Hot Spot Inside; Dead Outside
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — It's interesting that I read this Calendar Live piece on Club 740 right after walking home via 8th street. The piece rightly talks about the fascinating work that's been done inside, turning the former Globe Theatre into a happening nightclub.
But what you notice walking by isn't that. Instead you see a Broadway exterior that looks lifeless. Several letters are missing on the "GLOBE" marquee. The club's only entrance is in the back, off of an alley and some parking lots. Like the nearby Stock Exchange, the club ignores the street. It may well be fantastic inside, but with the face it gives to the street I can't say that it's really a nice project yet.
"I'm really into historical stuff, I love architecture, and the second they opened the door I saw the structure and beauty of [the building]," says Ralph Verdugo, the club's chief executive who bought the building about 20 months ago and opened 740 six months later.
I would hope that if Ralph is really interested in history the rest of the building would soon get the attention that the club's interior has received.
David Kennedy on August 16, 2006, at 11:11PM – #1
I agree. Do it right. Do it like the Mayan.
jerseyboy on June 01, 2007, at 07:20AM – #2
My wife and I are looking to buy a condo in a building that sits right next to Club 740 in the old Globe Theatre. A woman stopped us recently and said the club is extremely noisy on weekend nights. She said people play loud music in the parking lots and that there's been stabbings and shootings on occassion. She lives on the other side of Spring street and says she gets "no peace" on the weekends.
Can anyone weigh in?