blogdowntown

Fight Night Club Takes L.A. Live's Boxing Outdoors

Eric Richardson — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:04:46 -0700

Judges unanimously scored Wednesday night's final bout for Jesus Rodrigues (black shorts) as he won his pro debut against Juan Sandoval. Photo by Eric Richardson.

Boxing may be dying, but it's hard to tell it at L.A. Live. Over the last two years the complex has hosted fights of all sizes inside Staples Center, the Nokia Theatre and Club Nokia.

Yesterday, a fourth venue was added as Fight Night Club took its show outside for a special St. Patrick's Day edition on Nokia Plaza.

The series, put on by Oscar de la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions and AEG, typically takes place inside Club Nokia on the last Thursday of the month, with matches televised on Fox Sports Net.

Wednesday night's event was free to the public, and brought out a healthy crowd to cheer on local fighters new to the pro ranks. The biggest cheers of the night were for Jesus Rodrigues, who won the night's fourth and final fight in a unanimous decision over Juan Sandoval.

Four sites may be the limit for L.A. Live. Other than the complex' Event Deck -- the roof of a parking garage behind Nokia Theatre that sometimes hosts events -- it's hard to imagine there being anywhere else on-site that's large enough to host a fight.

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By Eric Richardson.

Filming Closure: 3/20-3/21 6am-10pm -- Wilshire and Grand for Chaos

Eric Richardson — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:30:31 -0700

This story is an installment of Filming Closures.

Photo by Eric Richardson.

Navigating Downtown can be tricky enough without running into an unexpected street closure. We'll try to help you out, posting notices from film shoots that include full street closures.

Wilshire Boulevard's dead-end at Grand Avenue will be closed both Saturday and Sunday this weekend as 20th Century Fox Television films scenes for the Tom Spezialy / Brett Ratner pilot 'Chaos,' destined for CBS.

Wilshire will be closed east of Hope, while Grand Avenue will be shut down between 6th and 7th. Both shutdowns run from 6am to 10pm.

According to The Wrap, the show focuses on a team of CIA operatives who cut through red tape.

DESCRIPTION OF SCENE: Atmospheric smoke effects. Car-to-car. Driving scenes. Equipment on sidewalk and street. Exterior dialogue. Intermittent traffic and pedestrian control. Precision driving. Wetting down of the street. Camera position in median. Car chase scene. Car driving on sidewalk. Condor. Crane. Generator. Picture vehicles.

Film closure information is subject to change. For more information about filming activities, consider subscribing to FilmL.A.'s eNotifications.

Filming Closures

Navigating Downtown can be tricky enough without running into an unexpected street closure. We'll try to help you out, posting notices from film shoots that include full street closures.

By Eric Richardson.

Everyone is Irish on St Patty's Day

Ed Fuentes — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:17:15 -0700

Angeleno Mary O'Neil was all Irish at L.A. Live's Nokia Plaza. Photo by Ed Fuentes.

Billed as the city's largest St. Patrick's Day celebration, L.A. Live's inaugural go at a salute to Public Safety and Irish Pride took place today out in the sun of Nokia Plaza. While perhaps not as well attended as recent events at Pershing Square, there were still plenty of celebrators.

With a beer garden, entertainment and displays, there were enough ways to toast your Irish Heritage to bring in even those without a drop of Dubliner in them.

Ken O’ Malley and the Twilight Lords played traditional Irish music and rock and roll on a stage that also featured performances by the 20-piece Los Angeles Emerald Society Bagpipe Band and the Dublin All-Stars Marching Band.

Just before Councilmember Tom “O”LaBonge was about to step on the stage, he assured blogdowntown that the missing parade will be back in 2011 after budget limitations prevented it from being held this year. “We’re working on having it on 11th Street,” LaBonge added.

While the dancing Leprechaun on stage with Ken O’ Malley is what many people may consider a traditional Irish celebration, there were some sincere moments. Honored were Kenneth Cassidy, LAFD Captain of the Year, and William Murphy, LAPD Captain of the Year. Actor Jack McGee sang the anthem in a traditonal tenor, and one young-at-heart woman stood proudly in the sun to gently wave an Irish flag as bagpipers played their set.

Photo Gallery

By Ed Fuentes.

Far From Last Call for "Craby Joe's" Neon

Ed Fuentes — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:58:09 -0700

Photo by Ed Fuentes.

The bar may be closed, but the Craby Joe's neon has had heard more last calls then the clients that walked into the 7th and Main watering hole ever did. The sign that once welcomed boozers and dreamers will have an official dedication in Raw Materials, its new transitional housing, on Saturday, March 27 at 4pm.

Presented by The Museum of Neon Art, Raw Materials, sign guardian Jeremy Hansen and Bert Green Fine Art, the Craby Joe's historic neon (if the timer is set on 11) is a flickering frenzy of blue and pink light that bounces off the white walls like a bad flashback.

The same year the "Volstead Act" was repealed, ending prohibition, the oddly spelled Craby Joe’s became part of Downtown’s landscape at 7th and Main. One story is that the original name of the bar was set to be Crazy Joe's until the "z" was switched with a "b" during the sign's manufacturing. No one knows for sure.

The sign was once part of a street filled with neon, but it became a loner as Skid Row took over that section of Main street. The neighborhood changed and the bar was ordered to close as part of a crackdown on drug sales. In December of 2007, fans of the bar and sign had a round on Christmas Eve, and in January 2008, the sign was noted as missing.

It was saved by Jeremy Hansen, and -- with the apostrophe never lit -- has been on temporary loan at MONA. For less than a few days, Craby Joe's neon skeleton was reinterpreted as an abstract by Richard Ankrom in the windows of Bert Green Fine Art.

Somehow, the sign also represents nefarious activity, the grit and edge that is John Fante-begat-Charles-Bukowski pop-culture identity.

The Nickel Diner and its Smack 'n Cheese; the Down N Out with its wall of celebrity mug shots and now infamous mural; Crack Gallery; the speakeasy knock-on-the-door bars near 5th and Main, all are reminders of Downtown's influence in literature and film.

Even today, the sign is a visual reference. The cover of James Ellroy's 2009 "Blood's A Rover" shows a moody 7th and Main at night, with Craby Joe's neon sign unlit.

Photo Gallery

By Ed Fuentes.

Provecho Eviction Case Moves Forward

Eric Richardson — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:59:59 -0700

Photo by Eric Richardson.

The revitalized Downtown appears set to suffer one of its first high-profile restaurant casualties, as landlord 800 Wilshire today was given the go-ahead for eviction proceedings against chef Gabriel Morales' Provecho.

The corporation that controls the Mexican restaurant and martini lounge Remedy, both of which opened in late 2008, filed for bankruptcy protection on February 8, claiming nearly $2 million in debts.

Today, Judge Alan Ahart gave the restaurant's landlord permission to continue eviction proceedings. On January 27, 800 Wilshire gave the restaurant a five day notice to surrender the premises or pay $39,743 in back rent. When the restaurant did neither, the building filed an unlawful detainer case on February 8. That same day, the restaurant's 800 Wilshire Group, LLC filed for bankruptcy protection.

Court filings show a long list of creditors. The restaurant says that it owes the state nearly $144,000 in sales taxes, and a laundry list of vendors show up among those with claims.

A drawn-out opening couldn't have helped the company's books. Morales and wife Jill Bigelow first signed a lease on the nearly 8,000 square foot space in July of 2007. Delays and permit issues kept the doors from opening until December of 2008.

Building manager Anthony Khuns said today that he was sorry to see the restaurant fall on financial hard times. "They're a great restaurant and they've had a tough time," he said. "They've been good for the building."

Today's ruling allows the building's eviction case to move forward, but provides no immediate resolution.

For now, the restaurant remains open. A flyer sent out today advertises its St. Patrick's Day specials, including $3 green beer and $1 corned beef tacos.

By Eric Richardson.

Patina Group's Market Cafe Just a Piece of AT&T Center Operations

Eric Richardson — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:18:00 -0700

Market Cafe at the AT&T Center, a new casual cafe from the Patina Restaurant Group. Photo by Eric Richardson.

Not quite visible enough to be a destination, yet too fun to classify as a building cafeteria, Patina Restaurant Group's newest Market Cafe at the AT&T Center is an affordable eatery in a part of Downtown that's light on lunch options.

It's also just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the company's operations in the building, which take up 15,000 square feet and include the company's headquarters, catering kitchen, pastry kitchen and handling bookings for the two glass-walled floors at the top of the 32-story tower.

Food and pastries for the casual cafe are prepared in the company's catering kitchen, which services a range of events from small to large. Connected is Patina's pastry kitchen, which services all of the restaurant group's restaurants.

The menu, which features nothing over $10, is designed to be changed up constantly.

In part, that's a nod to the office workers who will be the eatery's primary customers. "When you serve the same clientele, you have to be very creative in your menu," notes Chef Joachim Splichal, who opened Patina Restaurant in 1989.

Those who don't work in the building currently have to navigate the office building's protocols, stopping at security to get a visitor sticker that must be returned on departure. They must then take an escalator down to the building's "Garden Level," where the cafe and kitchens are located.

It's a bit of a trek, but Splichal believes that it's worth it. "The quality we serve is exceptional," he said, "so I think people will go through it."

Along with the fresh food, a variety of gourmet packaged goods are on sale. The space will serve as a model for upcoming tweaks to other Market Cafe locations at the Wells Fargo Center and the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

High above the AT&T Center cafe, Patina is also handling private bookings for the building's 30th and 32nd floors, which once housed a restaurant but are now 6,000 square feet of glass-walled raw space. Upcoming bookings include a wedding. Splichal said that his company is also working with building owner LBA Realty on putting the building's auditorium to good use, with film screenings potentially on the horizon.

Market Cafe at AT&T Center / 1150 S. Olive / 6:30am - 3pm / 213-536-4090

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By Eric Richardson.

Bassist Russell Walters

Monk Turner — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:14:51 -0700

Russell Wonder Photo by Monk Turner.

If Stevie Wonder had a 'brother from another mother' living in Downtown L.A., it would be Russell Walters. Even though Russell is a white guy from the backwoods of Michigan with 20/20 vision, soul music drips from his fingers when he gets on the bass. Stevie Wonder's influence runs deep within this four string warrior; he even has the tattoo to prove it.

I met up with Russell to see what groups he has been playing with and get a sense of what life is like across from L.A. Live.

MONK TURNER: You had an interesting introduction to the South Park district of downtown...

RUSSELL WALTERS: We were in the valley and looking for a place to live downtown. Our landlord brought us down to the Pico Blue Line to show us the place. There was a homeless man out front asking me 'how much does this place go for a month?' as he was taking a piss. I wanted to tell him 'it was $1,800 but it just went down to $1,200.' [laughter]

MT: Since that day, have things changed much around here?

RW: Yeah. It can look like a rough place with the homeless guy taking a piss and I'm sure that still happens. Less break ins, it is nicer. It seemed a bit threatening at first but now I'm used to it.

MT: And now this is home base. What are some groups you play with?

RW: I'm in a handful of cover band projects that are down in the South Bay. I play with a guy named Scott Whyte who I play at the Shark's Cove in Manhattan Beach and Cafe Boogaloo in Hermosa Beach. I play with a group called Retrofit which is a 3 piece that does cool vocal harmonies. We do Steely Dan which is one of my favorite groups. We play at Ricky Finns and Henessys in Redondo Beach.

MT: What about Downtown? [laughter]

RW: Well I do play downtown. Sort of. I play in Chinatown with Midtones. But I'm not the guy who gets the gigs. I'm the guy who shows up and sees who wants to keep me around.

MT: Living a stones throw from L.A. Live, do you find yourself over there quite a bit?

RW: I've been over there twice. [laughter]

MT: And are you proud or ashamed of that?

RW: I guess I'm proud that I'm saving money. [laughter] But I'm ashamed I'm not spending any of it to meet any hot downtown girls. [laughter]

MT: What are the best parts of being a downtown resident?

RW: I like the action. The people out doing things. The events. I like it and I don't like it because there is no parking and everyone is here at your house vacationing and I'm like 'I live here.'

MT: People peeing on your doorstep. [laughter]

RW: Yeah. But I guess I sort of like that because I'm from a small town where we didn't have all that. I just like looking out every morning and seeing where the Lakers play.

Unfortunately, if you want to see Russell play, you can't just look out your window. You will have to venture down to the South Bay. Another option is to come check him out at Midtones twice a month at the Grandstar in Chinatown. Stevie, if you're reading this, please give Russell a call if you're looking for a bass player.

Photo Gallery

By Monk Turner.

YWCA Development Gets a Crane

Eric Richardson — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:46:53 -0700

Workers assemble a tower crane at the YWCA Job Corp construction site in South Park. Photo by Eric Richardson.

While work at YWCA's $73-million Job Corp center has been moving steadily since the beginning of the year, the effort became a lot more visible today when a tower crane was added to the construction works.

The seven-story, 154,000 square-foot facility, to be located on Olive street between Olympic and 11th, will house a classrooms, a library, computer lab, medical facilities and residential units for 400 students.

The YWCA has owned the site since 2004, but finance issues delayed the project start. It finally got underway this year after the commitment of federal stimulus funds and New Markets Tax Credits.

YWCA has administered the Los Angeles Job Corps Program since 1965, operating out of a handful of buildings centered around a 13-story former hotel at 11th and Broadway.

By Eric Richardson.