestone often unknown to the public); as well as prohibition of a local government reviewing a proposed housing development pursuant to any new design guidelines or standards that are considered not “objective or quantifiable” for the next five years. This precludes later designation of sites updating HPOZ plans,

like the one recently approved for Windsor Square. Another bill, Assembly Bill 1279, proposed by Assemblyman Richard Bloom, who represents a large portion of our area, is a housing bill targeted specifically at neighborhoods such as ours. This bill targets high-resource and low-density areas not under threat of gentrification and allows byright development of sites, including fourplexes in areas zoned single family and in established HPOZs. Defeating this bill is the next battle in the fight to preserve our historic neighborhoods. Call the Assemblyman’s office 916-319-2050 and see how he intends to protect the historic integrity of our treasured and hard-won HPOZs under his bill. Save the Log Cabin Finally, the effort to save the Log Cabin continues with the cities of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, as well as the Lions Club and West Hollywood Recovery Center, in negotiations to transfer the lease. On Jan. 29, the Beverly Hills City Council was greeted with a packed house in support of saving the beloved landmark. We will continue to provide updates.

100 S. Beachwood Dr. • $4,395,000

Move-in ready English gem on popular Larchmont-close street. 4 bedrooms/3.5 baths in main house. New 2 car garage structure has major guest room and bath above and sleek subterranean game room/walk-in wine cellar/half bath below! Entire property was recently remodeled! Entry hall leads to formal dining & living rooms, each with fireplace. Living room with bar area has great flow to yard and entertainer’s patio complete with outdoor kitchen & heated pergola! The heart of the home is the spacious, yard-facing open kitchen/family room — the ultimate gathering space! Up the curving staircase, the hallway leads to the airy, high-ceilinged master bedroom suite complete with 3 walk-in closets, dressing room, luxurious bath with freestanding tub, double sinks, separate shower & commode room. Across the hall are 3 additional bedrooms: 1 with fireplace and private bath; the other 2 share an adjoining new bath. Generous hall storage closet plus laundry room up. 100beachwood.com

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

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Coldwell Banker congratulates

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MARCH 2020

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Larchmont Chronicle

Fitzgerald wrote of Hollywood’s allure, and despair, 80 years ago

Sustaining an unqualified enthusiasm for all things Hollywood can be difficult; there’s often a disturbing tension between the romance of the movies and the social forces that underpin their making and distribution. For example, throughout this latest awards season that culminated last month with Oscar night, we were regularly reminded that Harvey Weinstein and his legal team still campaigned, not for a gold statue, but for an acquittal. So it goes. Scott Fitzgerald once said that the ability to hold in mind two contradictory ideas simultaneously was a mark of intelligence. That may be a dubious proposition in general, but it certainly characterizes something about Fitzgerald’s attitude towards the movie business — especially if we substitute the word “feelings”

On Books and Places by

Bruce Beiderwell for “ideas.” For he could certainly embrace the romantic allure associated with fame, money or love, and, at the same time, despair over the traps fame, money or love could become. Fitzgerald’s expectations never forestalled his disappointments. His disappointments never cancelled his expectations. He was superbly equipped to both love Hollywood and scorn it. Pat Hobby The love is most famously evident in “The Last Tycoon,” the novel he left unfinished when he died in Culver City. But there’s a short story he did

complete from his last home in his last days that deftly explores the despairing side, the ironically titled “Fun in an Artist’s Studio.” It’s one of the Pat Hobby Stories, tales of a screenwriter past his prime, a man who scrambles for work, drink and attention. Pat Hobby fails routinely. He’s forever on the edge of destruction; as he tumbles down in story after story, he finds himself precariously on yet another edge. He never hits bottom, but the top grows more distant. “Fun in an Artist’s Studio” is, 80 years after its original publication, the most current Pat Hobby story. For one thing, it addresses and upends male presumptions that are so much the subject of the #MeToo movement that started in “the industry.” For another, it comments on how an iconic Los Angeles place can symbolize a destination,

147 N. Windsor Blvd. Listed for $1,995,000

Charming 2-story Spanish fixer on a great block and close to Larchmont. Step into a formal entry with elegant staircase, large barrel ceiling living room with fireplace and French doors opening out to a covered patio and to the private yard. There is also a large formal dining room, original kitchen plus adjoining breakfast room also overlooking the yard, maids room and bath. Upstairs there are 2 well-sized bedrooms, one with an attached sunroom/office and one original full bathroom. This home is being sold by the same family that purchased the house new and is subject to Court overbid. Co-Listed with Maria Gomez

522 S. Bronson Ave. Listed for $2,295,000

Located on one of the most sought after and charming streets in Windsor Square stands this beautiful remodeled English gem. Step inside and you’ll find a living room with French windows and a fireplace, formal dining with French doors out to the yard, a den also overlooks the private yard, a large eat-in kitchen with attached family room. Upstairs is a charming master suite with lots of closet space and attached bathroom plus two additional bedrooms and another bathroom. One of the larger lots on this quaint block. Co-Listed with Lisa Hutchins

Coming Soon — 109 South Kilkea Dr. Price Upon Request Charming courtyard Spanish home in a great neighborhood close to trendy shops and restaurants. Step inside to a tiled entry, warm and sunny living room with French doors out to the courtyard, formal dining room, updated kitchen with separate breakfast room plus 3 well sized bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Outside you’ll find a professionally landscaped gardens and a garage converted to a home office/family space.

Representing Buyers and Sellers in the Hancock Park/ Windsor Square neighborhoods for the past 26 years Hancock Park

251 N. Larchmont Blvd. (323) 464-9272

Rick Llanos (C) 323-810-0828 (O) 323-460-7617 rllanos@coldwellbanker.com CalRE# 01123101

©LC0320

Coldwell Banker

The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. ©2018 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker, the Coldwell Banker Logo, Coldwell Banker Global Luxury and the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury logo service marks are registered or pending registrations owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

WRITER F. Scott Fitzgerald (1921), who later died in Culver City.

NORTHEAST corner is the 1930 Equitable Building.

a dream, a crossroad, a dead end. In this story, that place is “Hollywood and Vine.” At the artist’s studio The story’s action is simple and the tone is woefully comic. Pat Hobby catches the eye of a socially, economically and professionally connected woman at a studio commissary. She gets him invited to a party attended by other connected types and arranges to have him sit for a portrait at her studio. Pat imagines everything that is not true. The woman doesn’t want him on the couch with her. She wants him to sit dutifully for a portrait because she sees in his face a vacant desperation born of fear and failure. Or at least that is what she saw at the commissary. In her studio, Pat’s fantasies bring back a semblance of confidence she finds far less interesting. Only by deftly turning the tables, by exercising power Pat didn’t imagine she had, does the artist bring back the look that first caught her interest. She can finish her painting because Pat Hob-

by’s face again registers failure and fear. She titles the piece “Hollywood and Vine.” Hollywood and Vine Three of the four major buildings that made up the four corners of Hollywood and Vine in 1940 (the year Fitzgerald wrote his story and the year that he died) still stand today: the Taft Building on the southeast corner completed in 1923; the Equitable Building from 1930 on the northeast; and the B. H. Dyas Building on the southwest side since 1927. The Laemmle Building (1932) stood where there is now a parking lot; it was razed in 2008 after a fire. But even by 1940, shifts in tenants, purposes, and image had begun to show. Powerful talent agencies had mostly moved out; advertising agencies had mostly moved in. There was still money and success about the area, but success inevitably defines failure. That’s a contradiction Fitzgerald understood very well. From the ’50s on, the intersection commenced a long Pat (Please turn to page 11)

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

Author signs her new book at Chevalier’s March 19

By Rachel Olivier Photojournalist, author and Brookside resident Tish Lampert will present a slide show and sign copies of her book, “We Protest: Fighting for What We Believe In,” at Chevalier’s Books, 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., Thurs., March 19 at 7 p.m. Published by Rizzoli, the 245-page book of photos and commentary is based on Lampert’s travels as she captures the spirit of people around the world protesting and taking part in social change movements. Dignitaries and celebrities featured in the book include Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former president Barack Obama, activist Angela Davis and musicians Alicia Keys and John Legend. “We Protest” has also garnered endorsements from actor Martin Sheen and singer Harry Belafonte. The pictures also include people from a variety of backgrounds protesting or staging demonstrations on issues that range from women’s rights and gender equality to gun violence, the environment and Wall Street. Lampert first began collecting her material after the 2000 presidential election between

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Movement.” Last month, her photography on immigration and the

American dream was featured at the José Drudis-Biada Art Gallery at Mount Saint Mary’s

University. For more information, visit tishlampert.org.

Your Local Hancock Park Neighborhood Specialists

PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK “We Protest: Fighting For What We Believe In” comes out March 10.

Al Gore and George W. Bush. She noted the divisiveness apparent in the election at the time, and she began traveling across the country to learn what people were thinking and saying through photographs and hearing their stories. The product of those travels was the book “America Speaks” (2013), which was published with the help of a Nathan Cummings Foundation grant. “We Protest” is a follow-up to that book. Lampert’s photography of the Congo was exhibited at UCLA, and she also was part of a group exhibition: “Getty: LA/ LA Epiphany and the Chicano

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Featured Listings for the Month of March by

623 N Lucerne Blvd | Listed at $1,500,000 3 BR 2 BA. 1920’s California Bungalow. Located just one block from Larchmont Blvd. The following was renovated 10 years ago: kitchen, bathrooms, roof, wiring, windows, plumbing, heating and air and alarm system. Maplewood floors throughout. Living room with fireplace. Built in storage units in the backyard and mature fruit trees line the property.

June Ahn International President’s Elite

Cell: 323.855.5558 juneahn21@gmail.com www.juneahn.com CalRE #01188513

Hancock Park 251 N. Larchmont Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90004

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June Ahn

606 N Lucerne Blvd | Listed at $1,300,000

4 BR / 3.5BA 2,304 sq.ft. as per tax record 7,023 lot This property is sold “AS-IS” in its PRESENT physical condition as of the date of Acceptance and subject to Buyer’s Inspection rights. Contemporary open floor plan for today’s lifestyle. Living room with decorative fireplace and Batchelder tile surround. Generous formal dining room opens to spacious gourmet kitchen with double subzero 36” refrigerator & freezer and Maytag range, Laundry inside. Family room open to kitchen has French doors to large deck, back yard with huge patio for outdoor entertaining. A/C, security, hardwood floors, recessed lighting, crown moldings, large attic, etc.…

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

SECTION TWO

Homeowners Association’s top concern: housing Planning Dept. seeks applicants By Caroline Tracy for Windsor Sq. HPOZ board The La Brea-Hancock Homeowners Association annual meeting was at the BMW dealership on Wilshire and Mansfield on Feb., 3. Board members, elected officials, Los Angeles Police Department representatives, and constituents were in attendance. Board President, Tammy Rosato, began the meeting by thanking BMW “for being a good neighbor.” Erin Seinfeld, field deputy for Sheila Kuehl, fielded questions about the new voting system in place for March 3. Los Angeles City Councilmember David Ryu presented updates on streetlights and street resurfacing. New LED bulbs are being installed district-wide in an effort to save energy. In addition, $25 million has been added to the budget for street resurfacing, and “cool” or “white” asphalt will replace conventional dark pavement. Attendees expressed to the Councilmember their concerns about homelessness, lack of affordable housing for the middle class, and developer-backed projects that displace residents.

COUNCILMAN DAVID RYU addresses residents at the La BreaHancock Homeowners Association annual meeting.

Ryu agreed that developers need to include more affordable units in their projects and criticized Measure JJJ and the Transit Oriented Community (TOC) program, both of which he says have resulted in too many luxury (not affordable) units. The Councilmember made it clear that he is raising the red flag about these issues and hopes to change the way TOC is interpreted (especially for mixed use projects, such as the Wilshire / La Brea boutique hotel and commercial space proposal). Senior Lead Officer (Wilshire Division) Hector Marquez gave an update on crime statistics. While crime is down city-wide, he explained that

Koontz

“The hardware STore” formerly “Larchmont Hardware”

Shopping at Koontz Hardware (formerly Larchmont Hardware) is so much fun. It’s like a treasure hunt. Come in and see if you can find these things: The “Stud Buddy,” A new dry wall stud finder that is the world’s simplest and a lot cheaper than other stud finders. “Frog Tape.” The most advanced tape to give you absolutely sharp paint lines with no color bleed. You can use them up to 21 days indoors. The “Curious Chef” real kitchen tools for kids. There are “Measuring and prepping kits,” “Cupcake and Decorating” kits, “Cookie” kits, even “Pizza” kits. Think of the fun you can have shopping here! Larchmont customers be sure to say “Hello.”

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burglaries of motor vehicles in Greater Wilshire are up. Residents were encouraged to lock their vehicle doors at all times, keep valuables on their person, and park in driveways or garages whenever possible. Resident and board member Cathy Roberts followed to inform the Association there are continuing discussions about the existing bicycle lanes on Fourth Street, especially at Highland Ave. Bob and Diana Eisele warned attendees to pay attention to Assembly Bill 725, which is co-authored by State Sen. Scott Weiner, and they reported on a “toxic” smell emitting from the Wilshire / LaBrea Metro Station site. She contacted South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), who determined that the smell is caused by tar sands which are being removed as part of the tunnel boring process. Ultimately, the odor was deemed a “temporary nuisance” and not hazardous. Before the close of the meeting, board members Jill Brown, Bob Eisele, Phil Messina, Michelle Owen, Jane Prentiss, Genia Quinn, Cathy Roberts and Tammy Rosato were elected. For more information visit labreahancock.com

Deadline to apply for grants is Fri., April 3

Nonprofits and public schools are encouraged to apply for 2020 Neighborhood Purpose Grants for projects that benefit the Mid City West Community Council. Deadline is Fri., April 3. Email Lauren Nichols at lnichols@midcitywest.org.

Sun’s Out.... Now’s the Time to Repair Your Gutters and Downspouts!

There is one empty spot on the volunteer board at present, and a qualified and interested resident should call or write about his or her interest to City Planning staff member Lydia Chapman. Her telephone number is 213-847(Please turn to page 11)

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PRESERVATION PLAN for Windsor Square was revised in July 2019.

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Los Angeles City Planning is now accepting letters of interest from Windsor Square residents interested in filling a vacancy on the local Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) Board. The Windsor Square HPOZ Board is an advisory body to the City Planning concerning proposed alterations, additions and new construction on most residences within Windsor Square (Arden to Van Ness; Wilshire to Beverly). According to current member Caroline Labiner Moser, “The board has had many of our distinguished neighbors serve on the five-person Board since our HPOZ’s adoption by the City Council in 2004. They have included architects and landscape architects, historic preservation experts, and real estate and construction professionals.”

NINE-5

Larchmont Chronicle

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LIBRARY CALENDAR Wellness support, classes offered

From meditation and mindfulness, to support for caretakers, patrons can find resources and classes at the John C. Fremont branch library, 6121 Melrose Ave. Daily caregivers, decisionmakers or friends and family of people who have Alzheimer’s or dementia are welcome to come share their experiences and find resources to help Mondays March 9 and

LIBRARIES

FAIRFAX 161 S. Gardner St. 323-936-6191 JOHN C. FREMONT 6121 Melrose Ave. 323-962-3521 MEMORIAL 4625 W. Olympic Blvd. 323-938-2732 WILSHIRE 149 N. St. Andrews Place 323-957-4550

Hours

Mon., Weds.: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Tues., Thurs.: 12 – 8 p.m. Fri., Sat.: 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Closed Mon., March 30 for César Chávez Day.

23 at 10:15 a.m. Call Yael Wyte, 323-486-6632, to confirm dates and time. Simple, no-fuss meditation and mindfulness sessions are offered Mondays March 16 and 23 at 5:30 p.m. For more information, call 323-962-3521.

Board games, chess and math help Yiddish literature in translation are offered at Memorial Library People of all ages can exercise their minds with games of chess, backgammon and Scrabble, while kids in grades kindergarten to eighth grade can ask a tutor for help with their math problems at Memorial branch library, 4625 W.

UCLA quartet to perform at Wilshire Enjoy the music of Bach, Gershwin and more at a free performance of the UCLA Gluck Reed Quartet at Wilshire branch library, 149 N. St. Andrews Pl., Sat., March 7 from 2 to 3 p.m. Founded in 2018, and part of the Herb Alpert School of

HPOZ board

(Continued from page 10) 3646; her e-mail is lydia.chapman@lacity.org. The board has public meetings on two Wednesday evenings each month, with a City Planning staff member attending and advising. Meetings have been at Marlborough School for some time. HPOZ Board members are generally expected to attend each meeting.

Music at UCLA, the group, actually a quintet, combines oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone and bassoon to present an array of music by different composers. For more information, call 323-957-4550.

Olympic Blvd. Free help for algebra, plus kindergarten to eighth grade math assistance are available Tuesdays with tutor Gautam from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and Thursdays with tutor Steve from 4 to 6 p.m. Play Scrabble, Chinese mah jong and other board games Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. Challenge yourself with games of chess, checkers and backgammon Fridays from 3 to 5 p.m. For more information, call 323-938-2732.

Take part in a discussion on “Motl the Cantor’s Son” by Sholem Aleichem, and learn how it reflects the immigrant experience in America at the Fairfax branch library, 161 S. Gardner St., Tues., March 17 at 4 p.m. Copies of the book may be borrowed from the branch. The class will be facilitated by Miri Koral, founding director of the California Institute for Yiddish Culture and Language. For more information, call 323-936-6191.

On Books

upward from the street. But attending to details also means seeing harsher elements that show on the faces of street people. There is in many faces a deeper despair than even Pat Hobby registered. So the two contradictory feelings that fed Fitzgerald’s imagination still exist simultaneously in this place. Questions recently posted on Trip Advisor suggest a preference among some people for simple, unqualified fantasies. About Hollywood and Vine, one tourist asks: “How far is it from Universal Studios?”

(Continued from page 8) The City Council adopted a revised Preservation Plan for Windsor Square’s HPOZ in July of last year, following years of research, writing, community input and review. According to Moser, “The Plan should be considered required reading for anyone planning work on a Windsor Square house, and it also is a fount of information about the history and character of Windsor Square.” The Plan is at: tinyurl.com/t3lc3ph.

Hobby-like slide downward; there were very dismal times through the latter part of the last century. Today, the corner’s resurgence has depended on an astute appeal to the glamour that was sought, and occasionally achieved, in Hollywood’s “golden days.” The retro-chic elements can still conjure something special. Walking the area allows one to attend to details: elegant signage, elaborate door and window frames and graceful lines

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

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Competitive bidding with a distributional hand

North ♠ AQJ32 ♥ KQ9832 ♦ -♣ K9

West ♠ 4 ♥ 6 ♦ AT743 ♣ AQT654

East ♠ T987 ♥ A4 ♦ KQ92 ♣ 872

Since 1959 License #768437

South ♠ K65 ♥ JT75 ♦ J865 ♣ J3

Bridge Matters by

North started with a bid out of turn, opening 1C, alerted as mini precision, which showed a big (16+ High Card Points), two-suited hand, saying nothing about clubs. The director was called and East was given the opportunity to accept the bid, which was declined, so East started the bidding. After two passes, West opened 1C. The director then ruled that North had to make a “comparable” bid to his opening bid of 1C but if he bid anything else his partner would be barred from

Grand Slam further bidding. North bid 1H, which the director ruled was “comparable.” That was a wrong ruling. An overcall of 1H was not comparable to a mini-precision opening bid of 1C so opener’s partner should have been barred from bidding. As a result of his bid out of turn followed by this “noncomparable” bid, South had unauthorized information, to wit, that opener didn’t just

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have an overcall, which could show as little as 8 HCP, but that he had a huge hand with a good heart suit and one other suit. The bidding proceeded as follows:

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In this hand played at a duplicate bridge club, E/W had to wait more than five minutes because N/S was slow playing the prior hand in the last round. North got the contract on the first board and took forever to play it. Then this hand arose with both sides vulnerable, East dealer and not much time left in the round:

West North East South P P 1C 1H 1N P 2D* 2H 3D 4H 5D All pass *reverse, showing 17 HCP or 6-5 distribution and an opening hand The director then pulled the board because the next round had started. West told what the contract was and the director said she didn’t care what the contract was, that everyone would get an average of their game. West objected, citing two reasons: first E/W should not be penalized because they were not at fault for the late start and, second, he felt that 5D would be a very good score and the director should wait and see how the hand was bid and played by all the tables and then award an adjusted score based on the bidding. The director refused to do that. When the game was over, West looked at the scores and discovered that he was correct, 5D was not just a “good” score, it would have been a top! Every North-South was in some level of hearts, making 5. Not one E/W played in 5D, which is close to cold. So for the director to make E/W take an average of their game was not only wrong, it was unfair when they bid to the correct contract that no one else reached, and the director allowed the bidding to continue before pulling the board. West telephoned the American Contract Bridge League and was advised that the director’s call of allowing the 1H overcall as a “comparable” call to a mini precision 1C opening bid was incorrect

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and his partner should have been barred. Further, the ACBL director said that after the cards are pulled from the board, the board must be played, either at the time or later after the game has ended as a late play. Without the bid out of turn, however, this is how the hand should have been bid: West North East South P P 1C 2C* P 2H 3D** 4H 5D ? *5-5 or better in the majors ** reverse, showing 17 HCP or 6-5 distribution and an opening hand What should South do here? North has shown a big hand by jumping to game when South was forced to bid. South has only six HCP but four hearts and the spade King which is a huge card when she knows North has at least five spades. It should be an easy 5H bid because it’s unlikely North will compete to five when South’s only bid has been involuntary (she can’t pass partner’s cue bid but she might only have two hearts and no points). Five hearts would be the winning bid because E/W can make five diamonds and N/S can make five hearts, but neither can make six. If N/S bid 5H, West would be wise to sacrifice in 6D which will be close to a top board even if doubled. Down one doubled for E/W would only be minus 200 vs five hearts making five would be 650 for N/S. Grand Slam is the nom de plume for an author of a bestselling book on bridge, an ACBL accredited director and a Silver Life Master.

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

SECTION TWO

NEW ON tour this year is 1923 Mediterranean revival home and garden in Hancock Park.

Payne garden tour will visit Hancock Park this year

View more than 40 home gardens in public and private spaces, including one in Hancock Park, for the Theodore Payne Foundation’s Native Plant Garden Tour. The 17th annual home garden tour is Sat., March 28 and Sun., March 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be an after-party Sat., March 28 from 5 to 8 p.m. New this year on the tour is a 1923 Mediterranean revival home in Hancock Park landscaped with a coastal sage scrub medley including white sage and California buckwheat mixed with olive trees. Other gardens on the tour range from communities such as West Hollywood, Burbank and La Cañada Flintridge to West Adams and Oxford Square and on to Venice and Westchester. Landscape in these gardens is at least 50 percent California native flora, including

plants that nurture pollinators, such as native birds and insects, and save water. Homeowners, landscape designers and docents will be on hand at each location to answer questions about the native plant landscapes. For more information, visit nativeplantgardentour.org.

LANDSCAPE on garden tour includes plants that nurture pollinators.

CORAL BELLS and sages are featured at the Hancock Park Mediterranean revival home.

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Bloody Marys to heirlooms at ‘Tomatomania!’

Learn about selecting the right tomato plants for your garden and how to harvest bigger and better crops at “Tomatomania!” at Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Dr., La Cañada Flintridge, Fri., March 27 to Sun., March 29. Heirloom and other varieties of tomato plants will be on sale, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Hear growing tips from experts at Tomato Blast talks at Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Visit the Bloody Mary Bar from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and see a tomato cooking demonstration at noon on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit descansogardens.org.

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story time for children, a peacock calling demonstration and a costume contest. For more information, visit arboretum.org.

Friends of Robinson Gardens 2020 tour and showcase house extravaganza, “City of Angels,” will be at the Virginia Robinson Gardens, 1008 Elden Way, Sat., May 16, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Interior designers and florists will transform the Beverly Hills home, which will be available to view on the tour, along with the private gardens. The designated landmark estate is the former home and gardens of Virginia and Harry Robinson, he the leader of the J. W. Robinson’s department store beginning in 1891.

A WIN WIN: BEES help flowers (such as clivia, below) by spreading pollen from flower to flower; and flowers provide bees with nectar.

Spring at the Huntington! Tea tasting, clivia and bonsai shows Tea tasting, flower arranging and clivia and bonsai plant shows and sales are among the events this month at Huntington Library, 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino. A tea workshop and tasting, focusing on rare, aged Chinese teas, will be Sat., March 7 from 9 a.m. to noon. Enjoy more than 200 varieties of blooming clivia at a show and sale Sat., March 14 and Sun., March 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Make a spring flower arrangement using bulbs, hyacinths and greenery at a hands-on workshop Sat., March 14 from 10 a.m. to noon. Kids ages 7 and up can learn how to create floral designs

THIS CLIVIA was in the “Best in Flowering” category at last year’s clivia plant show.

using spring flowers at a flower arranging workshop Sat., March 14 at 1 p.m. See examples of miniature trees at the 63nd annual California Bonsai Society show and sale Sat., March 21 and Sun., March 22 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit huntington.org.

Irrigation, planting basics at Payne

Learn about propagation, where to plant and how to maintain your native plant garden at classes at the Theodore Payne Foundation, 10459 Tuxford St., Sun Valley. Learn how to choose the correct habitat for your plants Sat., March 7 from 1 to 3:30

p.m. Propagation using cuttings is demonstrated Sat., March 14 at 9 a.m. Learn basic native plant garden maintenance Sat., March 14 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. For more information, go to theodorepayne.org.

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The glory of the peacock, tree identification, a tomato and edible plant sale, and environmental fair are on the calendar at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Gardens at 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. Discover new ways to help the environment at the Los Angeles Environmental Education Fair Sat., March 14, 9 TOP TOMATO picks of 2020 are availa.m. to 3 p.m. Multicul- able at the edible plant sale. tural music, drum cirpicks of 2020, and shop an cles, walking tours, art activities and eco demonstra- edible plant sale Fri., March tions will be featured. Visit 27 and Sat., March 28, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The tomato talks laeefair.org. Learn about the different will be on Friday, and the sale trees of Southern California, will be both days. how to identify them, and the Learn about the beauty of urban forest in a class Sat., peacocks, and hear stories March 21 from 10 a.m. to about them Sat., March 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Besides noon. Hear about the top tomato a walking tour, there will be a

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

SECTION TWO

The month of March is a wild time for hares, rabbits How come a person can be “mad as a March hare”? wonders Tina Hartwig. Hares or rabbits are unusually shy and wild in March (early spring) because it is their rutting season. Remember, Lewis Carroll used one to preside over the tea party in Alice in Wonderland: “The March Hare will be much the more interesting, and per-

ProfessorKnowIt-All Bill Bentley

haps, as this is May, it won’t be raving mad — at least not so much as it was in March.” • • • Tell me about the origin of March, demands Peter Fagerholm. The month is so called from Mars, the Roman god of war. The Old Dutch name for it was Lentmaand (Lent). The Old Saxons called it Hreth-monath (rough month for its winds). • • • Why is a down stock market called a “Bear Market”? asks Anders Comstock. This term was coined during the South Sea Bubble,

a monopolistic, speculative stock disaster which occurred in 1720 in England and which fostered the formation and investiture of preposterous companies with little or no value. (See dotcom implosion.) You see, unscrupulous stock brokers were “selling the skin before they caught the bear.” • • • Why is one who brings discord or strife called a “stormy petrel”? wonders Debra Forward. It refers to the onset of trouble, is alternately called a “storm petrel,” and is actually a small sea bird of the family Hydrobatidae, having dark plumage with pale underparts. Petrel is an alteration of Peter and is an allusion to St. Peter’s walking on the sea, from the fact that the bird flies close to the water in order to feed on surface organisms and ship’s refuse. It is

called “stormy” because, during a storm, the birds swarm around the ship to catch the organisms that surface in the rough seas; when the storm ceases, the petrel is no longer seen. • • • How come cheap, lurid novels are called “potboilers”? queries Conor Bentley.

“Potboilers” are by-thenumbers doggerel quickly knocked out by writers for a quick buck. The term comes from “boil the pot,” meaning to provide one’s livelihood. Professor Know-It-All is the nom de plume of Bill Bentley, who invites readers to try and stump him. Send your questions to willbent@prodigy.net.

Home Ground

I suspect Ansel Adams’s photography of Yosemite drew me to the National Park as a young woman — and that what I saw of New Mexico through his lens draws me here, still.

(Continued from page 2)

tographs in our own time will be judged as meaningful, or powerful enough to move the course of history in ways small or large. Watkins’s compositions were not accident, but he wasn’t spreading fake news. Watkins and his photographer colleagues of the 1860s and 1870s did move the nation westward, and they set markers for the significance and beauty of the landscape of the West.

*Editor’s note: Disagreement persists about the date and time “Moonrise, Hernandez” was taken. Scientific analysis suggests the November 1 date; however, the Ansel Adams website holds fast to October 31, 1941 at 4:05 p.m.

Beginning this month: ‘Beezwax’

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This month, the Larchmont Chronicle is pleased to introduce our readers to the comic strip called “Beezwax,” drawn by John Martin. It is a humorous look at life as seen through the eyes of a family of honey bees. The main characters are Beezwax, his wife Honeybee, and their son Stinger. Beeswax and Honeybee work at “the Hive.” Their friends Buzzy and Penelobee also work there, and they have a son named Zapper, who of course is best friends with Stinger. The Hive is run (at least for now) by Queen Trumpette, of course, and it is managed by Mr. Fuzzbottom. We do not know if cartoonist Martin knows about Larchmont’s own local hive, the home of our friends — who we salute — at larchmontbuzz. com! The Larchmont Chronicle also loves pollinators, hence this comic strip’s location, close to our Home and Garden stories!

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2020

SECTION TWO

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I D 3 3 LE

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Larchmont Chronicle's

Miracle Mile 2020

The New

p. 3

2 Miracle Mile 2020

33RD ANNUAL EDITION

Larchmont Chronicle

DOLBY FAMILY TERRACE (above), atop the spherical building, has some of the city’s best views. The Grove and Hollywood sign are in the mid-ground and background. Park La Brea towers are at right. BELOW, the vast new spherical David Geffen Theater building rises above a tour group near the Sixth Street entrance to the new Academy Museum.

STAIRWAY into the new David Geffen Theater.

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures prepares for Dec. 14 opening

In dramatic show-biz style, the stage of the 2020 Academy Awards live broadcast last month was the place where the public finally heard the longawaited opening date for the newest addition to Museum Row — the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The official date is Dec. 14, 2020. The Friday before the Feb. 9 Oscars broadcast, members of the press were given a sneak peek at progress on the project, which includes the old May Company building at Wilshire and Fairfax. The progress is apparent. In the museum, visitors move up and down escalators and across bridges. The Barbra Streisand Bridge brings guests to one of the most fabulous viewpoints in town, the Dolby Family Terrace on the roof of the sphere building. Nine months to go until opening!

ESCALATORS by the new glass wall on the Sixth St. side of the Saban Building move visitors between the gallery levels as well as to the bridges to the David Geffen Theater in the sphere and the Dolby Family Terrace on the sphere’s roof.

Larchmont Chronicle

Miracle Mile 2020 3

33RD ANNUAL EDITION

LACMA on track to build Geffen Galleries up and across Wilshire By Suzan Filipek A world-class art gallery that will stretch across Wilshire Blvd. over traffic below seems so quintessentially car-centric Los Angeles, it’s almost surprising it wasn’t thought of before. But the design for the David Geffen Galleries was more a process of happenstance than a clear strategy. “It was a big idea. It was a simple idea,” LACMA CEO and Hancock Park resident Michael Govan said last month as preconstruction was underway. Architect Peter Zumthor’s original design — all on the north side of Wilshire and which debuted in 2013 — was too big and too close for comfort for its neighbor, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County’s Tar Pits Museum and its Ice Age-era paleontological sites. So Zumthor, Govan and the museum board and staff went back to the drawing board, literally. They scaled back the building’s size, and, then, a collective light bulb went off. “We quickly thought that we’d swing the building across the street,” Govan said. Zumthor’s design raised the gallery building up and off the ground, and since “you could already walk underneath, it seemed a logical step to drive underneath,” Govan explained. The funny thing is, he added, Zumthor’s first drawing

MIRACLE MILE 2020

Published by the Larchmont Chronicle 323-462-2241

larchmontchronicle.com

The annual edition is delivered to residents, businesses and employees in the greater Miracle Mile area. It also is delivered to residents in Hancock Park, Windsor Square, Fremont Place, Park LaBrea and Larchmont Village, bringing the total readership to 100,000. COVER PHOTO and rendering of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and LACMA renderings on pages 3, 16, and 17 are courtesy of Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner/The Boundary.

LACMA CEO Michael Govan. Photo by Brigitte Lacombe

had a pedestrian bridge crossing over the busy boulevard. “[Zumthor] thought how amazing it is that we own both sides of the street…” and he proposed the bridge. “We said, forget that, it would never be approved,” laughs Govan. In the end, something much bigger was approved: Seven semi-transparent pedestal structures will support the elevated exhibition level

with its floor-to-ceiling glass perimeter. At ground level, the pedestals will house cafés, a restaurant and a theater. The latter will be on the south side of Wilshire on the museum’s Spaulding Ave. property, currently a parking lot. Keck Foundation gift A recent gift of $50 million from the W.M. Keck Foundation pushed the fundraising campaign to $640 million of LACMA’s $650 million goal. An additional public phase campaign to raise $100 million more will commence as construction gets underway. Since arriving to Los Angeles almost 14 years ago, Govan has been guiding the years-long planning process from initial design and environmental reviews to community meetings, the fundraising campaign and now construction. “After a decade of intense work by so many people to make this successful, it’s fi-

RENDERING of a room in the new Geffen Galleries building.

nally here,” said Govan. Well almost. There will be three years of construction and another year to move in. The new museum gallery building is expected to open in the spring of 2024, in time for the Metro Purple Line’s debut. (The Fairfax subway station is on Ogden Drive, across Wilshire from the museum.) Geffen Galleries replaces four buildings (Ahmanson, Hammer, Art of the Americas

and the Bing Theatre). It will join the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM), designed by architect Renzo Piano, the Resnick Pavilion (also by Piano) and the Bruce Goff-designed Pavilion for Japanese Art, giving LACMA a total of 222,000 square feet of gallery space. Ten years ago, before BCAM and Resnick were built, LACMA’s exhibit space totaled (Please turn to page 16)

4 Miracle Mile 2020

Larchmont Chronicle

33RD ANNUAL EDITION

Development in the Mile continues with mostly luxury high rises By Suzan Filipek After years of construction, the Miracle Mile is breathing a collective sigh of relief. But not for long. While much has been built in recent years, there’s much more development coming down the pike. “This planning stuff has consumed us for five, 10 years,” said Miracle Mile Residential Association (MMRA) President Jim O’Sullivan. “These big things seem to be sprouting up all over the place. It seems like everyday something new comes up.” Tallest skyscraper The Mile is about to see its tallest development yet if all goes according to plan. A 42-story luxury high-rise is planned at the Staples office supply store site at Wilshire Blvd. and Cochran Ave. Developer Wally Marks, whose family owns the property, plans to reveal up-to-date details about the project this month. Meetings have already been held with some members of the community, and the project’s size has been reduced with good results. “I think it’s a better project,” Marks told us. Earlier reports detailed 371 apartments, including 56 low-

AN ART DECO-compatible, 42-story, high-rise is planned to break ground in 2021 at 5411 Wilshire Blvd. at Cochran Ave.

income units, in project architect Richard Keating’s design. It blends the new — a robotic parking system and yoga studio — with the old — an Art Deco-compatable design to reflect the area’s origins, and the single-story Wilshire Beauty Supply, built in 1930 as a Sontag Drug Store, whose façade will remain. Marks expects to break ground at the end of 2021, with an opening in 2023, the same year as the debut of the Purple Line’s Wilshire and La Brea subway station. The Wally Marks project on Wilshire will be “a class act,” said O’Sullivan. Marks, developer and owner of the renovated Helms Bakery District retail site in Culver

City, and developer Jerry Snyder (who built the Wilshire Courtyard) are known for quality projects, O’Sullivan commented. Residences at Wilshire Curson JH Snyder Company and partner OGO Associates are constructing a 20-story apartment building boasting panoramic views and a rooftop “resort” pool. The building has already “topped out.” To be called The Residences at Wilshire Curson, the project includes 285 apartments in the MVE+Partners design that rises next to the SAG-AFTRA Plaza and across Curson from the Los Angeles County La Brea Tar Pits. The development includes subter-

MIRACLE MILE

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Paid for by David Ryu for City Council 2015 Officeholder Account 777 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 4050, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Additional information is available at ethics.lacity.org

CIRCA 1939. The Sontag Drug Store on the northwest corner of Wilshire and Cloverdale avenues, today is the site of Wilshire Beauty Supply; it will remain as part of the new skyscraper plans. Courtesy of Miraclemilela.com

ranean parking. Opening date is early 2021. Hotel project gets mixed reviews CGI Strategies plans a hotel / apartment / commercial-use building for the site just north of Wilshire Blvd. on La Brea Ave., right next to a subway station entrance. The eight-story complex includes 121 apartments and 125 hotel rooms and 13,037 square feet of commercial / restaurant / retail space. The Morris Adjmi Architects design includes two pools on the top floor and has two levels of subterranean parking. The 210,123-square-foot development is “still in the

midst of the entitlement process. But things are moving forward nicely,” project spokesperson Bruce Beck of DB&R Marketing Communications told us. But the project has hit some roadblocks. “It’s been postponed indefinitely,” O’Sullivan told us. “They’re getting a lot of pushback” from neighbors and businesses opposing the added traffic the project would bring to the congested area. The project will be separated by an alley from the Purple Line subway station. It will back up to residential parking garages on Detroit St., which (Please turn to page 5)

Larchmont Chronicle

Miracle Mile 2020 5

33RD ANNUAL EDITION

TOM BERGIN’S STAYS PUT and a new eight-story, 209-unit residential development is proposed next door.

THE RESIDENCES at Wilshire Curson, 285 new apartments in a 20-story building, has topped out, half-way between Sixth St. and Wilshire Blvd.

Development

(Continued from page 4) is already a problem for traffic, say neighbors. On the plus side, “We are going to need a hotel when all the museums open up, and the project will provide livingwage jobs,” says O’Sullivan. But as it is, it is too ambitious. “They’re going to have to go back to the drawing board.” Next to Bergin’s An eight-story, 209-unit development and 2,500 square feet of commercial space is proposed at 800 to 840 S. Fairfax

Ave., at the corner of Eighth St. To the south of the proposed new buildings, the project includes a landscaped plaza on the site of the parking lot at Tom Bergin’s Bar & Restaurant. The favorite neighborhood pub will remain. It was declared a Historic-Cultural Monument in June; its parking lot was excluded from the designation. Applicant Christopher Clifford of Las Vegas Colliers International has filed for an entitlement application with Los Angeles City Planning. According to city documents, the residential units would be

over three levels of garage and commercial space, and there will be underground restaurant parking to replace Bergin’s present surface parking. Two existing two-story buildings that contain 40 rent-stabilized units would be demolished. The new development would provide 28 units of extremely low-income housing in exchange for a density bonus, reduced parking and increased floor area, among other benefits. The MMRA has come out against the project, and the association is in contact with the

tenant union that has recently formed, O’Sullivan told us. The project design by Reed Architectural Group is among those seeking to benefit from the city’s Transit Oriented Communities incentives designed to create more affordable housing. The project is

one block from the purple Line Fairfax subway station. Open for business These new developments, if approved, will join recently opened apartment buildings, including The Mansfield, The Avalon, Wilshire La Brea and 5600 Wilshire.

RENDERING shows CGI Strategies’ proposed mixed-use development on La Brea Ave., adjacent to the subway station.

How can I help? Mike Feuer L.A. City Attorney

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Paid for by Mike Feuer City Attorney Officeholder ID# 1358890 419 N. Larchmont Blvd.,#37 Los Angeles, CA 90004

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Assembly Member, 50th District  California State Assembly

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District Office (310) 450-0041 Capitol Office (916) 319-2050 

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Website: http://asmdc.org/members/a50/

©LC0317

Southeast corner of Hauser Boulevard & Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, 1972

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RENDERING shows project proposed for the Town & Country site.

Rendering courtesy of Holland Partner Group

Draft EIR for Town & Country site coming soon By Suzan Filipek Meetings among the city council office, project representatives and the community, concerning a proposed mixed-use project at the former K-Mart building, are expected to wrap up this month. That is what developers Holland Partner Group, in collaboration with Regency Centers and the ARBA Group, told us. The project on the eastern half of the Town & Coun-

try Shopping Center block at Third and Fairfax features an 85-foot-tall building. It will include 331 apartments in five levels over parking along Ogden and four levels of units over 83,994-square feet of retail in two levels on Third Street. “Early on, the project team heard the community’s request for a more robust project review, and proactively advocated that the city prepare

a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR), instead of the less robust Mitigated Negative Declaration that was legally required,” a developer spokesperson told us. The Draft EIR’s preparation is underway with public review and public hearings to follow. Construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2021 and to complete in the summer of 2024.

INSTAGRAM-WORTHY shrine to Britney is on the Town & Country site (in the old K-Mart) through April 26.

New pop-up pilgrimage to Britney on Third: The Zone By Julia Stier Take a walk through some of the most iconic eras of Britney Spears at the new pop-up experience, The Zone (6310 W. Third St.). An Instagram-worthy shrine to Britney Spears, The Zone has transformed the former Kmart space into a 10-

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room celebration of one of the most famous pop stars of our time. Residing in the shopping center on the corner of Third and Fairfax across from The Original Farmers Market, the Zone’s bright pink-and-purple exterior is hard to miss. Inside, recreated sets from some of Spears’ most memorable music videos allow visitors to step into the Princess of Pop’s shoes. Start off by taking a seat in a classroom that mirrors the one in her hit, “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” Then, continue on to a “gym,” where you can write a note to Britney and slip it in her locker — our guide assured us that every letter gets sent to the singer herself. Pose with the astronaut from “Oops… I Did it Again,” don Spears’ stewardess hat and push a cart of champagne down the aisle of the airplane from “Toxic,” and recreate her shocking 2001 “Slave 4 U” VMA performance with your very own (stuffed) Banana the Python snake. The Zone makes it clear that Spears holds a very special place in the hearts of many. Shannon Ramirez of CREATE Experiences says that “Britney is genuine and authentic, and people relate [to] and respect authenticity. She’s loved and adored by so many people, and it’s been such an honor bringing her world to life for fans from all over to enjoy!” Each ticket comes with wristband that activates six different photo and video activations throughout the experience that can be claimed through The Zone app. This pop-up is a must-visit for any Spears megafan. Several items — including the original outfit she wore for her 1992 debut on Star Search — were donated by Spears herself, making The Zone the true Mecca of all things Britney. The Zone will be open in Los Angeles until Sun., April 26. Tickets are $39 for adults and $29 for children 12 and under plus a $4.95 fee for both online.

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A.F. Gilmore’s Mark Panatier honored with ‘Trailblazer’ status

By Caroline Tracy The Greater Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce (GMMCC) honored Mark Panatier, vice president of marketing and development at the A.F. Gilmore Company, at its annual Trailblazer Luncheon at The Ebell of Los Angeles. on Jan. 31. A fixture in the community, “Panatier’s track record for success, strong work ethic and convivial demeanor earned him the Trailblazer moniker,” said Meg McComb, executive director of GMMCC. From the slew of speakers who shared anecdotes about working with Panatier, serving on community boards with him or just interacting with him socially, it was evident that the honoree is a hard person to “roast” (in the traditional sense of the word). Hank Hilty, president of A.F. Gilmore Company, owner of the Original Farmers Market, spoke of his and Panatier’s long partnership, describ-

GAIL AND MARK Panatier.

COONSKIN HAT was sported by Hank Hilty in his salute to Mark Panatier as a Trailblazer.

TRAILBLAZER LUNCHEON head table, counterclockwise from right: Wally Marks, Councilman David Ryu, Wendy Kramer, Steve Kramer, Mark Panatier, Gail Panatier, Ira Handelman, City Attorney Mike Feuer and Lyn MacEwen Cohen.

ing Panatier as the measured pragmatist who worked hard to translate his (Hilty’s) aspirational projects into completed works. Other speakers at the Jan., 31 event, including Wally Marks (president of Walter N. Marks, Inc.), Leron Gubler (past President of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce), Jane Gilman (founder of the Larchmont Chronicle),

and Steve Kramer (president of GMMCC) spoke about his kindness and professionalism in the work place. They noted that he “would take every opportunity to talk at length about his granddaughter.” At one point, Lyn MacEwanCohen, founder of the First in Fire Foundation, presented Panatier with a stuffed dog, one of the many tributes

bestowed that day, which he immediately made plans to regift to his granddaughter. Bearing gifts of the more official kind, surrogates from the offices of State Sen. Ben Allen, Assemblyman Richard Bloom, Congressman Ted Lieu, and County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl jointly presented Panatier with plaques (from each of their offices) recognizing his contributions to the community.

Councilmember David Ryu spoke to Panatier’s ability to push trickier projects to fruition through diplomatic approaches, while City Attorney Mike Feuer noted that he and the honoree were of similar pragmatist mindsets (and both have wives named Gail). When Panatier finally rose to accept the “Trailblazer” honor, it became clear that his love for community and business is trumped only by his love for his family. The Panatier clan, including wife Gail and two daughters, Megan and Jenna, were in attendance beaming with pride.

Kramer + Dresben Estate Planning  Trust Administration  Probate 5858 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 205, Los Angeles, CA 90036 Tel 323–964–7100 Fax 323–964–7107 STEVE KRAMER and Jane Gilman spoke highly of honoree Mark Panatier, right. The coonskin cap and Lyn MacEwen Cohen’s puppy toy rest on the lectern.

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Mark Your Calendar! The Year Ahead in Art at LACMA Vera Lutter: Museum in the Camera Mar 29–Aug 9

Yoshitomo Nara Apr 5–Aug 23

Where the Truth Lies: The Art of Qiu Ying

Sam Francis and Japan: Emptiness Overflowing

Through May 17

Oct 4, 2020–Jan 24, 2021

Bill Viola: Slowly Turning Narrative

Scandinavian Design and the United States, 1890–1980

Jun 7–Sep 20

Betye Saar: Call and Response

Cauleen Smith: Give It Or Leave It

Through Apr 5

Jun 28, 2020–Mar 14, 2021

Luchita Hurtado: I Live I Die I Will Be Reborn

Rufino Tamayo: Innovation and Experimentation

Through May 3

Through Jul 11

Julie Mehretu

Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific

Through May 17

Through Jul 19

Nov 8, 2020–Feb 15, 2021

Modern Art Collection Fall 2020–Ongoing

PLUS Jazz at LACMA and Latin Sounds Return in 2020! Our free concerts return—same time, same place.

NOT I: Throwing Voices (1500 BCE-2020 CE) Jul 26–Nov 29

Always free for members and L.A. County youth 17 and under Exterior of BCAM and Resnick Pavilion at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Los Angeles County Museum of Art 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, near Fairfax LACMA.org | 323 857-6010

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New bars, restaurants on La Brea south of Wilshire

By Suzan Filipek South La Brea Avenue is brimming with night life as friendly Little Bar celebrates its 15th year. Met Him at a Bar recently opened across from its sister site, Met Her at a Bar, at the corner of Eighth Street. Also at the corner of La Brea Ave. at Eighth are the Tokyostyle Sake House Miro, 809 S. La Brea Ave. and the newly opened Roji Bakery, 807 S. La Brea Ave. Across La Brea, All Season Brewing Company will be pouring from 20 taps of beer as well as serving wine and cocktails by year’s end. The microbrewery and restaurant will breathe new life into the historic Firestone Tire and Rubber Co., developer Brad Conroy of Conroy Commercial told us. Streamline Moderne on tap The 12,724-square-foot building’s Machine Age Streamline Moderne design, circa 1938, will be a feature of the new facilities. The Firestone tire store was in continuous operation from 1938 until the last owner, Bridgestone, closed the business in the fall of 2015. Further up the street, there have been other restaurant changes in recent years. Little

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is known about what might be happening at 320 S. La Brea Ave. (Kass Wine Bar, which was Wilde Wine Bar before that and 3Twenty Wine Bar before that). Similarly, there is no news on the fate of the space at 127 S. La Brea Ave. (Odys + Penelope). In addition, according to an “Eater LA” article last June, the space at 127 S. La Brea Ave. was being taken over by Workshop Kitchen from Palm Springs. When we reached out to Workshop Kitchen to get confirmation of that, we were told to check back with them this summer. Just south of Melrose, it appears that no one has taken over the former Pizza Romana space at 615 N. La Brea Ave.

Future Metro Station

FOUNDING member of the area’s renaissance, Little Bar. See story Page 12.

‘Met Him’ opens as pasta bar

By Billy Taylor There’s a new Southern Italian pasta bar in the Miracle Mile, and the noodles are homemade. Need we say more? Local residents Mindy and Vincent Kinne opened Met Him at a Bar in January, which, conveniently, sits directly across the street from the couple’s breakfast and lunch café, Met Her at a Bar. Having first opened the café two years ago on La Brea Avenue, the duo was contemplating an idea for a pasta bar, but didn’t have a location in mind. That’s when they heard that the owners of Rascal were closing their longtime gastropub. “It was perfect timing,” says Vincent. “We met Rebecca and Sandy of Rascal when we first opened the café and they helped us with a lot of technical stuff, and plenty of good advice. So when this space opened, it felt like a good fit.” Mindy adds that they love the idea of having “her corner” and “his corner,” which straddle 8th Street. Vincent, who is half Ital(Please turn to page 28)

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The ‘Little Bar’ that could, after 15 years and still counting By Rachel Olivier It’s been the “Little Bar” that could (at 757 S. La Brea Ave.) for the Miracle Mile and La Brea neighborhoods since 2005. Whether celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, or simply as a place to play darts or trivia with friends, the 15-year-old neighborhood local could be considered one of the founding businesses of the renaissance currently underway along South La Brea Ave. Angelo Vacco first opened Little Bar (so named on account of the space, he says) because he missed the vibe of East Coast bars and taverns he had worked in and gone to when he lived in New Haven, Conn. When he moved to Los Angeles, he ended up becoming the personal bartender for several celebrities. He said that they often told him he needed to open a place of his own. So Vacco did. “In addition to my life savings, four friends who believed in me loaned me the money to open Little Bar,” says Vacco. “Not too many people know that the site of Little Bar first opened in 1959 as a speakeasy called Chatter Box. Then it became Klondike Bar in the

MERMAID BECAME part of the décor after an HGTV makeover.

1960s-70s. In the ’80s it was a run-down place called Girl Talk. A friend and I put in a lot of hard work to turn the place around. Little Bar was born,” says Vacco. That friend was Bob, who helped Vacco and his wife Marisa (who owns and manages the bar with Vacco) get the bar up and running back in 2005. It wasn’t easy at first. At the time, Little Bar didn’t have a full liquor

license and could only serve beer and wine. Crafting cocktails with soju, a Korean alcohol, helped tide the tavern over until Vacco was able to obtain a full liquor license in 2012. He further noted that they had “a lot of support from customers and neighbors along with the Miracle Mile Residential Association and Sycamore Square Neighborhood Association” to get that license.

In addition, however, there was no kitchen, which meant no snacks or munchables for customers to enjoy. Creativity overcame that obstacle. Little Bar lets people “order in” and even has a folder of nearby eatery favorites that will deliver to the bar. It has become a well-established custom to this day for the occasional pizza delivery person to show up at the door asking who ordered a pizza. Mermaid theme By 2010, Vacco’s friend Bob, who had done so much to help open the bar, had passed away. Vacco needed to be reinspired, and he felt the bar needed a little help as well. With the aid of Antonio Ballatore of “The Antonio Treatment” on HGTV, the bar was able to get the little extra flair that it needed. During the Broadcast TV segment, a memorial for Bob was added on the wall as a nod to the bar’s beginnings. In addition, a faux pressed-tin wall gave it a 19th century feel, and other coastal props were brought in, such as a mermaid statue looking down on the bar, to support the East Coast vibe Vacco wanted to keep. Dartboards, Saturday night

trivia contests, and a jukebox round out the props that are a draw and add an overall coziness to the space. Neighborhood scene Angelo and Marisa Vacco, members of the Greater Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce since 2006, continue to keep the bar low-key and comfortable and the prices reasonable. Vacco says they have a small dedicated staff and are happy to be the neighborhood spot, “not pretentious, but quirky. Everybody feels welcome. It’s not your typical L.A. scene.” St. Patrick’s Day, Tues., March 17, will see the green beer and Guinness flowing “as always,” noted Vacco. He says the bar is often on the route for folks who are pub crawling from Molly Malone’s and Tom Bergin’s. The bar will celebrate its anniversary officially by teaming up with Lost Coast Brewery out of Eureka, Calif. to serve Little Bar House IPA brew on tap. It will be a limited edition signature beer to be pulled in April and May. “Stop in and say hi,” says Vacco. It’s an open invitation; all are welcome. For more information, visit littlebarlounge.com.

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Larchmont Chronicle

LAUREN WASSER was among the models strutting their stuff for M Missoni.

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CREATIVE DIRECTOR for M Missoni, Margherita Missoni, joined the fun at Pink’s.

M Missoni unveils blaze of colors at Pink’s

DOUBLE-DECKER tourist bus delivered dozens clad in M Missoni fashion.

COLORFUL CORD re-did the Pink’s chairs for the event.

bus dancing and prancing in the brand’s knitwear made in a rainbow of colors and zigzag patterns. Margherita Missoni said she chose the hot dog stand for the launch of the company’s sub-brand because Pink’s is akin to the company founded by her grandaprents in 1953; it has paved its own way. In keeping with the Missoni focus on sustainability, the collection is made of upcycled yarn, scraps and surplus fabric.

Fashion models walked an inpromptu catwalk in the parking lot at Pink’s Hot Dogs

last month. The landmark eatery was the scene of the fall and winter 2020 M Missoni collection. Creative Director Margherita Missoni herself flew in from Italy for the tasty and fun occasion. Hot dogs and fries were served at the N. La Brea stand, which was decked out in strands of yarn and paint for the occasion. Almost as colorful as the bright pink hot dog stand, the models descended from a basket-weave double-decker

PINK’S BACK PATIO and parking lot hosted a colorful mashup of models and Instagramers.

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RODIN GARDEN, I, by Vera Lutter. Photo courtesy of the artist

Museums in the Mile

LACMA exhibits at BCAM and Resnick

PREPAREDNESS party attendees include, standing, L-R: L-R (standing): Top Row: Nikki Ezhari, District Director, Councilmember David Ryu’s office (CD-4); Jackie Koci Tamayo, Emergency Management Coordinator, Emergency Management Department; John Darnell, Chief Resilience Officer, Department of Neighborhood Empowerment; Martin Beck, Security Chair, Hancock Park Home Owners Assn.); Carol P. Parks, Community Preparedness & Engagement Division Chief, Emergency Management Department; Capt. Shannon K. Paulson, Commanding Officer, Wilshire Division, LAPD and Deputy Chief Ronnie Villanueva, Commander, South Bureau, LAFD. Seated at center are L-R: Arman Sahakian, General Manager, Emergency Management Department and Caroline Moser, President, Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council. In the front row, L-R, are hostess Lyn MacEwen Cohen, President, First-in Fire Foundation; LTC (CA) Marc S. Cohen, Chief of Staff, Operations Group, CA State Guard, CA Military Department; Tammy Rosato, President, La Brea Hancock Homeowners Association; and Patty Lombard, President, Fremont Place Homeowners Association.

A ‘Passion for Preparedness’ on Rossmore By Suzan Filipek Are you RYLAN ready? First-In-Fire Foundation President Lyn MacEwen Cohen is passionate about emergency preparedeness, which is why she and husband Marc opened their home to city leaders, friends and neighbors to promote RYLAN (Ready Your LA Neighborhood) in mid-February. The first “Passion for Preparedness” event in the area drew 50 guests, she told us. These included the new

Consul General from Belgium Gunther Sleeuwagen, neighborhood council presidents and officers of homeowners associations. Other guests included Nikki Ezhari from Councilmember David Ryu’s office, Meg McComb, executive director of the Greater Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce, and John Burney, director of resident services for Park La Brea. RYLAN is a free innovative service offered by the City of Los Angeles Emergency Manage-

ment Department that empowers neighborhoods to be more prepared for the next big disaster. Skills learned Participants learn who are the key first responders in their area how to help create a neighborhood and individual response plan, what to do in the first hour of a disaster and how to be resilient after an emergency. A “neighborhood” can be as small as one block (such as (Please turn to page 22)

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“Vera Lutter: Museum in the Camera” opens Sun., March 29 at the Resnick Pavilion at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The exhibit will feature 44 photographs made by the New York-based artist — using an ancient photography (camera obscura) technique — when she was in residence at LACMA Feb. 2017 to Jan. 2019. Her works capture parts of LACMA that are being replaced with the construction of the new Geffen Galleries building. Also on exhibit are: “Where the Truth Lies: The Art of Qiu Ying” is at the Resnick to May 17. “Luchita Hurtado: I Live I Die I Will Be Reborn” at the Broad Contemporary Art Museum to May 3. Visit lacma.org o o o

Kimono textile, yoga at Japan Foundation

Conversation Tea Time, Bilingual Yoga at Lunchtime and Meditation with Japanese Singing Bowl are among offerings at the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, 5700 Wilshire Blvd.

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Holocaust Survivor talks, exhibits, films and more are offered at the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum, in Pan Pacific Park. “Violins of Hope” opens Wed., March 18 at 7 p.m. The exhibit includes 60 Holocaustera instruments that have been restored since the end of World War II. Each tells a story of its previous owner. Instruments in the Violins of Hope partners program will be used in several upcoming performances. These include a performance by the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic on Sun., March 29 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. (Please turn to page 20)

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Larchmont Chronicle

‘What brings you to LACMA?’

That’s the question inquiring photographer Talia Abrahamson asked visitors to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in February.

“Because I’m on vacation, and I want to see some art.” Peyton Stewart Chicago, Ill.

GEFFEN GALLERIES are supported by semi-transparent concrete and glass pavilions that include the new location of Ray’s and Star theater. View is from the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM) balcony, looking east. “Urban Light” is at lower right.

LACMA

“We were just celebrating Valentine’s Day, so we’re here.” David Legaspi and America Elenes Moreno Valley

“Well, today I came to meet someone.” Jonathan Capparelli Torrance

“We were down at the La Brea Tar Pits, and we saw this when we were driving by. I’ve always wanted to come here to the Urban Lights, and so we got our pictures there.” Karen Thorp and Adam Smoyer Long Beach

The new building design is not without controversy. Two separate groups claiming to be “Save LACMA” are fighting over (Continued from page 3) that name in their efforts to do what their members believe 110,000-square feet. the name says. One group was founded by local preservationists Another plus is the project adds 3.5 acres of public space to who are partial to the legacy of architect William Pereira, FAIA. the 20-acre Hancock Park. There will be new landscaped plazas, Pereira’s firm designed the original graceful buildings from educational spaces, sculpture gardens and native vegetation. 1965 that were obscured by the hulking Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer addition along Wilshire in 1987. LACMA officials and their consultants say all those existing structures need replacement. The other “Save LACMA” group seemingly is led by architecture critics, one prominent in New York and the other a local Los Angeles writer. But, possibly only the Los Angeles writer is behind that Save LACMA. That version of Save LACMA appears well-funded; it has placed three full-page ads in the “Los Angeles Times” (and possibly ads in the “New York Times” and other papers) featuring cartoon images of the proposed Zumthor building, along with strong criticism of LACMA, its leaders and their plans. The source of funding for those ads is unknown. Neither “Save LACMA” poses a threat, said Govan. The money for the project has been raised. In some cases, the pledges are pending the completion of the new state-of-the-art galleries building. City and county approvals have been granted, with officials praising the project. “It was a really innovative way to solve your problem and make a landmark DEMOLITION UNDERWAY: In this “before” view, photographed adjacent to “Urban building for Los Angeles,” one told Govan. Light” in February, disposal chutes on the Ahmanson Building are where interior eleGovan does sympathize with those who are ments of the old buildings are being removed. The Art of the Americas (Robert O. nostalgic for the three 1960-era Pereira buildAnderson) Building at right also is going away. ings that the new gallery building will replace.

“We’re not from here, so we wanted to go around and see the main places everyone goes to in L.A. I think this is the most popular one so far, so we decided to take pictures.” Gabriel Cruz and Pansy El Ghayati Irvine

“She lives here, and she told me there’s a lot of good art there. She’ll make fun of me if I don’t know good art, so I want to see it.” Patrick Mulchrone Chicago, Ill. “I agree with that. I wanted to make fun of him today, so that’s why we’re here.” Sara Sifuentes South Los Angeles

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“I work here. Right now we’re having a pop-up workshop, and it’s always LACMA-related to the galleries we have.” Cecilia Flores North Hollywood

rk Bar (in the left of the rendering) as well as education studios, the LACMA Shop, a café and — across Wilshire — another café and a

In fact, he hired Zumthor largely based on his experience in in BCAM and the Resnick Pavilion. Ray’s and Stark Bar (and, reusing older buildings. “When I originally spoke with him, I of course, the popular “Urban Light,” by artist Chris Burhoped we could build around the older buildings.” den, at the museum’s Wilshire entrance) also will also re But very quickly Govan and Zumthor came to the same conmain open. clusion a previous architect on the project reached. The LACMA Sundays Live free music series previously in the “We started to quickly learn that Rem Koolhaas was right.” Bing Theater is now being offered at St. James’-in-the City, In 2001, Koolhaas’ design also called for demolishing the old3903 Wilshire Blvd. See sundayslive.org. er buildings to rebuild LACMA. That plan also required closing the museum for five years. The project died when the money ran out. “This is the second big attempt. This time it’s working,” said Govan. Govan also noted that, in addition to taking more time, saving the deteriorating buildings would have cost hundreds of millions of additional taxpayer dollars. “This is an amazing solution. You’re going to finally have this much expanded, state-ofthe-art world-class museum not just in its collection, which is growing,” but designed by “one of the best architects. “I can’t wait. I think the gallery experience is going to be sublime.” Remains open LACMA will remain open AFTER: Visible on the left in this rendering of the view north across Wilshire Boulevard are “Urban during construction, show- Light,” BCAM and the Resnick Pavilion. The view is from the café that will adjoin the theater at the casing its and others’ works corner of Wilshire Blvd. and Spaulding Ave.

“Check out the scene and take a couple of pictures outside the lamp posts.” Edgar Zamora Southgate “We were coming to the museum, but we actually ran out of time. We came to enjoy the art and have some memories on a special day.” Laura Quezada Norwalk

“I wanted to take a picture. I thought those street lamps were really cool. It came up on Facebook when I checked into Los Angeles, so we thought we’d check it out.” “She’s more into taking pictures, but I’d seen it also on Facebook. It’s a unique feature here in Los Angeles.” Donna and Robby Reyes Chicago, Ill.

“Just a date. Go and show my lady the art museum for the first time.” Dakota Smith with Amber Rif South Bay

“We just flew here to visit friends and relatives from Richmond, Virginia, so we want to come here. I’m a graphic designer, so this is kind of right up my alley, and I’ll feel pretty at home here.” John Tourek Richmond, Va.

“She’s coming, working here, and I’m with her. She’s a flight attendant, and I’m an aviation mechanic.” Luis Aguilar and Karina Aviles Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico

18 Miracle Mile 2020

Larchmont Chronicle

33RD ANNUAL EDITION

Master planning is underway for ‘magical’ La Brea Tar Pits

SABER-TOOTHED CAT: Here the Ice Age feline is seen as the museum’s popular puppet that will be highlighted at the museum this summer. Courtesy of La Brea Tar Pits

month to develop the conceptual design of a master plan for the 13-acre property that contains the Tar Pits and Museum, officials told us. The public will have a chance to provide input on

the process as it develops. The completion date for the project is probably five-to-seven years off, and it is too early to provide a construction timeline or cost estimate. Some early ideas include a bridge across the gooey tar where replica, life-size mammoths and other animals that once roamed the site continue to perish in the gooey tar. Also planned are a new wing along Sixth Street, a central lawn and a series of walkways throughout. Lori Bettison-Varga, president and director of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, in an interview with the Larchmont Chronicle, explained that “it probably will be another year before we see more detail.” She said the process for the architects and their colleagues, including Los Angeles architect and historic

THE MIRACLE MILE CIVIC COALITION 8758 Venice Boulevard • Los Angeles, California 90034

We’ve gone underground … preparing for the future.

2023 – sooner than we think.

Courtesy of Weiss/Manfredi

preservation expert Brenda Levin, FAIA, will be to work with NHM on a program of public engagement as a part of planning the evolution of the property that includes the George C. Page Museum building from 1977. Bettison-Varga told us that the selection of Weiss and Manfredi was the consensus of many different stakeholders. She observed that “highly diverse respondents were uniform in feeling that this team and its proposal provide the

best fit,” noting that survey responses, alone, accounted for more than 2,100 opinions about the three proposals being evaluated. Saber-tooth summer Meanwhile, lots of events are planned at the site including Saber-Toothed Summer. There will be a host of related tours, activities and programming, but in the meantime, guests can come to the Tar Pits and take one of its new self-guided tours or explore the Ice Age on their own.

Science talks, live music at NHM ‘First Fridays’ series, ‘Future is Now’ Hear live music performances and discussions about science and the future at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, 900 Exposition Blvd., the first Friday of every month, beginning March 6. The series, “The Future is Now,” in cooperation with XPRIZE Foundation, begins with Dr. Alexis Komor, assistant professor in chemistry and biochemistry at UC San Diego and researcher into genome editing and DNA, and Roey Tzezana, a future studies

researcher at Tel Aviv University. Tzezana studies human longevity. Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Patt Morrison will moderate. The discussion begins at 6:30 p.m. Performances will be by musical groups Café Molly, French Vanilla and Wajetta, with DJs Josh Peace and Novena Carmel also spinning tunes. Tickets are $20 for nonmembers and free for members (with reservation). Visit nhm.org/first-fridays.

In Miracle Mile

◊◊◊ In the spirit of cooperation and love of the Mile

Exquisite Floral Arrangements & Plants for Every Occasion!

Miracle Mile Civic Coalition always at the ready

Partners in Preparedness with First-In Fire Foundation

CONCEPTUAL approach features a bridge across the Lake Pit.

5310 West 8th Street www.urbanflorist.net

©LC0314

Master planning work for the La Brea Tar Pits with the team led by architecture firm Weiss/Manfredi is underway. The goal is to revitalize the Ice Age-old site — the world’s only active paleontological research facility in a major urban area. Weiss/Manfredi was chosen late last year after a lengthy international search to oversee the museum’s first renovation since it opened 40 years ago. The winning firm’s “Loops and Lenses” concept creates connections between the museum and the park, between science and culture and between the park and the public imagination. Marion Weiss, a principal at the New York firm, said after the announcement, “There is truly no place in the world as magical as La Brea Tar Pits.” Museum staff and board members began meetings last

Larchmont Chronicle

T:10.25" EDITION 33RD ANNUAL

Miracle Mile 2020 19

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20 Miracle Mile 2020

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33RD ANNUAL EDITION

Carusos support Loyola High School with large donation Rick and Tina Caruso have donated $5 million to Loyola High School of Los Angeles, earmarking $4.5 million for the 1901 Venice Boulevard Project and $500,000 for the Caruso Scholar endowment that supports a four-year scholarship for a low-income

student from an underserved neighborhood in Los Angeles. President of Loyola, Fr. Gregory M. Goethals, called the Jan. 29 donation an “historic investment” and said that it will affect generations of students to come: “To inspire our students to become future

leaders, we must be able to provide them with state-ofthe-art facilities that contribute to a thriving educational and spiritual community. Once completed, the 1901 Venice Boulevard Project will transform our campus.” The 1901 Venice Boulevard

♥ OF9M0 YEARS

IRAC IN TH LE M E ILE!

Project includes the building of Caruso Hall, formerly known as Xavier Center, from the ground up. “Through my work on Loyola’s Board and as the parent of a Cub graduate, not only have I witnessed firsthand the academic excellence this institution instills in all its students, but equally as important — the spiritual growth that is integral

Cathedral Chapel School • CYO Sports • Choice Lunch Program • Outreach Concern Counseling • Extended Day Care • Junior High Academic Decathlon

Testing Dates

Kindergarten Testing Saturday, March 7, 2020 (by appointment) First Grade Testing Saturday, March 7, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. Grades 2-8 Testing Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. Applications available online at cathedralchapelschool.org or in our school office.

SAVE THE DATE!

90th Anniversary Celebration May 2, 2020

755 South Cochran Ave., L.A. 90036 For Information (323) 938-9976 or cathedralchapelschool.org

to turning young men into positive contributors to society,” said Rick Caruso, CEO of Caruso, which owns The Grove at the Farmer’s Market among its many properties. A Jesuit college preparatory school, Loyola High School is celebrating its 154th anniversary as the oldest continually operated educational institution in Southern California. More at loyolahs.edu.

LAHSA Team sets up temporary shop on La Brea

AFTER SCHOOL ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS • Young Ninjas USA-Enrichment Classes • Fit & Fun Gymnastics

©LC0320

• Kindergarten through 8th grade • Fully Accredited WASC & WCEA • Schoolwide 4G Internet Access • 36 MAC Computer Lab • Spanish Program • K-8 iPad Program • Departmentalized Junior High • Classroom Art & Music Program • Honors Math Program

LOYOLA PRESIDENT Fr. Gregory Goethals accepts $5 million donation from Rick Caruso to help fund project and endow a four-year scholarship. Photo by Dustin Snipes

While CGI Strategies mixed-use (hotel-plus apartments plus ground-floor retail) project is pending, the developer donated the use of the 17,500-square-foot existing building to Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). The no-fee lease is through June, but if construction is not pending, it may be extended, said Beck. The office building at S. 639 La Brea Ave. serves now as a temporary base of operations for LAHSA’s Homeless Engagement Team (HET). HET members work to get local homeless individuals referrals to shelters, transportation to doctor appointments and assistance with substance abuse. In addition, the space serves as a gathering spot for other similar community outreach teams. Having a centralized loca-

tion where team members in the area can meet to coordinate their daily efforts is a tremendous help according to Thomas Wong, coordinator of housing location for LAHSA. “This donation from CGI Strategies is a perfect example of how the public and private sectors can partner to help our residents experiencing homelessness,” said Heidi Marston, chief program officer at LAHSA. “ “While we recognize it is only temporary, it puts to good use space that was sitting empty, and we offered it to LAHSA to use as they saw fit,” said CGI Strategies cofounder Gidi Cohen. The future mixed-use development on the site will include 14 units for extremely low-income households and one unit for a moderate-income household.

Museums

located at 5814 Wilshire Blvd. The exhibition utilizes clay in various interpretations and features pieces from over 20 leading artists in this medium. The exhibition is part of the museum’s biennial clay offering. During this time, visitors can try their own hands at ceramics, with a multitude of workshops available after viewing the works. The Craft Contemporary Museum was established in 1973 and serves as Museum Row’s preeminent artisanquality craft, folk and indigenous art offering. More at cafam.org

(Continued from page 14) The oldest survivor-founded holocaust museum in the U.S., LAMOTH opened in 1961. Admission to the museum is always free. For more information visit lamoth.org, o o o

Ceramics on display at Craft Contemporary

Visitors can view “The Body, The Object, The Other” through Sun., May 10 at the Craft Contemporary Museum,

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22 Miracle Mile 2020

MMRA annual meeting is at KCC March 14

The Miracle Mile Residential Association annual community meeting is Sat., March 14 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Korean Cultural Center (KCC), 5505 Wilshire Blvd. Councilmember David Ryu and LAPD Wilshire Division Capt. Shannon Paulson are keynote speakers at the 37th annual meeting. Capt. Paulson and Senior Lead Officer Perry Jones will lead a question-and-answer session. MMRA President James O’Sullivan will open the meeting, and Kari Garcia will speak on creating a preparedness plan. Land use issues, development and crime will also be discussed, MMRA neighborhood watch coordinator Garcia told us. “Property Care 101” will be presented by Mark Zecca, vice president for historic preservation. Residents are encouraged to walk to the meeting because a film shoot for a television pilot will close Wilshire Blvd. between Fairfax and La Brea at that time. There will be parking at the KCC lot, and LAPD will be directing traffic, Garcia told us.

Larchmont Chronicle

33RD ANNUAL EDITION

Business Watch supports businesses on, around Mile A new group to support brick and mortar businesses, Miracle Mile Business Watch, is planning its second meeting this month, group founder Kari Garcia told us. An LAPD bike patrol and a message-texting group have both formed since the Business Watch’s first meeting. Crime, graffiti and issues related to construction of new developments, including Metro, are among concerns. “We’re trying to clean up

some things… It’s a beautiful, iconic area, and we’re getting hit by massive structures. We need a voice and support,” Garcia said. The approximately 40 businesses on Wilshire between Fairfax and La Brea, as well as neighboring businesses on S. La Brea and other nearby areas such as Sycamore Square and La Brea Hancock, are also encouraged to join. Email: miraclemilebusinesswatch@ gmail.com.

Wilshire closed for TV shoot March 14, 15 Wilshire Boulevard will be closed between Fairfax and La Brea avenues from midnight Fri., March 13 to Mon., March 16 at 3 a.m. NBC Universal will be shoo-

ing, “La Brea,” a TV pilot written by David Appelbaum. The drama is about a sinkhole that devours the Miracle Mile area, a member of the Miracle Mile Residential Association told us.

Preparedness

marked. “The hope is that this cordial event held just before Valentine’s Day promotes the concepts: ‘Emergency Preparedness can be fun!’ and ‘We have a passion for preparedness.’ — all punctuated by serving heart-shaped cookies, strawberries and chocolates,” said Lyn Cohen. For information and to schedule your emergency preparedness training go to emergency.lacity.org/rylan.

(Continued from page 14) Rossmore Avenue) or it can encompass a whole community (such as Hancock Park, Miracle Mile, Fremont Place or Windsor Square, for example). Firefighters, police, the military, emergency preparedness professionals and grassroots citizens are truly “A Force to Be Reckoned With – United We Stand,” Lyn Cohen re-

Residential Assoc. Below is a list of residential groups, including contact information, which serve Miracle Mile and the surrounding communities. If any are missing, write us at tips@larchmontchronicle.com.

Miracle Mile Residential Association miraclemilela.com James O’Sullivan, president info@miraclemilela.com Boundaries: Wilshire to San Vicente, Fairfax to La Brea.

Beverly Wilshire Homes Association beverlywilshirehomes.com Diana Plotkin, president 323-653-6254 Boundaries: Wilshire to Rosewood, La Cienega to La Brea, excluding Park La Brea.

Park LaBrea Residents Association plbra.org Susan Ferris, president Robert Shore, vice president Barbara Gallen, secretary Simon Joyal, treasurer 401 S. Burnside Ave. 323-934-1177 plbra@ca.rr.com

Carthay Circle Neighborhood Association carthaycircle.org Brent Kidwell, president 310-490-9006 info@carthaycircle.org president@carthaycircle.org Boundaries: Wilshire to Olympic between Fairfax and La Cienega. La Brea-Hancock Homeowners’ Association labreahancock.com Tammy Rosato, president Bob Eisele, vice president Cathy Roberts, secretary neighborhoodwatch@ labreahancockpark.com Boundaries: Wilshire to Third, Sycamore to Citrus.

Sycamore Square Neighborhood Association sycamoresquare.org Conrad Starr, president Joshua Kirchmer, secretary info@sycamoresquare.org Boundaries: Wilshire to Olympic, La Brea to Citrus. Information of interest to residents is also available from: Greater Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce miraclemilechamber.org Stephen W. Kramer, president 5858 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 205 Los Angeles, CA 90036 323-964-5454 info@miraclemilechamber.org

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33RD ANNUAL EDITION

Miracle Mile 2020 23

What will you do with the money you save?

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MercuryInsurance.com Savings info based on 2019 CA Dept. of Insurance rate comparison profile 38B. Individual savings may vary.

24 Miracle Mile 2020

Miracle Mile Apartments

The following list of apartment buildings in and around the Miracle Mile area is not exhaustive, but it does cover a major portion of the community. All are ZIP code 90036 unless noted. If you have additions or corrections, please write to tips@larchmontchronicle.com.

hpgmanagement.com

Avalon Wilshire 5115 Wilshire Blvd. 323-894-9430 avaloncommunities.com

Burnside Villas 649 S. Burnside Ave. 323-497-4803

Babylon Apartments 360 S. Detroit St. 323-930-2213 hpgmanagement.com Boulevard on Wilshire 5353 Wilshire Blvd. 866-380-1996 liveboulevard.com Brighton Villas 318 S. Detroit St. 323-930-2213

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33RD ANNUAL EDITION

Broadcast Center Apartments 7660 Beverly Blvd. 424-523-5999 broadcastcenterapts.com Burnside Residences 600 S. Burnside Ave. 323-497-4803 burnside-living.com

Cloverdale Towers 340 S. Cloverdale Ave. 323-936-0322 cloverdaletowers.bhprop.com Cochran Apartments 657–665 S. Cochran Ave. No phone number available. Cochran Avenue Apartments 442 S. Cochran Ave. 310-505-5583 cochranavenue.com

Carthay Circle Apts. 6209-6225 Olympic Blvd., 90048 323-936-3793 Cloverdale Apartments 600 S. Cloverdale Ave. 323-965-1565 Cloverdale Properties, LLC 660 S. Cloverdale Ave. 424-333-1336

Cochran Island Apartments 342 S. Cochran Ave. 323-932-0450 Cochran House 740 S. Cochran Ave. 310-729-0200 Curson Apartments 315-323 N. Curson Ave. 323-289-2374 cursonapts.com The Desmond 5514 Wilshire Blvd. 310-602-4201

livedesmond.com Essex at Miracle Mile 400 S. Detroit St. 323-736-5004 essexapartmenthomes.com Hauser Apartments 625 Hauser Blvd. 323-937-0930 hpgmanagement.com

Museum Terrace 600 S. Curson Ave. 323-745-1251 museumterraceapts.com Oakwood Miracle Mile 5659 W. 8th St. 323-931-5659 oakwood.com

Linda Manor Apartments 456 S. Cochran Ave. No phone number available.

Palazzo East 348 S. Hauser Blvd. 424-532-8594 palazzo-east.com

The Mansfield 5100 Wilshire Blvd. 323-634-0290 themansfieldapartments.com

Palazzo West 6220 W. 3rd St. 424-532-9123 palazzoatthegrove.com

Masselin Park West 5700 6th St. 323-934-1600 masselinparkwestapts.com

Palm Court Apts. 740 S. Burnside Ave. 323-930-2564 harrison-properties.net

Micropolitan at Urban Lights 739 S. Ogden Dr. 323-825-5930

Park La Brea 6200 W. 3rd St. 323-549-5400 parklabrea.com The Preston 630 S. Masselin Ave. 323-965-1253 theprestonapts.com Redwood Urban 345 S. Cloverdale Ave. 435 S. Detroit St. 630 Hauser Blvd. 323-467-9000 redwoodurban.com Ridgeley Apartments 756 S. Ridgeley Dr. 323-481-7315 ridgeleyapts.com

THE COUNCIL SHOP

Tiffany Court 616 Masselin Ave. 323-498-1224 essexapartmenthomes.com

S U P P O RT I N G

National Council of Jewish Women

The Warwick 109 N. Sycamore Ave. No phone number available.

DONATE TODAY! Your donations support programs that help women and families thrive.

Wilshire Embassy Apts. 5805 W. 8th St. 323-933-6020 Wilshire La Brea 5200 Wilshire Blvd. 323-736-2691 essexapartmenthomes.com

Donations help raise funds for our programs and are directly distributed to people in need through:

Wilshire West Properties, LLC 649 S. Ridgeley Dr. 213-393-6313 162/164 N. Detroit St. detroitla.com

 Rental assistance  Clothing Vouchers

328 S. Cloverdale Ave. 310-899-9580 rentcwp.com

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5600 Wilshire Blvd. 323-476-1266 essexapartmenthomes.com

(Please turn to page 30) MiracleMileAd8x10.indd 1

2/6/20 9:19 AM

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Miracle Mile 2020 25

33RD ANNUAL EDITION

A MODERNIST APPROACH TO LUXURY LIVING EXPLORE OUR NEW PREMIUM UNITS AT PARK LA BREA History. Legacies. Traditions. There are few places in this city that house these attributes so elegantly. This unique community honors the past with a reverence for its classic architecture, while blending a rich list of amenities, current features, and breathtaking views. Our upgraded Premium Signature homes include quartz countertops, gorgeous parquet wood floors, central a/c, and washers and dryers. Alternatively, the Garden Townhome has the feel of a private cottage or bungalow, and often opens onto a grassy courtyard. Literally across the street from The Grove and LACMA, we are in the heart of the city. Come experience our lush grounds, outdoor cafes, saltwater pools, Activity Center, and Health Club. Nowhere else in Los Angeles - past, present or future - will you ever find this combination of luxury, recreation, culture and convenience. F In-Home Washer/Dryer in select units F Private, Gated Community F Spectacular View Tower Apartments F Charming Courtyard Garden Townhomes F Year-Round Saltwater Swimming Pools F Fitness Center with Yoga and Spin Room F Outdoor Cafes & Wi-Fi Hotspots F 24-Hour Patrol Service F Steps to The Grove, Farmers Market, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

Lush landscaping and wide open spaces.

Park La Brea is dog friendly However, only in select garden apartments.

Spacious apartments in towers and garden townhomes.

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Drago, best Italian in the Mile, inside and on the outdoor patio The weather in Los Angeles has been all over the temperature map recently, but we’ve had enough unseasonably warm days that it was with great anticipation that I headed to Drago Ristorante, the Sicilian-leaning eatery in the Petersen Museum, to try dinner on their new patio. At least that was my hope. In fact, even surrounded by heaters, it was too chilly and the warm glow from the interior beckoned through the windows and won me over. Indoor eating again. There aren’t too many patio options in the Miracle Mile, so the arrival of a spacious outdoor space is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. The restaurant and terrace are hidden from Fairfax traffic behind the museum’s decorative metallic ribbons. Red exterior walls form a bright backdrop to the casual, modern patio design — white tables and umbrellas, charcoal chairs, and leafy greenery scattered about. I can imagine spending a balmy summer evening there with a glass of Italian red and a bowl of wild boar pasta or a leisurely lunch munching a prosciutto and mozzarella pizza, Aperol spritz in hand. Sadly, that experience will

On the Menu by

Helene Seifer have to wait. Happily, the food is the best Italian in the Mile, no matter where you sit. The Drago brothers, Celestino, Tanino, Calogero and Giacomino, learned their love of cooking with fresh ingredients while growing up on the family farm in Sicily where what ended up on the table was often what was grown in the garden, including the ever-present olive oil, pressed from olives plucked from their trees. The menu at Drago Ristorante reflects the rugged island terrain of their youth — lots of seafood, lots of bold flavors with capers and olives, sage and chili flakes. The white-tablecloth restaurant does keep things light, however — sauces kiss the pasta, rather than bludgeon them. There are numerous starters and salads — $14 burrata and eggplant, $18 roasted veal in tomato sauce, a $16 salad with apples, bacon, candied walnuts and mixed greens.

From Breakfast

They also offer what might be the best octopus I’ve ever had. Pan roasted, the tentacles were beautifully seasoned and extremely tender. The $14 dish was anchored by a flavorful celery root puree. I could eat this every day and die happy. Pasta, though, is the centerpiece of the menu — homemade and always al dente, the eight dishes featured on the current menu include a $28 spaghetti with shrimp, calamari, bay scallops, mussels, and clams in a light tomato sauce, $22 tagliolini with sea urchin and lemon, and $18.50 ravioli filled with braised short ribs in prosciutto sauce. The $18 fusilli in a prosciutto and vodka sauce was exceptional. Perfectly cooked little corkscrews of pasta were enhanced by the ham-flavored, liquorenriched red sauce. The $22 giant rigatoni with cherry tomato, shrimp and Thai chili was rightfully recommended by our server. Each bite yielded distinct bursts of fresh tomato, sweet crustacean and the barest touch of heat. There are the usual soups (bean and pasta, minestrone, each $9), and well-executed thin-crusted pizzas ($14.50 to $16.50). Mains swing from $32 seared ahi tuna puttan-

… to Lunch

ENTRANCE, through the patio on Fairfax Avenue.

esca to $32 pork chops with marsala apple sauce. $28 chicken breast is served crusted with fine bread crumbs and black truffles, accompanied by a fragrant truffle sauce and haricots verts. The aroma was spectacular, and the chicken was juicy and flavorful, although the texture hints that the poultry spent a tad too long in its brine. Do

finish with one of their nine $10 desserts. Why resist walnut semifreddo or profiteroles with hazelnut gelato and hot chocolate sauce? Drago Ristorante, 6060 Wilshire Blvd. (in the Petersen Automotive Museum), 323-800-2244. Contact Helene at onthemenu@larchmontchronicle.com

… to Dinner

… Fresh Ingredients is the Key! YOU CAN COUNT ON DU-PAR’S TO TREAT YOU WELL!

Take our bakery goods home to enjoy!

In the Original Farmers Market • 3rd and Fairfax • Open 24 Hours • (323) 933-8446

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THE ORIGINAL FARMERS MARKET

2020 ACTIVITIES & EVENTS ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATION Tuesday, March 17

All - ages of revelers are invited to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with traditional Irish food and live music, including a strolling bagpiper. Magee’s Kitchen will be serving their famous corned beef, cabbage and potatoes. Green Beer and imported Irish beers will be on tap from E.B’s and Bar 326.

FRIDAY NIGHT MUSIC

Friday Evenings,May 29 - August 28, 7-9pm

Free live music every Friday on the West Patio featuring L.A.’s best musicians.

26TH ANNUAL GILMORE HERITAGE AUTO SHOW Saturday, June 6, 11am-5pm

Nearly 100 American classics are on display throughout the Market; everything from vintage, customs, hot rods, trucks and more! This year’s show pays tribute to “American Royalty” vehicles including Cadillacs, Imperials, Lincolns, Packards and the long-forgotten Duesenbergs.

12TH ANNUAL TASTE OF FARMERS MARKET Tuesday, July 21, 5-9pm

For one evening only, our merchants take you on a strolling gastronomic adventure throughout the Market, letting you sample delicious food for one great price. Ticket info will be available on farmersmarketla.com in early June.

METROPOLITAN FASHION WEEK COSTUME DESIGNERS COMPETITION Thursday, September 24, 6:30pm

Join us as Metropolitan Fashion Week hosts the opening ceremony to its annual costumer designer’s competition in the Farmers Market Plaza. Our trolley tracks will transform into a fashion show runway, and you, the audience, will pick the winning design!

FALL FESTIVAL

Saturday & Sunday, October 10 & 11, All Day

A favorite event since 1934, Fall Festival features a bounty of live music, a petting zoo, arts & crafts for kids, world famous pie-eating contests and more!

HANUKKAH CELEBRATION

Sunday, December 13, 2:30pm-5:30pm

Celebrate Hanukkah with the lighting of a giant Lego menorah, music and arts and crafts.

CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES December 18-24

The Market is decked out in Yuletide finery to welcome the season. Celebrate the holidays with music, arts & crafts, variety shows, Dickensian carolers and more.

All activities & events are free unless otherwise noted. Schedule is subject to change. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST AT FARMERSMARKETLA.COM FOR REGULAR EVENT UPDATES

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90 MINUTES FREE PARKING IN FARMERS MARKET LOTS WITH MERCHANT PURCHASE VALIDATION OR ONE HOUR FREE PARKING AT THE GROVE

28 Miracle Mile 2020

Larchmont Chronicle

33RD ANNUAL EDITION

Restaurant Directory

NEWLYWEDS open Miracle Mile pasta bar Met Him at a Bar.

MET HIM

(Continued from page 10)

NEON SIGN declares pasta served on La Brea Avenue.

ian, has a pedigree for preparing good food. His grandfather migrated from Southern Italy and opened a restaurant in upstate New York. “Cooking good food was a part of growing up in my family,” explains Vincent, who notes that his restaurant’s meatballs are from an old family recipe. When the couple recently got married, they honeymooned on the Amalfi Coast: “We used it as an opportunity to do some research and be inspired by the colors and culture of the region,” said Mindy. Their newly renovated space at 801 S. La Brea Ave.

includes ocean-blue colors and potted lemon trees to help transport guests to Capri — but the homemade pasta and sauces are the showstoppers. Bolognese showstopper “The Bolognese is to die for,” recommends Vincent. “The truffle ravioli is amazing,” raves Mindy. Both agree that the lemon-glazed donut served with vanilla bean ice cream should not be missed. Bar manager Brian Colbert Kennedy serves a craft cocktail program with twists on classic Italian drinks, like a Limoncello Drop and a Rodeo Clown that includes gin, campari and carpano antica.

Book your event here. E S TA B L I S H E D I N 1 9 3 6 , T H E E L R E Y I S A N O R I G I N A L A R T D E C O T H E AT R E IN THE THE HEART OF THE MIRACLE MILE, ONE OF LOS ANGELES’ PRESERVED ART DECO DISTRICTS.

H O S T Y O U R N E X T C O R P O R AT E E V E N T, A F T E R PA R T Y, A W A R D S S H O W, R E C E P T I O N , F I L M / T V S H O O T, O R F U N D R A I S E R AT T H E H I S TO R I C E L R E Y T H E AT R E .

BAILEY NAKANO DIRECTOR OF SALES BNAKANO@AEGPRESENTS.COM 7 6 0. 2 0 1 .7 8 1 7

W W W.T H E E L R E Y. C O M

“People are looking for places to shop and eat that are walkable in the Miracle Mile,” says Vincent. “Our goal is to help make this area walkable by providing a spot that families and young professionals can stop by for dinner and a cocktail.” As Miracle Mile residents, Vincent says they too want more restaurants to open “so we don’t have to go to West Hollywood to hang out.” The Mile can be the next hot spot, he predicts. Met Him at a Bar is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. for lunch and dinner. Visit methimatabar. com.

The following list of restaurants in and around the Miracle Mile area is not exhaustive, but it does cover a major portion of the community. Most are in ZIP Code 90036. Circled numbers after certain eateries’ names refer to the map of places clustered around Pink’s Square at La Brea and Melrose avenues. If you have additions or corrections, please write to tips@ larchmontchronicle.com.

Bludso’s Bar + Que i 609 N. La Brea Ave. 323-931-2583 barandque.com

6th & La Brea 600 S. La Brea Ave. 323-998-8565 6thlabrea.com

Chipotle Mexican Grill 5550 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 101B 323-272-6661 chipotle.com

All About the Bread l 7111 Melrose Ave. 323-930-8989 allaboutthebread.com

Chipotle Mexican Grill b 7101 Melrose Ave. 323-297-0334 chipotle.com

Anarkali Indian Restaurant d 7013 Melrose Ave. 323-934-6488 anarkalilosangeles.com Apollonia’s Pizzeria 5176 Wilshire Blvd. 323-937-2823 Black Dog Coffee 5657 Wilshire Blvd. 323-933-1976 blackdogcoffee.com

Busby’s East 5364 Wilshire Blvd. 323-823-4890 busbysla.com Candela La Brea 831 S. La Brea Ave. 323-936-0533 candelalabrea.com

Coffee for Sasquatch g 7020 Melrose Ave. 323-424-7980 coffeeforsasquatch.com Commerson 788 S. La Brea Ave. 323-813-3000 commersonrestaurant.com The Counter 5779 Wilshire Blvd. 323-932-8900 thecounterburger.com (Please turn to page 29)

Larchmont Chronicle

R estaurant Directory

(Continued from page 28)

Met Him at a Bar 801 S. La Brea Ave. 323-852-3321 methimatabar.com

Trejo’s Tacos 1048 S. La Brea Ave. 323-938-8226 trejostacos.com

Drago Ristorante 6060 Wilshire Blvd. 323-800-2244 dragoristorante.com

Milk Bar o 7150 Melrose Ave. 347-577-9504, ext. 15 milkbarstore.com

Tsujita & Co. 109 N. Fairfax 323-591-0470 tsujita-usa.com

Milk Jar Cookies 5466 Wilshire Blvd. 323-634-9800 milkjarcookies.com

Tsuri Sushi and Sake Bar c 7015 Melrose Ave. 323-935-1517

Einstein Bros. Bagels 5550 Wilshire Blvd. 323-330-9501 einsteinbros.com El Cartel 5515 Wilshire Blvd. 323-931-1281 eldinerla.com El Coyote 7312 Beverly Blvd. 323-939-2255 elcoyotecafe.com Escuela Taqueria 7615 Beverly Blvd. 323-932-6178 escuelataqueria.com Fatburger 5001 Wilshire Blvd., #103 323-939-9593 fatburger.com Five Guys Burgers and Fries 5550 Wilshire Blvd., #101D 323-939-2360 fiveguys.com Genwa Korean BBQ 5115 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. A 323-549-0760 genwakoreanbbq.com Hot Wings Café e 7011 Melrose Ave. 323-930-1233 hotwingscafe.net India’s Tandoori 5468 Wilshire Blvd. 323-936-2050 indiastandoori.net International House of Pancakes 5655 Wilshire Blvd. 323-297-4467 ihop.com Isa Japanese Restaurant 916 S. La Brea Ave. 323-879-9536 isajapanese.com La Brea Bakery Café 468 S. La Brea Ave. 323-939-6813 labreabakery.com Lucifer’s Pizza n 7123 Melrose Ave. 323-424-4230 luciferspizza.com M Café m 7119 Melrose Ave. 323-525-0588

Mixt Greens 5757 Wilshire Blvd. hello@mixt.com mixt.com Ono Hawaiian BBQ 5550 Wilshire Blvd. 323-525-1688 onohawaiianbbq.com Original Farmer’s Market 6333 W. Third St. 323-933-9211 farmersmarketla.com

Wirtshaus 345 N. La Brea Ave. 323-931-9291 wirtshausla.com Workshop Kitchen (?) 127 S. La Brea Ave. Yuko Kitchen 5484 Wilshire Blvd. 323-933-4020 yukokitchen.com

Petty Cash 7360 Beverly Blvd. 323-933-5300 pettycashtaqueria.com Pink’s Hot Dogs a 709 N. La Brea Ave. 323-931-4223 pinkshollywood.com Ray’s and Stark Bar at LACMA 5905 Wilshire Blvd. 323-857-6180 raysandstarkbar.com République 624 S. La Brea Ave. 310-362-6115 republiquela.com

Book your GraduationMention Party Mention in ourthis ad for a special this ad for Private Room! treat! a special

Mention this ad for a special treat!

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Roji Bakery 807 S. La Brea Ave. 323-852-3311 roji-bakery.business.site The Roof on Wilshire 6317 Wilshire Blvd. 323-852-6002 theroofonwilshire.com

7313 – 7317 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, 90036 | 323.297.0070

7313 – 7317 Beverlywww.angeliniosteria.com Blvd., Los Angeles, 90036&|www.angelinialimentari.com 323.297.0070 7313 – 7317 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, 90036 | 323.297.0070 Open Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner – Catering www.angeliniosteria.com & for www.angelinialimentari.com www.angeliniosteria.com & www.angelinialimentari.com Open for Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner – Catering Open for Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner – Catering Spare Tire Kitchen and Tavern 5370 Wilshire Blvd. 323-823-4890 sparetirepub.com Sake House Miro 809 S. La Brea Ave. 323-939-7075 sakehousemiro.com

©LC0320

Eatz Cooking School h 612 N. La Brea Ave. 323-935-3289 eatzla.com.

Miracle Mile 2020 29

33RD ANNUAL EDITION

Standing’s Butchery f 7016 Melrose Ave. 323-413-2212 standingsbutchery.com Supremo Ristorante 901 S. La Brea Ave. 323-852-3192 supremoristorante.com

Mercado 7910 W, 3rd St. 323-944-0947 cocinasycalaveras.com/mercado

The Sycamore Kitchen 143 S. La Brea Ave.

Met Her at a Bar 759 S. La Brea Ave. 323-847-5013 metheratabar.com

Tatsu Ramen k 7111 Melrose Ave. 323-747-1388 tatsuramen.com

thesycamorekitchen@gmail.com

Our Reuben is a classic!

World Famous Restaurant • Deli • Bakery • Bar Open 24 Hours

thesycamorekitchen.com

419 N. Fairfax Ave. (323) 651-2030 Entertainment Nightly in the Kibitz Room • www.cantersdeli.com

30 Miracle Mile 2020

Following is a list of elected officials who serve the Miracle Mile and surrounding neighborhoods. Several of the seats (marked with an asterisk) were on the March 3 ballot as the Larchmont Chronicle went to press.

Larchmont Chronicle

33RD ANNUAL EDITION

Directory of Elected Officials

Sen. Dianne Feinstein 11111 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 915, 90025 310-914-7300 feinstein.senate.gov Sen. Kamala Harris 11845 W. Olympic Blvd., Ste. 1250W, 90064 310-231-4494

harris.senate.gov

Rep. Ted Lieu * 33rd District 1645 Corinth Ave., Ste. 101, 90025 323-651-1040 lieu.house.gov

Rep. Adam Schiff * 28th District 5500 Hollywood Blvd., Ste. 416, 90028 323-315-5555 schiff.house.gov

Rep. Jimmy Gomez * 34th District 350 S. Bixel St., Ste. 120, 90017 213-481-1425 gomez.house.gov

Voted Miracle Mile’s Favorite Neighborhood Bar

Rep. Karen Bass * 37th District 4929 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 650, 90010 323-965-1422 bass.house.gov

Celebrating 15 Years!

Gov. Gavin Newsom 1303 10th St., Ste. 1173 Sacramento 95814 916-445-2841 gov.ca.gov State Sen. Ben Allen 26th District 2512 Artesia Blvd., Ste. 320 Redondo Beach 90278 310-318-6994 sd26.senate.ca.gov State Sen. María Elena Durazo 24th District 1808 W. Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles 90026 213-483-9300

sd24.senate.ca.gov Assemblymember Richard Bloom * 50th District 2800 28th St., Ste. 105 Santa Monica 90405 310-450-0041 a50.asmdc.org Assemblymember Miguel Santiago * 53rd District 320 W. 4th St., Ste. 1050 Los Angeles 90013 213-620-4646 a53.asmdc.org County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl 500 W. Temple St., Ste. 821 Los Angeles 90012 213-974-3333 supervisorkuehl.com Councilman David Ryu * 4th District 200 N. Spring St., Rm. 425 Los Angeles 90012 213-473-7004 davidryu.lacity.org Councilman Paul Koretz 5th District 200 N. Spring St., Rm. 440 Los Angeles 90012 213-473-7005 councilmemberpaulkoretz.com

School Directory

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

©LC1118

Little Bar 757 S. La Brea Ave at 8th St. 323.937.9210 www.littlebarlounge.com

Thanks, L.A., for 89 Terrific Years!

Carthay School of Environmental Studies Magnet 6351 Olympic Blvd. Ph: 323-935-8173 Principal: Sharon Hall-Johnson Grades: K to 5, approx. 352 students carthay-lausd-ca.schoolloop. com Cathedral Chapel School 755 S. Cochran Ave. Ph: 323-938-9976 Principal: Tina Kipp Grades: K to 8, 277 students cathedralchapelschool.org Hancock Park Elementary 408 S. Fairfax Ave. Ph: 323-935-5272 Principal: Ashley Parker Grades: TK to 5, 700 students hancockparkes-lausd-ca. schoolloop.com

Celebrate Our 89th Anniversary

on March 5th

with 89¢ Special Dishes!

www.elcoyotecafe.com Follow Us On

7312 Beverly Blvd. 323-939-2255

©LC0320

We r! Cate

MIDDLE SCHOOLS Fusion Miracle Mile 5757 Wilshire Blvd. Promenade One 323-692-0603 Principal: Katheryn Nguyen Grades: 6 to 12, 1-to-1 learning fusionacademy.com/miraclemile John Burroughs 600 S. McCadden Pl. Ph: 323-549-5000 Principal: Steve Martinez Grades: 6 to 8, approx. 1,700 students burroughsms.org

New Los Angeles Charter 1919 S. Burnside Ave. 323-939-6400 Principal: Daryl Brook Grades: 6 to 8, 300 students newlosangeles.org HIGH SCHOOLS Girls Academic Leadership Academy 1067 West Blvd. Ph: 323-900-4532 Principal: Elizabeth Hicks Grades: 6 to 12, 600 students galacademy.org Fairfax High; Visual Arts Magnet; Police Academy Magnet 7850 Melrose Ave. Ph: 323-370-1200 Principal: Dr. Lorraine Trollinger Grades: 9 to 12, 1,850 students fairfaxhs.org Los Angeles High 4650 W. Olympic Blvd. Ph: 323-900-2700 Principal: Marguerette Gladden Grades: 9 to 12, 1,600 students lahigh.org

Apartments

(Continued from page 24) 5778 W. Olympic Blvd. No phone number available. 5880-5882 W. 8th St. No phone number available. 6300 W. Olympic Blvd., 90048 No phone number available. 6526 W. Olympic Blvd., 90048 No phone number available.

Larchmont Chronicle

Miracle Mile 2020 31

33RD ANNUAL EDITION

An 80-year Miracle on Melrose salutes its great neighbor, Wilshire Boulevard’s

Miracle Mile

(so named just eleven years prior to Paul and Betty Pink opening Pink's on La Brea Avenue in 1939).

We serve over 35 varieties of delicious, mouth-watering Hot Dogs and over 12 varieties of colossal Hamburgers. Seating for 80 guests plus free parking. — At Pink's Square — the corner of La Brea & Melrose Visit us at: WWW.PINKSHOLLYWOOD.COM

@theofficialpinkshotdogs

@pinkshotdogs

#pinkshotdogs

@ pinkshotdogs

For information contact: CateringByPinks@gmail.com

©LC0320

er t a C We

32 Miracle Mile 2020

Larchmont Chronicle

33RD ANNUAL EDITION

S H O P, D I N E , R E L A X & MAKE MEMORIES

J O I N U S F O R T H E B E S T I N S H O P P I N G , D I N I N G & E N T E R TA I N M E N T A L O Y O G A • AT H L E T I C P R O P U L S I O N L A B S • A M E R I C A N G I R L P L A C E • B L U E R I B B O N S U S H I B A R & G R I L L C H A R L O T T E T I L B U R Y • D O M I N I Q U E A N S E L B A K E R Y • E D O B Y E D O A R D O B A L D I • T H E F O U N TA I N B A R F R A M E • L A D U R É E • L U C Y Z A H R A N & C O . • N O R D S T R O M • N I K E T H E G R O V E • PA C I F I C T H E AT R E S P R E S S E D J U I C E RY • SA N D R O • S E P H O R A • TO P S H O P TO P M A N • V I N C E

189 THE GROVE DRIVE

LOS ANGELES, CA 90036

3 2 3 .9 0 0. 8 0 8 0

THEGROVELA .COM

@THEGROVELA