Etcetera

Five Blogs Added to the Downtown Sidebar

By Eric Richardson — Yesterday, 04:48 PM

Eric Richardson

I have to admit to being woefully neglectful of the "3BN Blogs" section of this site's sidebar. In an effort to make up for lost time, I today added five blogs that Downtowners should make sure to check out. — Continued Inside...

Shading from the Sun

By Eric Richardson — Monday
2 Comments

On Sunday afternoon I was bicycling past the Caltrans building when I heard an odd sound. Looking up, I saw a row of aluminum scrim panels that had been open start to close one by one. Though I was familiar with the building's design, I believe it's the first time I'd actually seen the panels in action.

Downtown News Names blogdowntown 'Best Website'

By Eric Richardson — Friday
10 Comments

The Downtown News' "Best of Downtown" edition for 2008 hit the website this evening, and in it the paper honors blogdowntown with an Editor's Choice award for "Best Website." It's the twentieth anniversary for the awards, and the third time we've been selected in the event.

Rockin' Joel Bloom Square

By Ed Fuentes — Friday

Organizers of Sunday's block party say that the event raised $1,500 to help restore Bloom's General Store. The day featured a Joel Bloom impersonation, or two: one category of the dog competition was for the best Joel Bloom look-alike. Aside from raising money, the event was just the Arts District being itself. It was a time for a community to take over the...

Google Reveals Times' In-Progress Article Archives

By Eric Richardson — July 15, 2008
2 Comments

When running a search today I ran across http://articles.latimes.com, a site that appears to be the Times' attempt to create a search friendly index for its articles. A quick browse around reveals a good concept, but plenty of rough edges and questionable implementation ideas. It also offers an interesting view on the ebb and flow of Times coverage.

Downtown's Churches: First Congregational

By Eric Richardson — July 11, 2008
4 Comments

First Congregational Church has been located west of Downtown at 6th and Commonwealth since 1932. That sort of stability hides the fact that the church was once a prolific site-hopper. Between 1867 and 1902, the congregation dedicated four new buildings, occupying sites on New High, 3rd, 6th and Hope.

Downtown's Churches: St. Paul's Episcopal

By Eric Richardson — July 08, 2008
5 Comments

The story of St. Paul's Episcopal Church might well be best summed up as that of a city moving outward. Opened on July 13th, 1924, St. Paul's Cathedral stood on the outskirts of Downtown -- at 6th and Figueroa. The site was the church's third, and each time the city had grown up around it. As with many Downtown churches, that continued move outward would also...

Downtown's Churches: First Methodist Episcopal at 8th and Hope

By Eric Richardson — July 07, 2008
2 Comments

Opened on July 8th, 1923, the First Methodist Episcopal Church at 813 S. Hope was the most expensive church constructed to date by the denomination. The structure, with a four-story Sunday school building and an auditorium that sat 3,000 visitors, cost $1 million. Acquiring the land added another $500,000 to the total. The church's organ was $50,000, while...

Have a Happy Fourth of July, Downtown

By Eric Richardson — July 03, 2008

Expect light posting over this holiday weekend as those of us here at blogdowntown take a break and perhaps catch some fireworks. For those of you still figuring out where to catch a show around L.A., check out this list from the Fire Department's safejuly4th site.

A Lost Legacy: Downtown's Historic Churches

By Eric Richardson — July 03, 2008
13 Comments

Like most cities, the architecture of downtown Denver is punctuated by its historic churches. Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, built in 1887, sits right across the street from modern office buildings. Other century-old churches dot the spaces between civic structures and new condos. Whether one is religious or not, the buildings provide a distinct style of...