blogdowntown

Downtown On Ice Opens

Ed Fuentes — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:32:29 -0800

Photo by Ed Fuentes.

Downtown on Ice is officially open. The new skating season kicked off moments ago after a morning press conference and a warm-up by the Orange County Youth Performance Ensemble. Pershing Square's ice rink will be open seven days a week through January 19.

This youngster is a little wobbly, but surely he will be doing spins in no time. With some help from the L.A. Kings Hockey Clinic, held on selected Sunday mornings, he's bound to be slapping pucks into the net.

The L.A. Kings Downtown on Ice at Pershing Square is open noon to 10pm Monday through Thursday, at 10am to 10pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Weekend hours take effect every day through the holiday period of December 19 through January 11.

Lunchtime concerts will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 2pm.

By Ed Fuentes.

New City Church Moving to New LATC

Pamela Rouse — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:57:59 -0800

New City Church at its current location at Club 740. Photo by New City Church of LA.

New City Church is on the move again. The "come as you are" Downtown church is soon to be in its fourth home, moving just a few blocks up Spring street.

Pastor Kevin Haah made the announcement yesterday on his blog. Haah, responding to the ever-growing and changing needs of his congregation, has inked a deal that will have the New City Church holding services in the spacious New LATC -- which Haah calls his "dream venue" -- starting December 7.

For the past few months the New City Church has made its home in the Globe Theatre's Club 740. Pastor Haah has said that the venue was meant to be a temporary location until more suitable space came available. Haah said that while the unconventional Club 740 location worked for the adults, it didn't quite meet the ministering needs of the congregation's families.

The congregation has grown considerably since it had made the move from the Arts District in August. The community-minded church had an intense marketing campaign that reached out to several thousand people around Downtown. With a mission statement of outreach across race and religious affiliations, New City intends to bring the gospel to the community, as well to the city as a whole through activism and volunteering.

On his blog, Haah says that he had tried to secure the New LATC previously, before the church made its last move. Arrangements couldn't be made then, but a recent followup conversation with the New LATC's General Manager, Paul Graham, resulted in a deal.

Graham has spear-headed many of the cutting-edge changes that are happening with the New LATC such as hosting the "Face of the World" festival (which runs through mid-December) that presents a wide variety of multi-media plays and dramatic readings that allow their audience to explore the multi-cultural identities of LA.

The expanded location will not only for the Sunday services, but also a more open space for the NewCityKidz (the childrens ministry program for kids up to sixth grade). Services will begin in the new location at 514 S. Spring on Sunday, December 7th.

By Pamela Rouse.

A Day Full of Writing

Stan Lerner — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:17:17 -0800

This story is an installment of The Adventures of Downtown Oliver Brown.

There is a part of me that misses those days in the hills above Sunset…

This is as far as my script about an author who moves Downtown to escape the pretentious idiots in Hollywood had progressed. See, I write at Starbucks and most of my friends don’t understand that a writer’s office is pretty much wherever he opens his laptop—in this case 11th and Grand.

“Hey Oliver,” said my buddy Rick, who’s been overseeing the remodel over at the AT&T building for the last year and a half.

“Hey Rick.” I would have invited him to sit, but he sat before I could get the words out.

“What’s new?”

“Well, since yesterday…I’ve started on the script for Stan Peters.”

“How’s it going?”

“I should be done by this afternoon.”

“That fast? I thought they take longer to write.”

“I was being facetious.”

“Oh. Hey, what do you think about this whole auto industry bailout thing?”

I closed my computer to save battery life. “I think its socialism. I’d hate to see any of the car companies go under, but I think there is a much bigger issue to consider.”

Rick looked at me thoughtfully. “Like taxpayer dollars? Why should we bail them out?”

“No, bigger than that. An argument can be made about taxpayer dollars and getting paid back with interest, and job loss, and broader impact, and on, and on. The bigger issue is a society that doesn’t want to accept that there’s such a thing as consequences for our actions. This country was built on failure and adversity. I’m worried that removing these as part of the equation will not lead to success.”

We talked about this for another half hour.

Rick looked at his watch. “Damn, I have to get back to work. I’ll catch you tomorrow.”

I opened my computer. “Maybe this economic downturn will cause business to rethink the notion of relying on formula,” I thought to myself. “Maybe the mediocre people who run the show will be in the unemployment line where they belong.”

I would have typed something but…

“Hey Downtown Oliver Brown,” Kenta said, sitting down with coffee in hand.

“Hey Kenta.”

“How’s the writing going?”

“Great, the new script is practically writing itself,” I said with a sigh.

“Oliver, you know the idea I told you about, Wild Moguls, I need your advice.”

I closed my computer. “Shoot…”

“Well I talked to a guy that financed Google and he said that he was doing something along the same lines. I wanted to hit him up for financing but now I’m not too sure what to do. I’m supposed to talk to him again tomorrow, what should I say?”

“Ask him for a job. He’s not going to finance a company that’s going to compete with his own but you’re young and on the same page as he is—he’ll give you job.”

“A job…”

“Kenta, that’s the problem with your generation. You can’t just go from nothing to CEO. Learning the business from someone who actually knows what they’re doing may go against your entitlement DNA, but trust me you’ll be better off.”

“My entitlement DNA!” He laughed and held out his fist so we could do the high-five replacement. “Oliver, you’re so right. Why does my whole generation feel so entitled?”

We talked about this for thirty minutes.

Kenta jumped up. “Oh, the ticket guy…Gotta jump. Thanks Oliver.”

Three more people stopped by my table before I could get my computer open. Then there was a moment, which of course is when the attractive blonde at the table in front of my own stood up, walked three feet over to where I sat and sat down.

She put a nickel on the table. “Can I ask your advice about something?”

I looked down at the nickel. “It’s probably not worth that much.”

She smiled. “It is to me.”

“You have to tell me your name first.”

She extended her hand. “My name is Misha.”

“Nice to meet you Misha, I’m Downtown Oliver Brown but my friends call me Downtown Oliver Brown. What type of advice do you need?”

“I usually sit in the back corner.”

“I know. I’ve noticed you, but you don’t usually look like you want to talk to anybody.”

“Because I don’t. Or I didn’t. Why does everyone talk to you? I want to feel like I’m part of something the way you are.”

“People talk to me because they can tell that I like them…And that I’ve failed so badly in life that there’s no chance of my being judgmental.”

She laughed. “I bet I’ve messed up more than you have Downtown Oliver Brown.”

“How old are you?” I asked.

“I’m nineteen.”

“Trust me, at nineteen you just haven’t had enough time to make it to my level of debauchery. Besides how much trouble can you get into at FIDM?”

“How do you know I go to FIDM?”

“A cute, blonde, nineteen-year-old that does homework at Starbucks on 11th and Grand?”

“That’s true,” she conceded, “but I’m not the typical FIDM girl. I don’t hang with any of them.”

“I figured that.”

“Really, how?”

I looked down at her feet. “You don’t wear Uggs when it’s eighty degrees out. That wasn’t even cool in 2003.”

“So you can tell I’m a misfit because I don’t wear Uggs?”

“Something like that.”

“Can you tell I just got out of rehab a few months ago?”

“It doesn’t surprise me.” I was really starting to like this girl. “What were you in for?”

“Coke,” she said, clearly wanting to test my nonjudgmental limits. She wasn’t even close.

“I did a lot of coke in the eighties.” I tried to look serious but I actually have fond memories of those days, so I smiled.

“You’re smiling,” she said, more amused than shocked. “You are a bad boy…” She thought for a moment. “You know they put me in a psychiatric facility for two weeks before rehab.”

“Do you want to have dinner with me tomorrow night?” I asked.

“Of course I do. Why do you think I came over and sat at your table? Did I mention my last boyfriend was a rock star?”

“Can’t scare me away, Misha.”

She bit her lower lip, as cute girls will do. “Good.” She stood up. “I want to stay, but I have to go to class.” She picked my iPhone up and dialed her number. “Call me tomorrow around 6:30…give me a hug.”

I stood with my arms around Misha for a second. They feel so small when they’re in your arms. There’s something strange about dating a girl young enough to be your daughter. But like so many things these days, aging just isn’t what it used to be.

I opened my computer and my phone rang it was Todd from GrooveTickets. “Hey, I thought you were writing a blog about the Grand Opening of Versus? I can’t find it anywhere.”

“I haven’t written it yet, but I’m going to.”

“Well, how was it?”

“The place has potential.”

“But?”

“I think they envisioned a Hollywood style club Downtown.”

“I see.”

“I’m going to talk to them.”

“When?”

“After I’m done writing this script.”

“What script?”

“Todd!!!”

“Okay, call me later if you want to meet up for dinner.”

I looked at the first line of the script and decided to change it to: My days living above the Sunset Strip seem like a lifetime ago.

The Adventures of Downtown Oliver Brown

The Adventures of Downtown Oliver Brown is a semi-fictional tale of Downtown nightlife written by Stan Lerner.

Forty-year-old Oliver Brown, a talented and critically acclaimed writer, just did not find the success he deserved in Hollywood. It made financial sense to move Downtown and no lack of good bars and restaurants eased the pain.

Stan Lerner is an award winning-author whose diverse credits include the novel “Stan Lerner’s Criminal,” the novella “In Development,” and the children’s book “Stanley The Elephant.” He's lived in Downtown Los Angeles for the last thirteen years.

Be sure to check back each week to see where Oliver's latest adventures have taken him.

By Stan Lerner.

Urth Caffe Opens New Doors at Barker Block

Samantha Page — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:39:18 -0800

Golda Berkman cuts the ribbon on the Arts District's new Urth Caffe. Photo by Samantha Page.

Urth Caffe celebrated its new facility and cafe in the Arts District on Sunday with a grand opening, giving coffee, pastries and tours to a couple hundred guests invited VIP guests before opening the festivities to the public.

Urth is an LA-based organic coffee and tea house, with its own lines of each. This, the fourth Urth coffee shop, opened for business across from Barker Block Lofts three weeks ago.

Councilmember Jan Perry, of the neighboring 9th District, called the new space "a sheer work of art," and another step toward "rebuilding Downtown."

The facility, which houses the kitchen, bakery, and administrative offices for all the Urth Caffes (fresh pastries trucked out daily), replaces and expands on Urth's former location near the Staples Center.

From what visitors could see of it during the packed event, the new space is lovely.

The brick and wood used to construct the interior was all recycled from the pre-existing building, where designers cut out a corner to make the deck, and a colorful photography mural over the counter shows people and places all around the world where the organic coffee is grown.

Carol Schatz of the Downtown Business Improvement District was also on hand to applaud Urth Caffe as a new destination for Downtowners to build community. "You cannot bring a neighborhood back without a place for people to live," she said.

If you are interested in starting to "live" at the coffee shop, you should know that owners are expecting WIFI "any day now," and the cafe is both inviting and comfortably large.

Urth Caffe founders Shallom and Jilla Berkman's daughter, Golda, was on hand to cut the ribbon.

By Samantha Page.

Get Ready to Ride: Holiday Late Night DASH Coming Friday!

Eric Richardson — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:08:47 -0800

How's this for instant gratification? Late Night DASH for the Holidays is getting announced today, and the first buses will be rolling around Downtown on Friday evening.

The six-week pilot program, to be formally announced at a press conference tomorrow afternoon, will allow riders to travel between L.A. Live, the Music Center, the Historic Core and the edge of the Fashion District from 6:30pm to 3am on Friday and Saturday nights.

Even better? The ride is free.

The pilot Late Night DASH service is timed to coordinate with the extension of hours on Metro's Red Line subway, which runs between Union Station and North Hollywood. That service, which also kicks off on Friday, extends the subway's closing time to 3am.

Late Night DASH buses will run approximately every ten minutes, with three buses circling the half-hour loop. Starting Friday, the service will run Friday and Saturday nights for six weeks and will also run on New Year's Eve, which falls on a Wednesday.

The route connects to the Red Line at 7th / Metro station. From there, riders can catch the loop in either direction. Going south, buses will travel down Flower street and connect to the Convention Center, Staples Center and L.A. Live. Going north, riders will travel east on 7th and then north on Main street through the Historic Core before riding up the hill to the Music Center and Grand Avenue. Along the way, they'll be able to access restaurants, bars, culture, shopping and even the Pershing Square ice rink.

Keep an eye out for at least one blogdowntown outing making use of our new late night service.

Like the Red Line extension, the Late Night DASH holiday pilot was made possible by private sector support. The six week program will cost $23,000 to run. Supporters hope to see a successful pilot lead to similar service continued in 2009.

Sponsors include: 213 Inc. - Broadway Bar, Casey's Irish Bar & Grill, Cole's Original French Dip, Golden Gopher & Seven Grand; The Association; Astani Enterprises; Barry Shy; blogdowntown; Brookfield Properties; City Loft Square; Historic Downtown BID; J Restaurant & Lounge; LA Live; Los Angeles City Councilmember Jan Perry; Los Angeles City Councilmember Wendy Greuel; Los Angeles Theatre; MerueloMaddux; Music Center; Pacific Electric Lofts; Patina Restaurant Group; Pete's Café; and Pitfire Pizza Co.

Photos

By Eric Richardson.

'Tonight is a Night of Celebration' says Nikkei Center Partnership

Ed Fuentes — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:21:45 -0800

Bill Watanabe, Executive Director of the Little Tokyo Service Center, speaks to the gathered crowd. Photo by Ed Fuentes.

This current pesky little economic crisis didn’t keep development partners from hosting a celebration for the Nikkei Center, which they regard the most ambitious project in Little Tokyo’s history.

That spirit set the tone for Tuesday night’s reception at the Japanese American National Museum. Not quite a pre-groundbreaking, the networking social rally was held to assure the community that the Nikkei Center is moving forward. It gave partners a chance to continue their commitment to community outreach -- including to the Arts District -- that has been a characteristic of the project's initial planning stages.

The 1st and Alameda site will someday hold 390 residential rental units, 80,000 square feet of retail, and 166,500 square feet of office space next the Gold Line extension. Planners feel that the project will make Little Tokyo a cultural gateway to Los Angeles and a place for all Japanese-Americans to consider home.

With the introduction of the Nikkei Center first stage fund’s goal of $150 Million, the call begins for Japanese and Japanese-American investors to regard Little Tokyo as their neighborhood as well.

As for potential power tenants, a gasp from the audience came when Consul General Junichi Ihara told the crowd “In my heart, my dream is the Consulate General (of Japan in Los Angeles) comes back to Little Tokyo.”

Big ideas like that will be needed to keep the project moving forward through a national economic downfall. Multiple speakers noted Little Tokyo’s history of overcoming social and economic adversity.

In this case, Little Tokyo’s ongoing challenge to preserve its past is joined by a challenge to preserve the just awarded plans for a future.

By Ed Fuentes.

Chop Suey Cafe 'Still Open' Says Gin

Ed Fuentes — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:36:28 -0800

Mike Gin at the still-open-for-dinner Chop Suey Cafe and Lounge (347 E. 1st). Photo by Ed Fuentes.

When Mike Gin came back to L.A. from Saturday’s USC – Stanford football game, he heard that the Chop Suey Cafe and Lounge was closed. It was surprising news to most Downtowners, including Gin, who co-owns the cafe with Enrique Ramirez and Don Tahar.

On Tuesday night Gin told blogdowntown that the restaurant is just ending its lunch hours. Dinner is still being served from 5pm to 10pm, and the Far Bar is also still alive.

The news of the cafe's shuttering, headlined as "Chop Suey Café Chopped Down", is on the front page of this week's Downtown News. The article has been making the email rounds within Los Angeles' Chinese American and Japanese American communities.

For now, the case of the not quite dead cafe is a mysterious twist quite befitting Chop Suey's Raymond Chandlerequese Far East Building in Little Tokyo.

By Ed Fuentes.

Crane Coming Down at 717 W. 9th

Eric Richardson — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:52:43 -0800

The crane at 717 W. 9th is stepped down as sections are lowered to flatbed trucks waiting below. Photo by Eric Richardson.

The Downtown skyline is losing one of its cranes today. Just weeks after the building's topping off ceremony, the crane at 717 W. 9th is being lowered one piece at a time. The occasion signifies the end of heavy lifting on a site that's been under construction for almost exactly two years.

717 W. 9th, located at 9th and Flower, is being developed by MerueloMaddux Properties. The building is a 35-story tower that will feature 214 one- and two-bedroom apartments. It's scheduled to be completed in late 2009.

Tower cranes are quite interesting to see erected or lowered. The crane actually assembles and disassembles itself by lifting or lowering sections of the mast. While this process is going on, the top of the crane is disconnected from the mast and supported by a climbing frame. That climbing frame then raises or lowers the top section to the new mast height.

By Eric Richardson.