Eric Richardson [Flickr]

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES —

One year ago today the Times ran a piece saying that the Linda Lea could be reopened by summer 2006. That obviously didn't happen.

A year later and renovations are finally underway. Signs of life first showed up two weeks ago, and if you pass by the site today you'll see a full-on construction scene. As you can see in the photo, the inside of the space is pretty much gutted. Outside braces support the south wall to keep it from coming down.

Benjamin Pezzillo sent in these two shots of the old sign being carefully removed on February 8th. That would seem to indicate that they're planning to restore it and put it back into place.

I haven't read any sort of an opening date or seen renderings, but the architects doing the designs -- Hodgetts + Fung -- have an impressive body of work.

Update (5pm): This press release says that they're rebranding the theater the "ImaginAsian Center." That's really sad to hear, and calls into question what might be happening with the old signage. It's also a really bad name.

Also, this recent Variety piece pegs the opening in June.