Arts & Culture

Diving into the Neon Buzz of Downtown

By Ed Fuentes — March 26, 2008
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Through the windows of a 4th Street Gilville outpost, glass tubes filled with neon gas are lit documents to lost commercial venues. Like paintings and sculptures that gain value when the artist dies, a neon sign gains notoriety after the business is gone. It doesn’t take very long to find old neon Downtown, with tube hanging throughout the neighborhood...

Blessing of the Animals Brings Out L.A.'s Pets

By Ed Fuentes — March 23, 2008
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Saturday marked the 78th Blessing of the Animals at Olvera Street. The procession from the plaza to a Los Angeles street stage was led by a single cow. Once there, prayers were said, speeches made and doves released. Curious who they choose who gets the lead? The cow gets that honor for being the animal that has given most to humanity. After the initial ceremony...

Good Friday Brings the Crowds to Get Their Seafood

By Ed Fuentes — March 21, 2008
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Fisherman’s Outlet is hidden away in the industrial area just off Skid Row, but on this Good Friday afternoon it was anything but empty. Patrons of all types and occupations lined up despite a sizable wait, making their pilgrimage to a place regarded as serving what is quite possibly L.A.’s best seafood. On the sidewalk, 15-year-old Max Shinbane...

EVFA Opens This Weekend in the Arts District

By Ed Fuentes — March 20, 2008
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Edgar Varela joined the Downtown art scene a few years ago and since then he’s been the multi-tasking man about town. “I started out with a few parties that had happened to exhibit art in the same space,” he says “Now I’m an art dealer, sometimes a curator, then a gallery owner… or maybe everything at the same time.” That space was the former Citizen’s Warehouse...

St Patrick's Day Brings a Crowd to Pershing Square

By Ed Fuentes — March 17, 2008
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|Photo Gallery| L.A.’s St Patrick’s Day Parade is a small town gathering compared to celebrations held in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Ireland. There was still a few empty blocks near the Civic Center, and road closures had commuters snarling on the freeway.

Back at the Globe

By Ed Fuentes — March 16, 2008
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The big question at “Bringing Back a Broadway Sign”, where we noted the return of the Globe Theater neon, was when the new letters would once again be lit. Last night we got half the answer, as the northern half of the marquee once again glowed. A nearby shop owner reported hearing that the southern half would be similarly lit come this evening....

Hello, Aloha!

By Ed Fuentes — March 16, 2008
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On the way back to the Arts District, I dropped into a new café in Honda Plaza and found a full menu with a healthy side of backstory. Downtown’s Little Tokyo was planned to be the second location for the popular Monterey Park restaurant until chef Komai passed away. Jennifer Lee was in charge of operations, but after losing her mentor she took a year off before...

Monday: St. Patricks Parade Heads Down Main Street

By Eric Richardson — March 14, 2008
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Monday brings the St. Patrick’s Day parade Downtown, with a route that runs from Main and Arcadia down to Pershing Square. According to a release on Councilman Tom LaBonge’s website, “parade attractions include numerous celebrities, the Los Angeles Police Emerald Society bagpipes and drum band, high school and college marching bands, The Lakers...

A Visual Spin Around the March Downtown Art Walk

By Ed Fuentes — March 14, 2008
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With the ground floor of the Rowan used as a gallery and the north face wall turned into a film screen, this month’s Art Walk expanded Gallery Row’s active sidewalk life. Now in its third month, Comedy Walk attendance continued to grow. Music, heard from the streets in several locations, helped create a sidewalk segue to guide gallery-goers between hotspots...

DotDotDash: Seeing Daylight

By Ed Fuentes — March 13, 2008