viewfromaloft

Downtown Vid Pic: "Duquesne Whistle"

Duquesne Whistle (2012) Bob Dylan. Directed by Nash Edgerton.

Downtown's constant revival is a miracle that has been a surprise discovery by someone each month during the last decade. In this video for "Duquesne Whistle," the late Charles Bukowski would almost crack a smile if he saw Bob Dylan make downtown street's mean and filled with ordinary madness again. Is there some kind of wicked subtext to see a potential hipster romance turn out bad? The black skinny jeaned male is harrassed by cops, then kidnapped. It gets darker. But the visual treat is seeing Dylan walking up Broadway like a rolling stone with his posse.

Downtown Vid Pick: “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"

 

I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)   / Camera Adam Cude

Random human connection is seen in this clip of Count vocalist Gabbi McPhee singing a soft acoustic arrangement of “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" to an older man who was watching the shoot.

Gabbi and her band mates were filming a simple video for "Dancing in the Dark" on Spring Street, between 6th and 7th.  In the middle of a take she “received a marriage proposal from this gentleman Daryl. So I decided to sing him a song.”

As he sits on a Historic Core bench, Daryl quietly listens.

 

PacMutual Building Sold. Hidden Historic Details to Be Restored.

 

Gabriel Madrigal Photography

The landmark 440,000-square-foot PacMutual building has been purchased by Rising Realty Partners this week.

Fall Debut for Historic Core Market on Spring

With a sign on a chain link fence and a Craig's List posting calling for vendors, the Spring Street Farmers Market is building early buzz for their September 11 debut.

Designed to feed the Historic Core masses, the market will be held on Sundays in the parking lot between the Spring Arcade building and Alexandria Hotel from 9am to 3pm.

The brunchable market also allows those unable to stock up on produce during the weekday the chance to join the farmer market frenzy that has hit downtown in the last few years.

The Spring Street Farmers Market is being put on by VCA Realty, says spokesperson April Paton.  “The same company that puts on ArtMART at the Alexandria Hotel during Art Walk."

Besides fresh produce, baked goods from Homeboy Bakery, BBQ by Catering Carlitos Way, the market will host live jazz performances and feature crafts, art and jewerly from local designers.

Without the built-in weekday lunch crowd downtown workers provide, and the area on the cusp of craft fatigue, a focus on produce and veggies may be the key for the market to become Sunday neighborhood habit.

Farmers and vendors have shown a lot of interest, assures Paton.  “Everyone we've spoken to is really excited about participating. We are still confirming with some. We plan to have a great turn out for the event."

It may be a temporary location since the parcel is up for development, but organizers are confident that will give them enough time to dig organic roots in the neighborhood.

Spring Street Farmers Market I Opens Sunday, September 11 I 9am to 3pm I Parking lot between Alexandria Hotel and Spring Street Arcade building I Vendors can inquire at springstfarmersmarket@gmail.com

Art Walk Add: Task Force In Action. City Hall releases statement.

Art Walk Talk: A release from City Hall taps into the current buzz as covered in Art Walk Preview.  It states that the August Art Walk will be the first month LAFD and the County Health Department will "no longer issue any permits for vending between 3rd and 7th street and Spring and Main, areas identified to be overly congested by art walk activities."

The two agencies, part of the Art Walk task force, are working to "expedite permits" with interested vendors in the areas outside the zone, designed to shift Art Walk's growth outside the four-block area in Downtown's Historic Core and Gallery Row.

“Art Walk is an organic event that has grown in attendance and popularity alongside the revitalization of our urban downtown," said Councilwoman Jan Perry in the Wednesday morning statement.  "Our number one priority is to support public safety efforts and ensure that Art Walk continues as a sustainable, positive event for the entire Los Angeles community."

“Art Walk is a fantastic event that draws thousands downtown and we want to ensure that it remains active and viable,” says Councilmember José Huizar.  “We’re hopeful that the safety changes we’re implementing for tomorrow’s Art Walk will allow us to reduce large crowds drawn to non-art related activities.”

In the Historic Core, Spring street divides Perry's 9th District and Huizar's 14th District.

The statement also says the city will continue police presence to handle previous turn restrictions on Main for northbound traffic at 3rd and 4th, and on Spring from southbound traffic at 4^th St. and 6th St.

Inspectors from different departments will keep sidewalks clear of DJ equipment, craft vendors and carts, plus monitor permitted food / craft lots. The city is prepared to shut down unpermitted lots.

 

Art Walk Preview for 8.11.11: Candles Lit, Food Trucks Moved, Galleries Go On

Memorial for Baby Marcello on Spring St, July 21 2011.

As can be expected, it is not the usual Art Walk Preview this month. After the jump, you will find information on a fundraiser for baby Marcello, learn about the first shot across the Spring Street bow from the task force, and a list of some of the exhibitions you can find during Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk on August 11, 2011.

Guest Op-Ed: Schooling Time Magazine's Article on "Manhattanization" of Downtown L.A.

GUEST OP-ED

A recent article from Time claims Downtown Los Angeles is undergoing an attempt at "Manhattanization." It has riled up Angelenos. Dennis Smith, a Historic Core resident and East L.A. educator, also has something to say.

Every once in a while, the East Coast media make an attempt to interpret life here in Los Angeles for their national readership. Invariably, for those of us who actually live here in the city, the analysis rings just a little false.

The latest attempt by Time Magazine, Jens Erik Gould tries to explain the ongoing “Manhattanization” of downtown Los Angeles.

What the article actually describes is the apparent success of the development of the L.A. Live restaurant and entertainment complex and the potential future plans for the adjoining convention center and football stadium. 

This seems to me to be more a sad commentary on the ongoing sanitization of Manhattan by corporate franchises than an honest attempt to describe the real changes going on in downtown Los Angeles. Beyond L.A. Live, the only downtown nightlife venue mentioned in the article was the recently reopened Belasco Theater, maybe only because the British royals had visited a few weeks previous.

Downtown Vid Pick: 'Los Angeles in the 20s'

 

VID PICK HISTORY EDITION: There is no music with this clip. In fact, there is not much documentation other than the Ford logo on the title cards. This silent travelouge of Los Angeles takes you through Central Park (Pershing Square), downtown's "Retail District," University of California (aka UCLA), "The Old Plaza," and includes a rare glimpse at the Hill street tunnel that once bore through a larger footprint of Bunker Hill.

Previous like-minded clips:

Broadway in the 1980s [vfal]

1898 /  South Spring Street by Thomas Edison [youtube] + and how it looks now? [youtube]

Arts District as Silent Film Location for Buster Keaton [vfal]

 

Last Minute Addition in the St Patricks Day Parade

Tom Sweeney pushing his pet rabbit around in a baby stroller is a common sight for some Downtowners. This morning he was walking north on Main St wearing festive green, with bunny in tow,  to see if he could grab a spot in today's St Patricks Day parade. He did. Luck of the Irish and the four live rabbit's feet must have gotten him in the parade line-up.

View from a Studio

At Saturday's open house for The Rowan, Tom Gilmore showed me this view of "Main Street Recovery" from one of the units.  I found it striking, but we know for this mural my opinion is not very objective. Also, I have a feeling  "view of mural" may not be a selling point for Old Bank District development.

Still, I like the way the scale works from this distance. One more below the fold.