As Arts District property owners look ahead, many are landing fat paychecks from developers keen on razing or redeveloping old warehouses, while lessees are finding themselves forced out. Continue reading
Category Archives: Downtown
[Annenberg Radio] Singing for detainees behind the walls
The Day Laborers of the North and Ana Tijoux brought music to the doorstep of a federal prison in downtown L.A. in solidarity with detained immigrants. Continue reading
[Annenberg Radio] Rosslyn Hotel now a home to 75 veterans
Lionel Muldrew picked up his keys on Monday for a renovated apartment at the Rosslyn Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles — not only a new home, but also his first home in six years. Continue reading
[The Forward] Wexler’s Brings The Deli Revolution to L.A.
Chef Micah Wexler spent months developing the rye bread recipe in his aim for craftsmanship. Continue reading
[USC] Photo Essay: The Virgin of Guadalupe at Olvera St.
Visit Flickr.com for a photo essay that celebrates images of The Virgin of Guadalupe in all their diversity. Continue reading
[LA Weekly] Best of Los Angeles 2013
Looking for more reasons to love L.A.? Just head to your local newsstand (or computer) to browse the latest “Best of L.A.” issue from the always eclectic L.A. Weekly. These are a few of my favorite things… well, eight favorites, from “Best Filipino Fried Chicken” to “Best Little Tokyo Bar” to “Best Japanese Bookstore.” Keep reading… Continue reading
[Blog] Sunday Night at Badmaash Indian Gastropub
The smells of garlic and tomato often assault my nose when I walk past Pitfire Pizza downtown on 2nd St. But one recent night, change was in the air. The wind carried cumin, coriander, garam masala: the scents of India. India’s cooking, at least. They summoned me to Pitfire’s new neighbor, a restaurant called Badmaash. … Continue reading
[LA Weekly] Downtown’s French Garden Closing Friday
“It’s literally an oasis in one of the most hardcore parts of the city — and no one knows about it.” So wrote Huell Howser in 2007 about The French Garden, an eatery in the industrial side of downtown’s Arts District. But plenty of people know about The French Garden; they’ve sustained this lunch-only, 150-seat bistro for 15 years. And plenty of people are now sorely disappointed. The French Garden closes on Friday. Continue reading
[Blog] Musings on Olvera St.: Whitewashed or Authentic? | Pensamientos Sobre la Calle Olvera: ¿Whitewashed o Autentico?
Olvera St.: Authentic Mexican enclave? Whitewashed tourist attraction? Olvera St. is not one or the other. It is both, and in that mix represents a fascinating model of what it means to be at the center of such a pluralistic, multi-cultural city as Los Angeles, in the exact spot where its history, present and future intersect…. [read this post in both English and Spanish] Continue reading
[LA Weekly] A Cabaret-Ballet Mash-up at the Swanky Alexandria Ballroom
When the Blankenship Ballet Company performs Saturday, women will pirouette en pointeand fold their bodies into arabesques. Men will soar and spin, and lift dainty dancers onto their shoulders. But it won’t be a typical night at the ballet — far from it. The evening is being styled instead as cabaret theater. For creative producer Mark Blankenship and his wife, artistic director Bertha Suarez Blankenship, the event illustrates a commitment to time-honored classic technique in a way that is accessible and entertaining for audiences who aren’t necessarily ballet aficionados. Continue reading