Though I don't think that the Rolling Stone will be able to keep this ambitious venture afloat, at least not both parts of the establishment. I do enjoy hearing about the ongoing renaissance of Hollywood.

My sentiments as well. I just plan to enjoy it while I can. I think I'll hit Mde. Tussaud's, the Roosevelt Hotel lobby and a few bars over Christmas/New Years. The kinky Amsterdam club isn't open yet I think?

Mod Edit

Columbia Square takes a huge step forward! From Curbed LA:

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2009/12/post_30.php#more

The tower seems to be down to 28 floors, however. Still, a huge development. I wonder if it will ever be built?

everyone needs to relax, take a deep breath and not be so sensitive.

Back on topic.

I actually have great hope for Hollywood east of Gower. Sunset and especially Hollywood seem perfect for medium-rise housing that is reasonably affordable, on transit and convenient to DT and the westside (Pink Line!). Moreover, a lot of the housing just off those streets is old and down-market so the landlords may be willing to develop lower-rise (3-5 story) apartments to transition to the sfh's at the cores of the neighborhoods.

I don't think 28 stories is going to cut it. I think they'll settle for 20. But I would really like to have some objective source determine how bad the traffic and "shadow" effects are. If you build on the south side of the street, most of the shade is going to hit the lower floors on the north side of the street and even then, only in winter. Shade isn't such a bad thing in the LA climate.

I think the 28 stories is fine. House of Blues and Sunset/Vine are 22 stories, this is only six more stories and within the same couple blocks. The 28 is already a compromise from the original proposed 40 stories? I could see this project with financing coming to fruition.

I'm with you. 28 stories is fine if not pushing it just a little for me. In Hollywood we don't need Dwntwn or CC type of height. Density yes. Eradicate all sfh's within the Hollywood District just perhaps leaving a few for historical references. You don't need skyscrapers to be urban.

Pesto, it absolutely puzzles me that Sunset doesn't already have mixed-use development for the very reasons that you mentioned.

Cirque du Soleil is ready to go Hollywood in 2011 at the Kodak Theatre
-- Reed Johnson
The Los Angeles Times
December 16, 2009 | 12:00 pm

Kodaktheatre As we reported in Tuesday's Calendar section, Cirque du Soleil is bringing more of its big-top antics to Las Vegas this week with the opening of its latest dancing, trampolining extravaganza, "Viva Elvis." The homage to the king of rock 'n' roll is christening the brand-new 2,000-seat theater at the Aria Casino and Resort in Sin City's massive new CityCenter complex.

(For more on CityCenter's big gamble to bring back Vegas' pre-recession swagger, read Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne's take.)

Now the Montreal-based Cirque is looking ahead to one of its next opening nights, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland in 2011.

In an interview last week in Las Vegas, Gilles Ste-Croix, Cirque's senior vice president of creative content and new projects development, and Ste'phane Mongeau, executive producer of "Viva Elvis," confirmed that Cirque is on track to bring a $100-million Hollywood-themed show to the 3,400-seat theater that hosts the annual Oscars ceremony.

"It's coming along," Ste-Croix said in Que'becois-accented English. "Right now, they will transform the theater because it's a theater for the Oscar, but we want to have the possibility of [installing a] lift and all that, to have scenery change, new rigging points and all that. So they have to transform the theater."

Ste-Croix suggested that Cirque also will reconfigure the seating arrangement of the vast Kodak space to make it feel a bit more intimate. Although Cirque's new Hollywood production will be performed year-round, for something on the order of 368 shows annually, it likely won't be able to fill a 3,400-seat house for that many performances. After all, as tourist meccas go, Hollywood isn't quite on the order of Las Vegas.

"Probably the top balcony we won't use," Ste-Croix said, adding that Cirque figured on a regular audience not of 3,000 but rather about 2,000.

As for the new show's Hollywood theme, Ste-Croix said, "We cannot avoid this approach, to go to the movie."

"But it has nothing to do with all the blockbuster movies that happen," he added. "It's more about cinema as a tool and cinema as how-it-came, where-it-come-from. You know, cinema originally was a magic trick. And that's all it was. And then it evolved into vaudeville ... and it became little [snippets] that they were representing in black and white with no sound. And then it evolved [into] telling story, when sound came about. And so that's a very interesting thing to go into with acrobatics and with dance and music. So we're having a good time."

Cirque expects the show to open sometime after the 2011 Academy Awards.

"The thing is that we have to think of a show that we can unload," Ste-Croix said. "It's their theater, so we have to take out the stuff, put it back. But I know that they will use the lift we're putting in!"

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/12/cirque-du-soleil-is-going-hollywood-in-2011.html

so will just post update here.

I'm surprised no one has posted yet, but the Red Building at the Pacific Design Center is getting steel!!!

Already three floors up.

Now that LA Live is done, and the W is done, and with everything else on hold, this might be the only tall building to rise in Los Angeles this year.

^^ That's right, and you may remember that Wolverine is there.

Sunset Strip is getting its first repaving in 75 years (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sunset-strip31-2009dec31,0,3568932.story)

Along Sunset Strip, the 75-year-old pavement could tell some incredible stories about Hollywood through the ages.

"There's probably chewing gum spit out by Jim Morrison in front of the Whisky a Go-Go," West Hollywood Councilman John Duran said Wednesday. "Don't tell anybody or they'll want to go pick it up."

The Sunset Boulevard "strip" has not been repaved since the 1930s. So it's possible there may be gum deposited there by movie stars who once frequented the Strip, like Humphrey Bogart, Greta Garbo or even regal Shakespearean actor and unlikely gum-smacker, Sir Laurence Olivier.

Beginning on Monday, the city of West Hollywood will begin giving the Sunset Strip -- its roadway and sidewalks -- its first face-lift since it was converted from a dirt road.

City officials and business owners say they hope the touch-up will not only spiff up, but also help enliven a boulevard that has been challenged in recent years by outside competitors and the tattered economy.

"It's the heart of rock 'n' roll," said Mikeal Maglieri, the owner of the Whisky a Go-Go and the Rainbow Room. "This is sort of a revitalization in tough economic times. I think it's good for business. It's a face lift. It's a rejuvenation. It needs to be done."

Donn Uyeno, the project manager in the city's engineering division, said the Sunset Strip has held up remarkably well given how long it has gone without being repaved. It's a concrete road, which gives the street a strong base. And because it's on the top of a hill, water rolls downhill, which keeps the road from deteriorating the pavement as much as it might otherwise.

Still, that has only slowed the aging process, not stopped it. The city plans to grind away the top two layers of the roadway and install rubberized asphalt.

"We're going to use ground-up tires that were just filling landfills, and the sound of the [cars] on the pavement will be a lot quieter," Uyeno said. "When cars pass concrete, any time the tires roll over a crack or a panel, you hear the noise of the tire. This is going to greatly reduce the sound of cars."

The city will also replace about one-third of the sidewalk and make existing sidewalks more pedestrian-friendly. Flowering, palm, magnolia and shade tree districts will be created. Trees that have grown for so long that they've cracked the pavement will be replaced with others.

Nic Adler, owner of the Roxy and son of record producer Lou Adler, said he still had a picture in front of the club showing a young potted ficus tree that was going to be planted. Adler said he couldn't have known at the time that that cute little tree would muscle through the sidewalk.

"The ficus tree is evil," he said with a laugh.

Michel Morauw, general manager of the Andaz West Hollywood hotel, said he thinks that the need for the beautification of the Sunset Strip will come into clearest focus after the project is completed.

"We get used to what's in front of us," Morauw said. "I think this beautification project is taking place at a very opportune time here on the Sunset Strip. I think this is going to be a new birth for the Strip."

Many of the businesses were eager to work with the city when talk turned to fixing up the Sunset Strip. Adler said the time was right for the beautification, coming when businesses like his and that of longtime rivals are cooperating more as they face stiff challenges from competitors in places like Hollywood, from changes in the music industry and from the grind of the economic recession.

"Literally, it's us promoting our competition and our competition promoting us. If there's one person, we're happy to share that person," Adler said. "Before, it was, 'You take them, or I take them.' "

The last time the roadway was paved was when Los Angeles County replaced the original dirt road with concrete during the Great Depression. All told, about 1.6 miles of the Strip between Sierra Drive and Harper Avenue will be repaved and spruced up at a cost of about $5.4 million, including a little more than $1 million in federal stimulus money, Uyeno said.

The construction is going to be done in phases and should last about six months, in time for the Sunset Strip Music Festival in August. The end result, Adler, Maglieri and others hope, is that the Sunset Strip will be more pedestrian-friendly, with people parking their cars and walking from one place to another.

"I'm old enough to remember when we were eight people deep in the sidewalk. There were people everywhere," Maglieri said. "We want a trend where people feel comfortable walking up and down the street."

^^ Hell hath frozen over .... I can't imagine it with asphalt. I wonder if it will hold up.

its about damn time. That street looks like a dump. Hopefully LA will step up and fix up Hollywood Blvd as well.

Wonder how traffic will be :D

Talk about a long overdue project. I always wondered why the Sunset Strip was so crappy. Not only will this beautification project give the street a fresh new look, it'll also be another step forward in making LA more pedestrian-friendly. What a great way to begin the new decade!

Some parts of Wilshire Blvd could use a serious repaving as well.

Let's be honest: there are lots of places that need a lot of repaving. I've spend the last 5 days mostly walking around Ktown, DT and Hollywood, and the streets remind me more of Brooklyn than LA (that means potholes, separations, cracks, paving that doesn't line up with curbs, etc.).

As noted, this isn't just a car issue, it's a pedestrian issue.

Hollywood sidewalks aren't bad, but there is real potential for outdoor dining there. Maybe it can go on the sidestreets if you want to keep the Walk of Fame and the boulevard lively with plenty of traffic (it's not a commuter road, so extra traffic doesn't worry me that much). The sidewalks off-Hollywood go down hill quickly.

What's new with the W? I here that they are going to put on some opening festivities with the HOB Gospel Choir and other stuff, but haven't seen any detail on this. Anyone have an article or press release?

I only recently learned about the Sunset & Vine Business Improvement District. Take a look at their list of infill projects slated for Sunset as far east as the 101. Very encouraging.

http://www.sunsetandvinebid.org/vPage.aspx?ID=4

What I think would be nice in Hollywood are some nice glass casinos las Vegas style with the huge water fountains etc. It would bring Hollywood more to life than it is now but ofcourse I don mean a million casinos just a couple of nice tall ones

^^ not gonna happen for 3 reasons

1. there is a very strict height limit in Hollywood of 45ft. that is very hard to get around. there are exceptions though.
2. Gambling is illegal in Los Angeles.
3. why have Las Vegas style buildings when you can just go and see the real thing?

LA is too strict :(

casinos: I wonder about them too. It’s basically ½ hr. and $1.25 for several million people to get to Hollywood (and an easy drive for several million more), while it’s a few hours and $300-1000 to get to LV, depending on flights and hotels, so the potential seems to be there. Laws and building codes can be changed and usually are when an obvious winner idea is floated.

I think the real reason that casinos haven’t been a hot topic is expected resistance from locals, and from demands from other parts of the state, who will want them too; and a lack of real incentive at this point since growth has been very strong in Hollywood. But these are just guesses.

I don’t see LV style building in any event, something much smaller and more urban.

LA is too strict :(

On the plus side, Curbed LA is now reporting that the historic Security Pacific building near Hollywood and Cahuenga is to be converted into an 80-room boutique hotel. In addition, a nightclub is planned in the building's old basement bank vault.

casinos: I wonder about them too. It’s basically ½ hr. and $1.25 for several million people to get to Hollywood (and an easy drive for several million more), while it’s a few hours and $300-1000 to get to LV, depending on flights and hotels, so the potential seems to be there. Laws and building codes can be changed and usually are when an obvious winner idea is floated.

I think the real reason that casinos haven’t been a hot topic is expected resistance from locals, and from demands from other parts of the state, who will want them too; and a lack of real incentive at this point since growth has been very strong in Hollywood. But these are just guesses.

I don’t see LV style building in any event, something much smaller and more urban.

The bigger issue is that in the state of CA by law LV style gambling is restricted to Indian lands. Unless someone can work out a land swap with a tribe in central Hollywood it ain't gonna happen. Just ask all the Horse Racing track owners that thought they'd be able to get casinos as part of their operations.

So I took the red line to Hollywood to see a movie at Arclight and decided to get a good look at the W Hotel. Here are all my pictures! Check out the new subway entrance.


http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1363.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1365.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1372.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1373.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1374.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1377.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1385.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1388.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1393.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1395.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1396.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1398.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1402.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1403.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1409.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1410.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1413.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1414.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1420.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1424.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1426.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1427.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1430.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1435.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1438.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1440.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1442.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1443.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1446.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1451.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1456.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1457.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/FightOnArchies/W%20Hotel/DSCN1455.jpg

Great collection! I think it's interesting how the W impresses with mass and the Pantages impresses with color and decoration. Each can hold its place against the other.

Normally, I would think the W is too busy for it's size but in that locale this is not a problem. The visitor is going to have to accept the idea of intensity and movement. Head for the bars to chill out.

We need more of this. All throughout LA.

Everything looks great except for that exposed parking garage. Why couldn't they have covered it up?

When you break up the overall design like that, that really works in a weird little place like Hollywood! Looks even better in the rain! Fight On!

http://lastheplace.com/images/article-images/1NEW2007WRITERS/1Lacey/W_Hotel/Hollywood_Blvd.jpg

The Dish: W Hollywood ready for the spotlight
The chic new hotel, boasting a signature French-Mediterranean restaurant and two glitzy bars, is set to open its doors Thursday.
-- Jessica Gelt and Betty Hallock
The Los Angeles Times
January 27, 2010

The hotly anticipated W Hollywood is ready for its close-up. The u"ber-modern hotel is set to open Thursday along with its resident restaurant, Delphine, and its two bars, Station Hollywood and the Living Room. Delphine is the work of Innovative Dining Group (Sushi Roku, BOA Steakhouse, Katana and Robata Bar). With Delphine, IDG hopes to dip its toes into the Riviera with a menu of French classics and plenty of Mediterranean influences from executive chef Sascha Lyon.

6250 Hollywood Blvd. (323) 798.1355; www.restaurantdelphine.com.

Ode to Mardi Gras

Artist Clare Crespo has been busy getting ready for Mardi Gras next month. There will be seafood gumbo, oysters on the half shell, shrimp cocktail, soft-shell crabs, catfish po' boy, beignets and cafe au lait, and king cake. The entire feast will be made lovingly -- with yarn. From Feb. 6 to 21, Crespo's crocheted food exhibit, "Laissez le Bon Crochet Rouler," will be on display at Heath Ceramics.

525 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 965-0800, www.heath ceramics.com.

Stinkers kitsch

It was just a little over a year ago that Bobby Green and his 1933 Group opened the kitschy truck-stop-inspired bar Stinkers in Silver Lake.

Now, according to Green's publicist, Green has grown tired of his own handiwork and wants to trade up to something a bit classier than fake skunk butts that emit steam when a bartender pulls the cord of a big-rig horn. Green plans to auction off the bar's '70s-themed de'cor on Feb. 9.

2939 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 661-6007, www .stinkerstruckstop.com.

Also

Chefs Onil Chiba's and Alberto Morales opened Elements Kitchen in Pasadena.

37 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. (626) 440-0044; www.elementskitchen.com.


The W Hollywood Hotel & Residences: An urban complexity
The new complex is one part Hollywood vanity and one part subway plaza. The results are ungainly, but an interesting experiment in city planning.
By Christopher Hawthorne architecture critic
The Los Angeles Times
January 29, 2010

Think of the new W Hollywood Hotel & Residences complex as equal parts Chateau Marmont, L.A. Live and Pershing Square.

The 15-story, $600-million development, designed by Dallas-based architecture firm HKS, combines on a single L-shaped site the W's hotel and condominium towers with a 375-unit apartment block called 1600 Vine. The whole ensemble is draped in gigantic billboards, wrapped around a sizable public plaza leading to a Metro Red Line subway stop and squeezed in next to the landmark 1924 Taft Building at Hollywood and Vine.

The rather ungainly result, set to open officially this morning, is not what you'd call an elegant addition to the rapidly expanding Hollywood skyline. And yet few recent projects have had more to say about the state of contemporary urbanism in Southern California than this one. It symbolizes almost perfectly a city that is groping toward a denser, more vertical and more public future while still reluctant to abandon its love affair with the car and the glossier, more exclusive corners of celebrity culture.

As urban real-estate developments begin to combine high-end hotel rooms with residential and retail space, they are presenting fresh challenges for architects, primarily having to do with producing separate lobbies and dedicated elevators for each section of a building. The W, rising on land owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and a full decade in the making, adds another layer of complexity to that equation. Along with channeling flows of tourists, hotel guests, commuters, tenants and diners, it has to account for the peculiar whims of Hollywood vanity -- accommodating bold-faced names who on some visits will be ready to meet the cameras and on others anxious to slip inside unnoticed.

Hotel guests will enter the lobby on a red carpet: one leads in from the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard, skirting one edge of the Metro plaza, the other from a valet drop-off. Inside, they'll find a grand, high-ceilinged space full of chances to pursue further conspicuousness, including a pedestrian bridge near the ceiling that resembles a suspended catwalk and a curving staircase lined with still more red fabric and wraps around a corkscew-shaped hanging LED chandelier.

Upstairs, suites grouped together on the second and third floors of the hotel are specifically outfitted for press junkets, aiming to steal some industry revenue from the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, which has long owned the lion's share of that business. Hotel executives say they conducted focus groups on junkets with a range of people in the film industry and tweaked the design of the 20 suites accordingly, giving them extra-large bathrooms to accommodate hair and makeup crews and heavy-duty electrical panels that help cut down on the need for long cables, among other features.

Those suites and the rest of the hotel rooms, designed by the Portland, Ore., firms Designstudio Ltd. and Architropolis, offer what their chief designer, Sharilyn Olson Rigdon, calls a mixture of "Barbarella"-style Hollywood and 1960s L.A. Modern. Like the condominiums, they are most notable for the remarkable views they offer of the Hollywood Hills and of landmarks, including the nearby Capitol Records Tower and Griffith Observatory.

On the top floor of the hotel tower is a bachelor suite featuring a small raised area that includes a stripper pole -- or rather did include a stripper pole until city building inspectors, according to Olson Rigdon, asked the W to remove it because the area wasn't wheelchair accessible. (Any elevated space inside a hotel room with a dedicated use has to accommodate wheelchairs; removing the pole, apparently, was enough to remove the use.)

The highlight of the hotel's rooftop pool area is a curving cabana wrapped in aluminum scales; it was designed by Daly Genik Architects, which also was responsible for the condominium interiors and the striking Douglas fir-lined lobby for the condo tower. Kevin Daly, a founder of the firm, said the W asked him to design the cabana as "a Venus' flytrap for supermodels."

The complex will also cater, however, to a high-end client base that will be less interested in bottle service or keen to avoid cellphone cameras and the junket scene altogether. Condo owners using a dedicated car turnaround can bypass the hotel lobby completely. Inside the hotel, a sequestered series of suites offers direct and private access to a fourth-floor outpost of Bliss Spa, where detox services will be on the menu alongside the anti-aging mushroom enzyme peel. And hidden discreetly a few steps from the pool deck is a separate series of cabanas -- also designed by Daly Genik -- available for purchase by condo owners, giving them dedicated private space on the rooftop level.

Even as it aims for well-heeled and expense-account business, the project, developed by Legacy Partners of Foster City, Calif., and Gatehouse Capital Corp. of Dallas, is among the largest transit-oriented developments, or TODs, yet completed in Los Angeles. It has provided the Red Line's Hollywood and Vine station with an attractive new yellow-glass canopy, designed by Rios Clementi Hale Studios, which also oversaw the W's skillful landscape design. On the other side of the complex, the apartment block includes 78 units set aside for low-income tenants.

The residential component of the development seems likely to speed the maturation of the surrounding neighborhood, which particularly in the blocks to the south and west is shaking off a seedy reputation to emerge as the one of the more vital, walkable parts of Los Angeles. Along with a number of cafes, restaurants and new residential buildings, the district contains Amoeba Music, the ArcLight and Pantages theaters, the Hotel Cafe and the popular Space 15 Twenty retail complex.

Under the direction of art consultant Tiffiny Lendrum, the W has also put its 1%-for-art budget to unusually ambitious use, commissioning projects for the public areas by Jennifer Steinkamp, Pae White, Christian Moeller and Erwin Redl.

In its ambition and design IQ, the W is a clear step up from the 2001 Hollywood & Highland complex, which pioneered the large-scale TOD concept in this part of Los Angeles. Still, it's a pity that the spirit animating the handful of really ambitious design touches on display couldn't have been extended to cover the whole project. On the exterior, in particular, the HKS architects were visibly hamstrung by the demands of this very tricky site, creating an awkwardly proportioned series of sky bridges, curtain walls, terraces and billboard scaffolding that never coheres as a whole.

What it will mean for the civic fabric of a quickly gentrifying, densifying Hollywood remains to be seen. The W brings together several parts of L.A. culture that typically spin in separate orbits, raising the question of how much these groups will actually interact under the complex's aggressive neon glow. Will junketeering reporters from London newspapers and Chilean TV rub shoulders with commuters, publicists or hotel guests in the lobby bar? Will the condo owners and the apartment tenants find any common ground?

From that point of view, the W Hollywood isn't just an urban-planning experiment for Los Angeles. It's something of a sociological one too.

The W Hollywood Hotel & Residences: An urban complexity
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-w-hotel29-2010jan29,0,1182068.story

Why go home when there's MyHouse?
David Judaken's new 10,000-square-foot lounge has a bedroom, kitchen and hot tub.
The Los Angeles Times
January 09, 2009|Charlie Amter

Friday night in Hollywood, actors and celebutantes instantly recognizable to viewers of TMZ will likely descend upon the intersection of La Brea Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard. Where are they heading? To MyHouse. No, not my one-bedroom apartment (thank God), but David Judaken's new multimillion-dollar lounge dubbed MyHouse.

"There's nothing more appealing to anyone who wants to go out than a good house party," explained Judaken, the club's co-owner, from inside MyHouse earlier this month. "A house party evokes a very different feel than a nightclub," he continued, as he walked through MyHouse's "bedroom," which includes an honest-to-goodness bed and nearby bathtub.

And while the concept of a club modeled after an upscale home is certainly not new (see icrave design's Villa on Melrose Avenue, which feels like a swank Hollywood Hills abode and boasts a faux library), few have taken the concept this far.

Walking into MyHouse, formerly Garden of Eden, is akin to leafing through the pages of Dwell magazine, with slick nickel-scaled ceilings, a dramatic glass-lined staircase, a functional kitchen as one of the venue's bars (the "bar" is a kitchen island), a living room with plush $8,000 Mogul couches, a second-floor bedroom and even a hot tub on the patio.

"It's just perfect," said Judaken of the 10,000-square-foot venue's Minimalist look, which he commissioned Dodd Mitchell (Thompson Beverly Hills) to design. Perfect for luring L.A.'s legions of interior design, that is, which is part of Judaken's plan to attract the top 10% of L.A.'s after-dark players -- the kind of people who may not be affected by the recession.

"People who go out in Los Angeles are increasingly venue-savvy," he said. "If you are going to change the Garden of Eden [where Judaken had a decade-long run], you better wow them. Our audience today is so much more sophisticated than they were four years ago."

According to the 38-year-old, design is an essential component of MyHouse. "It's all about guest retention," he said. "The response I've been getting is exactly what I wanted to achieve. When guests say, 'I've never felt comfortable like this [in a club],' I know they will be back. The trend these days is toward smaller places where you define your quality, what you want from your guests."

So what does Judaken want from his customers, who have in the past had no problem dropping $400 or more on bottle service at some of his other venues such as Opera? For starters, he wants a willingness to spend on luxury.

MyHouse
http://www.myhousehollywood.com/

Things are starting to look up for a revamped Hollywood high-rise (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cursed-tower4-2010mar04,0,139225.story)

Hollywood's tallest tower has shed its bones and skin -- and hopefully its reputation as the most cursed building in town.

The slender 20-story Sunset Vine Tower that was Los Angeles' first modern skyscraper when it opened to international acclaim in 1963 at Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street has been converted into a luxury apartment building that will have its coming-out party Thursday.

The skyscraper has been vacant since late 2001, when an electrical transformer exploded, plunging it into darkness and sending employees of 40 companies with offices there running down stairwells to safety.

Because the electrical meltdown knocked out the building's fire alarm system, city inspectors and fire officials for months barred workers from entering to remove files, office equipment and personal property.

But with the building's tenants locked out, vandals moved in, trashing some offices and stealing files and equipment. Neighbors were soon calling the place "the world's biggest crack house." Authorities ordered the tower fenced off about six months after the explosion.

When tenants were eventually allowed temporary access, the city refused to let them hook up a generator to operate the elevators. Instead, they had to hire professional movers to carry heavy equipment down the stairs. Those with upper-floor offices complained of having to pay as much as $1,200 to have a large copy machine carried down the stairs.

The high-rise's headaches were just starting, however.

The building's owner slid into bankruptcy, stalling repairs to the tower and leaving tenants who suffered damages totaling $2 million in further limbo.

In 2003, the CIM Group, a commercial developer, acquired the padlocked skyscraper and began mapping plans to rehabilitate it. The company eventually decided to gut the building and convert it into residential units.

Workers dismantling rooftop equipment with a cutting torch accidentally set the tower on fire in 2005. Because the elevators were still out of service, firefighters had to carry hundred-pound loads of hose and gear up stairwells to fight the flames. Later, they had to undergo decontamination because of asbestos exposure.

Locals began calling the tower "the condom" after work crews wrapped it in a plastic shroud as they removed asbestos from its interior and untempered exterior glass panels from its sides.

When high winds ripped away part of the plastic and blew through the now skeletonized tower in early 2007 neighbors worried that asbestos particles might be raining down on them. But the carcinogenic fireproofing material had been completely removed three months earlier.

At about the same time, a false report that the unwalled tower appeared to be "leaning" to one side surfaced on the Internet, and controversy erupted over plans to install giant billboards on its sides.

This week, officials with CIM Group described the quartet of nine-story vertical billboards as a necessary financial component of their $70-million investment in the tower. Along with residential rents that will range from $2,500 to $10,000 a month (the penthouse will go for $25,000 a month), three restaurants and a wine bar have leased space on the ground level.

John Given, a principal with the development company, said his firm was confident that it would find tenants willing to pay such rent. Several have already moved in, he said.

The tower's proximity to Hollywood clubs, theaters and restaurants and entertainment industry employers, coupled with its spectacular corner-window views, should help fill it, Given said. "The previous owner had reached such a standoff with the city. We stepped in and tried to clean up the situation. We made a beautiful project on a bad corner," he said.

Ryan Harter, CIM Group's vice president, said the iconic tower -- which was depicted as falling apart in the 1974 disaster movie "Earthquake" -- now has a state-of-the-art fire sprinkler system, a 30,000-gallon emergency water tank and a generator that will keep the elevators running during any future power failure.

The apartment units feature double-pane, floor-to-ceiling windows and loft-like 14-foot ceilings. Stephen Kanner, the Santa Monica architect who was in charge of the redevelopment project, said the residences were designed so that the exterior billboards would not spoil any views.

The advertising is positioned away from the units' corner windows, and Kanner has placed studio-like bedroom areas along the solid walls that are behind signs facing north and south. Stairwells are positioned behind those facing east and west.

"It was an exciting challenge turning such a negative into a positive," Kanner said.

I never knew that it was even closed down. :dunno: But this is great news nonetheless and I'm glad that Hollywood is reviving itself.

Don't remember seeing this posted:

From curbedLA (http://la.curbed.com/)

More Images of Thom Mayne's Emerson College Project
http://la.curbed.com/uploads/2009.09.mayne.jpg

http://la.curbed.com/uploads/2010.02.finaleiremerson.jpg
Some sort of courtyard craziness inside the building


The final environmental impact report for the proposed Emerson College project in Hollywood, architect Thom Mayne's mini-campus at Sunset and Gordon, has been released. The excitement of this report is two-fold: With the days of sexy renderings long gone, the report includes two new images. Both are admittedly sort of meager-looking, but let's take 'em. Secondly, the report includes all the public comments to the city planners, and notably, included in the comment section is a 46-page fax from prominent land use attorney Robert Silverstein. Silverstein is representing East West Studios at 6000 Sunset Blvd, the studio that initially voiced concerns about the 10-story building (well, "concerns" may be putting it mildly; "If it comes down to it, we’ll fight them in court,” Doug Rogers, owner of East-West Studios, said last September.) Silverstein's letter to the city asks more questions about the project, particularly about noise and construction, among other things. Silverstein is the go-to guy for anyone looking to sue over development (and he's been pretty active in Hollywood). Whether all the issues will be worked out or whether this will come to some legal messiness remains to be seen.

http://la.curbed.com/uploads/2010.02.emerson2eir.jpg

http://la.curbed.com/uploads/2010.02.grodonandsunset.jpg

As a reminder, the project is a proposed 10 story mixed use trade school, with 6,400 sf of ground floor retail and four levels of parking in a multi-level parking structure, including three levels of subterranean parking with some parking spaces located at grade level.

I'm not too krazy about this project. It looks like something done with CGI badly.

Way out of scale and context. No thanks.

Personally i think its a great addition to Hollywood... May not have been the best project but its not bad but then again also in mot too crazy for it

Way out of scale and context. No thanks.

In what context do you speak of? And scale? I think it's fine:
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b43/samceb/gordonandsunset.jpg

project would be in the vacant lot on the left.

Agree with Archi: scale is not an issue. Sunset has 10 and 20 story buildings within blocks of this and all of Sunset between Vine and the freeway is prime for multistory redevelopment. The residential area between Hollywood and Sunset is small sfh's, mixed with 2-5 story apartments and is very transitional. This is only 10 stories, which should be allowed on Hollywood, Gower, Sunset and Vine.

Aesthetics are much more subjective. But, since this is surrounded by studios and the Columbia Sq. project and in the middle of the "creative capital of the world" it should aspire to something bold. The current neighborhood style is sort of mid-century eclectic and needs a kick. Some bold student housing in the neighborhood would be another good choice.

In what context do you speak of? And scale? I think it's fine:
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b43/samceb/gordonandsunset.jpg

project would be in the vacant lot on the left.


IMO, this project would be great for the location and totally within scale (it's only 10 freakin' stories high and not some 25 story behemoth) and context.

Not exactly sure if I like the architecture either; It looks like the effects of some haphazard mad scientist experiment and something you would see if the Death Star (Thom Mayne's Caltrans building) had a threesome and was inseminated with both 2000 Avenue of the Stars and Coop Himmelbau's Central Los Angeles Area Art Highschool for the Visual and Performing Arts' DNA. Like Pesto mentioned, aesthetics are subjective. But no one can deny it isn't bold; creative architecture, which is much needed in the area. If Hollywood wants to continue to build on its reputation as the Entertainment/creative film capital, it must demand architecture that pushes the envelope.

What's important is that this thing gets built and isn't delayed, because it will infuse new life into that area and add much needed density. How perfect a location it is (it would be only 5-10 blocks from a metro station) ? Which is perfect for students, so this project doesn't need any more detractors.

...

Hollywood ... must demand architecture that pushes the envelope.

...

Bravo! :applause:

Way out of scale and context. No thanks.

I'm with "westy" on this one. Hollywood is not only an entertainment district but it's a real neighborhood as well. It's like what Lady Gaga said to Barbara Walters, "I'm not only an entertainer I'm also a daughter and a sister". That's sort of how I feel about Hollywood.

on a scale from 1-10 maybe an 8 which still isnt bad and i do agree on the fact that it will stand out very nicely and anything good to fill in that empty lot :)

I'm with "westy" on this one. Hollywood is not only an entertainment district but it's a real neighborhood as well. It's like what Lady Gaga said to Barbara Walters, "I'm not only an entertainer I'm also a daughter and a sister". That's sort of how I feel about Hollywood.

And a "real" neighborhood is completely subjective. At least on a block to block scale. From a personal perspective, I would much rather walk next to something like this than something like the Grove.

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kyfednV4K61qzhk5no1_500.jpg

Cooper Union?

...jus' sayin'

so, are you saying they both deconstruct the idea of a monolith? or are you more detail oriented?

or something to do with scale in NY and scale in East Hollywood?

or is this more of a Boston, NY, LA thing?

lots of room for discussion here.

btw, I like both buildings.

Both designed by Thom Mayne.

..."jus' sayin'"

That's just a fact. I assume that something MORE than just that was implied.

You know, I'm not a big fan of building a conventional building and putting an exotic mesh skin job over it. The courtyard at the Hollywood project is going to be small and tired in a few years- the upper exterior will look dated and still be there years from now. The other building seems like it's already been through an earthquake! Jus sayin' ...

Bravo! :applause:

As much as I love progressive architecture, I don't like it at all. A weird fusion of Le Grand Arche and just nonsense.

^^ And that's what makes architecture, "good" architecture. At least in my opinion, it's meant to conjure up feelings, good or bad.

And I'm sure if you read up a little on Morphosis, you'll understand that the central area FAR from equates to nonsense. However, I'm glad you don't like it. And I mean that in a good way. :D

^^ And that's what makes architecture, "good" architecture. At least in my opinion, it's meant to conjure up feelings, good or bad.

And I'm sure if you read up a little on Morphosis, you'll understand that the central area FAR from equates to nonsense. However, I'm glad you don't like it. And I mean that in a good way. :D

By nonsense I mean all those architecture elements such as the broken glass cube that seems to be floating inside the outer cube. I'm sure I'll change my opinion if and when this is built (probably because it isn't a very good rendering to begin with) but right now, not a fan of it.

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2010-03/52810267.jpg

NIGHT LIFE: Drai's at the W Hollywood
Victor Drai's new club brings Sin City style to Tinseltown. Can it sustain the allure?
By Jessica Gelt
The Los Angeles Times
March 19, 2010

"If this place is so hard to get into, then what's he doing here?" asked 28-year-old Alex Van de Camp, gesturing to an overweight man standing just behind him on the front patio of Drai's, the white-hot new nightclub on the rooftop of the W Hollywood Hotel.

Van de Camp's two friends laughed uncomfortably. He had verbalized what generally remains unspoken in Hollywood: the Darwinian nature of the velvet rope. In this case, the strong and beautiful get into Drai's and the weak go to less-discriminating Sunset Strip bars like Saddle Ranch.

Opened earlier this month by Las Vegas night-life baron Victor Drai and partners Cy and Jesse Waits, Drai's covers more than 20,000 square feet and has a capacity of nearly 800. That doesn't make it a mega club by Vegas standards, but its arrival makes official a trend that has been evolving for several years now: Hollywood's embrace of over-the-top Vegas-style night life.

Drai's is just a short hike east on Hollywood Boulevard from three other large-scale nightclubs: the 38,000-square-foot Kress, the 33,000-square-foot Avalon / Bardot and the 13,000-square-foot Playhouse. It'll take an awful lot of skinny, pretty people to fill all that space. But Drai isn't worried.

"We already turn down two or three thousand people a night," said the 62-year-old French entrepreneur, who was once a Hollywood film producer and counts "The Woman in Red" and "Weekend at Bernie's" among his credits. "I think we can keep that volume up; I keep it up in Vegas."

But -- despite aspirations to the contrary -- Hollywood is not Las Vegas. For starters, you can't tote your plastic Eiffel Tower-shaped cup of fruity booze down the street with you, nor can you drink it in a club past 2 a.m. You also can't win $10,000 at blackjack and spend the rest of your night ordering $500 bottles of vodka for the wispy waifs you picked up at the topless pool at Caesars Palace.

This doesn't bother Drai either because Hollywood, like Vegas, is full of out-of-town visitors. Aspiring party people from all over Southern California flock to Tinseltown on the weekends hoping for a celebrity sighting or a taste of the glam life they see on "Entourage" and "The Hills."

These same people know and trust the Drai's brand, said co-owner Jesse Waits. "Forty percent of our market in Las Vegas is from Southern California," he said of the trio's Sin City holdings -- Drai's After Hours at Bill's Gamblin' Hall, Tryst at Wynn Las Vegas and XS at Encore. "It's a huge piece of our business."

But Hollywood is fickle, and the long line of perfectly coiffed aspirants waiting impatiently for the affirmative nod of a stoic doorman and a personal escort to an elevator that will soar them skyward to Drai's inner sanctum and its $65 carafes of sweet coco margaritas could very well head to the next hot opening a few months from now.

That's why pumping a staggering $15 million into building Drai's was a gamble worthy of a man known as one of the high rollers of Las Vegas night life. The uncertainty of the odds will only make the taste of victory sweeter, and Drai is betting that he can make Drai's last.

"There's no place as beautiful as mine in the city," he said of his club, which features a series of connected, plush, silver-and-gold banquettes -- Drai and others like to walk along the top of them to get to other booths. The room is decked out in tall, mirrored columns around which paid dancers in tiny, bottom-baring outfits writhe and pout; a custom DJ booth framed in smooth wood; a rollicking dance floor; a poolside bar; and luxe Moroccan-style cabanas and daybeds.

There is also a restaurant -- a polished French and Mediterranean steakhouse helmed by former Ma Maison chef Claude Segal -- that serves lunch and dinner before the club fires up at 10 p.m.

Drai's celebrated its grand opening just a few days ago, but it soft-opened a few weeks back. E! hosted its Oscar party there and the space provided the picture-perfect backdrop for a packed scene of glitz, glamour and semi-absurdity (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who played the adorably awkward McLovin in "Superbad," was spotted hanging out with Audrina Patridge from "The Hills," while Crispin Glover stood nearby, alone and texting).

The following weekend saw the stampede of business that brought the faithful as well as the skeptical, like young Van de Camp. "The best places in Hollywood are the smallest places," said Van de Camp. "They should model their clubs after SBE and Hyde. When you get in, you feel important."

"Let's go to Hyde then," said his friend, 26-year-old Spencer Shreber.

"No, I can't get in," said Van de Camp.

As far as Drai is concerned, only the right people get into his club too -- just more of them.

"Twenty-five-thousand people from all over the world come to my clubs every week in Vegas alone," he said. "And now they're coming to L.A.," where "you have 200,000 girls who want to be around guys with money. It's that simple."

Drai's at the W Hollywood
Where: 6250 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles
When: 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Wednesdays through Sundays
Price: Cocktails $10 to $15; cover $20 without table reservation
Contact: (323) 962-1111, www.draishollywood.com

Well, that was a good read

Filming in L.A. jumps 25% in first quarter
By Richard Verrier
The Los Angeles Times
March 31, 2010

A robust TV pilot season, a substantially improved climate for shooting commercials and the state's new film incentive helped deliver a modicum of good news to Los Angeles' beleaguered production economy in the first quarter.

Overall on-location filming activity for feature films, television and commercials jumped 25% during the first three months of 2010 compared with the same period last year, according to data from FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit group that handles permits for on-location filming for L.A. and unincorporated areas of the county.

"The level of production has exceeded our expectations this quarter," said Todd Lindgren, spokesman for FilmL.A. "We're starting to see commercials swing up, more of the state incentive productions out on the streets of L.A., and a better pilot season than we had forecast."

The upturn is welcome news to tens of thousands of workers who work behind the scenes on film sets and who've been hard hit by a production downturn over the last two years caused by labor unrest, recession and the migration of work outside of California. On-location production last year posted its steepest annual decline since tracking began in 1993.

Although on-location shoots remain well below the levels of 2007, there were notable signs of improvement across all categories in the first quarter.

Leading the way were commercials, which saw about a 60% increase in production days this quarter over the same period a year ago. A production day is defined as a single crew's permission to film at a single location over a 24-hour period.

Economic recovery and a greater willingness among advertisers to spend money brought a flurry of shoots to L.A. locations for such clients as Chevy Trucks, Subaru, AT&T, Best Buy and Miller Light, FilmL.A. said.

On-location shoots for television rose 19%, reflecting a much-improved pilot season over last year, when the major TV studios reduced spending and limited on-location shoots of locally based dramas like "NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

About 30 pilots are shooting around L.A., which has been steadily losing market share to other states and to Canadian cities Vancouver and Toronto. Those include NBC's remake of the 1970s TV series "The Rockford Files," starring Dermot Mulroney and Beau Bridges; and a Fox TV comedy "Traffic Light," featuring David Denman and Alexandra Breckenridge.

Feature production, the hardest hit by so-called runaway production, posted a 6% gain in activity in the quarter. But the sector would have been harder hit had it not been for the state's film tax credits, which took effect last year, Lindgren said. At least a dozen features approved under the program have been shooting locally, including an independent crime comedy, "The Last Godfather," starring Harvey Keitel, and the Screen Gems drama "Burlesque," starring Cher.

"There is no question the incentive is putting productions on the street that would not otherwise have been in the state," Lindgren said. "They are employing crews and spending money in the local economy."

^^ Beat me to it! You know, I don't care if the city isn't "showcased" anymore, I just want to see the work done here. I don't understand how it's cheaper elsewhere. If the incentives are working then maybe they can figure out how much it will take to keep business here. I was watching the beginning of E.T. tonight (would have completely ruined Dee Wallace) and there was no mention of Los Angeles anywhere in that movie. Let other locales whore themselves out. . http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/album%202/Fullscreencapture3312010120237AMbmp.jpg

^^ Beat me to it! You know, I don't care if the city isn't "showcased" anymore, I just want to see the work done here. I don't understand how it's cheaper elsewhere. If the incentives are working then maybe they can figure out how much it will take to keep business here. I was watching the beginning of E.T. tonight (would have completely ruined Dee Wallace) and there was no mention of Los Angeles anywhere in that movie. Let other locales whore themselves out. . http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/album%202/Fullscreencapture3312010120237AMbmp.jpg

I just posted this. :lol:

Mayor Villaraigosa Helps Launch 'Visit Hollywood 2010'
(http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mayor-villaraigosa-helps-launch-visit-hollywood-2010-89697222.html)
LOS ANGELES, April 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, joined City Council President Eric Garcetti, City Councilmember Tom LaBonge and leaders of the Hollywood hospitality and tourism industries, and launched the new "Visit Hollywood 2010" program today, celebrating landmark anniversaries, the opening of new attractions, the introduction of new and remodeled hotels and the introduction of two new websites offering discounts and special offers to visitors, all kicking off with this evening's Hollywood Chamber of Commerce "Visit Hollywood Expo" at the Hilton Los Angeles at Universal City.

"Hollywood is one of L.A.'s great gems and for generations it has been a magnet for visitors from all over the world,'' said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "With the recent resurgence of this timeless locale, there has never been a better time to visit Los Angeles and experience all the attractions Hollywood has to offer.''

"With the addition of the new W Hotel, Madame Tussauds, and so much more, now is the perfect time to visit Hollywood," said Council President Eric Garcetti, who represents parts of Hollywood. "There's something for people of all ages here, and we invite everyone to come check it out."

Hollywood's attractions, hotels and restaurants, supported by LA INC., the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, have joined to celebrate a year of "Visit Hollywood 2010," coinciding with the 50th Anniversary of the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, the 75th Anniversary of Starline Tours, the recent opening of Madame Tussauds Hollywood, the 25th Anniversary of the music world's landmark, Rock Walk, and the introduction of the world's largest 3-D experience, the new "King Kong 360 3-D" Created by Peter Jackson attraction and the reopening of new sets and film locations on Universal's backlot. The "Visit Hollywood 2010" program features many Hollywood businesses that will be offering special discounts throughout the year. Vacation information, discounts and travel packages are available on two websites, www.ExperienceHollywood.com and the official visitors information website of Los Angeles at www.discoverLosAngeles.com

As the Hollywood Walk of Fame celebrates its 50th anniversary, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has plans for a yearlong series of celebrations. The idea of creating the Walk of Fame was first conceived in 1953 and seven years later construction began on February 8, 1960. Today it is recognized around the world as a monument to the entertainment industry and draws scores of visitors each year who walk the Walk, taking photos of their favorite stars. Installation ceremonies offer visitors an opportunity to see the entertainment world's most famous personalities in person.

This summer at Universal Studios Hollywood hearts will pound and survival instincts will go into overload as visitors are caught in the middle of a terrifying struggle between a giant T-Rex and the 8th wonder of the world – King Kong. "King Kong 360 3-D" Created by Peter Jackson is the largest, most intense 3-D experience on the planet. Coupled with the re-imagined Universal backlot, featuring new and newly reconstructed sets for a new generation of moviemakers, the studio tour is now in high definition and offers a once-in-a-lifetime entertainment experience.

Since 1935, Starline Tours has been providing the original sightseeing tours of Hollywood and Los Angeles. The Movie Stars Homes Tour and the Grand Tour of Los Angeles are best-sellers, followed by the Universal Studios Tour and the new hop-on, hop-off Double Decker fun tour which allows guests to conveniently explore Hollywood without the encumbrance of a car.
Madame Tussauds Hollywood will unveil a series of new celebrity figures in 2010 and brings you face to face with more than 120 celebrity lifelike wax figures on replica backdrops of Hollywood's most iconic films - from the Silver Screen to the Golden era, Crime to Westerns, Action Legends to Super Heroes. This Hollywood hotspot is the only attraction where you can get up close and personal, not only touching, but also taking souvenir pictures with your favorite stars. Situated next to Grauman's Theatre, it is the ultimate celebrity experience.

Founded in 1985, The Guitar Center Hollywood's RockWalk was created to honor the legends of the music world who have made a lasting and important contribution to music.

The Kodak Theatre, which opened in 2001 on Hollywood Boulevard at Highland Avenue, where the historic Hollywood Hotel once stood, is now home of the Oscars®.

Another significant milestone is the 70th anniversary of the Hollywood Palladium, which first opened October 31, 1940 with a concert by Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. The landmark theater recently re-opened following an extensive, multi-million dollar renovation and again serves as a center of Hollywood's vibrant nightlife.

Offering opulent accommodations befitting Tinseltown's mystique is the all-new W Hollywood Hotel, which adds 305 luxurious rooms to Hollywood's line-up of all-star hotels. The glamour and excitement of the world's movie making capital comes to life at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel & Spa, while the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel captures all the charm of yesteryear coupled with all the fabulous comforts of today. The Universal Sheraton, once home to Telly Savalas, still lives up to its moniker as the "Hotel of the Stars," while the neighboring Universal Hilton offers spectacular views of the storied Hollywood Hills. Finally, the Hollywood Heights Hotel boasts a contemporary yet casual vibe, where signature touches and an independent spirit caters to individuality.

The Pantages Theater, located steps from the fairytale intersection of Hollywood & Vine, turns 80 years old in 2010. First opened as part of the Fox Theatre chain, the beloved landmark now plays host to award-winning Broadway hits and serves as a favorite shooting location for television shows, movies and music videos.

Numerous fashionable bars, clubs, and popular retail businesses have opened in the area, returning Hollywood to its place as the center of nightlife in Los Angeles.

Hard Rock Cafe on Hollywood Boulevard, scheduled to open Summer 2010, will be a state-of-the-art facility encompassing more than 20,000 square feet of premier dining and live concert space.

At nearby Universal CityWalk, Los Angeles' premiere outdoor shopping and restaurant promenade adjacent to Universal Studios Hollywood, film and former "Saturday Night Live" star Jon Lovitz opened a new comedy club, with many of his famous friends occasionally stopping by to try out new material.

Signs of Hollywood's renaissance are everywhere. Many older Hollywood buildings have been converted to lofts and condominiums and visitors to Hollywood will feel they're in the midst of a bustling, creative community.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce's mission is to promote and enhance the business, cultural and civic well-being of Hollywood. The membership consists of owners, managers, presidents and other key representatives from a spectrum of businesses and organizations around the Hollywood community.

LA INC. The Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau is a private, non-profit business association whose primary mission is to market and promote Los Angeles as the premier site for leisure travel, meetings and conventions. Though not part of city government, LA INC. is recognized as the city's official tourism marketing organization.

We can only go up from here. All of that stuff with the coming of Cirque du Soleil next year, the revival and redevelopment of the nearby Sunset Strip and the constant opening of new stores on Melrose Ave. will keep people flocking to Hollywood for the foreseeable future. :cheers:

VZN: let's drink to one of the miracles of our time! It's a good time to focus media on the area because now there's plenty to show off. And they don't even mention the clubs and restaurants, old time bars and hangouts, tourist traps, shopping (mainstream and edgy), Amoeba, etc.

To me the best part is seeing families with baby strollers going by the lines at the clubs or groups of young guys hanging out, with no concern at all about safety.

^^ :cheers:

I can't wait for DTLA's 'full' revival. Broadway, Grand Ave., the streetcar... it's going to be something to behold.

A Hollywood Streetcar would be fantastic as well!

And this:
101 Freeway Park Proposal Ramping Up
http://www.labusinessjournal.com/article.asp?aID=146154

good idea; fun for the tourists and could actually help locals link to Farmer's Market, Beverly Center and around town. A nice complement to the Pink Line which will mostly follow SM and La Cienega (if and when).

Could even be ammunition to use against NIMBY's who object to new buildings in Hollywood and the westside since there is no transportation available.

A Hollywood Streetcar would be fantastic as well!

And this:
101 Freeway Park Proposal Ramping Up
http://www.labusinessjournal.com/article.asp?aID=146154


^^
Is it just me or does that link not work, Klams?

This the article? ===========>http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2010/apr/05/101-freeway-park-proposal-ramping/

didnt work for me neither ..

Sorry bout that.....

We All Make mistakes :)

Hooray for Hollywood!
Danish architect envisions the iconic sign transformed into a hotel
By Susan Abram, Staff Writer
Updated: 04/12/2010 09:03:03 PM PDT


http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site200/2010/0412/20100412__0L0S8REL.jpg

Picture it: Hollywood 2010.

The iconic Hollywood sign is in danger of being obstructed by hulking mansions.

There's fear that future generations will point toward Mount Lee and ask: Mommy, why can I only see the letters "OO" on the hill?

If the demise of the view of the Hollywood sign were a movie, then Danish architect Christian Bay-Jorgensen is among the hopefuls auditioning to be the swashbuckling hero.

His plan: Transform the sign itself into a hotel, each giant letter hosting guests marveling at the sweeping views of the Los Angeles basin.

The hotel-letters would be about twice the size of the current 45-foot tall sign, and include amenities such as an observation deck.

The ultimate goal, he says, would be to preserve an internationally recognized landmark while helping the city generate badly needed funding.

"I'm a fan of the Hollywood sign and the unused spaces of America," Bay-Jorgensen, a Denmark-based architect, said Monday after visiting Los Angeles. "It could be interesting to make it a center for such events as the Golden Globes and Oscars. This could be the future of the sign."

But those who watch over the sign's legacy say ideas like his have come and gone over the years like first-draft screenplays in a studio mailroom. They've been pitched ideas from casting bright lights on the letters to running trams up Mount Lee.
But in this city, folks have a saying: The Hollywood sign is the Hollywood sign and shall always remain so.

"That three-dimensional hotel makes a good story, though it's not going to happen," said Chris Baumgart, chairman of the Hollywood Sign Trust, the group in charge of repairing, maintaining, refurbishing and raising funds to preserve the sign.

Each time the sign is threatened or in the news, someone just happens to come up with a sure-fire way to save it while bringing themselves quick fame, Baumgart said.

"We're always intrigued, amused by people's creativity."

"Let's not forget, this is Hollywood."

While the landmark sign itself is owned by the city of Los Angeles, the rugged area in back and to the left of the sign is privately held and investors had planned to sell the land for $22 million to real estate developers, who in turn wanted to build mansions.

The Chicago investors later agreed to sell the land to the city for $12.5 million. Los Angeles Councilman Tom LaBonge and the Trust for Public Land have worked since February to raise the money to secure the 138-acre parcel to the west of the Hollywood sign called Cahuenga Peak.

On Wednesday, the Trust, a national land conservation organization, and LaBonge are expected to announce if the goal has been met.

Neighbors and those involved with the sign are confident that the Trust for Public Land has succeeded in raising the funds.

"We're not only hopeful, we're expecting it," Baumgart said.

"We're hoping for the best," agreed Leron Gubler, president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which owns the rights to the sign's image.

"I have confidence in the Trust for Public Land," he said.

Gubler said many people have come to his office with proposals to cast the Hollywood sign in a larger-than-life role.

"We get plenty of ideas, but not one quite like that one," Gubler said of Bay-Jorgensen's plans. "I told him I'd like to be open-minded, but I told him that was too far fetched.

"The Hollywood sign is not just a sign. It's the most famous sign in the world."

On Saturday, local residents held a fundraiser and gathered $10,000 to help save the Cahuenga Peak.

Cara Rule, who sits on the board of directors for the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council, said she's heard all those ideas too.

"It's not going to happen," Rule said bluntly of Bay-Jorgensen's plan.

At 28, Bay-Jorgensen is a novice architect hoping to make his first big splash in the industry with the sign proposal.

But he also knows that even in Los Angeles, where buildings and people alike are as used to facelifts as they are to sunshine, the Hollywood sign remains sacred.

"I know people are scared," he said. "I know they are afraid this idea will turn it into Disneyland."

But when tourists from other countries come to see the sign, they imagine a majestic structure. Instead, they see "plywood and white paint."

"This area should be more public," he said. "I think this could be something that could improve the experience of the LA resident, to let them see the sign in a new way."

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site200/2010/0412/20100412__0L0S8SUL_GALLERY.jpg http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site200/2010/0412/20100412__0L0S8SKL_GALLERY.jpg http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site200/2010/0412/20100412__0L0S8S9L_GALLERY.jpg

:ohno: unique idea but i have to disagree. The Hollywood Sign is originall and a Historical and Very Famous Landmark We Cant Just Take it Away like that its like taking the Santa Monica Pier With the Fair out Of SantaMonica or the Empire State Building Out of NY.... Hell No

no way

It's amazing how much attention this guy is getting for a proposal that is beyond absurd. You can't even light the sign let alone turn it into a hotel.

It does make me think tho, that the W missed out on a huge opportunity to turn itself into an iconic landmark. People come to hollywood looking to take pictures of something. HoHi was smart enough to build that elephant arch and frame the hollywood sign. But the W is about as bland as architecture gets. The hotel/apartments are really nothing more than platforms for billboards. Can you imagine if they had topped the building with something more iconic?

Nonononononononononononononnonononononono
Hollywood sign will loose all meaning to me and probably millions of others too if they turn it into some sort of building like that.

Milq! See? Burbank isn't too "farmland" as you desired
( you can see Burbank behind the hill )

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site200/2010/0412/20100412__0L0S8REL.jpg

Theres only one thing I agree with the article.
That the sign should be "more accesable" to tourist and locals.
Cuz everyone is ready for there close ups.

From Curbed L.A:

http://cstatic.net/cache/gallery/4064/4541007887_30b1dbb916_o.jpg

http://cstatic.net/cache/gallery/4044/4541640734_81390c1c19_o.jpg

http://cstatic.net/cache/gallery/4021/4541640908_fec9f4082e_o.jpg

http://cstatic.net/cache/gallery/4015/4541007801_7b87742053_o.jpg

http://cstatic.net/cache/gallery/4006/4541641240_902c86f11a_o.jpg

Eyjafjallajökull's ash must be laced with a mutant strain of Hollywood Sign Extreme Makeover Fever, because there's a bad case going around northern Europe lately (and we love it). Last week a Dane showed off plans to build the sign out into a hotel, and now a group of Dutch-Belgian architects have come up with about the swankest underground bunker ever. For starters, they propose building an arcade and park underneath the sign.

In an email, they write "Why not create a program that provides for various activities on a specific theme: a location for the Oscar Ceremony in a polyvalent theater, a hotel, a film museum, a scenographic park with a panoramic view at the city (for reference: Park Guell by Gaudi in Barcelona), a trendy bar & restaurant, a conference room, a casino, etc...In this strip, mostly embedded in the mountain, all kinds of functions can be integrated. The space that emerges on top of this strip will serve as a public area like a square or park...The strip is designed in such a way that the existing letters will remain visible from all viewpoints in their original form and presence." The architects involved are Bart de Lege, Jan Bloemen, Frederique Hermans, Joep Verheijen, and Steven van Esser.

I was vehemently opposed to the hotel idea... but I actually like this idea. This will make the sign much more accessible to people while maintaining it's original form.

All that's needed now is to light it up at night and I'm happy.

Too bad either of these have no chance of actually happening...

^^ That would be way way better and I would support it.

Just light the shit up and leave it alone.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2010/06/set72157624066728223_stylefontsize_9px_textalign_centerclick.php

Curbed has new renderings of the Emerson College Building on Sunset. The aesthetics are always debatable but I notice that the comments at curbed are phrased as if this were dropping the WTC into a quiet suburb. In fact, the neighborhood is hardly a neighborhood at all, but a mixture of small sfh’s, older apartments and newer multi-story apartments. There are 10 to 20 story buildings around or proposed. There is light industrial mixed in, strip malls and transient housing.

Given the proximity to Hollywood, the 101 and Red Line, along with the already existing fact of transition, it’s hard to imagine a place where new architecture and a new arts education institution would be less injurious to existing conditions or more appropriate for the potential of the neighborhood. I would hope there will be 10 more medium-rises along Sunset, Hollywood and side streets 10 years from now along with 20 more 3 to 5 story apartments on the side streets.

My guess is that these comments are not even from NIMBY’s, that is, from people who live in the neighborhood. It’s just pulling out knee-jerk criticism for the sake of hearing yourself talk.

^ Meh, I say just build it. That whole area could use something like this.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2010/06/set72157624066728223_stylefontsize_9px_textalign_centerclick.php

Curbed has new renderings of the Emerson College Building on Sunset. The aesthetics are always debatable but I notice that the comments at curbed are phrased as if this were dropping the WTC into a quiet suburb. In fact, the neighborhood is hardly a neighborhood at all, but a mixture of small sfh’s, older apartments and newer multi-story apartments. There are 10 to 20 story buildings around or proposed. There is light industrial mixed in, strip malls and transient housing.

Given the proximity to Hollywood, the 101 and Red Line, along with the already existing fact of transition, it’s hard to imagine a place where new architecture and a new arts education institution would be less injurious to existing conditions or more appropriate for the potential of the neighborhood. I would hope there will be 10 more medium-rises along Sunset, Hollywood and side streets 10 years from now along with 20 more 3 to 5 story apartments on the side streets.

My guess is that these comments are not even from NIMBY’s, that is, from people who live in the neighborhood. It’s just pulling out knee-jerk criticism for the sake of hearing yourself talk.



I agree, especially coming from that 'Woolsey' character.

Anyway, I liked your comments on curbed. :cheers:

^ It's mostly idiots at Curbed LA -- Woolsey is one of them. I don't ever bother reading the comments.

I hadn't either for some time but made the mistake of looking at this one.

I always think of myself as cynical but when it comes to LA I'm practically a cheerleader for let's get out and do some deals and get the job done. Standards about no high-rises in quiet neighborhoods or no off-beat construction in architecturally consistent neighborhoods, but you don't have to treat every proposal like the death of the city.

Curbed reports that the Columbia Sq. project at Sunset and Gower is going through more approvals (but no time set for starting building). This ties in with the Emerson College project since it's only a couple of blocks away and will be over 20 stories (proposed at 28 but I am guessing it will get cut). One more reason why it makes little sense to say the Emerson building is too big for the neighborhood.

Hollywood's Madrone Gets Loan, Finally Restarting Construction!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010, by Dakota

http://i50.tinypic.com/t646sw.jpg



And it's back on--and officially this time. Highlighting the difficulties of getting financing in this market, a construction loan was finalized this week for the Madrone, that 180-unit half-finished building at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. Formerly owned by John Laing Urban, the project sold at a trustee sale last August to Resmark Equity Partners, a local real estate investment firm. But then it took a while to hammer out the loan on the condo project. Susan Wilson, Senior Vice President, Investment Underwriting at Resmark notes in an email this morning that the the ownership LLC recorded a construction loan with US Bank on Monday June 7, 2010.

Construction has officially started as of June 8th.>>>
"Construction has officially recommenced as of June 8, 2010 with the first tasks at hand to clean up the site, take down the old scaffolding, and get the needed subcontractors out on the site," she writes. Meanwhile, we're told George Smith Partners, a real estate investment banking firm, handled the loan. Additionally, the project will be renamed and rebranded--anyone want to take a stab at naming this building? UPDATE: While the project will be built as condos, the building will be a rental until the market improves, according to Wilson.
· It's Back, Baby [Curbed LA]

NEW PROJECT FOR SUNSET ON WEST HOLLYWOOD!
http://i54.tinypic.com/2bcglj.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/v8irs7.jpg



Now this is interesting. You're looking at a proposed eight-story building at 8497 and 8499 Sunset Blvd, a Hodgetts + Fung-designed 34-condo project that straddles West Hollywood and Los Angeles. The Park La Brea News has been covering the project, which would knock down an existing 31-unit housing complex and put up the condos plus 9,200 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Boy, West Hollywood likes to knock down things and put up new, shiny buildings. Oh wait, this is LA, too.

WeHo residents speaketh, LA resident speaketh. And another rendering.>>>
Score card so far: Some West Hollywood residents are up in arms given their estimations of--what else? increased traffic--in front of the building, which is located at La Cienega Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard and Miller Drive.

Aside from some West Hollywood residents having issues, the paper reports that depending on the type of appeals filed by those fighting it, LA City Councilmember Paul Koretz, "wants the City of Los Angeles to push for jurisdiction over it because the changes directly affect community members in the area."

Meanwhile, the WeHo News also has been covering the appeals. Here's an LA resident who isn't a fan: "LA neighbor John Ferraro of Miller Place just above the development site, spoke out against the project at the hearing and to media organizations on behalf of his 30-neighbor coalition. As often happens, Los Angeles residents failed to hear of the proceedings surrounding the project’s development application; apparently city mailings of public notices exclude them."

The building being developed by Karma Development, LLC, which is really Frank Damavandi, according to the Park La Brea News. The developer is hoping to start construction next fall.
CURBED LA

Damn that looks awesome.

^^^
Definitely more appealing than what's currently at that location.

very nice; WeHo has been looking shabbier and shabbier and considering its trendy, arts industries residents it has been a real architectural backwater. The Strip finally looks like its becoming interested in something after the 1960's. The WeHo council even seems to be reasonably flexible these days.

This doesn't even look likely to create much more traffic. But traffic is a legit concern in that area.

http://www.watg.com/uploads/images/portfolio_96280C4C-3048-78A8-DB01C0CC9907044A.jpg
West Hollywood's House of Blues isn't going anywhere -- for now
The Los Angeles Times
September 10, 2010 | 5:47 pm

A proposed hotel/condominium project has cast some doubt over the future of West Hollywood's House of Blues outpost, but operators of the Live Nation-owned Sunset Strip club intend to stay in the neighborhood. If a wrecking ball ultimately hits the 1,000-capacity venue, don't expect it to strike in the near future. The club has a lease until 2012, and any demolition would not occur until the potentially lengthy process of securing financing and permits has been completed.

The West Hollywood City Council voted 4-1 this week in favor of moving forward on the development of a project dubbed "Sunset Time," which, according to a release from the city, will include a "boutique hotel, condominium units, a live entertainment venue and other commercial uses." The House of Blues has an option to renew its lease in 2012 for an additional 13 years, until 2025.

Reached by phone, House of Blues general manager Marcus Nicolaidis read the company's official statement: "We have a lease, which with renewals rights, goes through 2025, and we plan on continuing our operations at the venue and look forward to being a continued part of the West Hollywood community."

A news release from the city of West Hollywood indicates that the House of Blues could still be a part of the planned development, which is to include 149 hotel rooms and 40 condos. "The City’s hope is to either retain the House of Blues at its current location or another location within the City of West Hollywood," reads the statement.

The Sunset Strip has of late been attempting to rebrand itself as a music destination. Since the decline in popularity of L.A.'s metal scene in the late '80s, the Strip has been seen more as a tourist stop rather than a place for up-and-coming bands, which have migrated to clubs in Silver Lake and Echo Park.

"I personally don’t think the House of Blues is going anywhere. We have spent the last four or five years finding ourselves and getting our music scene back on track," said Roxy owner Nic Adler, the man leading the charge in changing the Strip's reputation.

Adler has been working to foster a sense of community between clubs and helped create the Sunset Strip Music Festival, which just celebrated its third year with performances by the Smashing Pumpkins, Common and Kid Cudi, among others. Adler describes the House of Blues as a "cornerstone" of the West Hollywood's music scene, and said the local "business community understands its relevance."

"If we were all hotels, we’d have a lot of hotel beds but nowhere for people to go," Adler said. "We always need to make sure we balance the entertainment options and music options. We need some new stuff on the Strip. We have an amazing history, but we need to constantly reintroduce people to the Strip. We need some different projects up here that will draw people. But that [space] is contingent on having a music venue space in it."

The city's approval of the project allows for construction to begin anytime in the next 10 years. "The property owner may now seek financing and begin to explore operators for the property," continued the statement from the city. "No demolition of existing buildings will occur until construction financing is secure and building permits have been issued, a process that is estimated to take at least one year and potentially longer."

Nicolaidis refused to comment beyond reading the statement from the House of Blues, but Adler is adamant that the House of Blues isn't leaving the Strip, which recently underwent a cosmetic face-lift. But if the House of Blues' days are indeed numbered, indications are that it won't go down without a fight.

"If that project does go through, there has to be a significant music/entertainment portion," Adler said. "It’s not easy just to start a new place and put new music in. To replace something as iconic as the House of Blues would be a feat. I know council wants to show that they are pro new business to the Strip, I also know they know the value of House of Blues.

"If it’s not the House of Blues or better," Adler continued, "and if it’s not something that is a real music venue, I don’t think it’s going to have the support of the business community. We need to be adding and enhancing to the music of the Strip right now and not taking venues away."

--Todd Martens


Read More: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/09/west-hollywoods-house-of-blues-isnt-going-anywhere-for-now.html

Proposed new buildings on Sunset

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2010/09/the_owner_of_the_historic.php

It seems like Sunset is going to get something sooner or later if these development plans keep getting proposed. Obviously someone believes there is some demand in this area.

y_ExEdO1l1s
Taylor Swift - BEST HD CLOSEUP - Hollywood and Highland - Long Live - 10.29.10

Kobe Bryant to become first athlete with hand, footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre
-- Mark Medina
Los Angeles Times
January 20, 2011 | 1:55 pm

As if he doesn't have enough accomplishments as a five-time NBA champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP, a Beijing Olympic gold medalist and the Lakers' all-time leading scorer, Kobe Bryant will become the first athlete to have his hand and foot imprinted at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

The ceremony will take place Feb. 19 as part of the festivities surrounding NBA All-Star weekend, preceding a gala thrown by Bryant that is expected to include at least 1,200 guests. This isn't the first time Bryant's made his presence on Hollywood Boulevard. Madame Tussauds has a wax statue of the star.

"To be a part of such elite company is a tremendous honor. I’m proud to be the first athlete to be recognized," Bryant said in a statement.



Read More: http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2011/01/kobe-bryant-to-have-hand-and-footprint-ceremony-at-graumans-chinese-theater-during-nba-all-star-week.html

W Hotel / Condos - Breaking Ground in Mid - Feb 2007

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/W.jpg

Legacy Apartments

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/HollywoodandVine.jpg

BLVD6200 - Next to Pantages

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/ned4.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/ned6.jpg

Camden Apartments - Includes a Whole Foods

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/WholeFoods.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/Vine.jpg

Argyle and Yucca

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/hollywood2.jpg

The Hollywood

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/thehollywood.jpg

Sunset & Vine - Rehab, Almost Done

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/Sunset__Vine_Tower_lg3.jpg

Old KFWB Site

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/KFWB.jpg

Yucca and Argyle area

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/hollywood2-1.jpg

Equitable Building Conversion

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/Equitable.jpg

Broadway Building Conversion

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/Broadway.jpg

Madrone Hollywood

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/madrone1.jpg

Madame Tussauds

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/mth.jpg

Hollywood and Vine area Areal pic

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a278/Imyurdada/HollyVineAerial.jpg
hollywood rerally takes my breath away!

y_ExEdO1l1s
Taylor Swift - BEST HD CLOSEUP - Hollywood and Highland - Long Live - 10.29.10

she's coming to Manila on Valentine's Day

It seems like Sunset is going to get something sooner or later if these development plans keep getting proposed. Obviously someone believes there is some demand in this area.
I hope so too, can't wait to see the new buildings here

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgw9jfOXJE1qa2ol0o1_500.jpg

There will be a new Cirque du Soleil show called Iris in the Kodak Theater, themed to the movies, starting in July and remaining for ten years. I think it's a great entertainment option for both tourists and locals and will nicely complement nearby offerings at El Cap (film) and Pantages (broadway). IMO Hollywood Blvd itself is still rather anticlimatic and seedy overall. But this should be a great chance for visitors to see the inside of home of the Oscars and to see a quality show at the same time.

I don't find Hollywood all that seedy. It's got a great cross-section of what the world is like. Getting more reminiscent of Times Sq. or Picadilly. A great place for good eating, cheap eating, bars, clubs, shows, sight-seeing or walking and scoping out the street-life. I spent several hours there last night and thought it was the best I've ever seen it.

Like DT, I don't think it should "improve" like some cities entertainment districts that are basically trust-fund yuppies or middle-aged tourists.

I also don't find Hollywood no where near as seedy and scary as it was as recent as 2004. It's overrun by hipsters but that's a minor annoyance.

I agree to an extent...I have only been coming to / living in LA for about two and a half years...and I know Hollywood has improved a lot over the past decade, especially since the Hollywood / Highland complex got built.

However, in the past Hollywood used to be a classy area. Today, instead of nice shops, there are garish tourist traps. The sidewalks are not that clean. You can't walk around without being set upon by peddlers or shady types. Grit can add character in some places. But in other places it can be inappropriate. Hollywood is LA's most iconic locale, and for better or for worse often ends up serving as the ambassador for the city. When casual toursits visit LA, they think of visiting Hollywood. But when they show up, they can't help but be underwhelmed by what they find. So I think it's to the city's advantage to invest in sprucing up the historic core around Hollywood and Sunset Blvds.

Back in the 80s Hollywood was really scary... in fact Hollywood and Western was considered the hottest spot for crime in LA, believe me it has suffered a huge transformation since the construction of the subway... but I agree there is still room for improvement.

I tend to disagree. As a tourist (as I once was) I'm not sure that I would be expecting to see Angelina and Brad casually strolling about if I knew anything about LA I would think that maybe I would see something like that in Beverly Hills and even there that won't likely happen. I think more and more Hollywood is getting its groove back and satisfying the tourists with gaudiness and a healthy amount of tackiness. That's what I would expect if I was a tourist in 2011 coming to LA. In the media the upscale places are Malibu and Beverly Hills. I never see Hollywood portrayed either in tv or movies as being in the lap of luxury.
note: all tourist traps are underwhelming.

http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/album%203/1100031406a__t620.jpg RED BUILDING GETS GREEN LIGHT FOR LEASING TO START EVANS VESTAL WARDRED DESIGN CENTER IN WEST HOLLYWOOD ASKS 5 DOLLARS PER SQUARE FOOT abbreviated Leasing started this month on the final phase of West Hollywood’s landmark Pacific Design Center, which will open at year’s end to a real estate market dramatically different from the thriving one when construction began before the financial crisis.

Known as the Red Building, the long-anticipated mid-rise would easily have leased for top-dollar rates at the height of the real estate boom. Today, it may be a struggle for the 400,000-square-foot office building to command its asking rent of $5 or more per square foot when similar Class A space with lower asking rents remains vacant in nearby Beverly Hills.

However, Pacific Design Center developer Charles Cohen believes the unique structure designed by renowned architect Cesar Pelli will buck that trend. He has hired commercial real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield Inc. to jumpstart the global leasing of the building.

“The price will be commensurate with the quality, which we believe is unrivaled,” Cohen said. “This building will create a significant address for whoever moves there. They will all be known for being in the Red Building.” .The 14-acre Pacific Design Center, at the corner of Melrose Avenue and San Vicente Boulevard, was conceived as a central hub for interior designers. It opened in 1975 with one blue building, nicknamed the Blue Whale; the second building, known as the Green Building, opened in 1988. Cohen said both are about 90 percent occupied today.

Purchased by Cohen in 1999 for $157 million, the center includes an outpost of the Museum of Contemporary Art, a 380-seat theatre, two restaurants, a conference center and furnishing showrooms.

The $165 million Red Building is shaped like a ship’s bow and covered in red frit glass for the appearance of an entirely ruby-colored structure. It comprises two towers—a seven-story West tower and an eight-story East tower – and parking for 1,500 vehicles.

The building, which was re-entitled for office space from showroom space before construction, is catering to media and entertainment companies, as well as related businesses such as law firms with an entertainment focus, Cohen said.

Highlights include two large sky lobbies as well as an elevator that can transport visitors from the valet directly to an individual office.

“Almost every facet of this building plays to the (entertainment) industry base,” said broker Bruce Mosler, who has worked with Cohen on several other deals nationally and is leading a brokerage team that includes Chairman John Cushman. “We are marketing it as a unique piece of architecture in a great location.” . LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL

For me 3rd St Promenade in Santa Monica has the environment which places like Hollywood Blvd should aim for. Pedestrian friendly, clean, upscale but not oppressively so, appealing to all age groups, and enlivened by street performers. If it were up to me, I would make Hollywood Blvd between La Brea and Vine pedestrian-only and develop the street along those lines. On a side note, I would love to see the same happen with Broadway in downtown.

so no red carpet events?

so no red carpet events?

What would prevent them?

if it's pedestrian only, how's a limo or bus supposed to pull up to any venue on hollywood blvd and drop anyone off?

You can throw darts at me but Hollywood should have a bit of tackyness to it. SM it aint. Also Hollywood has a club/afterhours element that SM just won't and doesn't have. Also Hollywood has Frederick's as well as at least one peep show/pornbooth theatre still in operation. Hollywood is not SM. It's scale is larger. It has 2 heavy rail subway stops. The Hollywood Bowl. Jimmy Kimmel. I'd cut out my own navel the day that Hollywood becomes a replica of SM. Hell, I don't even want Venice to become like SM. Santa Monica is sort of a Pasadena by the sea.

for broadway, i wouldn't want pedestrian-only either. it has very heavy traffic flow. but it has 3 lanes in each direction (some blocks going south are 2 lanes), so i think the sidewalk could be widened to make broadway a constant 2 lane each direction with 2 center lanes playing double as tracks for the streetcar. almost all of broadway sidewalks in downtown need some cleanup too. very dirty and gum everywhere you step.

if it's pedestrian only, how's a limo or bus supposed to pull up to any venue on hollywood blvd and drop anyone off?

No reason it couldn't be opened up to traffic when desired. Heck if you've actually gone and walked around Hollywood Blvd before the Oscars - the street in front of the Kodak is practically sealed off and clogged with a variety of temporary structures anyway - grandstands, media overlooks, etc. As an example...if you go to DC and walk behind the White House you will notice a section of Penn Ave shut off to traffic. That doesn't prevent limos from getting in there, on quite a regular basis.

Also - just because the street is pedestrianized and prettified doesn't mean it would have to have the same vibe as SM. Not that there's anything wrong with that by me (but that's just one guy's preference, and it ain't happening anyway, so no one worry :) ).

oscars are once a year. even events like soccer teams showing up for public events and traffic is still in flow. there's gotta be hundreds of thousands of vehicles traveling on that street per day (some going around more than once) that would have to be diverted to sunset or franklin (niether are within rail (tourists would truly be lost)). at least hollywood blvd already takes cars off the street with the red line. for the time being, the street handles pedestrians well. maybe if the line was more connected with other rail lines that can bring more walking travelers to hollywood's icons, a pedestrian-only idea (possibly with streetcar) would seem to benefit movability (pedestrian and vehicle) in the area.

We did that up here .... turned an iconic street into a pedestrian shithole. Traffic needs to flow back and forth along that stretch, and I go around that block a number of times myself. Please, don't turn historic areas into malls. As for Broadway downtown, I don't have enough knowledge of that area.

Movie theater in North Hollywood to start construction
Laemmle Theatres will build a seven-screen cineplex. It's the capstone to the final phase of the 10-year North Hollywood redevelopment project to improve the blocks around the subway terminus.
May 10, 2011|By Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times
Construction is set to begin this week on a long-expected movie theater complex in North Hollywood, the final piece of a $250-million development near the Metro Red Line station.

Laemmle Theatres will build a seven-screen cineplex that will include second-floor office space and a restaurant at street level. The 34,000-square-foot building at 5240 Lankershim Blvd. is expected to be completed before the end of the year.


The developer of the North Hollywood Redevelopment Program, J.H. Snyder Co., contributed land and parking for the theater as well as nearly $500,000 in development funding. Snyder also secured city entitlements for the project and provided Laemmle Theatres with a $2.6-million construction loan.

The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency gave Snyder three acres of land in 2008 that included the theater site.

"This is long, long, long overdue," said Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge, who supported the project and whose district includes North Hollywood. "I'm excited for me and you."

The theater is the capstone to the third and final phase of the 10-year North Hollywood project intended to improve the blocks around the northern terminus of the subway. Snyder built nearly 700 residential units, a 180,000-square-foot office building and 60,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, including a Hows supermarket.

Local landmark Phil's Diner reopened last month after being moved to a new location next to the Laemmle site. First opened on Chandler Boulevard in the 1920s, the railcar-style diner renovated by Snyder Co. now operates as an organic fast-food restaurant.

Last month, Snyder Co. gave another North Hollywood project, Valley Plaza, back to New York lender IStar Financial Inc. Snyder bought the 1950s-era neighborhood shopping center at Victory and Laurel Canyon boulevards in the mid-2000s and still owed $30 million on the loan, the company said.

Founder Jerome Snyder hopes to eventually repurchase the property and redevelop it as previously planned, a spokesman said. IStar did not respond to a request for comment.

Big building project planned around Capitol Records Tower
Owners of the tower are seeking approval for Millennium Hollywood, a 1-million-square-foot project including two skyscrapers that would be mostly residential but would also have a hotel, offices, restaurants and stores.

By Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times

May 13, 2011, 7:04 p.m.
After going mostly on hiatus during the economic downturn, Hollywood is poised to debut a major development project around the famed Capitol Records Tower near Hollywood and Vine.

The owners of the Capitol Records building on Vine Street are seeking approval to build 1 million square feet of structures, including two skyscrapers, surrounding the famous cylindrical office tower resembling a stack of record discs. The mixed-use complex could be valued at as much as $1 billion.

The Millennium Hollywood project, proposed by developers Millennium Partners and Argent Ventures, would be primarily residential but also have a hotel, offices, restaurants and stores. It would be built on the Capitol Records parking lot and another parking lot across Vine Street.

The New York developers bought the 13-story Capitol Records Tower in 2006 and the parking lot across Vine Street next to the Avalon theater in 2007. They shelved plans to develop the properties when the economy collapsed but are restarting the approval process, which they expect to last 18 months or more.

Millennium Hollywood's appearance and uses would be influenced by the review process, the developers said, but they hope to build a large-scale complex that would change the dynamic of the neighborhood.

"Hollywood is right on the edge of being restored to the glamour, identity and charm it had in the 1930s and '40s," said Philip Aarons, founding partner of Millennium. "It needs the power of a project that can make people think about it differently."

Millennium Hollywood would be the largest real estate development in the neighborhood's renaissance that kicked off with the completion of the $615-million Hollywood and Highland entertainment, shopping and hotel complex in 2001.

Millions more were spent in the area on apartments, condominiums, theaters, nightclubs and restaurants before the recession brought most construction to a standstill. The long-planned $600-million W Hotel complex at the southeast corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine finally opened in early 2010. It included condominiums, apartments, restaurants and a Trader Joe's grocery store.

"Hollywood is one of the ascendant markets today," real estate broker Christopher Bonbright said. Most office buildings are leased, and the apartment market is "quite strong and gentrifying," he said. Major national retailers and casual dining chains are looking for spaces to occupy in Hollywood.

Millennium Hollywood would take about three years to build if the city approves it, Aarons said. Buildings on the 4.5-acre site would be situated to preserve views of Capitol Records Tower, which music giant EMI Group rents for the offices of its Capitol Records label.

The historic tower, completed in 1956, also houses the famous Capitol Studios, where generations of artists including Capitol label co-founder Johnny Mercer, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and the Beach Boys recorded music.

Millennium Hollywood would not endanger the studio, Aarons said. "We bought the Capitol building and made it a historical monument. We want to preserve its use as an entertainment headquarters."

Concern for the studio was raised by a nearby planned project for the southwest corner of Yucca Street and Argyle Avenue. In 2008 the city approved a 16-story residential tower for the site, and EMI executives expressed fears that the construction of its underground garage might disturb or damage Capitol's underground echo chambers, designed by guitarist Les Paul.

That project didn't get built, and the Yucca and Argyle property — a former grocery store that for many years was the home of radio station KFWB-AM (980) — is back on the market, said Bonbright, of Ramsey-Shilling Commercial Real Estate.

Another developer, Clarett Group, plans to build a 1,000-unit apartment and retail complex called Blvd 6200 nearby on Hollywood Boulevard between Argyle and El Centro avenues, close to the Pantages Theatre. Meanwhile, work is expected to begin soon on a $57-million, eight-story office building at 1601 Vine Street, a site long occupied by Molly's Hamburgers, a walk-up lunch counter with 20 stools.

Much of Millennium Hollywood's mass would be concentrated in two towers housing residences and a hotel. In preliminary plans, the tallest tower is 48 stories, which would put it among the highest buildings in Los Angeles.

Millennium Hollywood would include public space such as an open walkway that could stretch from the grounds of the Little Country Church of Hollywood on Argyle west to Ivar Avenue.

"We want significant public spaces," architect Gary Handel said.

His preliminary designs call for a hotel with as many as 250 rooms and 300 to 600 residences, with the mix of condos and apartments to be determined by demand. There would be up to 150,000 square feet of offices and 100,000 square feet of retail space to include a sports club and restaurants.


roger.vincent@latimes.com

These were the only 2 pics I could find...

http://www.latimes.com/media/thumbnails/storylink/2011-05/61600029-13225059.jpg

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2011-05/61592962.jpg

This project sounds like a great addition and will be interesting to watch. It seems to be a fairly contemporary look (loosened up modernism) with an eye to blending with the Capitol Records building and earlier Hollywood styles (deco, beaux arts, quirky). I would hope for something a little bolder, but not whimsical or extravagant. This is part of a community, not a one-off showpiece.

I would also hope for denser; some plazas but not another Century City feel, which is too cold and empty. Maybe they should take a cue from the new "alley use" policy to make for smaller, more intimate passageways that give a real urban feel. Stay away from right angles and linearity. You should hit street life very soon after you leave the door.

48 stories? Go for it, but hard to believe the locals will live with that.

the chances of this happening are close to zero.

There just isn't the demand.

w is basically an empty honeycomb of apartments and condos. Bankers are never going to lend to build something this enormous this without a change in the fundamentals in Los Angeles market demand.

Then there is the little issue of zoning. Hollywood is not zoned for high rises like this and the community will not allow anything close to this high as an exception.

For an example of the trajectory of this proposal, see the Spaghetti Factory (or lack thereof) building.

The real question is, why would anyone propose something that has no chance of being built?

Are we getting realistic or just pessimistic?

As long as the Hollywood Sign isn't blocked, I'm fine with these towers.

In I'm fine with these towers, and I like that they show respect to the Capitol Records building. I also think this complex could be as successful as Hollywood / Highland has been.

But I do have a gripe.

Regardless of their commercial success, and their contribution in revitalizing this part of town, all the new buildings built in Hollywood over the past decade (or currently proposed) strike me as either bland (W or Renaissance Hotels) or schizophrenic (Hollywood / Highland). I contrast that with the sophistication of a complex like LA Live. These buildings may be nice today because of their newness, but IMO, in a few decades, people will still be admiring Capitol Records, whereas all these new constructions will be as much eyesores as are most of the generic international style boxes from the 60s and 70s that dot LA.

GGVVypUMG3c

Creative minds behind Cirque du Soleil's 'Iris'
A Q&A with director-choreographer Philippe Decouflé and composer Danny Elfman.
July 24, 2011|By Reed Johnson, Los Angeles Times

Last week previews began at the Kodak Theatre for "Iris," the latest big-top extravaganza by Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil. The show, which its producers hope will run at the Hollywood & Highland complex for the next decade, is a valentine to the art of cinema that combines circus acts, avant-garde theatrics and a touch of Hollywood razzle-dazzle.

The two top-billed members of its creative team are director Philippe Decouflé, a Paris-based director-choreographer, and composer Danny Elfman, former frontman for the progressive rock band Oingo Boingo and author of dozens of feature film scores, including Tim Burton's "Batman" and "Alice in Wonderland." We spoke with them about "Iris" this week at Elfman's studio in Los Angeles. In conversation, the pair work together like an aerial act. Elfman, humorous and upfront, maintains a steady patter of anecdotes and impressions about the show and its progress. Then Decouflé swoops in with elegantly crafted thoughts in Parisian-accented English. This is an edited transcript of their conversation.

This show is about cinema, not about Hollywood, although here in L.A. we sometimes think of them as synonymous.

Elfman: It's almost like cinema as an idea, rather than "movies." We're not trying to make you think of "Lawrence of Arabia," not trying to make you think of Alfred Hitchcock, we're not trying to make you think of specific movies. It's almost as much of an homage to [Louis] Lumière as it is to any single director.

Decouflé: The basic subject is cinema. For me it was so dangerous, I didn't know what to do for a long time. Because if we talk about just one school of cinema — like, I'm a fan of Alfred Hitchcock, but I cannot do a show which is an homage to Hitchcock because I have to give an homage to cinema in general. So I decided to work mainly on what was before cinema, about the fascination we have for images. It's the beauty of movement.

Danny, how does doing "Iris" compare with working on a film?

Elfman: Well, there's no comparison, almost on any level. Film, first off, you have a finished product, or semi-finished, by the time I come in. Secondly, it's a film, and you know what you're supposed to do. I knew that "Iris" was going to be in a constant transformation. But the thing that is most interesting is that there was no template to look to, to follow.

How did you two begin working together?

Elfman: We started two years ago. Philippe already had a lot of work done. He was creating the show in Paris. I just started writing music and sending it over to him.

Philippe, why did Cirque want Danny involved in this show?

Decouflé: Cirque du Soleil asked me to work on this show and to find a creative team. So my very first idea was let's ask Daniel, because he's one of my favorite composers. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is a movie I have seen 50 times. And I had the chance that Danny, he hadn't seen a lot of dance shows in his life, but he saw my solo work in New York a little while before.

Elfman: It was really a bit of fate. I had an agent who was booking concerts. So one night in New York, he says, "We're going to go see a show, a dance show." And I get to the theater and there's just this picture of one person. It's a solo. And I go, "What?! You've taken me to a solo performance? Oh my god, I'm going to see a modern dance solo performance! This is going to be horrible!" And I loved the show. I said, "Whoever this Decouflé is, I'd love to work with him some day." And six months later I get this call saying Cirque is interested. And you also have to remember I started out as a street musician. I was a fire-breather, same as Guy [Cirque Chief Executive Guy Laliberté]. My first performing in my life was with a French musical-theatrical group, Le Grand Magic Circus.

The music for "Iris" incorporates many different styles, from Latin jazz to Balinese gamelan and Japanese taiko drums to serialism.

Elfman: Sometimes I'd get an idea thrown at me, just something to grab hold of. So there was lots of things, like doing Gershwin-esque, or doing Leonard Bernstein, doing something romantic.

Philippe, you often use live music for your dance pieces, right?

Decouflé: Since, I don't know, like 15 years ago, I decided to play only with live music. Because I think it's always better for the audience when all the elements that I use are live, and when they play together. And the relationship between dance and music for me is really very close. Dance almost always needs music, except you have the [Merce] Cunningham and [John] Cage style, where they decided to have the music independent from the choreography, but I'm not from that tradition.

Danny, are you the only Hollywood guy involved in the creative team?

Decouflé: Are you a Hollywood guy?

Elfman: What a scary thought!

Decouflé: It's true that I have a very French team [for "Iris"]. For example, my set designer, he's mainly working in cinema.

Elfman: I guess I would have to be the "Hollywood guy" in the team. Although, it's funny, after 26 years of working in Hollywood, I still don't consider myself a Hollywood guy. I'm not a Hollywood guy in the sense that I don't connect with Hollywood. I go to openings when I absolutely have to. As much as I support the Academy [of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences] and all the good things they do, because I love cinema, and cinema was my inspiration to get into music.

How did that translate into making music?

Elfman: All accident. My early designs in life were to be in movies — not an actor, but a cinematographer, an editor, a writer, maybe a director. Everything but an actor or a composer. My training was spending every weekend of my life at a theater. And I lived in an area where the kids went to the theater every Saturday and Sunday.

Philippe, does the culture of Hollywood — the Academy Awards and that kind of thing — interest you?

Decouflé: I don't know it so well, so I can't say. But I could say almost the same as Danny in many points, because I do what I do by accident also. Because it's a bit the same. When I was a kid, every day when I was in school, at midday I was escaping to go to the movies, mainly to cartoons. When I was a kid I was always crazy about Tex Avery.

Did you like cartoons because you can do anything in them?

Decouflé: Yeah, it's something about freedom, freedom of movement. So there is something about reaching the impossibility which interested me a lot. And voilà, I began to do what I did also by accident. I thought I was going to work in the movies, to make lighting, or the film credits at the beginning and the end of the movies.

Is there anything you haven't been able to do in the Kodak Theatre?

Decouflé: I have a model of the Kodak Theatre in my house in Paris, a big one, and I've slept with it for three years. (Laughter.) There is a basic problem in the Kodak: It's the American sickness of king-size. It's too big. It's a reproduction of an Italian theater, but really like king-size. So we had to fight to try to twist the relationship that the spectators have with the space. Because if you respect the normal aperture, it's too big, too far.

Elfman: That's what I noticed right from the beginning. "Iris" is much more human-based. There's a sense of anticipation that's more old-school circus than the new Cirque du Soleil shows. Because I've seen "O" twice, I've seen "Ka" twice. And I never feel that anything could ever go wrong in those shows, they're like clockwork. But here, you have four people, two people, six people, just doing their act, there's no help, there's nothing but them and their bodies. I bite my nails and grit my teeth much more than in any other Cirque show that I've seen. I know they're going to be OK, but I have to look away at moments because it just looks too insanely difficult. To me, of all the Cirque shows I've seen, this one, its unique quality is that connection with the human element. You don't need $100 million of CGI. You're just watching performers performing. And what a joy that is.



Read More: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/24/entertainment/la-ca-cirque-decoufl-elfman-20110724

THE HOLLYWOOD PROJECT: PARAMOUNT'S 700 MILLION EXPANSION http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/album%203/chrismannmusiccom-1.jpg CHRISMANNMUSIC.COM . Paramount Pictures Corp. unveiled plans Tuesday for $700 million in improvements including new sound stages and offices for its storied Hollywood lot. About 1.4 million square feet of development would take place over the next two decades at Paramount's Melrose Avenue headquarters and some adjacent properties owned by the company, if city officials approve. . "We have run out of options for creating more production space," said Frederick Huntsberry, Paramount's chief operating officer. The internal expansion would create nearly 7,300 jobs during construction and accommodate 5,500 permanent workers at the studio, he said. . http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/album%203/64898057.jpg PARAMOUNT PICTURES . The studio is awash in Hollywood history — think Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond desperately trying to enter its famous gate in "Sunset Boulevard" — but faces challenges to compete with more modern studios and to continue to expand its services to television and film producers in the decades ahead. The lot is a congested warren of stages, offices, trailers and support facilities such as woodworking mills that date to the early 20thcentury. . The layout is byzantine in part because Paramount bought the former rival RKO studio lot from Desilu Productions to create the lot known today. In spite of its awkwardly cramped quarters, Paramount operates around the clock with as many as 5,000 people a day, most of them working for independent producers who rent facilities on the lot to make shows such as "Glee," "Community" and "NCIS: Los Angeles." Part of the challenge for architects Rios Clemente Hale Studios and Levin & Associates Architects will be to expand Paramount's capacity without taking away its raffish charm as a homey old-Hollywood campus. . Much of it is unchanged from the days of Clara Bow and Gary Cooper. Decades ago, when other studios were flush with cash and went on modernization sprees, "Paramount had bad management and bad films," said architect Ann Gray, in charge of design and development at the studio in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Paramount's financial troubles left the old studio mostly unchanged for four decades until it expanded during the tenure of then-President Frank Mancuso and Gray, who now primarily consults for developers and publishes a magazine for Los Angeles architects. . For its size, the 56-acre lot "has really been underutilized from the very beginning," she said. The current chief executive of Viacom Inc.-owned Paramount, Brad Grey, said the proposed growth plan is intended to protect the company's legacy and ensure that the studio remains viable for future generations in the entertainment industry. "This is a wonderful way to reinvest in what brought us to the party," Grey said. . There are hurdles to cross before development can begin. The studio will shortly file a master plan application with the city and begin work on the environmental review process. It also will reach out to neighbors and business owners in the area to explain the development it is calling the Hollywood Project. The process, including multiple public hearings, could take about two years. . Paramount Studios is in Eric Garcetti's district. The city councilman said he is "very excited to see the confidence Paramount has in Los Angeles and Hollywood. I believe we are in Hollywood's second golden age right now." . Other studios have been upgrading and expanding their facilities. NBCUniversal is seeking approval for a $3-billion overhaul of Universal City that would add nearly 3,000 residences to the famed studio property in the San Fernando Valley. Its plans also call for the construction of additional studios and offices for producing movies and television shows, as well as a hotel, shops and tourist attractions. Studios vie to attract talent, said commercial real estate broker Carl Muhlstein, who has worked on large studio sales and leases. "They want to offer the right mix of services and facilities — not necessarily modern ones — to be competitive." . Paramount's makeover would mingle the old with the new, architect Robert Hale said. Much of the construction would take place inside the studio on the perimeter along Melrose and on surface parking lots. One of the lots with a vast mural of the sky behind it has been occasionally flooded for filming scenes on water, but advances in computer technology have eliminated the need for large fake lakes. Paramount hopes to modernize systems such as air conditioning and power while expanding facilities to make television shows and movies. . There is also high demand for offices from producers and other creative types who find offices on the lot convenient and prestigious, Huntsberry said. The goal is also to keep Paramount a cocoon of sorts. "Frank Mancuso said creative people are very insecure," architect Gray recalled. "He said, 'We want an environment where they feel secure enough to be as creative as they can be.'" . roger.vincent@latimes.com ROGER VINCENT LOSANGELESTIMES

Its great to see that our long time institutions are rebuilding and staying in Hollywood / LA. First Universal with its 3 billion dollar plan, now Paramount. This is huge news for the future of LA.

Specifically regarding this project, i hope that they can spur growth and improvement for the immediate area surrounding the studio. If the project was somehow integrated with the neighborhood instead of walled off, at least parts of it, then it could be a catalyst.

I wonder what ever happen to the "Hollywood Central Park" where there was suppose to be a park over the 101 freeway in Hollywood? That would've been pretty cool and a much needed park for Hollywood. I read somewhere that Hollywood is the most park-deprived area in L.A. (aside from Griffith Park of course)

I believe the project is making its way through the long long process. its not dead, but its not exactly happening tomorrow, unfortunately.

What we can look forward to in Hollywood the next couple years are major projects that will reshape downtrodden areas of Hollywood, further improving the area. We have the Blvd 6200 project that will replace multiple parking lots and crappy buildings adjacent to the W, the new office building on Vine which is replacing a parking lot, the Capitol Records project that will replace two very large parking lots, the Spaghetti factory project and a few more.

what i would love to see added are some projects between Vine and Highland; a couple 6 - 15 story boutique hotels, some retail, more housing to connect the two anchor areas together, etc

and then go south. Sunset is a wreck!

What we can look forward to in Hollywood the next couple years are major projects that will reshape downtrodden areas of Hollywood, further improving the area. We have the Blvd 6200 project that will replace multiple parking lots and crappy buildings adjacent to the W, the new office building on Vine which is replacing a parking lot, the Capitol Records project that will replace two very large parking lots, the Spaghetti factory project and a few more.

what i would love to see added are some projects between Vine and Highland; a couple 6 - 15 story boutique hotels, some retail, more housing to connect the two anchor areas together, etc

Amen to all this. Hollywood Blvd. and north look pretty solid. I keep wondering if anyone has plans to develop along Selma and adjacent streets and alleys. It seems so natural.

In the long-run there should be about 200 cafes, small restaurants, trendy independent and brand retailers, with condos, hotels and holiday apartments above. Locals hang at the smaller places and visitors (locals on dates and out of towners) fill the bigger or showier places. Something for all kinds of people. It's waiting to happen, given the traffic attracted by the Hollywood Blvd. institutions. And it should be easier to build here than, say, Melrose or Venice, since there are minimal residents to be distrubed.

agreed to all of that as well. To be honest, im shocked that some boutique hotels havent opened up in the middle areas of Hollywood blvd. its just such a perfect fit for it. i wish i had the money to develop in this town, i would be a billionaire.

Great news, the developers of Blvd6200 bought out the old lady that was holding up the project and should break ground by January! about damn time. this project is so important to the area.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2011/10/huge_pantagesadjacent_mixeduse_blvd6200_buys_out_neighbor_work_could_start_in_january.php

Great news, the developers of Blvd6200 bought out the old lady that was holding up the project and should break ground by January! about damn time. this project is so important to the area.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2011/10/huge_pantagesadjacent_mixeduse_blvd6200_buys_out_neighbor_work_could_start_in_january.php

For sure! But it's funny how things change. When first proposed, I thought what a winner for Hollywood. Now, I think: wouldn't taller and better plazas make more sense?

Good news! I'm glad this project will finally go through and hopefully many other big projects in Hollywood will soon follow.

Universal Studios has a $3 billion expansion plan, which involves adding residences to the studio property, not Paramount Studios has an expansion plan of their own costing $700 million? Wait until plans get finalised...

Universal Studios has a $3 billion expansion plan, which involves adding residences to the studio property, not Paramount Studios has an expansion plan of their own costing $700 million? Wait until plans get finalised...

Yes, there are several different plans.

1) universal development inside the current park that will add housing and so forth
2) universal development on top of metro station that will add condos, retail, office space and studios
3) paramount remodel that will add sound stages and housing

Some good news. Apparently Emerson College has voted to start work on the Sunset Blvd. location (at Gordon) this spring. A nice addition for Hollywood. Sorry I haven't got time to attach the story.

^ You have time to post all of that but not time to post an image?

http://archpaper.com/uploads/image/EmersonLA_Morphosis_Stree.jpg

^ You have time to post all of that but not time to post an image?

http://archpaper.com/uploads/image/EmersonLA_Morphosis_Stree.jpg

Sorrrrry!!!! I was literally running out the door to a meeting. Thanks for the assist.

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2011-12/66826243.jpg

Oscars academy to build outdoor theater in Hollywood
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will build an amphitheater and event space at Vine and Fountain, where it had planned to build a movie museum.
By Nicole Sperling, Los Angeles Times
December 17, 2011

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will build an amphitheater and event space in Hollywood on a parcel of land that had been the planned site for a movie museum. The 17,000-square-foot outdoor space is designed to function as a venue for showing classic films and is expected to open in May, according to academy President Tom Sherak.

"It seems like the right thing for both Los Angeles and the academy," Sherak said. "Anyone can set up an outdoor theater but nobody can show what we can show — either from our archives or from our members. If it works and it's a safe place to go, that's a good thing for L.A."

The organization behind the Oscars purchased the 3.5-acre lot near the intersection of Vine Street and Fountain Avenue in 2005 for $50 million, with the intention of building a world-class movie museum on the property.

In October, however, the academy announced a partnership with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on the project, and the movie museum is now set to be housed in the former May Co. department store on Wilshire Boulevard at Fairfax Avenue. The academy will lease the 1939 building from LACMA.

Rather then sell off the land in Hollywood, which sits next to the academy's Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study, the academy opted to open the family-friendly outdoor theater, Sherak said. The location once housed a Big Lots store, a post-production facility and a 1927 bow-truss building that belonged to the Golden Bridge Yoga studio.

The amphitheater will be constructed as a raised grassy area and is expected to seat approximately 300 people. It's expected to have a casual feel with audiences bringing their own blankets or chairs to the screenings. Adjacent to the theater will be a 10,000-square-foot patio designed for special events.

The existing structures will remain on the site. The former Big Lots building will be used for storage, while the two buildings used by the Post Group will be retrofitted to store the academy's artifacts that eventually may reside in the museum.

The property will be landscaped to improve its aesthetics.

"We will have two rows of palm trees called Palm Walk behind the amphitheater to give it a closed-in feel, and there will be lovely plantings all around the site," said museum project administrator Heather Cochran.

Demolition began this week and should be completed by February. The academy hasn't given a name to the venture or a price structure for admission to the films that will screen at the amphitheater, but Sherak doesn't expect the facility to be a big moneymaker for the institution.

"This is not a profit center," he said. "If it ran at a loss, I'd still want to do it. I'm not looking to make money on this one. I'm looking to be part of a big community."

Sherak wouldn't specify which movies would be screened, though he promised that they would be films "that have stood the test of time."

It remains unclear how much demand there is to see older films in a neighborhood that already houses the American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, which has established a cottage industry over the last decade showing classic movies on its grounds during the summer months.

"We're not looking to compete with anybody," Sherak said. "This is about community. This is about the history and heritage of the academy."

Still, the project could prove temporary. Sherak said the academy wanted to keep the land in its possession in case it was unable to raise the roughly $200 million needed to open the museum at the May Co. site. If it fails to meet its fundraising goals, the academy could again consider the Hollywood property as a location for the museum.

Also, Sherak said the organization wanted to retain the property until its value returned to its 2005 level or higher. If the academy put the land on the market now, it would probably sell at a loss.

"We don't need to sell it," Sherak said. "We want it to conform with the neighborhood and we are fixing it up now."



Read More: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-academy-land-20111217,0,4110332.story

HOLLYWOOD GAZES INTO THE FUTURE .. AND SEES SKYSCRAPERS! http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6146/5941037697_83ea8e5077_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/25051121@N08/5941037697/) Hollywood Noir (http://www.flickr.com/photos/25051121@N08/5941037697/) by Stephen Lee Carr (http://www.flickr.com/people/25051121@N08/), on Flickr . CITY COUNCIL IS WEIGHING NEW ZONING GUIDELINES THAT WOULD ALLOW BIGGER,TALLER BUILDINGS SOME RESIDENTS FEAR MORE CONGESTION AND SAY THE PLAN IS BASED ON FAULTY CENSUS DATA . Hollywood, no stranger to the art of reinvention, is now at the center of a citywide urban planning makeover that could bring a sea of skyscrapers to the historic streets near the Walk of Fame. . New zoning guidelines approved this month by the Los Angeles City Planning Commission will make it easier for developers to build bigger and taller buildings in many parts of Hollywood, often with extra incentives for placing them near bus and subway stops. . It's part of a grand vision of concentrating development around transit hubs — a doctrine Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa likes to call "elegant density." The principle can be seen in the pricey downtown condos built over the last decade, and can be expected to be repeated in the future at current and future transit-rich communities like Woodland Hills and the Crenshaw district, officials say. . Ostensibly, Hollywood is a place where the payoff for the region's multibillion-dollar investment in a rail transit network should be easy to recoup. After all, it has a pioneering past, and in recent years it has seen a burst of new development that has revitalized its central core. . But as the zoning changes head toward final City Council approval, some residents are fighting back. They contend that the new plan is based on inaccurate projections of population growth and future demand for new housing, retail and other development. And they worry that the new construction would increase traffic in an area already plagued with congestion. . Tourists come to Hollywood to see the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, they argue, not 50-story buildings like those that have been proposed for either side of the landmark 13-story Capitol Records building. . On Monday, a group of protesters gathered outside the Hollywood Towers apartment complex, where Villaraigosa held a rooftop news conference to urge approval of the new zoning guidelines. One protester held a sign that read: "Residents Hate This Plan." . The community plan, part of the city's all-encompassing General Plan, was last updated in 1988. It is the first of several reworked neighborhood-specific plans that officials hope to adopt in the coming year. . It envisions "a compact city that is growing vertically, mixing residential, commercial and industrial uses in new and interesting ways." It generally limits development in single-family residential and historical neighborhoods, as well as the Hollywood Hills, but allows greatly increased density elsewhere, such as downtown Hollywood, along the Metro subway corridor. New size and height restrictions, for example, would allow towering buildings on Sunset and Hollywood boulevards just west of the 101 Freeway. . Developers with enough money, political will and lobbyists often can secure special permission to build more than allowed under city zoning guidelines. But that system has worked to hinder growth and has led to "piecemeal" development, Villaraigosa said. "This drawn-out, uncertain process was holding Hollywood back from revealing its full potential." . The current zoning, he said, does not account for the increased transit capacity of five rail stops built in the area in the 1990s. . Joel Kotkin, an urban studies fellow at Chapman University, questions the assertion that transit stations justify denser development, or that adding large projects near bus and rail lines increases ridership. . "This is the endless Villaraigosa fantasy that you'll get wealthy people to live near bus stops," said Kotkin, a longtime critic of Los Angeles urban planning who has championed traditional suburban developments. . City Councilman Eric Garcetti, who represents much of Hollywood, said the plan does not create growth, only accommodates it. Hollywood development has helped reduce crime and change the image of the area, he said. "Hollywood used to be the butt of jokes," he said. Now, "it's a hot spot." . Doug Haines, a member of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council, said the neighborhood's hard-fought resurgence, after slumping into a haunt for crack dealers and prostitution in the 1980s, should not be used to justify a wave of new development. "We feel like we're being punished for sticking it out," he said. . Hollywood began a recovery in the 1990s with the establishment of a business improvement district and the involvement of the Community Redevelopment Agency. . Two massive developments further transformed the landscape: the Hollywood & Highland Center shopping and entertainment complex, which received millions of dollars in city subsidies for an underground city-owned parking structure, and the billboard-wrapped W Hotel complex. . Although some new residents have been drawn to the new condos and night life on the streets near Hollywood Boulevard, census figures show the larger region lost about 6% of its population over the last decade — a point residents have used to challenge the necessity for intense new development. . City officials based their new plan on Southern California Assn. of Governments population forecasts showing Hollywood with 244,602 people in 2030 — about 23% more than the 2010 census count of 198,234. . Several residents have threatened to sue over the city's population growth estimates — and other aspects of the plan — if it is passed. . Michael Woo, a former city councilman representing Hollywood who is now on the Planning Commission, voted to approve the plan earlier this month. He said planners did a good job of addressing residents' concerns during about 150 community meetings. . He wishes the city had included architectural guidelines in the plan to avoid buildings that look like some other Hollywood developments, which he called "serviceable at best." . Still, he added, city leaders are right to think big. . "This is really what government is supposed to be doing," he said. "We're supposed to be guessing and dreaming about the future. Who knows, in 2030, whether we'll have been right." kate.linthicum@latimes.com . KAYE LINTHICUM LOSANGELESTIMES

The residents have a point: traffic is pretty bad from DT through the Cahuenga Pass. I would want to see what is being done to expand transit into the Valley and to the westside before I would be fully on-board. Either the Pink or the "Crenshaw extension" to Hollywood seems critical.

You heard it here first: there are not going to be a rows of 50 story towers along Hollywood and Sunset. But E. Hollywood, between Hollywood and Melrose has huge sections of older housing that could easily become 3-7 story apartments. Probably half of these would be within 1/3 mile of a subway stop (Highland, Vine, Western, Sunset/Vermont, SM/Vermont). These with some 10-20 along the boulevards would be more than we can hope for.

I wouldn't worry about over-building; as long as the city isn't subsidizing, that's primarily the builders' problem. Sometimes they underestimate, sometimes they overestimate, but it works out fairly quickly except in the most extreme cases. And I don't think that is going to happen given the NIMBY's and bureaucracy.

2030 the hollywood skyline is gonna look the same.. it almost looks the same from 80 years ago except for a few details.

^^ Agreed...heck at the current pace if even Downtown manages three or four 200 m buildings by 2030, that will be something. Hollywood certainly isn't getting any...maybe a few 20 storey buildings here and there. At any rate, height has never been LA's forte'. I'm more concerned with the quality of what's built.

Lol over building in L.A?... maybe 25 years ago (downtown office boom), but now with these economic uncerntainties and troublesome nimbys, no way!
I also feel Hollywood at most would see a few 20 story towers if any. Of course, I can totally picture Trump proposing the country's tallest building there. I would be happy if he built WTC replicas there, not that it will ever happen, but it doesn't hurt to daydream... :)
Hollywood could benefit from other developments resembling Hollywood & Vine in density and not necessarily design. Of course, the key to promoting transit oriented development apart from location is easing off on parking spaces...

Just came back from Hollywood last night. The main street is starting to get the Time square feel, with more and more lights and signs going up each year. The streets were so packed, incredibly hard to walk around.

Just came back from Hollywood last night. The main street is starting to get the Time square feel, with more and more lights and signs going up each year. The streets were so packed, incredibly hard to walk around.

My exact reaction. I stayed at the Roosevelt 4 nights. Lots of foot traffic on Hollywood from La Brea to past Vine from 10:00 in the morning to past midnight. 25 Degrees was packed past midnight. A real Times Sq. feel with people just looking at all the stuff there is to see.

btw, Cirque du Soleil at the Kodak was doing 2 shows a day for the whole Holiday season; the one I went to was sold out to the highest tiers. See it if you can; you don't need to get the best seats to get quite a show and discounts are available week nights.

Happy New Year, Hollywood!

We may be underestimating Hollywood a bit. I don't expect rows of skyscrapers but I do envision at least 10 more Sunset/Vine towers scattered around. And it's clear that you're never going to satisfy NIMBY's and there traffic concerns. Even if rapid transit exists they'll just use the argument that "no one will take it". If rapid transit is provided as it is in Hllywd the City has done its part, so build.
In 1990 who would have conceived of a Hollywood that we have now? I mean really! I visited in the late 90's and what we have today is practically a brand new neighborhood surrounding Hollywood Blvd. And if you haven't explored the side streets off of the blvd you're missing some of the best infill in the city.

We may be underestimating Hollywood a bit. I don't expect rows of skyscrapers but I do envision at least 10 more Sunset/Vine towers scattered around. And it's clear that you're never going to satisfy NIMBY's and there traffic concerns. Even if rapid transit exists they'll just use the argument that "no one will take it". If rapid transit is provided as it is in Hllywd the City has done its part, so build.
In 1990 who would have conceived of a Hollywood that we have now? I mean really! I visited in the late 90's and what we have today is practically a brand new neighborhood surrounding Hollywood Blvd. And if you haven't explored the side streets off of the blvd you're missing some of the best infill in the city.

I think that level of highrises sounds about right.

You are sounding a bit like me, with the idea that let people choose and if they choose to fight traffic, let them. But, still, I would emphasize improved transit through the Valley to NoHo Red Line and between Hollywood and WeHo/Beverly Center. This helps not just Hollywood, but those areas and DT as well and I don't want traffic to get WORSE.

btw, I drove quite a bit on Beverly, Melrose, 3rd and other streets and was impressed by the improvements made to many small stores. It looks like the retail, design and food/drink industries are putting money into the area.

And La Brea now has construction trucks all over it from Pico to Sunset (and also around Centinela, but that usually does).

This seemed interesting to post.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57355006/hollywood-high-rise-plan-has-some-up-in-arms/

Basically the city wants 50+ story buildings in the Hollywood corridor and the citizens don't want that.

I don't blame them. Hollywood isn't designed for 50 story buildings. In order for Hollywood to be a truly great neighborhood, large scale projects (which is not the same as tall projects) is what developers should strive for. I've done this before but the pictures I'm about to post is exactly the scale of what projects in Hollywood should be.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/Jaygergon/downtown%20development/EMBASSY.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q279/duongLe_/350william.png?t=1266405078
http://www.realestate.com.au/objects/props/5787/5355787,20080118143935,p,300x400,ImageA.jpg
http://www.realestate.com.au/objects/props/4947/105904947ml1256709298.jpg
http://www.realestate.com.au/objects/props/0632/106000632ml1252651158.jpg

This seemed interesting to post.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57355006/hollywood-high-rise-plan-has-some-up-in-arms/

Basically the city wants 50+ story buildings in the Hollywood corridor and the citizens don't want that.

First of all, there are not going to be any significant number of 50 story buildings for some time. Where's the demand?

After that, this all sounds very reasonable. The developers want more buildings and businesses; the locals want reasonable limits on traffic and density; the city creates a general plan and each project is reviewed to determine if it really will work as planned.

North of Franklin shouldn't get many large projects; it's primarily sfh's. With eminent domain working properly, the area south of Franklin shouldn't pose too many issues for a developer who is reasonable. There are plenty of projects moving forward now and lots of room for more.

The most friction will come from homeowners just off the major boulevards who will be getting 5-20 story building next to them. Fortunately, most of this area is already apartments or very small sfh's that can be bought out.

I don't blame them. Hollywood isn't designed for 50 story buildings. In order for Hollywood to be a truly great neighborhood, large scale projects (which is not the same as tall projects) is what developers should strive for. I've done this before but the pictures I'm about to post is exactly the scale of what projects in Hollywood should be.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/Jaygergon/downtown%20development/EMBASSY.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q279/duongLe_/350william.png?t=1266405078
http://www.realestate.com.au/objects/props/5787/5355787,20080118143935,p,300x400,ImageA.jpg
http://www.realestate.com.au/objects/props/4947/105904947ml1256709298.jpg
http://www.realestate.com.au/objects/props/0632/106000632ml1252651158.jpg

I posted before I saw your post. Wonderful pics.

Absolutely agree. The city should be holding firm for quality projects, since the demand is there; anything over 20-30 is both out of place and asking for trouble from locals. I even wonder if the city put in "50" just so it will be easy to settle for "20".

I think a 30 story limit (roughly 350-400 feet tall) is perfect for Hollywood.

i think the demand is there, but few developers look into the area. everyone's concentrating on downtown, west la, usc, and k-town areas. all neighborhoods are getting taller, but literally by inches at a time.

50 stories is a good limit for several years and the transportation access is great (freeway, major avenues/blvds, and heavy rail). the problem with the rail is that all of metro rail doesn't go everywhere else yet. hollywood needs access to burbank, west hollywood, santa monica, lax, and other west la enclaves/neighborhoods.

if a 50 story building opened up tomorrow with new residences and/or offices, traffic would be noticeably worse for private automobiles

This seemed interesting to post.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57355006/hollywood-high-rise-plan-has-some-up-in-arms/

Basically the city wants 50+ story buildings in the Hollywood corridor and the citizens don't want that.

not the citizens, rather a handful of older residents that think this is the LA of 1943. having said that, i agree with Soup and with his pics. those kinds of projects will be ideal for 99 % of LA

Man..not even two weeks into the new year and already LA is starting to heat up.

From Curbed

Emerson College's project in Hollywood has broken ground and this year seems more and more like it just might be action-packed, right? Peggy Ings, the school's associate vice president for government and community relations, confirms to Curbed that "construction has officially begun" and that excavation work started in early December. She says the project is on schedule, with foundations set to start going in around April, and a Certificate of Occupancy expected in December 2013. The project will get Emerson students who are studying in LA out of the Oakwood and into the 10 story tall Morphosis-designed digs at Sunset and Gordon. The building will have students rooms and staff/faculty apartments in the "frame," academic facilities in the middle area, retail on the ground floor, and three levels of underground parking. Neighbor East West Studio sued over noise concerns in 2010; that suit was dismissed last summer. The construction site has soundproofing all along its Gordon St. side, which Ings tells us was the college's idea.

OSCAR MAY LEAVE HOLLYWOOD
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/album%203/worldarchitecturenewscom.jpg
WORLDARCHITECTURENEWS.COM
TALKS UNDERWAY TO MOVE AWARDS FROM KODAK TO NOKIA

After a decade of holding Hollywood's biggest night of the year at the Kodak Theatre, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences is considering moving its annual Academy Awards ceremony to the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.

Preliminary discussions about the potential relocation are underway between the academy and AEG, owner of the Nokia Theatre, according to a person familiar with AEG's operations who was not authorized to speak publicly. Officials at both the academy and AEG declined to comment.

The move downtown would be a big blow for the 3,500-seat Kodak Theatre, which was built specifically to the academy's requirements ahead of the 2002 Oscar broadcast and has served as the cornerstone to the Hollywood and Highland entertainment complex.

This year's ABC telecast Feb. 26 will mark the 10th annual show to be held at the theater. It also marks a point in the academy's long-term contract with the CIM Group, the landlord of the Kodak Theatre, that allows the organization to explore cheaper lease options for the 2014 show. CIM also declined to comment. The Hollywood Reporter, an industry trade publication, first reported the discussions Wednesday.

There is a chance that the academy could renegotiate its lease with CIM and keep the Oscars rolling at the Kodak.

A move to the Nokia would enable the academy to more than double the occupancy of its annual broadcast. The cavernous, 7,100-seat theater also hosts the annual Emmy Awards and the American Music Awards shows. The Grammy Awards have been handed out at the adjacent Staples Center 11 times in the last 12 years.

Proponents of the Nokia say the venue, which is part of AEG's larger L.A. Live complex, would also offer the academy more room for outdoor activities. The X Games sports competition and "American Idol" television show have incorporated Nokia's plaza into their events. The space also offers three ballroom options with the J.W. Marriot and Ritz-Carlton hotel complex next to the theater. A tunnel connecting the theater to Staples Center would enable the academy to make use of the locker rooms and other facilities in the arena.

From a logistical standpoint, the Kodak Theatre has consistently served the needs of the academy and it's changing cadre of producers. Bill Condon, producer of the 81st Academy Awards in 2009, says the Kodak was built to do the show and it's only gotten better since Cirque du Soleil's "Iris" show came into the theater and excavated 40 feet under the stage for its elaborate sets.

"It has a very intimate feel. Technically there is nothing wrong with it," Condon said. "The camera can go almost anywhere. And the backstage space is massive enough to hold everything needed to put on a television show. Plus there are endless dressing rooms."

Leron Gubler, the president/CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said that should the Oscars move out of Hollywood, it would be a big blow to the community.

"Obviously, we'd be very disappointed. The Kodak Theatre was designed for the academy but more than that, historically the academy is tied to Hollywood with the first Academy Awards held in Hollywood," Gubler said. "This, on top of the academy's decision to move their museum out of Hollywood an onto Wilshire Boulevard would send a very negative message to the community."

A representative for City Councilman Eric Garcetti spoke up for the Kodak. " The Academy Awards belong in Hollywood," chief of staff Yusef Robb said.

Criticism of the Kodak has often centered on the theater's tinny acoustics; its steep 37-step grand staircase that leads into the lobby that has often proved treacherous to many female guests in long ball gowns, and the complex's mass-market shopping galleria that stands in stark contrast to the elegant tenor of the Oscars.

Should the academy move downtown, it can still expect its after-ceremony celebration to be served by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck. He's the official caterer for both L.A. Live and Hollywood and Highland.

nicole.sperling@latimes.com
roger.vincent@latimes.comNICOLE SPERLINGROGER VINCENTLOSANGELESTIMES

im as big a downtown booster as there is but i think the oscars should stay in hollywood. its just right

i would like to see oscars held downtown. anyway, what kind of message does this send to hollywood?

Not a booster either way but doesn't the message sent
mean that they underbuilt the theatre and stuck a mall
next to it?

The lesson is: Go big or go home!
Or: Don't do anything half assed? Anymore? AEG? Stadium?
There's a lesson here.

Work Has Begun on Emerson's Morphosis Building in Hollywood



http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/4f0e312185216d705900377a/emerson.jpg



Emerson College's project in Hollywood has broken ground and this year seems more and more like it just might be action-packed, right? Peggy Ings, the school's associate vice president for government and community relations, confirms to Curbed that "construction has officially begun" and that excavation work started in early December. She says the project is on schedule, with foundations set to start going in around April, and a Certificate of Occupancy expected in December 2013. The project will get Emerson students who are studying in LA out of the Oakwood and into the 10 story tall Morphosis-designed digs at Sunset and Gordon. The building will have students rooms and staff/faculty apartments in the "frame," academic facilities in the middle area, retail on the ground floor, and three levels of underground parking. Neighbor East West Studio sued over noise concerns in 2010; that suit was dismissed last summer. The construction site has soundproofing all along its Gordon St. side, which Ings tells us was the college's idea.
· Architect Thom Mayne Brings the Future to Hollywood

Check link for more pics: [Curbed LA] (http://la.curbed.com/archives/2012/01/work_has_begun_on_emersons_morphosis_building_in_hollywood.php)

Oscars: My guess is that this is mostly negotiating for price. It would be a real embarrassment for the Oscars to go to a downtown plaza where they do X Games, next to a basketball/hockey arena for their ceremonies, when they are already on the most "Hollywood" block in the city. Plus the commute for execs and stars would be annoying.

Nokia is bound to offer a better deal, however, since Kodak now has Iris, basically 10 shows a week year-round.

Work Has Begun on Emerson's Morphosis Building in Hollywood



http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/4f0e312185216d705900377a/emerson.jpg



Emerson College's project in Hollywood has broken ground and this year seems more and more like it just might be action-packed, right? Peggy Ings, the school's associate vice president for government and community relations, confirms to Curbed that "construction has officially begun" and that excavation work started in early December. She says the project is on schedule, with foundations set to start going in around April, and a Certificate of Occupancy expected in December 2013. The project will get Emerson students who are studying in LA out of the Oakwood and into the 10 story tall Morphosis-designed digs at Sunset and Gordon. The building will have students rooms and staff/faculty apartments in the "frame," academic facilities in the middle area, retail on the ground floor, and three levels of underground parking. Neighbor East West Studio sued over noise concerns in 2010; that suit was dismissed last summer. The construction site has soundproofing all along its Gordon St. side, which Ings tells us was the college's idea.
· Architect Thom Mayne Brings the Future to Hollywood

Check link for more pics: [Curbed LA] (http://la.curbed.com/archives/2012/01/work_has_begun_on_emersons_morphosis_building_in_hollywood.php)

Could the next 10 years be the real Hollywood boom years? If Hollywood east of Vine, Sunset, Selma, etc., can do what Hollywood Blvd. has already done, it will be quite a place.

Oscars: My guess is that this is mostly negotiating for price. It would be a real embarrassment for the Oscars to go to a downtown plaza where they do X Games, next to a basketball/hockey arena for their ceremonies, when they are already on the most "Hollywood" block in the city. Plus the commute for execs and stars would be annoying.

Nokia is bound to offer a better deal, however, since Kodak now has Iris, basically 10 shows a week year-round.

Why do people keep saying that it would be wrong for the Oscar's to move downtown. Wouldn't it me more of a return? If you look at the history of locations for the Oscar Ceremony, between the Biltmore Bowl, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and the Shrine Auditorium they've been handed out in a downtown venue way more than anywhere else in the metro area.

Kodak takes its name off Hollywood theater that hosts Oscars

By Sarah Skidmore The Associated Press
Updated: 02/15/2012 09:15:08 PM PST

One big name that likely won't be at this year's Oscars: Kodak.

The Eastman Kodak Co. received court approval Wednesday to end its sponsorship deal with the Hollywood theater that is the venue for the Academy Awards.

Kodak signed a $74 million deal for naming rights to the theater in 2000. But the struggling photography company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month and wanted to end its contract for naming rights of the glamorous Los Angeles theater as it tries to improve its finances.

The company's financial advisers said in court documents that the benefits of having the company's name on the 3,300-seat erstwhile Kodak Theatre aren't worth the contract's cost.

Kodak confirmed Wednesday that a U.S. Bankruptcy judge approved its request to end the deal.

It's unclear what name will be on the theater when the Oscars are awarded Feb. 26. Kodak said the termination is effective immediately and deferred questions on the theater's name to the venue's owners and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

CIM Group, which owns the theater, declined to comment on the decision or the future of the theater's name. A representative for the academy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In addition to the theater's name, its owners may have to make other tweaks.

The theater has a George Eastman Room, named after Kodak's founder, which displays one of the nine Oscar statuettes that Kodak has been awarded through the years for its scientific and technical achievements and contributions to the industry, according to the theater's website. Kodak, based in Rochester, N.Y., is a photography pioneer but has been battered by competition and has failed to keep up with the shift from film to digital technology. It has been in a roughly decade-long turnaround but filed for bankruptcy protection when it ran short on cash.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York handling the case also approved a $950 million debtor-in-possession financing for Kodak on Wednesday that allows it to operate normally during bankruptcy, while it tries to sell its collection of digital-imaging patents.

Kodak spokesman Christopher Veronda said the company will still have a presence at the awards show. He noted that seven of the nine films nominated for the Oscar for best picture were shot on Kodak film.

http://www.dailybreeze.com/latestnews/ci_19973773?nstrack=sid:73753|met:300|cat:0|order:2

Should make for some interesting negotiations. Having a camera and film company in the name made a lot of sense. Hope we don't get some oil or energy company.

I wouldn't mind a more permanent, noncorporate name. They could always have the coroporate sponsorship as a subtext. For example: "The *** Theater, sponsored by ***", or something like that.

I wouldn't mind a more permanent, noncorporate name. They could always have the coroporate sponsorship as a subtext. For example: "The *** Theater, sponsored by ***", or something like that.

How bout the JOHNNY GRANT Theater............. Sponsored by World Com or whatever?

How bout the JOHNNY GRANT Theater............. Sponsored by World Com or whatever?

How about the "Divine Brown Theater Sponsored by Hugh Grant"?

[QUOTE=pesto;88763350]How about the "Divine Brown Theater Sponsored by Hugh Grant"?[/QUE]

I guess it's been named Hollywood & Highland Center.

A burst of Hollywood news on curbed today. A new alley opening, although the nicer one will be across Cahuenga. These kinds of passageways give a real "old world" urban feel to cities. Place like the Lower East Side, Union Sq. area and many European cities have them and they become places to drink coffee and chill. If and when Hollywood has high rise offices and active housing and shopping, they will be another part of making it a great place to visit.

And the Spaghetti Factory near the new Emerson College building is being torn down. Hope the new construction starts soon...

I don't blame them. Hollywood isn't designed for 50 story buildings. In order for Hollywood to be a truly great neighborhood, large scale projects (which is not the same as tall projects) is what developers should strive for. I've done this before but the pictures I'm about to post is exactly the scale of what projects in Hollywood should be.







You must be following the Melbourne forums :cheers:

"Divine Brown Theatre" sounds just fine!

Pasadena has been putting in these alleyways since at least the 90's and they work great there.

I guess it's been named Hollywood & Highland Center.

Very sensible.

Emerson woohooo

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2012-03/68501811.jpg

http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/blurb/2012-03/34574476-01181746.jpg

By Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times
March 2, 2012
Construction is underway on a potential Hollywood landmark, a high-rise college on Sunset Boulevard where students will live and study the arts.

Boston-based Emerson College, which has trained many in the entertainment field, is erecting a striking see-through building that will be its new West Coast campus.

The $85-million tower, designed by Los Angeles architect Thom Mayne, is intended to make a statement to the community and the entertainment industry, President Lee Pelton said.

"Emerson College has a very strong brand in arts and communication, and this is an opportunity to strengthen and expand that brand in Los Angeles," Pelton said.

The school is being built at Sunset and Gordon Street on a site that had been a parking lot for Tribune Studios. When the studios were sold in 2008, Emerson bought the parcel for $12 million from the new owner.

By 2014, the building is expected to provide housing, classrooms and training facilities for 200 students, double the number now studying in rented space on West Alameda Avenue in Burbank. Students are housed in a nearby apartment complex.

The design of the 10-story building echoes the boxiness of a mid-century office tower, but minus significant chunks of the interior; breezes will pass through the complex via an outdoor terrace.

The shape of the new building was made possible by recent advances in computer-aided design, Mayne said.

"It allows us to design much more complicated forms, closer to the way blenders and cars are done," he said, "with softer and much more fluid language."

The terrace, open to the sky, will include a 50-foot oak or sycamore tree among other greenery, he said. "People will wonder how that tree got up there."

Among the buildings designed by Mayne and his Culver City firm Morphosis Architects are the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art building in New York, the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Caltech and the Caltrans district headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.

Emerson College's Hollywood outpost will have 224 rooms in which students and staff will live. There will be three levels of underground parking and a cafe and shops at street level.

At the Hollywood campus, Emerson juniors, seniors and graduate students will study for a semester intended to include internships in entertainment, media and public relations. It will offer courses during fall and spring semesters, as well as a shortened summer session.

Pelton put the full outlay for the new building at $110 million, which includes land acquisition, design and other costs.

Among Emerson alumni are talk show host Jay Leno, producer Norman Lear, and actors Henry Winkler and Denis Leary.

Emerson College's development is another sign of the entertainment industry's ongoing return to the neighborhood, said Victor Coleman, chief executive of studio owner Hudson Pacific Properties Inc.

In 2008, his Los Angeles company bought the former Tribune Studios for $125 million from Tribune Co., the Chicago owner of the Los Angeles Times. The property, renamed Sunset Bronson Studios, still houses Tribune's KTLA-TV.

Hudson Pacific also owns nearby Sunset Gower Studios. Both have storied pasts as the early homes of Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures, respectively.

"There has been a big shift among entertainment companies that want to be back in the core of Hollywood," Coleman said. One of them is Technicolor, which in 2010 rented a new office building at Sunset Gower Studios less than a block west of the Emerson College site.

Across Sunset Boulevard from the college, preliminary work has begun by Hollywood landlord and developer CIM Group on a long-planned residential and retail complex. Next door to that, another development is being planned by Hudson Pacific, but Coleman declined to reveal details.

"Clearly the amount of energy and capital going into that area is going to make it a focal point for Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood," Coleman said.

roger.vincent@latimes.com
Copyright © 2012, Los Angeles Times

Thom Mayne

Thom Mayne

It almost doesn't matter if it's good or bad, as long as it's talked about. But this looks good to me.

Re the tree: a company I was doing work for in the UK had a mature 50k tree brought from Spain for their lobby and it had to be placed before construction was complete. They hired a new financial director and he said the tree was too expensive and he would not pay and the vendor should take it back. They finally agreed on 25k since the vendor was making considerable profit even at that rate.

The unnamed project he is talking about, the one he cant talk about, is probably this:

http://cdn.cstatic.net/cache/gallery/4131/5015398774_e00ae7bce6_o.png

From Curbed LA.

Walgreens Opening High-End Concept Store in Sunset+Vine (http://la.curbed.com/archives/2012/03/walgreens_opening_highend_concept_store_in_sunsetvine.php)

http://la.curbed.com/uploads/2012.03_walgreens.jpg

A few people have asked what's going on with the old Borders store in the Sunset+Vine complex and the answer is: it's getting a super fancy "concept" Walgreens. If this isn't evidence that Hollywood is back on its pre-recession track, we don't know what is. Yesterday, Walgreens filed plans with the city to open a 23,509 square foot store in the space (with no expansion)--they plan to be open 24 hours a day and sell booze from 6 am to 2 am. Hollywood Patch reported last week that that's just the beginning: "Store features would include a nail salon, a beauty center with makeup artists, and sushi prepared onsite…Customers could pick up groceries, including fresh fruits and vegetables, coffee, fine cheese, some meat items and higher-end alcohol. A frozen yogurt station is also in the plans." The pharmacists won't even be required to stand behind a counter. The plan was presented to the Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council recently and a board memeber tells Patch he thinks it'll be even better than having a Borders. Interior work is already underway and the store is set to open in the fall.

Curbed LA

Walgreens Opening High-End Concept Store in Sunset+Vine (http://la.curbed.com/archives/2012/03/walgreens_opening_highend_concept_store_in_sunsetvine.php)

http://la.curbed.com/uploads/2012.03_walgreens.jpg

A few people have asked what's going on with the old Borders store in the Sunset+Vine complex and the answer is: it's getting a super fancy "concept" Walgreens. If this isn't evidence that Hollywood is back on its pre-recession track, we don't know what is. Yesterday, Walgreens filed plans with the city to open a 23,509 square foot store in the space (with no expansion)--they plan to be open 24 hours a day and sell booze from 6 am to 2 am. Hollywood Patch reported last week that that's just the beginning: "Store features would include a nail salon, a beauty center with makeup artists, and sushi prepared onsite…Customers could pick up groceries, including fresh fruits and vegetables, coffee, fine cheese, some meat items and higher-end alcohol. A frozen yogurt station is also in the plans." The pharmacists won't even be required to stand behind a counter. The plan was presented to the Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council recently and a board memeber tells Patch he thinks it'll be even better than having a Borders. Interior work is already underway and the store is set to open in the fall.

Curbed LA

Just add a soda fountain and we'll be back where we were in 1935. But it should be a nice shot in the arm for foot traffic there.

Kodak Theatre now the Dolby Theatre

http://la.curbed.com/uploads/2012.04_dolby.jpg

Dolby Buys Naming Rights For Former Kodak Theatre (http://la.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/dolby_buys_naming_rights_for_former_kodak_theatre.php)

Fresh and hot to the inbox: the former Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland has a new name and the Oscars will be staying there for a long, long time. According to a press release from H&H Center owners CIM Group, they've signed a 20 year deal with Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (best known as the audio guys) to rename the Kodak to the Dolby Theatre; "Kodak" was stripped off the building earlier this year after that company declared bankruptcy. They've also struck a new 20 year deal with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to keep the Oscars at the 3,400 seat theater: "Under the new contract with the Academy, the Dolby Theatre will host the Academy Awards through 2033."

AMPAS formerly had a 20 year agreement that would've been up in 2023--they also had the option to leave after 10 years and had reportedly been eyeing the Nokia Theatre at LA Live (or more likely using it for leverage). Meanwhile, Dolby's term atop the theater will start this summer and the company "will continue to update the theatre with innovative, world-class technologies to ensure that the theatre remains state-of-the-art, beginning with the immediate installation of its recently released Dolby® Atmos™ sound technology." None of the financial terms of the deals were released.

I guess that makes sense, given the audio connection.

btw, I saw Iris there and it is well worth seeing. Look for half price tickets; even cheap seats have a decent view of the action, which is considerable.

All in all does not compare to most of the Vegas shows like KA, Love, and O, but still a very good show considering the limitations of the facilities.

All in all does not compare to most of the Vegas shows like KA, Love, and O, but still a very good show considering the limitations of the facilities.

Really? I thought just the opposite. But no use debating aesthetics.

In any event, it's about 3 hours closer to LA than LV and no hotel needed (although we did stay at the Roosevelt, which our firends from SF thought was very cool. Same people who didn't care for LA Live, but again, its all subjective.)