Braking Is Better Than Crashing

Posted on May 15, 2014 by cmaddren

design by Renzo Piano for the proposed Academy museum

I’ve been reading the news about Zoltan Pali’s departure from the AMPAS museum team. There are a lot of ways to look at this. And it’s important to remember that expensive, high-profile projects like this often take longer and cost more than anyone imagined. I think everyone agrees that the ultimate goal, building a museum dedicated to film history in Los Angeles, is definitely worthwhile. I’m anxious to see it completed, but I also want to them to do it right. I certainly don’t have any credentials that would give me special insight into this process, but I do have a few thoughts to offer….

Renzo Piano is a great architect. With buildings for the Centre Pompidou, the Menil Collection and the Zentrum Paul Klee on his resume, everybody seems to agree that he’s a good choice for the project. But even great architects are human, and therefore fallible. I read this morning that some Academy staff members are concerned about unresolved problems with the design of the new theatre. Movie theatres are technically complex structures that present a very specific set of challenges. No doubt Piano is aware of this, but is he going to bow to the experts who actually have experience in this area?

I used to work at MOCA on Grand Ave.. Isozaki is another great architect, and the building is a beautiful and complex creation. But I was friends with one of the preparators at MOCA, and he was very critical of the design. Sure, he would say, it’s a gorgeous building, but it wasn’t properly planned as an exhibition space. He cited a number of problems with the design that made his job difficult. According to my friend, Isozaki didn’t take enough time to understand the specific challenges of creating an exhibition space. Piano needs to listen to the experts in designing the theatre. Whatever his vision as an architect, it has to function as a place for audiences to see and hear movies.

May Company store on Wilshire, photo by Anne Laskey from LAPL archives

Some images of Piano’s design were first made public last year, and then views of an updated version were released just recently. Both versions have been criticized. I don’t have a background in architecture, and honestly, it’s hard for me to evaluate renderings. My impression is that Piano has some great ideas, but I can’t say it totally works for me. I wonder though, if rather than finding fault with Piano’s new building, we shouldn’t look harder at the building that exists on the site already. Many people praise the May Co. building, designed back in the thirties by A. C. Martin. I don’t share their enthusiasm. I love the building because it is an iconic part of the LA landscape. It occupies the corner at Wilshire and Fairfax with a lot of authority, and the gold cylinder rising above the intersection gives it a great presence. But in terms of design, I don’t think it’s very impressive. It’s a big, bland box. Piano is obviously trying for a dramatic contrast with this new addition. Unfortunately, I think starting the project with the May Co. building is like starting the project with an anchor around your neck. I’m glad the Academy wants to use it, because it’s been sitting vacant for years, but Piano faces a real challenge coming up with a design that incorporates it successfully.

The Times ran a piece yesterday by their architecture critic, Christopher Hawthorne. He argues that the Academy needs to slow down and make sure this project is done right. I couldn’t agree more. Their public position is that everything’s going great and there’s no reason to reassess the timeline. Nobody’s buying it. Whatever the reason for Pali’s departure, it obviously signals a change of direction.

Rather than pretending everything’s hunky dory and pushing ahead, they need to pause and take stock of the situation. Why rush to break ground this year if the design isn’t right? I’m so glad the Academy is building this museum, but I also really want it to be something special.

A few links for those of you who want to read further. First is Hawthorne’s piece for the Times. Next a post that ran on Arch Daily back when Piano’s original design was made public in April of last year. And finally an article from the Hollywood Reporter that includes quotes from anonymous sources within the Academy. If these quotes give an accurate picture of what’s going on, there is good reason to be concerned about the viability of the project.

LA Times Commentary

Motion Picture Academy Unveils Designs

Academy Museum Architect Exits Amid Tension

Looking to the Future

Posted on May 1, 2014 by cmaddren

Not long ago the City of LA released two documents for public review. The Mobility Plan 2035 and The Plan for a Healthy Los Angeles are both intended to create a framework for the city’s future growth. There are many good things in both plans, and I certainly support efforts to improve public transit and develop a healthier environment. However….

I have to say I don’t trust our elected officials. If you take the documents at face value, they present a thrilling utopian vision for the city where everyone will have the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life. But unfortunately, the Mayor and the City Council have shown over and over again that they’re willing to put the interests of their wealthy buddies ahead of the interests of the average citizen.

The thing that makes me suspicious is that both documents talk about land use, and both documents promote higher density. This is not bad in itself. LA is notorious for its sprawling communities and there are many areas where we could reap significant benefits by creating greater density. My concern is that the Mayor and the City Council want to change land use policy not to build a healthier city, but rather to let their developer friends build skyscrapers wherever they like. We’ve already seen our elected officials playing fast and loose with the facts with the Hollywood Community Plan Update. They argued that greater density was necessary because Hollywood’s population had increased, when in fact they knew that the community had lost thousands of residents in recent years. Fortunately the courts set them straight.

But I don’t want to go off on another rant. I do too much of that already. As I said, there are many good things about both plans, and I encourage you to take a look at them. We should all be thinking about what direction we want this city to take. LA seems to be riding a new wave of growth, and it’s important that we make informed, intelligent decisions about how that growth occurs. If we aren’t involved in the process, others will make those decisions for us, and they may not have our best interests at heart.

Here are links to both plans.

Mobility Plan 2035

Plan for a Healthy LA

Sunset Rising

Posted on February 18, 2014 by cmaddren

The new Emerson College campus on Sunset Blvd..

Sunset Boulevard is changing rapidly. Developers sense there’s big money to be made, and the City Council is rushing to approve their wish lists with as much speed and as little oversight as possible. Let’s take a look at three projects that are in various stages of completion….

A view of the Emerson campus at street level.

The most interesting of these projects, and in my view the one most likely to produce real benefits for the community, is Emerson College. The school’s new LA campus was designed by Morphosis, and while I’m not a huge fan of the firm’s approach, I have to say this is a nice piece of work. By far the most striking building on the streetscape, it certainly calls attention to itself, but without being ostentatious or garish. It’s a sophisticated modern structure that also manages to be playful. It’s been a while since anyone built anything this cool in the Hollywood area.

A view from a terrace at the entrance to the campus.

Also, Emerson will be bringing teaching and administrative jobs to the community. The City Council insists that development is necessary to reduce unemployment, which sounds logical, but most of the projects they approve will only create low-paying service sector jobs. They seem to feel Hollywood residents should be satisfied with waiting tables and vacuuming hotel rooms. Anyway, Emerson just opened in January and is located at the corner of Sunset and Gordon.

A new residential/retail complex across from the Emerson campus.

Right across the street is yet another mixed-use, residential/retail tower. This seems to be the kind of project that developers can’t get enough of right now, high-end housing combined with ground floor retail. By combining the two they can claim they’re addressing the traffic problem by making it easier for people to shop where they live. In reality, I don’t see any evidence that this approach is reducing congestion in the LA area. But there are plenty more projects like this in the works. At least this one looks kind of nice.

The biggest thing going up on Sunset right now is Columbia Square, which will be a massive mixed-use project that incorporates the old CBS Studios. You probably won’t be surprised that it promises still more high-end housing with still more ground floor retail. They’re also billing it as “Hollywood’s New Creative Media Campus”. I’m not sure exactly what that means, but hopefully the finished product will deliver more than I expect. You can click here for more details. At least they’re preserving the CBS building, so I guess I should be thankful for that. To read more about the history of CBS Studios, click here.

Workers atop the old CBS Studios.

Columbia Square will occupy a full city block. Right now workers are busy inside a massive excavation as they prepare the foundation. There’s something about the scale of these enormous projects that’s kind of overwhelming. I look down into this huge pit and see hundreds of workers, I see trucks, tractors and cranes. A whole city block is being transformed.

Workers preparing the foundation for the Columbia Square project.

Another shot of workers preparing the foundation.

Here are a few more images….

A side view of the site, facing west.

Another side view, again facing west.

A shot of CBS Studios taken in the late afternoon.

You may wonder why I included these, since they’re mostly shots of the sky above the project. It probably seems like just a lot of empty space. But that’s what I wanted to capture. When Columbia Square is finished, it will rise twenty stories above street level.

All this space will be gone.

Building Blitz

Posted on January 9, 2014 by cmaddren

LA will be changing dramatically in this new year. We’re going to see a wave of construction that will transform the city, for better or worse. The mayor and the city council are decidedly pro-development. They will tell you it’s because they’re looking to the future and trying to create jobs. It might also have something to do with the massive amount of campaign cash that local politicians have received from developers.

But I don’t want to be totally negative. Development is necessary. And change can be good. It’s the beginning of the new year. Let’s try to accentuate the positive.

DOWNTOWN

Downtown will definitely be getting more dense.

A wave of construction is hitting Downtown LA. There are a staggering number of projects in the works, and the landscape is going to change considerably. For an overview, check out this summary in the Downtown News.

Downtown Development

The project I’m most excited about is The Broad. The building looks cool, the collection is impressive and admission will be free. What more could you ask for? A link to the site is below, but like the building, it’s still under construction.

The Broad Museum

HOLLYWOOD

More cranes on the horizon for Hollywood?

These huge cranes have become a familiar sight in Hollywood. There are a number of buildings going up right now, and many more in the works. Under construction at the moment are Blvd 6200, Columbia Square, Emerson College, and a ton of new residential and retail space on La Brea.

But the projects that may have the most significant impact are the expansions planned by Paramount and Universal Studios. I know Universal isn’t located in Hollywood, but their “Evolution Plan” will certainly impact the Hollywood area, both in terms of jobs and traffic. Click on the link for more info.

NBC Universal Evolution Plan

Next is a link to an article in the New York Times which talks about both the Paramount and Universal projects.

Bold Growth Plans at Hollywood Studios

SANTA MONICA

An image of Santa Monica back when it was less crowded and less expensive.

The picture you see above doesn’t represent Santa Monica as it is today. It shows the Santa Monica I knew when I was growing up, a sleepy, laid back community where rent was cheap and traffic was light. But those days are gone. While the residents staunchly supported a slow growth policy thirty years ago, today the city council is enthusiastically pro-development. There have been some complaints from locals, but that hasn’t stopped the council from approving a slew of projects. The first article, from the LA Times, is an overview. The second, from The Architect’s Newspaper, is about a group that wants the council to slow down.

Santa Monica Bracing for Growth Spurt

Wealthy Coalition Demands Halt

The photo of skyscrapers on Bunker Hill is by Gary Leonard, and comes from the Los Angeles Public Library’s on-line archive. The image of Hollywood was taken by me. The photo of Santa Monica was taken by Anne Laskey, and also comes from the LAPL archive.

High-Rise Cynicism

Posted on December 19, 2013 by cmaddren

Eric Garcetti’s vision for the future of Los Angeles

It should come as no surprise to anyone that last week a judge ruled that the Hollywood Community Plan Update (HCPU) was fatally flawed. From the beginning, the plan was basically a tool to overrule those who want responsible, sustainable growth and give carte blanche to developers. It would have allowed the construction of skyscrapers fifty stories high, without any serious consideration given to how such high-density development would affect traffic, infrastructure and emergency services. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce seems to believe that Hollywood should become a west coast version of Las Vegas, with massive high-rises filled with luxury condos and trendy clubs on every corner. Sadly, rather than choosing to protect the interests of local residents, the Mayor and the City Council jumped on board to promote this destructive plan.

Fortunately, they ran into a judge that actually expected the city to comply with state law. LA County Superior Court Judge Allan J. Goodman said that,

….forging ahead in the processing of the HCPU, EIR and related documents in this case based on fundamentally flawed factual premises has resulted in a failure to proceed in the manner required by law.

The biggest problem was that the plan was based on a population estimate that was obviously wrong. In preparing the Environmental Impact Report for the HCPU, the City claimed that approximately 224,426 people lived in the Hollywood area. They got this number, an estimate, from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). Using this figure, the City argued that Hollywood was growing and would continue to grow, meaning that high-density development was the only solution.

But the judge points out that the city didn’t produce any documentation from SCAG to support this figure. On the other hand, the groups fighting the HCPU took a look at the US Census, which says that in 2010 Hollywood’s population was actually about 198,228. Hollywood has actually lost over 12,000 residents since 2000. While the Census info wasn’t available when the Draft EIR was originally prepared, it was available before the City Council voted to approve the plan. But they weren’t going to let the facts stand in their way. The City also insisted that Hollywood was going to experience substantial growth over the next twenty years, but in fact growth has slowed considerably in Los Angeles, and right now there’s no reason to expect that will change in the near future.

Community groups were alarmed at the problems with the plan, and asked the City to revise it. The City refused, and voted to adopt the HCPU in spite of strong opposition by many Hollywood residents, leading the judge to conclude,

The evidence in this record strongly supports petitioners’ contention that there has been an insufficiently-reasoned rush to completion of the EIR process, and that the process was administered in a way that is clearly contrary to well-established laws as interpreted by the appellate courts.

It’s not surprising to see developers running high-pressure campaigns to push their projects through. That’s what they do. But our elected officials are supposed to be protecting our interests. They’re supposed to be serving us. Instead, Garcetti and the City Council approved a plan that they knew was seriously flawed from the beginning. They knew the population figures were wrong. They knew the plan didn’t adequately consider alternatives. They knew there were serious questions about infrastructure and emergency services. They knew the plan didn’t follow state law. Then, as if to prove how completely cynical they are, to show us how little they care about serving the citizens, they spend our tax dollars fighting to ram the HCPU down our throats, when they knew it should never have been approved in the first place.

No wonder voter turnout is so low in LA. It’s easy to see that our elected officials have complete contempt for us.

The image above is from Bladerunner, directed by Ridley Scott, photographed by Jordan Cronenweth, production design by Lawrence Paull, art direction by David Snyder.

A New “Urban Village” at Jordan Downs?

Posted on December 10, 2013 by cmaddren

Los Angeles really needs affordable housing. The problem is, developers would rather build high-end housing for the rich because they can make a lot more money. Scads of luxury apartments and luxury condos are being constructed these days, but this really isn’t helping the average angeleno who needs a place to live.

The people who live in the Jordan Downs complex in Watts have been struggling for years. The area needs development badly, but it’s hard to lure investment to a community that’s been plagued by poverty and crime. And you don’t want a developer to go in and demolish the existing housing without giving the current residents an alternative.

So what do you do? Well, in August the LA City Council approved an interesting project. The idea is to build an “urban village” that would combine affordable housing with market rate housing, in other words to create an economically diverse community. The existing seven hundred units would be demolished and eighteen hundred new units would be constructed. The other component of the project is a large retail complex, which would provide jobs and access to stores.

If it works, this project could mark a turnaround for the neighborhood. But some residents and community activists fear that rather than create a diverse community, the result will be gentrification and the families who currently live in the area will be forced out. In the Times article I read, it says,

Officials have promised that the 2,300 Jordan Downs residents “in good standing” can stay in their old units until they move into new ones.

My assumption is that the new units will be rented to the residents at the same price as their old ones. This is an important factor, since any significant increase in their rent could force low-income families out of the new complex.

The idea of creating a mixed income neighborhood is worth pursuing. One of the problems in LA (and other cities) is that there’s an increasing schism between the rich and the poor. It used to be that whites who could afford to live in the suburbs left the city taking their money with them. Now we see more people choosing to live in the city, but this has resulted in the creation of wealthy enclaves in urban areas. Mayor Garcetti and the City Council have been encouraging this trend by catering mostly to developers who want to construct high-end housing for the wealthy. We need to build communities where everyone is welcome, not just the upper class.

Here’s the article that the Times ran back in August when the City Council granted its approval.

City Gives OK to “Urban Village” from LA Times, 8/14/13

Funding for this project isn’t in place yet, so it may not even happen. And even if it does happen, there’s no guarantee it will work. But it is encouraging to see the City of LA promoting a plan that could bring people together, instead of creating islands for the wealthy amid oceans of the poor.

Hollywood Journal – Some Photos

Posted on November 27, 2013 by cmaddren

While I was keeping my Hollywood Journal, I tried to take photos to document some of the changes that were occurring. These were taken while the Hollywood & Highland Center was being constructed, and they sort of go along with the first entry I wrote (Hollywood Journal – Intro). Sorry the quality isn’t better. I’m not a great photographer, and these were taken with a disposable camera.

It’s important to remember that Hollywood & Highland was being built as the same time as the Red Line was under construction below Hollywood Boulevard. Because one of the subway stops is built into the complex, the two projects had to be done concurrently. It was a crazy time, because the construction of that stretch of the Red Line was a mess. Hollywood Boulevard sank six inches, in part because the contractor was was not following proper procedures during tunneling. It was reported that they were using telephone books instead of metal wedges to prop up the supports.

Construction site on Hollywood Boulevard.

A different angle on the site.

Above are two views of the construction site from Hollywood Boulevard. In both you can see part of the office building that used to stand on the northwest corner of Hollywood and Highland. Also, in the background you can see the former Holiday Inn, which is now Loews Hollywood Hotel. Those familiar with the area will notice that in those days it didn’t have the facade which was added back when it was known as the Renaissance.

Looking down Orchid to the El Capitan.

This is a shot of the El Capitan from Orchid. This part of the street no longer exists, since it was closed off in order to construct Hollywood & Highland. You can still enter Orchid from the north on Franklin, but it no longer continues through to Hollywood Boulevard.

The Walk of Fame during construction.

The stars on the sidewalk in front of the project were removed during construction, and then replaced when the project was finished.

Looking west on Hollywood Boulevard.

Above is a shot looking west. It’s too bad the image isn’t very sharp, but you can see the remnants of a cool mural depicting whales in the ocean. It was painted on the side of the Chinese Theatres. Also, in the distance, you can see the Roosevelt Hotel.

The construction site, again facing west.

Another shot of the construction site facing west.

The First National Building stands alone against the sky.

In the first two photos above you can see the office building that used to stand on the northwest corner of Hollywood and Highland. It had to be demolished to make way for the new mall, and I remember how its disappearance created this amazing sense of space. Before the new structure rose up, you had a mostly unobstructed view of the hills. And for a while the First National Building, which still stands today, seemed to tower over everything.

Looking across the construction site towards the El Capitan.

Another view of the construction site, looking towards the El Capitan.

Next to the Chinese Theatre, you can see the Chinese Two and Three, not long before demolition.

During the eighties movie exhibitors began building multiplexes instead of stand-alone theatres. In order to compete, the company that owned the Chinese built two more auditoriums right next door, the Chinese Two and Three. They didn’t look like much from the outside, but they both offered large screens and excellent sound. When Hollywood & Highland was built these two theatres were demolished, and were replaced with six more inside the mall.

Hell on Highland

Posted on October 25, 2013 by cmaddren

An image from Jean-Luc Godard’s “Weekend”. Frustrated drivers, stuck in an endless traffic jam,
start attacking each other.

I wish I’d had a camera with me last night. I got off the Red Line in Hollywood around seven, and started walking north on Highland. The northbound traffic was backed up and moving slowly, but that’s not unusual. Then I got to Franklin and saw that westbound traffic was backed up there, too. That’s when I realized something was probably going on at the Bowl. (Later I learned it was a Katy Perry concert.) Again, this is nothing out of the ordinary. As the Bowl continues to schedule more off-season events, the horrible congestion that used to be confined to summer is becoming a year-round phenomenon.

But then I got to Wilcox, and I saw that the westbound traffic on Franklin was backed up all the way to freeway. I’ve seen congestion on Franklin before, but never this bad. This was also affecting the traffic on Wilcox, which was backed up as far south as I could see.

Now, I’m not bringing this up just to whine about traffic. The reason this spectacle freaked me out is because it seems like a vision of things to come. Anyone who lives in Hollywood knows how bad the traffic is already, but the City of LA continues to approve massive projects, often over the vocal objections of Hollywood residents. Just days ago I learned about two new residential complexes that are slated to be built on Highland, in this same area. Right at the corner of Highland and Franklin, a developer plans to build a residential complex with over a hundred units. And at Highland and Selma, just about a half mile away, the plan is to build a residential/retail complex with over three hundred units.

The fact that these two projects will make traffic on Highland even worse is probably obvious to everyone, except the people in the Department of City Planning. They are pushing these two projects forward using Mitigated Negative Declarations (MNDs), which means they have determined that building over four hundred new units within a half mile of each other in an already congested corridor will have no significant negative impacts. Remember, the recently completed Jefferson, at Highland and Yucca, contains two hundred and seventy units. And on La Brea there are a number of projects already under construction which will total over a thousand new units. Much of the traffic generated by these projects will be travelling through the Highland/Cahuenga corridor.

Is the City Council ever going to stop this insanity?! Not unless local residents apply a lot of pressure. If you live in Hollywood, and if you think the traffic is bad enough already, please call your City Council representative. It should be either Tom LaBonge or Mitch O’Farrell, but check the maps to make sure. The boundaries are tricky. Here’s the link….

LA City Council Directory

By the way, last night I stopped to have a cup of coffee at a place on the corner of Franklin and Cahuenga. When I left about a half hour later, the westbound traffic on Franklin was still backed up to the freeway.

Housing in Hollywood

Posted on August 28, 2013 by cmaddren

A while ago I was riding the bus down La Brea and I was surprised to see a number of projects under construction. There seems to be a small explosion of residential and retail going up. Here are a few photos….

For a really thorough overview of this mini-building boom, check out this article by Daniel Safarik for The Faster Times. He gives an excellent breakdown of each project and talks about what all this development could mean for the community. Safarik points out that large stretches of La Brea have fallen into decline, and that it makes sense to replace vacant, decaying buildings with new structures that will contribute something to the neighborhood. And I’m certainly in favor of development, as long as it responds to an actual need.

And that’s the tricky part. What does this community actually need? And in a larger context, what does the city of LA actually need?

Not too long after my trip down La Brea, I was walking along Franklin and I noticed a number of apartment buildings sporting brightly colored banners to let people know they had vacant units. Here’s a selection….

These are just half of the pictures I took. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the area, La Brea intersects Franklin at the foot of the Hollywood Hills. All of the signs I photographed are on buildings within a mile of that intersection. I didn’t have to look for them. All I did was walk along Franklin to Wilcox, where I made a right. I’m willing to bet there are many more buildings with vacancies on the streets between Franklin and Hollywood Boulevard.

Sure, I understand that all apartment complexes are going to have vacant units at times, and the larger ones will always have a higher turnover. But ten years ago I wasn’t seeing green and red banners shouting “NOW RENTING” at passersby. Ten years ago apartments were in demand, and landlords didn’t have to worry about luring tenants.

So I guess I’m skeptical about the necessity of building over a thousand new units on La Brea. If there’s that much demand, why are there so many empty apartments just blocks away? It’s true that vacancy rates can vary widely from one neighborhood to another. But it’s interesting that of all the buildings going up on La Brea, only one is going to provide affordable housing. The rest are all geared for the upscale crowd. I’m assuming prices will be in the same range as The Avenue, a recently completed complex near Hollywood and La Brea where rents start at $2,350 a month.

I’ve heard so much about how LA needs to accept high-density housing, that there’s no other solution for the city’s future. But LA is not growing the way it used to. Census data shows that the city’s population increased just 2.65 percent between 2000 and 2010. In the Hollywood area the population actually shrank by more than 12,000.

So are we building all these units because people can’t find housing? Or are we building them because developers stand to make a lot of money?

Hollywood Journal – Leave the Dome Alone

Posted on August 21, 2013 by cmaddren

Another entry from my Hollywood journal, this one very brief.

The wrangling over Pacific Theaters’ plans for the Cinerama Dome continues. There was a good deal of anger in the Hollywood community over the proposed project. The Community Redevelopment Agency had received letters of protest from over a hundred concerned citizens, including Steven Spielberg and Richard Schickel. And the people at Pacific had started paying attention.

I also mention a couple of record stores I used to frequent. Eastside was in a strip-mall on Hillhurst. It’s long gone now. Record Recycler was on Sunset near Vermont. It’s actually still around, though it hasn’t been at that location for years. The owner moved the store down to Torrance. Those of you who are into used vinyl can get more info by clicking here.

For a while I was in the habit of hitting the Roosevelt Hotel for a drink at the end of the day. I loved zoning out in the lobby and listening to the guy at the piano. Totally relaxing. I should point out that the photo below was not taken at the time I wrote this journal entry. I snapped it on a recent visit. I wanted to show a little bit of the Roosevelt lobby, but it’s important to say that it’s been remodeled since this entry was written.

And finally, in transcribing this journal I’ve decided to leave the errors in, which is why “Roosevelt” is misspelled in the last paragraph.

June, Nineteen Ninety Eight

Yesterday I called Pacific Theaters again to see if there was any change in the Cinerama Dome situation. And apparently, yeah, they’ve made some concessions. It’s still hard to say whether this so-called remodeling is gonna work out okay, but from what the woman told me, it sounds like they’re finally thinking a little bit about design. I heard they were talking to the L.A. Conservancy. Thank God for the Conservancy.

This afternoon I went and bought some records, first at Eastside, then at Record Recycler.

A little after six I walked into the lobby of the Rooseveldt. Ordered a beer. Sat down in a chair over by the piano. The guy actually played Three Coins in the Fountain. Mercy.

	noemailaddressaccoun… on Vigil in Altadena One Year aft…
	Alan Dowsett on Oki Dog Is Gone
	noemailaddressaccoun… on Thousands Protest in Downtown…
	cmaddren on Oki Dog Is Gone
	Margaret Wynn on Oki Dog Is Gone

The Horizon and the Skyline

A blog about Los Angeles

Category Archives: Development