blogdowntown: Life in Downtown Los Angeles

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Around the January Art Walk
03:11 PM
South Park's Hygge Looking to Sell Off Space, Keep Bakery
10:18 AM

Regional Connector's Impact on Downtown Streets Detailed

By Eric Richardson — 10:01 AM

Regional Connector Render: 2nd Street Looking West

Metro

Two build options for the Regional Connector are headed to Metro's Planning and Programming committee, a step necessary to approve engineering funds allowing the project to move forward. The report presents one alternative that is largely at-grade and one that's mostly underground.

While the two options are the same as previous presentations, the document paints a more detailed picture of the negative impacts the at-grade approach would have on Downtown's streetscape. Lost traffic lanes and restricted turns would reduce service levels at multiple intersections to the lowest grades, and up to 88 parking spaces would be removed along the route. — Continued Inside...

7+Fig Macy's Closure an Opportunity for the Complex

By Eric Richardson — Yesterday, 11:54 AM
14 Comments

After operating two stores just one block apart for the last two years, Macy's announced today that it plans to close its store at the 7+Fig shopping center, owned by Brookfield Properties. Brookfield's Senior Vice President for Southern California, Bert Dezzutti, said that the company had not been formally notified by the department store chain, but called...

AEG's Partnership with Panasonic to Bring 8,000 Square Foot Screen to L.A. Live Hotel

By Eric Richardson — Wednesday
7 Comments

|Photo Gallery| A massive 8,000 square foot screen is slated to go on the side of L.A. Live's convention center hotel as part of a deal announced today between AEG and Panasonic System Solutions. The sponsorship deal will place the manufacturer's high-definition screens all over the entertainment complex. At a press conference on the Nokia Plaza this afternoon, both AEG and...

Around the January Art Walk

By Ed Fuentes — 03:11 PM

|Photo Gallery| In these tough times, uncertainty shadows over election promises of hope and change. Over the last few years, the Downtown Art Walk has become quite the economic stimulus for cafes and bars, and recently an invasion of crafts sold on tables and food trucks on the streets shows the buzz isn’t over in Gallery Row.

South Park's Hygge Looking to Sell Off Space, Keep Bakery

By Eric Richardson — 10:18 AM
1 Comment

Announced almost a year ago, Danish bakery and restaurant Hygge has yet to move beyond framed walls at the corner of 11th and Hope. Now it appears owner Ray Lee has altered his plans for the space, listing 4,000 of his 6,000 square feet up for sale on Loopnet.

DASH Accident Leaves Pedestrian Dead

By Eric Richardson — Yesterday, 10:30 AM
24 Comments

A 58-year-old female pedestrian was struck by a DASH bus at the intersection of 5th and Flower at approximately 6:30am on Wednesday morning, and passed away after being transported to the hospital. LAPD is investigating the incident.

Negotiating an Education for Downtown Kids

By Susana Benavidez — Yesterday, 10:07 AM
15 Comments

Writing for blogdowntown has opened my senses to everything dealing with children in our neighborhood. Suddenly I am in the middle of a burgeoning cause of concern for the future education of Downtown L.A.’s youngest residents. I have been a loyal fan of blogdowntown and Downtown News since moving to South Park and I have seen a trend of the social issues...

Art Walk Preview for January, 2009

Wednesday

Tomorrow marks the first Downtown Art Walk of 2009. It happens that January is also L.A. Arts Month, a civic and private partnership designed to encourage...

1 Comment

Robert Graham, 70, Leaves Downtown a Legacy in Bronze

Wednesday

This morning, services were held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels for sculptor Robert Graham, who passed away on December 27. In the week since...

3 Comments

Hotel Cecil Applies for Liquor License

Tuesday

Since launching Stay, the boutique hotel-hostel hybrid now running on three floors of the Hotel Cecil, operator Lanting Hotel Group has been busy. On...

4 Comments

New Year's Eve, Steam Punk Style

Tuesday

I never used to do anything special on New Year's Eve. That all changed the year I moved downtown. There always seems to be so much to do that if stay...

2 Comments

The End of Painted Ads on Hotel Figueroa?

Monday

The massive murals on the side of the Hotel Figueroa are famous far beyond Downtown, appearing on TV coverage, films and even as a protest site in the...

3 Comments

A Resolution for Restaurants: Post Your Hours, and Stick to Them!

By Eric Richardson — Wednesday
10 Comments

I've lived on Spring street for a touch under five years now, and for two of those I've enjoyed having a pair of great eateries flanking my building. On the one side, California Fresh, offering great salads and pizza. On the other, L.A. Cafe, where I'm a sucker for the chipotle chicken panini and the L.A. Sliders. And yet, ask me what the hours are for these...

Did You Know: Hotel Figueroa was Built for Businesswomen?

By Eric Richardson — Tuesday
5 Comments

Did you know that the Hotel Figueroa was built in 1926 as a hotel for "business, traveling and professional women and their husbands and children"? The 409-room was built by the Y.W.C.A., and was billed in the L.A. Times as the "one of the largest financial transactions ever consummated by a body of organized women."

Catching Up With... Quimby Fees

By Eric Richardson — Monday
1 Comment

As we start 2009, we thought it useful to take a look at some of the important Downtown projects working their way through the system. One of the biggest Downtown issues of 2007 muddled its way into 2008, as no real progress was made on using Quimby fees collected from condo developers to create new park facilities for Downtown. The new year saw an audit by...

Thanks for a Great 2008

By Eric Richardson — December 31, 2008
2 Comments

In this last day of 2008, I just wanted to take a moment to say how much I've enjoyed running blogdowntown this year. As I mentioned in the pledge drive kickoff, this year has been one of big growth for the site. We've now run 825 stories in 2008, which equates to just a hair under 250,000 words.

Catching Up With... Industrial Land Use

By Eric Richardson — December 28, 2008
12 Comments

As we go through the last few days of 2008, we thought it useful to take a look at some of the important Downtown projects working their way through the system. The first issue to rear its head Downtown in 2008 was that of Industrial Land Use, as the Planning Department and Community Redevelopment Agency announced an agreement that, among other things, limited...