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by Bianca Barragan, LA Curbed
It’s been a while since we heard from the contemporary art museum planned for Downtown LA’s Old Bank District—the one set to run above, below, and through parts of the Bank House Garage, the Hellman Building, and the Farmers and Merchants Bank building. An idea from OBD developer Tom Gilmore and his partner Jerri Perrone, the museum is actually set to begin construction by about mid-April, Gilmore tells the LA Business Journal. But it could be as many as four years before the public gets to go inside.
Gilmore says the Main Museum of Los Angeles Art, as the museum’s now called, will go up in five phases. The buildout could take up to four years, which is about what he’d previously predicted, though the new estimated cost—$55 million—is much more than his 2014 estimate of $25 to $35 million. The museum will be designed by LA architect Tom Wiscombe.
The first phase of the 45,000-square-foot museum (and 30,000-square-foot rooftop sculpture garden) will be the 14,000-square-foot primary entrance on Fourth Street; there will be another entrance on Main. Gilmore’s aiming to have this section complete by the end of the year.
Then it’s on to the work below the building, whose “turn-of-the-century bank vaults and other historic features will be displayed within vast basement and sub-basement spaces,” says the LABJ.
At some point after that, the big rooftop scultpure garden/amphitheater/cafe will be done. Previous designs from Wiscombe show a really cool cantilevered restaurant hanging over Main Street (“We’re going beyond the frontier of street level,” Wiscombe has said) and an amphitheater reminiscent of a paper airplane.
The Main Museum is all part of a plan to push toward what Gilmore once called Old Bank District 2.0, where the neighborhood matures into one that revolves around arts and culture. “The timing just seemed right for it. We thought we could change how the buildings here were being used,” he says.
SILVER LAKE BLOG – April 29, 2016
We caught up with Executive Director of the Historic Core Bid of Downtown Los Angeles – Blair Besten. If you’re lucky you might catch her too. She’s regularly spotted advocating for change while pushing a baby stroller around the Historic Core in DTLA. Did I mention her little boy might be the smartest toddler in the known universe? It’s seriously kinda scary.
Blair has achieved several strides of tireless successes for our DTLA community – our hats off to her! Whatever her secret sauce, we’re sure it’s a little more complicated than even that….
byPól Ó Conghaile, Independent Ireland
The Nickel Diner’s grill is sizzling.
Around it, sitting in burgundy leather banquettes by wooden tables, customers are tucking into a mix of pancakes, egg scrambles and Flat Iron steaks. Ceiling fans whir lazily. A Virgin Mary statuette is embossed in velvet.
I wasn’t sure this was the place, until I stepped inside and saw a sign.
It said: ‘This is the place. There is no place quite like this place anywhere near this place, so this must be the place.’
Boxed into a block near the corner of 5th and South Main, the Nickel Diner (nickeldiner.com) is a space where the ghosts of Downtown LA past, present and future seem to meet. Desserts are chosen from a display stand of shellacked cakes, and the brunchtime crowd veers from a hipster in a ‘Free Winona’ T-shirt to older folk who wouldn’t look out of place in Making a Murderer.
I order Gio’s chilaquiles, a steaming heap of fried tortillas, poached eggs, black beans, avocado and pickled onions.
“It’s a Mexican dish,” says the waiter. “You’ll love it.”
I tuck in, and I do.
Outside, a short walk could take me to some of the most recognisable skyscrapers in the States. Or it could take me to Skid Row.
The next shop window could hold a pawnbroker or a poodle in mid-pamper session; the next block a splash of street art or a wedding chapel.
My next meal could be a hangover-slaying taco from a food truck, or ‘day boat scallops’ served with morels, nettles, spring garlic and lemon in the spanking new Redbird (redbird.la), housed in the former rectory of St Vibiana’s Cathedral.
It’s a thrilling, visceral, in-the-moment mix.
Some strips, like Restaurant Row on 7th Street, could be in any big American city. Others, such as the bazaar-like Santee Alley (three-piece suit with a free shirt and tie for $99, anyone?) or Bunker Hill, with buildings ranging from the Art Deco Edison Building to Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, couldn’t be anywhere else.
Once upon a time, Downtown was the heart of Los Angeles, home to its old movie palaces, grand department stores, fashion district and later its commercial towers. As the city sprawled, however, the historic centre deteriorated into a giant parking lot by day, a no-go area by night.
Now, things are changing once again.
DTLA’s revitalisation is not a new story; lofts, galleries and restaurants have been gaining ground for years. But the sense of a neighbourhood in mid-flip – neither one thing nor the other, but a thrilling cocktail of both that nobody seems quite able to predict or control – is tantalising.
There are pricey penthouses and gritty thrift shops. The Ace Hotel has rebooted the old United Artists Building; Urban Outfitters the Rialto Theatre.
The Last Bookstore (lastbookstorela.com, see video), with its labyrinth and tunnels made of books, is both nostalgic and forward-thinking, the perfect spot to pick up your souvenir copy of The Big Sleep or Less than Zero.
As I shoot a photo outside, yet another homeless person pushes his possessions past in a trolley. Everything feels like it’s in flux. I’m excited, conflicted, pumped with adrenaline.
LA is back on the Irish radar of late – Ethiopian Airlines is flying direct from Dublin, Aer Lingus resumes its direct service in May, and WOW Air is offering one-stop fares via Iceland. There are lots of reasons to visit – from iconic draws like Venice Beach and the Walk of Fame to Universal Hollywood’s new Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
The city is sunny and diverse (people from over 180 countries call it home), but it’s also enormous and the traffic is a snarling mess.
To get under its skin, you need a neighbourhood focus.
And that neighbourhood should be Downtown.
You want movie magic? Forget Hollywood. A movie reccie here takes me to locations from Dark Knight Rises, Heat (the Citigroup Center was the scene of De Niro’s fateful final robbery) and most memorably, Bladerunner.
The iron-laced stairways and birdcage elevators of the 19th-century Bradley Building – a “fairytale of mathematics”, as one critic called it – was the set for J.F Sebastian’s apartment complex, and it’s free to enter.
I discover that you can actually walk through the stainless-steel folds of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. I step into the lobby of the LA Times building, photographing its famous globe. The Broad (thebroad.org), LA’s new contemporary art museum, marries a fish-scale-like exterior with a breathless collection of instantly-recognisable pieces.
Imagine standing in front of Andy Warhol’s Elvis, Jasper Johns’ American flag, or Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog. Well, here you can – and it’s free too.
Finally, to the food. By now, Downtown’s random scattering of restaurants has blossomed into a full-on dining scene. Within a few blocks, you can eat yolk-spurting egg sandwiches at Eggslut (eggslut.com) in the Grand Central Market, or rustic, new American cuisine by Timothy Hollingsworth at Otium (otiumla.com).
There, a svelte and sweetly-presented glass bowl of amberjack with yuzu and smoked tangerine, dished up in Osvaldo Maiozzi’s boxy, beautiful, mezzanine-layered space, feels like the polar opposite of my Nickel Diner experience.
In fact, there’s just a five-minute cab ride between the two.
Downtown measures around five square miles, but surrounded by freeways, it feels like a city – even a timezone – in itself. Go see, before it closes this intriguing chapter.
This is the place, all right.
I stayed as a guest of the Ace Hotel (acehotel.com; from $279 plus tax). A reboot of the historic United Artists Theatre, it epitomises the second (or should that be third?) coming of DTLA, with stripped-back rooms, a photo-booth and vintage guitars in reception, hip staff and an uber-cool rooftop bar.
If you don’t stay, make a point of stopping by for a cocktail.
For more, see discoverlosangeles.com and @discoverla.
by Nicholas Slayton, Los Angeles Downtown News
DTLA – A major overhaul is being planned for the Cecil Hotel. It could bring a bright future to a large property that has lagged as the Historic Core has transformed around it.
New York-based Simon Baron Development has signed a 99-year lease for the 15-story building at 640 S. Main St., which currently operates as the Stay on Main hotel. The company plans to turn the property into a mix of hotel room and apartments, including a low-income housing component. It marks the first California project for Simon Baron, which has mainly worked in New York, building new residential towers and converting older properties in developing neighborhoods into upscale living spaces.
The company is paying $15 per square foot per year for the roughly 199,000-square-foot Cecil, which works out to just under $3 million annually.
Simon Baron’s lease for the 600-room, 82-year-old property is the second major transaction involving the Cecil in recent years. In 2014, developer Richard Born bought the building for $30 million. He announced plans to turn the structure, which is just south of Main Street’s Pacific Electric Lofts, into a hotel aimed at young professionals.
In an interview, Matthew Baron, the president of Simon Baron Development, said the company had not been aiming to expand into California. Simon Baron has worked with Born, and during business discussions the idea was broached. Baron and his partner, company CEO Jonathan Simon, eventually toured the property and the neighborhood.
Baron said he found the Cecil Hotel brimming with potential, and pointed to the elaborate lobby and design details throughout the building. The rebounding Historic Core also appealed.
“My partner and I walked around Downtown L.A. and we could see the change of what’s happening in the area. It was very tangible to us,” Baron said. “It checked the types of boxes of what we do out East.”
Exact plans and designs are still being determined, and while the goal is to cater to Downtown’s young professional population, Baron said the building will not be turned into the type of luxury apartments that have opened across the community. He said extensive work will be done to update the building’s infrastructure, and that new amenities will be added.
Baron said he expects the building will have slightly more apartments than hotel rooms. He said the renovation budget is still being determined, and the goal is to start work in 2017.
The Cecil is one of the last large and relatively untouched buildings in the Historic Core, according to Bruce Baltin, senior vice president of the hotel industry consulting firm PKF Consulting. Baltin noted that hotel developers are particularly interested in real estate along Broadway, Spring and Main streets due to the neighborhood’s walkability and history. He said the turnaround of the Ace Hotel at 929 S. Broadway proved that a major hotel undertaking in the area could be profitable.
Highs and Lows
The 1924 building has had ups and downs. It was originally designed by architect Loy Lester Smith, and was noted for its Neoclassical exterior and an intricate and elegant lobby, according to Linda Dishman, president of preservationist organization the Los Angeles Conservancy.
“When it was built, it was one of the elite Downtown hotels,” Dishman said.
Like much of Downtown, the Cecil’s fortunes turned after World War II, when many people and businesses left the community. The Cecil shifted toward a lower-income clientele and started to decline.
The hotel has counted its share of infamous guests and incidents. Richard Ramirez, who would come to be known as the serial killer the Night Stalker, lived in the building during the mid-1980s. Another serial killer, Jack Unterweger, stayed there in 1991 while committing murders.
In January 2013, a 21-year-old Canadian tourist staying in the building went missing. The following month, her body was discovered in the building’s rooftop water tank. How she got there and how she died remains unclear. Her death is part of what inspired a recent season of the FX television show “American Horror Story.”
Two years before Born bought the property, it almost went in a different route. In 2012, the County of Los Angeles worked with the then-owner to turn the Cecil into a permanent supportive housing complex holding about 400 formerly homeless individuals. Many neighborhood residents protested, citing the large number of low-income housing complexes already in the area. Eventually the plan was halted.
Baron said his team is not deterred by the property’s past. Rather, he thinks the Cecil is well positioned as the community transforms.
by Eddie Kim, LA Downtown News
Those thirsty for new wine options are in luck, as two wine bars debuted in the Historic Core last month.
The former Two Bits Market at 210 W. Fifth St. is now a swanky wine spot, courtesy of Downtown bar queen Vee Delgadillo (Down ‘n’ Out, Little Easy, the deceased Bar 107).
The Overflow, as she’s calling it, is pouring a rotating list of wines from around the world, with some snacks (think cheese and cured meats) also available.
A few blocks away, inside the Spring Arcade Building, is Garçons de Café, which specializes in all things French.
That means more than 30 types of wine from all over France, plus a bunch of French clothes, accessories, home goods and more.
Sip at the marble bar or relax in the warm leather couches and vintage chairs.
The shop joins a few excellent tenants in the still-quiet arcade, including Gelateria Uli and Green Grotto Juice Bar.
The Overflow is at 210 W. Fifth St. or facebook.com/pages/the-overflow. Garçons de Café is at 541 S. Spring St. or garcons-de-cafe.com.
By Stephan Ceasar, LA Times
In the grand foyer of the Los Angeles Theatre, underneath the ornate chandeliers and near a woman dressed as a bunny on stilts, artist Rain Boe Wave watched as hundreds of people streamed through the doors of the 84-year-old theater in downtown Los Angeles.
Outside, thousands of people filled Broadway as part of a celebration of the area’s ongoing revitalization.
It is a far cry from about six years ago, when Wave was forced to close her clothing store on Broadway between 5th and 6th streets. Street traffic was so pitiful, she said, hardly anybody walked through the doors.
“I think it’s a great effort to revitalize Broadway,” she said. “Hopefully, soon all this will be very attractive.”
The free street festival, dubbed “Night on Broadway,” filled Broadway between 3rd Street and Olympic Boulevard. The celebration featured access to historic theaters, music and art, marking the eighth anniversary of Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar’s “Bringing Back Broadway” initiative, a 10-year plan to bring new life to the once bustling thoroughfare.
A purple-and-yellow Ferris wheel spun at 5th Street and Broadway, and at 6th Street a ring showcased two men boxing each other one round, then playing chess the next.
In front of the glowing facade of the Palace Theatre, Chuck Kovacic and friend Jane Thorpe set up easels and painted the people milling about the entrance. “It isn’t easy to paint neon, but we’re giving it a try,” Kovacic said. “It looks great.”
Not everyone was so cheery about the event. J.J. Juda, owner of J.J. the King of Wireless, an electronics shop, wasn’t too keen about the street being closed all of Saturday. “It’s killing my business,” Juda said, noting he lost 90% of his sales for the day.
McKenzie Storey, 22, a graduate student at USC, brought her mother, Claudia Storey, to celebrate her 54th birthday.
“So we came down to the historic district,” Claudia quipped.
The duo spent most of the day looking at apartments for McKenzie, who is planning moving to downtown in the coming months. She was aware of the rough reputation the area has had over the years, but she’s heard nothing but good things of late.
“Everyone tells me: Go downtown, it’s a great place to be,” she said
by Dave Sotero
thesource.metro.net
In the latest major announcement designed to improve transportation options in the L.A. region, Metro and the city of Los Angeles today announced they will officially launch Metro’s bike sharing program in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, July 7.
Up to 1,000 bicycles will be available at up to 65 strategically placed downtown L.A. locations, serving Union Station, City Hall, Grand Park, the L.A. Convention Center, South Park, Chinatown, the Arts District, the Fashion District, Little Tokyo and more. Many bike share stations will be placed in close proximity to the Metro Rail and Bus network, giving transit riders direct access to Metro bikes to easily combine bicycle and transit trips.
“We are excited that L.A. will officially join the bike share revolution that is now giving city dwellers across the nation new ways to explore their urban communities,” said Mark Ridley-Thomas, L.A. County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair. “Marrying bicycle and transit trips will go a long way in supporting healthy lifestyles, easing traffic on downtown streets and, perhaps most importantly, getting Angelenos where they need to go in an efficient and affordable manner.” People who live, work and play in downtown L.A. are encouraged to sign up for a Metro bike share pass in advance of the launch at www.metro.net/bikeshare. The system will be accessible exclusively to pass holders from July 7 until August 1, 2016, when it will open for all users, including walk-up customers. People who purchase their pass early will get a limited edition Metro Bike Share Kit. The first 1,000 people to sign up will also receive exclusive Metro bike share pins.
The installation of bike share stations throughout downtown L.A. will begin in early June, with work expected to continue until the stations open to the public on July 7.
“We are always looking to help people explore our incredible city in new ways. Now, through Metro’s new bike share program, residents and visitors from around the world can to check out a bike and see downtown L.A. with a fast, fun and affordable system,” said Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Second Vice Chair. “Paired with our city’s new bicycle infrastructure, this is going to make it easier and safer to travel through our city on two wheels.”
Metro will become the first major transportation agency in America to offer a single card that allows access to both transit and bike share systems. To use the bike share system, customers can purchase a monthly or annual flex pass at http://www.metro.net/bikeshare. New customers will receive their TAP card in the mail. Existing TAP card holders have the option of registering their current TAP card in the system and simply adding bike share access to it.
Pass holders will use their Metro bike share-registered TAP card to access any Metro bike from a dock at a station. Bike share-registered TAP cards identify each user to both Metro bike share and Metro transit lines. As with all TAP cards, transit fares can be loaded onto the bike share-registered TAP card at any Metro ticket vending machine, online at taptogo.net or at any of the hundreds of TAP vending locations across the county.
The Metro bike share fare structure is designed to be flexible and affordable for all users. The agency has created three simple pass options:
- A monthly pass is $20 per month. All trips 30 minutes or less are free and $1.75 per 30 minutes thereafter. This pass option is best if the user expects to take more than five trips per month. People use their registered TAP card to get a bike.
- A Flex Pass is $40 per year. All trips 30 minutes or less are $1.75 and $1.75 per 30 minutes thereafter. This option is best if users expect to take two to five trips per month or want the convenience of using their TAP card to get a bike.
- A Walk-Up is $3.50 for 30 minutes. This option will be available starting August 1. All trips 30 minutes or less are $3.50, and $3.50 per 30 minutes thereafter. An introductory 50 percent discount rate will be offered in August-September. This option is best for tourists and visitors to downtown LA. Users can pay per trip using their credit card at any station kiosk.
Metro and the city of Los Angeles worked closely with downtown L.A. community stakeholders, taking into consideration crowdsourced public input to select initial station locations that will better connect people to key neighborhood destinations. Special consideration was given to locations that created better access to museums, libraries, schools, retail, employment, residential areas and transit hubs. A map of current station locations is now available at www.metro.net/bikeshare. Users are encouraged to check back often, as new station locations will be added regularly.
Metro is now offering an exclusive naming and branding rights partnership for its bike share program. The sponsorship opportunity will enable a single company to advertise its products on the bicycles on a 24/7, year-round basis with dense coverage in downtown L.A. and future expansion planned for Pasadena, the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, Huntington Park, East Los Angeles and elsewhere across the region.
The system will be operated by Bicycle Transit Systems, with bikes and stations provided by BCycle, a unit of Trek Bicycles of Wisconsin. These companies have successfully launched and/or operate more than 40 bike share systems in metropolitan areas in the United States and abroad.
On Sunday April 10th a special event for commity fitness will be held around Grand Park. Two streets will be temporarily closed.
Broadway between Temple Street and 1st Street will be closed:
Sun. 4:00 AM – Sun. 12:30 PM
Spring Street between Temple Street and 1st Street will be closed:
Sun. 6:00 AM – 11:00 AM
With any questions related to the event, please contact [email protected]. With any questions or concerns relating to street closures, please email [email protected] or call (818)621-2039.
