Etcetera

New Features: Readers' Photos

By Eric Richardson — August 13, 2008

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I teased on Sunday that there were a few new features in the works, and tonight I get the chance to let you help a fun one: Readers’ Photos. A lot of you take great photos of Downtown, and we’d like to see some of them here on the site.


Looking Back on a Design Evolution

By Eric Richardson — August 10, 2008
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|Photo Gallery| Every once in a while I like to give a little glimpse behind the scenes of blogdowntown. Today I happened across a folder of design mockups I had created in the process of putting together the new design we launched on April 1st of this year. This sequence of four images gives a fair representation of how the site’s look developed in the months preceding...


Downtown Lens: One Man's Trash

By Dave Bullock — August 03, 2008

Toys and Trash

Downtown Los Angeles has no shortage of trash. We commonly see it piled high on street corners and in front of businesses as the day ends. These piles exist for a number of reasons, many of them not quite proper – illegal dumping was a topic at City Hall this week. Normally when I see a pile of boxes and shipping material I don’t think too much of...


Five Blogs Added to the Downtown Sidebar

By Eric Richardson — July 22, 2008

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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.


Shading from the Sun

By Eric Richardson — July 21, 2008
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Caltrans Building

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 — July 18, 2008
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Best Of Downtown 2008

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 — July 18, 2008

Drive-By Rock n Roll

|Photo Gallery| 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...


Google Reveals Times' In-Progress Article Archives

By Eric Richardson — July 15, 2008
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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
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First Congregational Church

|Photo Gallery| 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
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St. Paul's Episcopal

|Photo Gallery| 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...