LA Times Profiles the Alexandria, Brady, and Celia

By Eric Richardson
Published: Sunday, May 22, 2005, at 09:11AM

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — There's a long article in the LA Times today featuring the Alexandria Hotel. "At the Corner of Have and Have-Not" talks about the Hotel's glamorous past and its present state at a low-rent residential hotel in the midst of Downtown development. The piece features a bit on Brady, Downtown's "most devoted gadfly and promoter." It also not only mentions Celia's blog at 5thandspring, but the online edition even links to it. They must be going tech savvy with this new redesign.

I have some issues with the text of the article that I don't really have time to get into right now, but I do want to point out a few things that stuck out to me.

Martin Yacoobian Jr., the owner of the Hotel, is portrayed as wanting to keep the Alexandria as low-rent housing. I've never had a problem with that. But it seems to me that if he were really interested in the building or the neighborhood he would put some work into the restoration of the Hotel's ground floor features. Charlie O's, their bar on the corner of 5th & Spring, has an amazing location. It's huge inside. And yet it sits there entirely underutilized, serving a small clientelle and closing early in the night. It's long been my contention that revitalized ground floor spaces such as Charlie O's would serve as ideal points for the residents of the old and new Downtown to break down some of the area's balkanization.

"It's truly the classic example of the haves and have-nots," says activist Pete White, founder and co-director of the L.A. Community Action Network, which monitors tenants at downtown residential hotels. "It's really like drawing a line in the sand. The last bastion of hope [for affordable housing] is Spring Street."

This I just don't see. Spring has the Alexandria, and? What? I can't think of any other affordable housing up or down the street.

Last month, the Midnight Mission, which has served the homeless from its 4th and Los Angeles site since 1922, moved to a new building a few blocks away at 6th and San Pedro streets. Locals hope the derelicts and drug dealers move with it.

So the drug dealers and derelicts are operating out of the Midnight Mission now? I seem to understand that the Mission does a great job of helping those who come to it turn their lives around. I don't think they're responsible for the "drug dealers and derelicts" on Main and Los Angeles.

Comments

Shawn writes:

I'm not sure about the affordable housing quote. Given the way the article went on about the way the area is changing maybe he meant "the last hope for affordable housing on Spring Street". The DCBID website shows affordable housing next to your building. Is that incorrect?

I think that new location for the midnight mission will have a huge positive impact on your area. I'm surprised that you don't agree. Many of LA's homeless have a drug problem and many of them stay in the general area of the mission even if they don't actually reside there.

# on May.22.2005 AT 05:01 PM

e; writes:

Shawn: You're right, I totally blanked on the Hayward this morning. I guess combined with the Alexandria that is a substantial number of units.

I really don't see drug dealers and such moving where the mission does. I think that the street environment will change, but I think it will largely be the result of other changes in the surroundings. I think the statement as included in the article comes too close to tying the "derelicts and drug dealers" to the Midnight Mission. I just don't see that. -e;

# on May.22.2005 AT 05:17 PM

MIke writes:

One other "affordable" building on Spring is the Van Nuys building at Spring and 7th Street (SWC). It was renovated with funding from the City in 1982. There are 299 units (all affordable for Seniors and Disabled residents). It's a beautiful building and well maintained.

# on May.28.2005 AT 07:53 AM

e; writes:

Another good point. I don't think of that building since the Spring St. side only contains that shop with the really old ad pieces in the windows. It took the longest time for me to even realize that building was housing.

So I guess Spring really does have an impressive quantity of "affordable" housing. That's interesting. -e;

# on May.28.2005 AT 11:02 AM

Theresa Haffner writes:

I live at the Alexandria Hotel and I think the times article gives a fairly accuratedescription of the place. It really catches the feel -- the walk/talk nitty gritty atmosphere. The other stuff I can't comment on because living here does not entitle us to be informed about about the events in the rarified financial atmosphere the ownership runs in, even though they directly affect our future well being. Rumour has it that the Hotel has been sold, once again.

I came by this information late, but I think some good has come out of all of this. On July 4 a friend (fellow resi dent) showed me a copy of the article. When I read the part about Celia and her blog I immediately punched in her web address and one thing led to another. Exploring Celia's I encountered a number of other blogs about downtown L.A. I have been very highly impressed with both the quality of ideas and information, but also with the ease of posting. Now I have my own blog, LIFE AND TIMES, web address theresahaffner.blogspot.com I am looking forward to becoming part of the internet community in Downtown L.A.

# on Jul.08.2005 AT 07:57 PM

LA Times Profiles the Alexandria, Brady, and Celia

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