Bringing Back Broadway, Again

City Has Another Plan to Revive Key Corridor, Though Past Failures Indicate Nothing Will Be Easy

By Kathryn Maese

Over the last three decades, at least a dozen plans, studies and initiatives have been floated to recapture Broadway's former magic. The efforts all aim to recreate the era when streetcars traversed the busy corridor, well-heeled shoppers spent the day at department stores and wide-eyed theatergoers watched talkies in gilded movie houses.

But like Broadway's theaters over the years, those plans faded, victims of funding shortages, lack of political leadership and little to no consensus among the area's diverse and sometimes absentee property owners.

Now, a quiet effort headed by 14th District City Councilman José Huizar, the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council and the Historic Downtown Los Angeles Business Improvement District appears to be gaining traction in a way previous efforts have not. While observers acknowledge that it will not be easy to restore Broadway's luster, the growth of a residential community in Downtown is creating an urgency to act.

The first major step in years came last Tuesday, when the City Council approved a Huizar motion to hire a full-time city planner dedicated to the effort, spend $250,000 to develop the Broadway Specific Plan and address a parking shortage that has hindered the area's development.

"Historically, plans for Broad-way revitalization have come and gone over the years," Huizar said. "The initiatives have not lacked great ideas, but rather the commitment from both public and private entities to bring those ideas to fruition. There have been times when the property owners were ready but the city wasn't as engaged as it needed to be. There have been times when the city seemed ready but the property owners were not united."

For the first time, many of the area's key stakeholders are at the table, including theater owners, landlords, business leaders and community groups. The shared vision, initial plans for which could be completed by year's end, would turn Broadway between Third Street and Olympic Boulevard into an entertainment destination. It would diversify the largely Latino shopping hub with new retail, nightclubs, creative offices and live shows in renovated theaters.

"It's an important step forward for Broadway and we can't lose the moment," said Linda Dishman, executive director of preservation group the Los Angeles Conservancy. "The motion to do an overlay zone means this process can move faster than a specific plan and be more flexible in many ways."

In addition to creating incentives for new retail and tackling logistical issues such as the absence of theater loading docks and infrastructure, Huizar's motion aims to solve one of the main obstacles to creating a thriving theater zone: a severe lack of parking. Last week, the City Council directed four city departments to develop a report by the end of December on the feasibility of permanently using the Pershing Square garage a block west of Broadway at Sixth and Hill streets. Planners would also examine ways to improve pedestrian connections and signage along the corridor.

The garage is the only parking facility close to Broadway that could accommodate large theater and shopping crowds in the evenings. Huizar is also studying the possibility of building an elevator at the corner of Sixth and Hill streets and a kiosk that could sell tickets and direct patrons to theaters, similar to one in San Francisco's Union Square that offers half-price tickets and a Ticketmaster outlet.

"There is projected to be $30 million in Quimby fees generated from the Park Fifth skyscraper planned across the street that could be used," said Russ Brown, president of DLANC and director of the Historic Downtown BID, referring to funds paid by housing developers that go to park projects. "We want to activate it so that it connects to the surrounding neighborhood. One of the problems is that the parking garage is buried underneath the park and there's not a whole lot above that activates it now."

The Great Dim Way

For years Broadway has been viewed as one of Downtown's great failures. While a hodgepodge of retail bustles on the street level - and indeed, space on Broadway commands some of the highest rents in the region - behind and above the swap meet-style storefronts sit numerous neglected and mismanaged historic treasures. Whereas New York's Broadway is known as the Great White Way, Downtown Los Angeles' theater district has become the Great Dim Way. Despite boasting the largest concentration of historic movie palaces in the world, only one of the 11 venues is active year-round.

In 1977, city transportation planners floated a proposal to revitalize the area by closing it off to traffic and installing wide sidewalks and lush banks of trees. The vision was ultimately abandoned, as were several succeeding plans. The most recent effort, called Nighttime Broadway, focused on creating a 24-hour theater district by fast-tracking the city's permit process to spark development along Broadway from Third to Ninth streets. Announced with fanfare by former Mayor Jim Hahn, the initiative advocated extending operating hours past 2 a.m. and encouraging the development of a pedestrian mall.

The plan never took off.

Proponents of the current effort say this time things are different. For one, housing development in the area has begun to create a demand for more entertainment and late-night venues. The $2 billion Grand Avenue shopping and cultural hub a few blocks north is also underway, and Broadway could become the link between it and the L.A. Live sports and entertainment district on the south.

"About 1,200 residential units are in or going in directly on Broadway, and we will soon have tens of thousands of people living Downtown," Huizar said. "The growing Downtown residential community will need a diverse range of retail and commercial amenities, restaurants, entertainment and nightlife close to home. A revitalized Broadway will help connect this part of Downtown to the other great destination amenities being put together right now."

Additionally, many landlords who have sat on properties for years have begun to see the profit potential in enlivening the corridor, which glowed with a sea of vertical neon marquees and illuminated storefronts. That radical shift has been partly the work of the Historic Downtown BID and theater owner Michael Delijani, a founding member of the business group who is working closely with Huizar on the Broadway plan.

Delijani owns numerous properties along the corridor, including four of Broadway's most stunning theaters - the Los Angeles, Palace, Tower and State. Among those, the Los Angeles, at 615 S. Broadway, is the most active, hosting occasional fashion shows, film festivals and other special events. Although some on the street grumble that Delijani has done little with his properties, over the years he has sunk millions into restoring the Los Angeles Theatre, and during the summer he removed decades of filth and grime that marred each theater's façade.

Delijani said he is working on a budget and renovation plan to activate each theater, some with retail and others with bars and restaurants. Earlier this year he purchased the Tower Theater at 802 S. Broadway, which he said could be converted into a boutique hotel; he also received a liquor license for the Los Angeles Theatre.

"In order to make this Broadway plan happen, it's important to have nightlife fill in the gap between the theaters," he said. "We need businesses, restaurants and retail to stay open so that people want to walk around from theater to theater."

Several key parcels are slated to open in the next few months (see sidebar). The most significant is the Million Dollar Theatre, which anchors the district on the north at Third and Broadway.

Partner and manager Robert Voskanian has spent more than $1 million to spruce up the 1918 theater, which was built by Sid Grauman and seats 2,100 people. The space was in poor shape when Voskanian took it over, the once brilliantly painted walls and ceilings whitewashed. The refurbished venue, which has largely been restored to its original splendor, will host film screenings, movie premieres, stage performances and concerts. Although Voskanian has been working on the project for years, he said it could hold a soft opening by the end of the year.

"The Million Dollar is one of the most important theaters on Broadway because it was one of the original theaters," said Voskanian, who operated Downtown's Stock Exchange nightclub until last year. "Every day I'm surprised at how many people walk in and say they used to come here when they were kids with their mom and dad. It's especially important and popular in the Hispanic culture."

Voskanian, who graduated from film school, said he plans to activate the theater through in-house booking and promoters. "I'm betting on Broadway coming back," he said. "That's why we spent so much money on this."

Also on track to open in the coming months is the Broadway Arcade Building, where a mid-block arcade stretching between Broadway and Spring Street has been refurbished; it will come online along with 142 apartments. In addition, the Judson C. Rives Building at 424 S. Broadway is undergoing an $11 million renovation that will include 60 apartments.

An 'Organic' Effort

Unlike previous plans, stakeholders say the Huizar-led effort seems to be evolving around market demand, not a forced vision of what Broadway should look like.

"It's organic," said Brady Westwater, a member of the DLANC arts committee who is working on the Broadway initiative. "We're looking at the strengths of what the community is as opposed to trying to build the Grove Downtown. This is about how do we meet their needs?"

Westwater and Brown are trying to attract new retail to the ground floor and creative offices in the empty buildings above. DLANC hopes to house three museums along Broadway, along with art galleries, cultural institutions, performance venues, and antique and book dealers. So far, Westwater said, property owners have been surprisingly accommodating, even offering discounts on rent to non-profits eager to occupy unused upper floor space.

"There is an incredible opportunity to develop a real creative core for all the arts here," Westwater said.

Brown said that by spring he hopes to have a "culture crawl" one night a month that would expand on the wild success of Downtown's monthly Art Walk. That event draws thousands to stroll the streets, browse galleries and fill restaurants and bars.

"We want to further expand the art galleries, but also theater, dance, film, music and fashion," Brown said. "There is a natural synergy between those two communities."

Transportation also figures prominently into bringing Broadway back. As in Broadway's heyday, the Red Car trolley tops the agenda. The idea has political support from U.S. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, who three years ago secured $100,000 for a feasibility study on bringing the fabled trolley system back to Downtown. Early estimates pegged the five-mile route at $50 million, though no funding sources have been identified.

"The Historic Core is a natural pathway to get people from Grand Avenue to Staples Center and the Convention Center," Brown said. "A Downtown transportation system is the logical step. Downtown Portland has a trolley system, and once you're there you never need a car to get around to most of the neighborhoods."

In the short term, stakeholders say the Downtown DASH bus needs to operate beyond 6 p.m. and create more stops. Currently there are no stops along Broadway.

Though revitalizing Broadway would be a complex, long-term project, some like Dishman believe baby steps can go a long way in making an immediate improvement in the area. As an example, she cited Spring Street property owner Izek Shomof, who includes a clause in each lease that requires commercial tenants to keep their lights on until midnight or 2 a.m.

Others say replacing the street's gauntlet of solid metal roll-down gates covering stores with see-through models would create instant visual impact for pedestrians and light up the street.

While most historic theater districts that have been revitalized across the country are funded through a city entity, the Downtown Los Angeles effort would likely be bankrolled through a mix of sources and grants. Though financing has yet to be nailed down, a few possibilities could include the L.A. Department of Transportation, Route 66 money (part of Broadway lies along the historic thoroughfare), Save America's Treasures, and state funds for infrastructure.

"People look at Broadway and leave it up to the property owners," said Tara Jones, a preservation consultant who also works with Delijani. "Any historic core you look at, whether Hollywood or Philadelphia or Cleveland, the city stepped up with redevelopment funds, revolving loan funds and completely re-landscaped the street. L.A. has a huge handicap."

Still, stakeholders and political leaders agree that the time for Broadway's encore has arrived. With national media attention surrounding the Downtown residential and cultural renaissance, stakeholders such as Delijani believe the theater district has a chance to recapture its place as the city's entertainment center.

"This is the best opportunity we have to make it happen now," Delijani said. "It has to happen."

Transforming Broadway

Six Projects Changing the Face of a Key Corridor

Numerous notable projects are unfolding along the Broadway corridor in Downtown Los Angeles, from residential rehabs to sleek office towers. Each is adding new life to once abandoned or underused structures. Here is a peek at six.

Million Dollar Theatre: Robert Voskanian, a partner in the building, has spent more than $1 million to spruce up the 1918 theater at 307 S. Broadway, which seats more than 2,000 people and will host film screenings, movie premieres, stage performances and concerts. It is set for a soft opening by year's end.

Arcade Building: On track to open in the coming months is the Broadway Arcade Building. The mid-block arcade at 540 S. Broadway, stretching between Broadway and Spring Street, has been refurbished and will come online along with 142 apartments.

Chapman Lofts: This $30 million project at Eighth Street and Broadway is set to open soon with 168 condos. The 13-story, 94-year-old edifice once housed garment manufacturers. The building will keep its original decorative façade, doors, columns and window trim and create a rooftop garden.

Pan American Lofts: Residents have moved in to this 111-year-old former office building at Third Street and Broadway, which opened this summer. The $20 million project includes 40 condominiums and 6,400 square feet of retail space. It is across the street from the Million Dollar Theatre.

Judson C. Rives Building: This $11 million renovation will transform the 10-story former theater and office building at 424 S. Broadway. Expected to open in the next few months, the project includes 60 apartments and will retain historic elements such as the marble and metal vaulted ceilings and glass canopy. New balconies will overlook Broadway.

Metropolitan Building: Located at 315 W. Fifth St. (at Broadway) this project will rehab the 10-story building into 84 apartments by next fall. The ground floor will retain its discount department store, Fallas Paredes, though the storefront will be modernized.

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Source: Los Angeles Downtown News (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2007/10/29/news/news01.txt)

Editorial

Broadway Effort Needs Backbone

It may sound like a broken record, but there is another plan to revive Broadway. Hopefully the right people are on board and this endeavor will fare better than past tries at breathing life into the street's 11 historic theaters.

Last week, as part of an ongoing series on the past, present and future of the key corridor, Los Angeles Downtown News detailed an effort propelled by 14th District City Councilman José Huizar. Still in the early stage, it proposes hiring a full-time city planner to focus on the street and spending $250,000 to develop a Broadway Specific Plan.

Over the past three decades, a lot of time and money has disappeared into the Broadway rabbit hole. While there is a risk of throwing good resources after bad, a smart, encompassing plan to activate Broadway is a necessity.

More than 7,000 housing units have opened Downtown in the last seven years, and another 7,500 are under construction, with thousands more in the planning pipeline. Many of these are in the Historic Core, within a short walk of Broadway. There is a rare opportunity to make planning for the street coincide with the rise of the neighborhood.

A surfeit of circumstances have imperiled past stabs at enlivening Broadway: From a lack of political leadership and numerous absentee landowners to economics that make it more appealing for some property owners to lease space to swap meets than tenants who might draw a broader audience. Finally, there may be a driving force for real change.

Any Broadway plan revolves around restoring and activating the theaters. This is neither easy nor inexpensive, though it is doable: Orpheum Theatre owner Steve Needleman has raised the bar high with the renovation of his historic space, the creation of apartments in the building above the theater and a recent partnership with promoters to bring dozens of concerts and award shows to the venue. Needleman's achievement betters the community and sets a good example.

Huizar's new endeavor will require some fancy footwork to avoid the pitfalls of the past, starting with his own forceful, effective leadership. He will have to employ political muscle to bring people to the table and urge some landowners to think beyond their bottom line, to keep the neighborhood foremost among their thoughts. This could be Huizar's legacy project.

A cadre of Broadway players will need to step up and work together on an array of issues, from parking to a consistent lighting plan to residential needs. The laissez-faire attitude that has been the status quo for several decades will not cut it.

This is the best opportunity to resuscitate Broadway in a long time. Hopefully the $250,000 study will be a highly effective triumph, not another tome placed on the long shelf of failures.

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Source: Los Angeles Downtown News (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2007/11/05/news/opinion/edit02.txt)

^ Great articles and so very informative and whatnot. Shouldn't this thread be merge with "Downtown News Thread" so we can have everything on a one-stop shop thread. :0

^ True, but this is worthy of its own thread.

^ Every projerct in the L.A. area is very worthy of it's own thread if you ask me. Unfortunately we will have a million and 1 individual worhty projects in the forum.

Case in pont: transit threads in the L.A. forum, why soooooo many?

Wether it's (Bus, Light Rail, Subway, freight, Metrolink and even Monorails) they should all be in the same thread. Makes the discussions in compliance with the forum standards and keeps us on track of right to the minute news!

Well that's it, I have gas btw*

^ Every projerct in the L.A. area is very worthy of it's own thread if you ask me. Unfortunately we will have a million and 1 individual worhty projects in the forum.

Case in pont: transit threads in the L.A. forum, why soooooo many?

Wether it's (Bus, Light Rail, Subway, freight, Metrolink and even Monorails) they should all be in the same thread. Makes the discussions in compliance with the forum standards and keeps us on track of right to the minute news!

Well that's it, I have gas btw*

And I'm not sticking. :banana:

Let's first see if this project will even go anywhere before we make a thread about it.

And I'm not sticking. :banana:

^ Thanks for the heads up, weirdo! :lol:

Let's first see if this project will even go anywhere before we make a thread about it.

^ It's not a matter of going anywhere in the first place. We Angelinos definitely want this project to become a successful story of a thriving Downtown. To make all us all proud, big headed, cocky when it comes to show-casting our city to the world... My point was that this great article would be more suitable in the "Downtown News Thread". :nuts:

^ The first article has been posted in one of the Downtown threads. Those are reserved for little projects -- things such as adaptive reuse projects and the like. The revitalization of Broadway is no little project. It is an important step towards creating a vibrant world class city center for all of us to enjoy.

^ It's not a matter of going anywhere in the first place. We Angelinos definitely want this project to become a successful story of a thriving Downtown. To make all us all proud, big headed, cocky when it comes to show-casting our city to the world... My point was that this great article would be more suitable in the "Downtown News Thread". :nuts:

Yeah I know, but no reason to get excited at such an early stage.

Aren't there a couple of other old theaters on Hill St. in the jewelry district? How would that effect the rennovation of the old theaters?

double post, sorry.

Street Politics

As José Huizar Envisions Revitalizing Broadway, Some Wonder Whether He'll Just Be the Latest Casualty of the Corridor

By Kathryn Maese

Councilman José Huizar's story, like that of many of the city's Latino politicians, weaves in and out of Downtown's Broadway district. While Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has described shining shoes along the busy street to earn pocket change, Huizar recalls finding himself wide-eyed as he took in karate flicks at the grand but shabby theaters lining the corridor.

On Sundays he and his family would take the bus into Downtown from Boyle Heights, hit the stores for clothes or back-to-school supplies and pump coins into arcade games. But his memory lingers most in the velvet-clad movie palaces, where the 9-year-old's imagination ran wild as he watched Bruce Lee double features.

Nearly 30 years later the Mexican immigrant who once played along the bustling street now oversees it as part of his 14th Council District. That early attachment to Broadway has propelled Huizar to spearhead an ambitious plan to restore the historic theater district to its former glory.

During a recent walk along Broadway with Los Angeles Downtown News, Huizar said that he has made revitalizing the heart of the city his "legacy project." Over the roar of buses and the banda music blaring from store stereos, he discussed his big-picture vision for the area.

"Broadway is the last linchpin for what is happening with the revitalization of all of Downtown," he said as he stood at the corner of Eighth and Broadway, in front of the Tower Theatre, one of the former gems, now shuttered. "I think we're doing a disservice to the city and this area if we just let it continue the way it is. It's right in the middle of the Grand Avenue and L.A. Live projects, and it's going to connect both."

It's the right approach, many believe. Area stakeholders and observers note that Broadway has more of a chance to be revitalized than at any time in the past few decades, with a slew of new residents giving the street momentum and purchasing power.

At the same time, some wonder whether Huizar is primed to lead the fight. While they acknowledge that his public proclamations are in the right place, some City Hall insiders and Downtown observers, who did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation, question whether Huizar has the political acumen and instincts to spark a turnaround.

Indeed, despite his grand scheme pronouncements to Downtown News, Huizar was lacking in details, and during the tour his enthusiasm appeared to lag at points. Though he was discussing his "legacy project," the tour of the eight-block stretch seemed more of a photo opportunity than an in-depth description of the theaters and retail.

Bermuda Triangle

Huizar is not the first one to try to change Broadway.

For nearly 30 years, Broadway has in many ways become a sort of development Bermuda Triangle. Since the late 1970s, more than a dozen plans, studies and political promises to reignite the strip have disappeared.

The revitalization of the street has stymied many of Huizar's Council predecessors, and even a few mayors, with its lack of parking, crumbling theaters, hodgepodge retail and infighting among property owners.

Part of the problem has been the musical chairs of the 14th Council District. Longtime City Councilman Richard Alatorre left office in 1999, though his last few years were mired in scandal. His successor, Nick Pacheco, oversaw the area for one term, accomplishing only a few small street improvement projects. His attention was diverted when former state Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa ran for Pacheco's seat. Villaraigosa won and took over in 2003.

Villaraigosa spent even less time leading the district, with little to show on Broadway. Though he had pledged to serve a full term, he vacated the council seat for the mayor's office just two years later. A special election brought in Huizar, a former school board president, in 2005.

There is a chance, finally, for stability. With City Council members now allowed to serve three terms, Huizar could potentially oversee Broadway's revitalization for as many as 14 years.

"There has been a lot of turnover but I'm going to be here for a while," Huizar said. "I think it takes that consistency to get something going. People were reminding me about how Mayor Jim Hahn tried [to fix Broadway] and then Pacheco and then we had this interim period. So I think you need that stabilization.

"If you look at planning and economic development in Los Angeles, other than large mega projects, it's up to the local councilperson to provide that leadership," he continued. "That's just the way it is. And so hopefully, with this being one of my priorities and hopefully a legacy project, we'll be able to make it happen."

Spurring Nightlife

At the end of the month, Huizar plans to introduce a motion to City Council to approve the creation of an overlay zone, which could help attract new retail, restaurants and clubs to Broadway by streamlining the permitting process, waiving certain city building codes and allowing venues to stay open later.

The new plan comes even though the Council last month essentially shelved another part of his initiative for the street, known as the Broadway Specific Plan. That was originally introduced about a year ago, and would have taken longer to implement.

"We anticipate the overlay zone could be completed within a year or so, and based on support we've been getting from all sides, we anticipate this will be well-received and hope that it will be swiftly funded," said Huizar's Deputy Chief of Staff Peter Hidalgo.

The 11 theaters will be the centerpiece of Huizar's plan. Only one, the Orpheum, has been restored and hosts regular events. The others, like broken teeth on a comb, create dead zones along the streetscape, and many haven't seen activity for nearly 40 years apart from film shoots or special events.

During the tour Huizar stopped at the Los Angeles Theatre, which hosts occasional events but lacks the loading facilities and parking to make regular programming a reality. Huizar said he envisions the venue hosting screenings, comedy, vaudeville and even reality shows.

Creating more parking is pivotal to making that happen. As part of another Huizar motion, the Council last month directed four city departments to study the feasibility of using the Pershing Square garage for theater parking - few theaters have their own parking and the facility would allow theater patrons to park and walk a block to Broadway.

Huizar said he believes finding funding for many of these projects is not as difficult as some might think, particularly for short-term efforts such as security patrols, streetscaping and lighting.

"There are different pots of money from the city and I'm convinced, as I've seen in other instances in my district, that once you put your mind to it and squeeze the sponge of the city something pops out," he said. "It just takes leadership and looking around and making something a priority."

An Uphill Battle

Several longtime Downtown observers said that although Huizar grasps the big picture of what needs to happen on Broadway, when it comes to navigating the political channels of City Hall, he has struggled to produce results on even small efforts such as getting signs changed or resolving the lack of loading hindering many theaters. Frequent staff turnover in his office has not helped with consistency. Some political figures say his office has been ill equipped to push his agenda forward.

"I think he's still untested," said one figure long active in Downtown affairs. "Of greater concern is his staff and their ability to get stuff through. They are very motivated and hardworking, but simple things are hard to get done."

Huizar's record on preservation has also suffered a few dings. Observers specifically point to the demolition of the storied Ambassador Hotel to make way for a new school during his time as school board president. Few elements have been preserved at the site of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy's assassination and the famed Cocoanut Grove nightclub.

Complicating matters when it comes to Broadway has been a historic lack of support and communication among various city departments, a reality Huizar recognizes. For the last several months, he said he has been meeting with the heads of city departments to bridge that divide and coordinate future efforts, though he said it is still a work in progress.

The Planning Department will play an important role in the viability of Broadway. With past efforts, such as Mayor Jim Hahn's Nighttime Broadway initiative, the department lacked vision for large-scale undertakings and was sorely understaffed. Indeed, Nighttime Broadway was launched with fanfare in 2001, but received little follow-up.

When Gail Goldberg was selected to head the department last year, Broadway proponents saw a rare chance to regain momentum. Goldberg played a large role in creating downtown San Diego's Gaslamp District, which thrives with nighttime entertainment and restaurants.

Last Thursday during a Planning Commission meeting, Goldberg reasserted her support for the effort, saying she doesn't want Broadway to become "another plan that sits on the shelf."

Planning Commissioner Diego Cardoso, who is working with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on a plan to link the subway to other parts of Downtown, said the success of Broadway partly depends on effective public transportation.

"I've seen many plans for Broadway go nowhere," he said at the meeting. "Today there is a big difference, and that difference is transportation."

Unlike his predecessors, Huizar is overseeing Broadway at a time when many of the ingredients for success seem to be coalescing. At least half a dozen residential projects are cropping up along the corridor, creating demand for more entertainment options.

More importantly, local property owners are realizing Broadway's investment potential and are beginning to take steps to improve their façades and clean up the streets.

"Part of the reason Broadway has suffered in the past is the need for a unified common vision among property owners," said Ninth District Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district surrounds the street. "Once you rally and unify and bring the tenants along, you'll see a return to glory on Broadway. It's already beginning to happen on Seventh Street. Great proposals have come and gone and have been lost and dissipated because there's wasn't unity among property owners."

Huizar admits he doesn't have all the answers, and that he is just "asking the important questions" right now. Whether he can overcome the critics and make a difference remains to be seen, but he is optimistic about what he can accomplish.

"Within three years we're going to see a real change," he promised. "Within five years there will be another benchmark, and certainly within 10 years it will be where we would like it to be. It's going to take a while but when I say 10 years I'm thinking all the bells and whistles with the trolley. But within three to five years you're going to see some of the shops, entertainment and restaurants, and the theaters doing more business and booking more shows."

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Source: Los Angeles Downtown News (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2007/11/12/news/news01.txt)

Broadway West?

Tinseltown Eyes Theatrical Revival

By JONATHAN KARP
November 14, 2007

Along Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, the Tower Theater helped usher in the era of "talking pictures" in 1927, and the Los Angeles Theatre hosted the 1931 premiere of Charlie Chaplin's classic film "City Lights." Albert Einstein accompanied the star to the gala, while Great Depression victims stood in line for bread across the street.

But unlike the Broadway of New York City, where -- when stagehands aren't on strike -- throngs arrive in tour buses to see "Mamma Mia" or "A Chorus Line," the 12 theaters in L.A.'s version of the Great White Way have long been neglected and sit mostly unused.

The baroque and gothic venues, built between 1910 and 1931 for vaudeville acts and movies, line a six-block stretch that today is a mélange of retail marts, check-cashing outlets and bridal shops. Two theaters serve as churches, and another has become a flea market. This street teems with activity by day but largely empties at dusk.

For the first time in decades, though, there is hope that the city's faded theater district can be revived -- as a broader renaissance of downtown Los Angeles takes hold.

After previous failed attempts to restore Broadway's nightlife, a new initiative by developers, preservationists and policy makers is gaining impetus because of two multibillion-dollar projects at both ends of the business district: the L.A. Live sports and entertainment complex in the south and the Grand Ave. residential, hotel and shopping plan in the north. Broadway is envisioned as a thriving theater corridor, with bistros, bars and new stores, linking the two megadevelopments.

"The timing is finally right for revitalizing Broadway," says Michael Delijani, who owns the Tower, Los Angeles, State and Palace theaters. The nearly 2,000-seat Orpheum Theatre has been renovated, and the Million Dollar Theater -- built in 1918 by impresario Sid Grauman, whose later Hollywood cinemas accelerated Broadway's decline -- is due to reopen in the coming months after a makeover.

Los Angeles city council member José Huizar has been shuttling between the theater owners and the city's planning department to build consensus for a revival plan. In a small but concrete step, he secured city council support late last month to fund a study on how to make more parking available, a major bottleneck for the large theaters. This month, Mr. Huizar says he will present a comprehensive vision for the theater district to deal with everything from better street lighting to increased access for loading stage equipment at the theaters.

Like other downtown Los Angeles projects, Broadway faces a host of challenges, including its proximity to thousands of homeless people living in the Skid Row neighborhood a few blocks away and the question of how to balance future theater fare among live stage performances, films and Spanish-language entertainment. Skeptics say downtown already has a glut of event venues.

Even proponents say gentrification could create tension with the street's business owners, most of whom are Hispanic, who eventually will be expected to upgrade their restaurants and shops, or move. Mr. Huizar, whose connection to the street dates from a childhood of watching Spanish-dubbed martial-arts movies in Broadway theaters, believes all interests can be accommodated. Community activists say efforts already are under way to help commercial tenants relocate to available properties within blocks of Broadway.

"Downtown is big enough for everybody," says Brady Westwater, an entrepreneur and civic activist. New condominium, loft and apartment complexes downtown have begun luring professionals to move to pockets near Broadway and create demand for higher-end supermarkets and stores.

Advocates believe that revamping Broadway is important to creating a more cohesive downtown for the growing number of residents and tourists alike. It could also accelerate real-estate investment downtown, which hasn't been as desirable a property play as Beverly Hills or Santa Monica.

Broadway's success could hinge on investing millions of dollars in public transportation, including reviving the Red Car trolley that operated until 1961, to make downtown -- an area of several square miles -- easier to get around. In the short-term, though, the focus is on scrubbing off graffiti, adding parking and renovating and reopening the theaters.

Unlike New York, where the city and state governments invested directly in venues, "in L.A., all the theaters are private, and the owners will have to lead the process," says Tara Jones, a consultant and president of National Preservation Partners, a nonprofit group. Ms. Jones has prepared studies on the theaters' market feasibility.

Entertainment conglomerates haven't yet embraced Broadway west, but it's still early in the process.

Only four of Broadway's theaters are available for events, and only one, the Orpheum, has truly been renovated. The Broadway Bar, adjoining the Orpheum, offers a rare watering hole for before or after a performance.

Orpheum owner Steve Needleman invested $3.5 million to overhaul the 1,970-seat venue, which has hosted episodes of the television show "American Idol" and was one of several Broadway theaters used to film the movie "Dreamgirls." In recent weeks, Mr. Needleman has rented out the Orpheum for Los Angeles Fashion Week events and to Siemens AG for the launch of a new magnetic-resonance imaging machine. "I do a wide variety," he says. "I know how hard it is to fill 2,000 seats."

Mr. Needleman's parents bought the building in 1964, not for the theater itself, but for the 11 floors of garment-factory space above it. In 2001, Mr. Needleman began restoring the theater. He has since invested some $4 million separately to convert the upper floors into apartments.

The street's biggest theater landlord, Michael Delijani, is aiming to position his four venues for a range of offerings. His newest acquisition, the 300-seat Tower theater, was earning its keep one recent afternoon as the set for a "CSI" episode, replete with a New York City taxi and police car at its curb.

The jewel of Mr. Delijani's theater portfolio, the Los Angeles Theatre, has been in the family since the 1970s, but only gradually have the owners sought to restore the ornate, French-inspired interior. Reminders of past glory abound, from the chandeliers and gilded lobby decor to the auditorium's ceiling mural to the ladies restroom, where each of 16 stalls is decorated in a different color of marble.

Another Delijani property, the State Theater, once featured performances by Judy Garland. Now it is leased by an evangelical church. In addition to restoring the venue, there is "some discussion" about developing the upper floors as a boutique hotel," says Ms. Jones, the consultant.

Despite the comparisons to New York, Los Angeles's Broadway is likely to lean toward film events and concerts. Mr. Huizar, the city councilman, says, "The ultimate would be to book a [New York] Broadway show."

Mr. Westwater, a civic activist who has helped lure art galleries downtown, agrees. He is busily trying to recruit theater professionals, musical productions and live drama to Los Angeles.

Extended runs here would give tourists a reason to visit downtown and would "create a West Coast outlet to amortize the cost of putting on productions," he says.

He is confident the plan to attract New York productions will succeed, adding, "The only question is: Who is going to be the first to cut a deal and get the best terms?"

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Source: Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119500058591592072.html)

Nice. As the saying goes, "One step at a time..."

^ It's disappointing to hear that Broadway is more inclined to host movie premieres, film events, and concerts rather than live theater, plays, and musicals. But this part of the article provides a glimmer of hope...

"Mr. Westwater, a civic activist who has helped lure art galleries downtown, agrees. He is busily trying to recruit theater professionals, musical productions and live drama to Los Angeles."

^ It's disappointing to hear that Broadway is more inclined to host movie premieres, film events, and concerts rather than live theater, plays, and musicals. But this part of the article provides a glimmer of hope...

"Mr. Westwater, a civic activist who has helped lure art galleries downtown, agrees. He is busily trying to recruit theater professionals, musical productions and live drama to Los Angeles."

Right. The rest of the article became completely irrelevant once I read that excerpt.

We already have outlets for movie premiers, concerts and all of that other bullshit. Broadway should be inclined to have live theater and musicals going on in the district at any given moment during the day. I mean, look at how many starving actors/actresses we have in our city. We got the people, we got the buildings, all we need now is to make that jump and make this thing a reality.

Right. The rest of the article became completely irrelevant once I read that excerpt.

We already have outlets for movie premiers, concerts and all of that other bullshit. Broadway should be inclined to have live theater and musicals going on in the district at any given moment during the day. I mean, look at how many starving actors/actresses we have in our city. We got the people, we got the buildings, all we need now is to make that jump and make this thing a reality.

Exactly. Leave it to Hollywood to host the movie premieres, film events, and concerts. After all, isn't that what it does best?

As the article mentioned, creating a vibrant theatre district along Broadway and the immediate vicinity would give a reason for people to make the trek to Downtown. Furthermore, doesn't Broadway have one of the largest concentrations of theatres (historic ones at that) in the country? This could do wonders for LA's already rich performing arts scene and its broader cultural scene. Lastly, this is just one of the many necessary steps toward propelling LA to that next tier of world-class cities.

I agree with the sentiment that these venues should cater to live performance. There is an unfilled niche for that in our city. The Pantages is great... but it's sorta unavailable for the forseeable future. I think supply doesn't meet demand in LA right now for these types of performances. Broadway could be the answer!

I'm just gonna ramble on for a second...

When I was at work last night I couldn't stop thinking about this project. You know, how it would be one of the fundamental pieces of not only linking our Downtown together, but our entire city and it would be one of the things to propel further development in DTLA.

Right after that however, I started to wonder why there are so many factors as to why this project just isn't getting off the ground. Failed funding, lack of any real civic leadership, property owners not giving a damn, etc. etc....

In order for this thing to work, I think everyone in the city needs to get their heads out of their asses from the leaders to the civilians and we'd have to push this project into fruition. In of those articles they were talking about adding parking spaces. Another part of that article talked how over a 30 year period the project was being handed from one person to another and shit wasn't getting accomplished. And in another part of one of those articles, it talked about how the owners of those properties wasn't doing shit about the treasure they were sitting on. WTF? Why are we lagging like this? Do people care at all?

I'm sorry if I'm coming off as a little frustrated, but I'm just wondering why over a period of basically forever why things haven't changed at all. It just seems that we're gonna go through the same rigmarole unless we cut the shit.

^ Yeah, I too experience that same sort of frustration now and then. But I keep telling myself that we just need to be patient and optimistic. From what I read in that article, there's a glimmer of hope. Every cloud has a silver lining.

I'm just gonna ramble on for a second...

When I was at work last night I couldn't stop thinking about this project. You know, how it would be one of the fundamental pieces of not linking our Downtown together, but our entire city and it would be one of the things to propel further development in DTLA.

Right after that however, I started to wonder why there are so many factors as to why this project just isn't getting off the ground. Failed funding, lack of any real civic leadership, property owners not giving a damn, etc. etc....

In order for this thing to work, I think everyone in the city needs to get their heads out of their asses from the leaders to the civilians and we'd have to push this project into fruition. In of those articles they were talking about adding parking spaces. Another part of that article talked how over a 30 year period the project was being handed from one person to another and shit wasn't getting accomplished. And in another part of one of those articles, it talked about how the owners of those properties wasn't doing shit about the treasure they were sitting on. WTF? Why are we lagging like this? Do people care at all?

I'm sorry if I'm coming off as a little frustrated, but I'm just wondering why over a period of basically forever why things haven't changed at all. It just seems that we're gonna go through the same rigmarole unless we cut the shit.

If your fustration is that great why dont you do something about it...wishing about is not going to change a thing. Do get me wrong I feel the same way. I Just want to march up in their and tell them how things are done. Im hoping to do that one day in the future.(not exactly marching in...:lol:) So many of us want changes. My question is .. If we truly want change what are we doing? Most of us here are young and have a future....
sorry went alittle of topic might leave this for a a new thread.

In the article it was stated that unlike NYC's revitalization effort that went into Broadway and Times Square, this is not a joint city-state effort. Any revitalization effort for Broadway at the moment is all being done privately.

In Search of a Great Street

Barcelona's Ramblas Provides Hints for Downtown's Broadway

By Sam Hall Kaplan

Every time I go on a trip, as I did last month to Barcelona, I am reminded how singular streets more than signature buildings distinguish a city.

Streetscapes are for me the rivers of life in a city, revealing in the passing flow the character and culture of the residents and what makes them and their surroundings so special.

To be sure, Barcelona is the setting of the idiosyncratic architecture of Antonio Gaudi and an array of constructs by a recent parade of star architects. But as dazzling as these designs may be, I feel they speak more to the conceits of the individual architect than to the soul of the Spanish city.

Then there is the Ramblas, a people-welcoming street that cuts through the heart of the old city. Despite a growing appeal as a tourist attraction, the street still brims with the pomp and pride of locals.

Strolling along its wide, tree-lined promenade, enjoying the spectacle of the bird and flower vendors cluttering its central walk, stopping to sit at an umbrella-covered table for a drink served from restaurants across a narrow roadway that lines the street, you are embraced by the city's century-old tradition of idling.

Please do not confuse idling with shopping, or the Ramblas with the so-called "lifestyle centers" that are sugarcoating the chain stores and faux Main streets that flavor our indistinct promenades and malls. They are as different as a Catalan-infused caffe and a paper cup of instant coffee.

Yes, there are things for sale on and edging the Ramblas. But more important than the commercial endeavors are the social encounters. The Ramblas is a place to see and be seen; a place of fleeting faces and forms, not always friendly, though eternally fascinating. It is what cities are all about, inviting participation as they constantly change and challenge.

For these reasons and more, this meandering, unique construct in a secondary city of Spain has lessons for Downtown Los Angeles.

Indeed, given the growing awareness in Southern California of a revitalized Downtown, and the need for a pedestrian-friendly focus to lend it life, the timing could not be better for launching a streetscaping initiative emulating the Ramblas.

For the last several years, the city's Planning Department and the Community Redevelopment Agency and its prime landscape consultant, Pat Smith, have published and promoted an ambitious set of urban design standards and guidelines laying out a streetscaping strategy. Critical to the effort has been the tacit support of the Department of Transportation, which until recently had considered its prime objective to move cars and trucks fast and efficiently through Downtown. Making streets attractive for pedestrians at best has been an afterthought.

Helping change minds have been such recent events as "Park(ing) Day L.A." and the Urban Design Studio street demonstration at the Grand Avenue Festival.

The former encouraged the conversion of parking lanes along select streets Downtown and elsewhere into pedestrian-friendly areas sprinkled with public art. The latter attempted to create for a day a hint of what a street actually would be like if developed according to the city's draft guidelines.

Second Street between Hope and Grand was temporarily landscaped with some 100 trees, 50 plants and 1,100 square feet of sod to create a shady green setting for an array of seating and play areas, edged by a painted façade of storefronts and residences. Its success was validated by the crowds vying for places to sit and picnic.

But so much for temporary demonstrations, however praiseworthy. So much also for the reams of reports and seemingly endless studies and conferences the city and a host of academic and allied professional groups have conducted over the years.

Seeing the Ramblas has made me more impatient than ever for a dramatic demonstration Downtown of a Great Street (the capitalization is mine), and to suggest, as have others, that Broadway be so anointed. One of the latest to do so is City Councilman José Huziar, who recently shared his views with Los Angeles Downtown News of a revitalized Broadway as a focus to his district.

A visit to Barcelona offers inspiration and ideas. Broadway from about Third to Ninth streets in many ways is surprisingly similar to the Ramblas, in both scale and style. It is anchored by a popular public market, the Grand Central, and is home to several historic landmark theaters whose programming can be made more universal and inviting. (On the Ramblas the market is La Boqueria and the theatre the Gran Teatre del Liceu.)

The many stores and shops edging Broadway are diverse and colorful, as they are on the Ramblas, offering sites for offbeat alternatives to the predicable outlets that dominate malls.

Broadway also has the potential to become an attractive place to graze, both for tourists and the expanding resident population in Downtown. With encouragement, eateries could spill out over the street's wide sidewalk and onto a center path, as they do on the Ramblas. That could easily be constructed on Broadway.

The creation of a landscaped central way, similar to the one that forms the shaded pedestrian spine of the Ramblas, no doubt would be the most radical element in the redesign of Broadway. But a lane of traffic going each way and accommodating buses can be preserved, as it is on the Ramblas.

Actually, the weather in Downtown is slightly more favorable to idling than in the waterfront neighborhood of the Ramblas. What we lack now when compared to Barcelona is the civic commitment to creating a Great Street and a great Downtown.

Yes, Broadway would be the place to start.

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Source: Los Angeles Downtown News (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2007/11/26/news/opinion/edit02.txt)

Sam Hall Kaplan... I've heard of that name affiliated with one of our local newscasts, but just too lazy to look up which one.

Sam Hall Kaplan... I've heard of that name affiliated with one of our local newscasts, but just too lazy to look up which one.

Sam Hall Kaplan is the former design critic for the L.A. Times and an Emmy-award winning former reporter for Fox News. His commentaries can be heard on "Off Ramp," 89.3 FM, noon, most Saturdays.

^ That was at the very bottom of the article. I decided to leave it out.

Some Las Ramblas street scenes...

http://barcelona-spain.ca/images/shopping.jpg

http://www.galen-frysinger.org/eh61/rambla25.jpg

http://www.europeportreviews.com/BarcelonaPictures/LasRamblas.jpg

http://www.croydonvision.com/uploaded_images/La-Ramblas---Barcelona-791046.jpg

Never been there, but judging from the pics and from what I've read it seems to be what happens if you threw the 3rd Street Promenade and Venice Beach together. Nothing wrong with that if that's going to be something that'll rejuvenate Broadway, because at the state it's in now it could use anything. Our historic theaters would only give it a more of a unique and local identity.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q138/tmaxx6/losang3rdst.jpg
Interesting how these pics look identical yet the writer of the article goes 3,000 miles to the east to find inspiration when he could have just gone a mere 15 miles to the west to find the Promenade.:ohno:

Interesting how these pics look identical yet the writer of the article goes 3,000 miles to the east to find inspiration when he could have just gone a mere 15 miles to the west to find the Promenade.:ohno:

:lol: I know, right? The first thing I said when I first saw pics of Las Ramblas was "This looks like the Promenade down to the nines...." but who knows? Maybe there's a a certain energy or something found in the Ramblas that we don't have out here that you have to experience in person. But judging from Sam's article, it seems pretty identical.

Downtown: Theater District Faces Hurdles

By ANNE RILEY-KATZ
Los Angeles Business Journal Staff
November 26, 2007

Look out, Britney.

Downtown’s Broadway Theater District is another faded star that may be ready to stage another comeback after several failed attempts.

The area represents the largest concentration of pre-World War II movie palaces in the United States, with about a dozen historic theatres in the six-block stretch on Broadway from 3rd to 9th streets.

Broadway’s backers base the latest hope for a revival largely on the repopulation of downtown. If retail and dining components can be added to a crucial stretch of the district, then a few of the old vaudeville venues can show performances and a couple of the movie theaters can again show films.

But there are big hurdles to overcome: parking is scarce, the area is blighted, and consensus has to be reached by the various property owners, who also have to finance the work.

And the work can be expensive. The vaunted 2001 Orpheum Theatre overhaul cost $3.5 million, and is the lone renovation among the storied group. The others are used as churches, a swap meet or even for storage.

“It’s going to be a challenge because the demographic and dynamic has changed dramatically since the theaters were used,” said Eduardo Martinez, economist with the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. “It’s a thriving Hispanic area that focuses largely on retail for the Spanish-language immigrant community. Broadway is not the best location for art house theaters and for features.

“On the surface it doesn’t look all too promising, especially without restaurants and other components theater crowds look for.”

However, there has been some retail development in the area. And as many as 5,000 residents could move into new apartments along Broadway and on Spring and Main streets nearby, according to the Historic Downtown Business Improvement District.

What’s more, a city parking study has recently been approved – a step that could go a long way in convincing national chains to come into the area as business tenants.

Past present

The area is now home to a vibrant pedestrian and Latino-oriented retail district by day, but the sidewalks are largely desolate after dark, and have been for decades.

The corridor was once a thriving Depression-era entertainment district, home to movie mogul Sid Grauman’s first Los Angeles movie palace, the Million Dollar Theater, opened on Broadway in 1918; others were already established. The Cameo and Arcade were both built in 1910; the Globe in 1913; the Rialto in 1917, and the Palace and Orpheum in 1926, for example.

The debut of Grauman’s Egyptian and Chinese (1922 and 1927, respectively) theaters on Hollywood Boulevard pulled business away from the area.

Some of the vacant theaters have been used for filming in recent years, but supporters feel there are now opportunities to draw live entertainment acts to the venues, for performances that couldn’t fill larger arenas like Staples Center.

Past efforts dating back to the 1980s have failed because there wasn’t a residential population. Property owners were reluctant to spend millions to rehab theaters with few economic prospects.

“You can’t dictate use; that vision has to come from the property owners themselves, and that had been something of a stumbling block in the past,” said Ken Bernstein, the City Planning Department’s Office of Historic Resources manager and former director of the Conservancy. “Now there seems to be some growing will and collaboration.”

Also, legislation now allows property owners to write off the improvements within the district as a charitable donation – a big tax bonus.

The Los Angeles Conservancy’s goal, said Executive Director Linda Dishman, is that the theaters are protected as architectural structures, but also that they are used.

She acknowledged that not all the spaces could function as theaters again; though ideally all or most would be for some form of entertainment.

Some of the theaters have deep, once-lavish lobbies well-suited to development for retail or alternate uses, while others, usually the ones that opened earlier, have shallow lobby areas.

“The possibility of lobby spaces being turned into retail really does exist,” Dishman said. “There’s a good example of a theater being turned into a bookstore in Studio City with the Fox Theatre. The Tower Theatre … could be very successful as a nightclub.”

The Los Angeles Theatre, for example, has a large, ornate lobby, and there are already two retail stores on either of the venue side that operate independently of the theater.

“At the time during previous attempts, there was no city leadership focused on Broadway; it seemed to be a vacuum,” Bernstein said. “There have been a number of positive developments since then. Increasingly the property owners are on board and ready to act in concert.”

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Source: Los Angeles Business Journal (http://www.labusinessjournal.com/industry_article.asp?aID=79241877.5628673.1558557.2475973.5786002.867&aID2=119880&cID=7)

I was in Europe this past summer and spent a few days in Barcelona. Las Ramblas was amazing. I wouldn't compare it to Third Street Promenade. TSP is essentially suburban in nature. Take away the carnival-like atmosphere with all the street performers and kiosks and you have your typical shopping mall.

Las Ramblas, on the other hand, is an urban one mile pedestrian promenade that links the Placa de Catalunya (the Union Square of Barcelona -- make that SF's Union Square) to the Mediterranean Sea. As the article pointed out, it's quite touristy with street performers there to entertain and make money off of the tourists and vendors selling postcards, figurines, and the like. But other than that, it retains much of its original character. There aren't too many national/international chain retailers and restaurants. Las Ramblas and its immediate vicinity share the same level of energy, which is the sole difference between it and TSP and the reason why I don't consider TSP to be truly urban. That whole area of the Placa de Catalunya and Las Ramblas grew organically, where as TSP was manufactured overnight.

"What’s more, a city parking study has recently been approved – a step that could go a long way in convincing national chains to come into the area as business tenants."

:puke:

I was in Europe this past summer and spent a few days in Barcelona. Las Ramblas was amazing. I wouldn't compare it to Third Street Promenade. TSP is essentially suburban in nature. Take away the carnival-like atmosphere with all the street performers and kiosks and you have your typical shopping mall.

Las Ramblas, on the other hand, is an urban one mile pedestrian promenade that links the Placa de Catalunya (the Union Square of Barcelona -- make that SF's Union Square) to the Mediterranean Sea. As the article pointed out, it's quite touristy with street performers there to entertain and make money off of the tourists and vendors selling postcards, figurines, and the like. But other than that, it retains much of its original character. There aren't too many national/international chain retailers and restaurants. Las Ramblas and its immediate vicinity share the same level of energy, which is the sole difference between it and TSP and the reason why I don't consider TSP to be truly urban. That whole area of the Placa de Catalunya and Las Ramblas grew organically, where as TSP was manufactured overnight.


Yeah you're right, but how old is Barcelona? Ahh yes...very old. And lets see, how old is Santa Monica? Yeah, not that old. The 3rd st. promenade may have lots of bigtime retail stores, but it's not like there isn't culture there. Streets like Santa Monica and 4th/5th have lots of restaurants that aren't big company type places. And then there is the amazing public library that looks very urban to me. Then going back west, you get the pacific ocean right there! And Palisades Park where tons of people jog everyday. People waiting for buses, walking around. And just like a ten minute walk south, you get Main st. and its row after row of stores/restaurants. What it doesn't have is old timey architecture, but who needs that?

But I do get what you're saying, how Las Ramblas is more of an organic place, yadda yadda, but I feel like it's like that because its OLDDDDDD...Imagine what SM would have loked like if it started around in the early 1800s.

But there are big hurdles to overcome: parking is scarce

To hell with parking. Let's get some rail dammit. That'll solve that little problem real quick.


What’s more, a city parking study has recently been approved – a step that could go a long way in convincing national chains to come into the area as business tenants.

:(:no: That reminds me of that shit where people were looking at companies to renovate the L.A. Colisuem. This shouldn't even be a thought, and if they want this thing to fail real bad then this is what they should do.

Some of the vacant theaters have been used for filming in recent years, but supporters feel there are now opportunities to draw live entertainment acts to the venues, for performances that couldn’t fill larger arenas like Staples Center.

Alright, I don't have a problem with that. But at the same time:


She acknowledged that not all the spaces could function as theaters again

And why not? Why can't these theaters be multi-use venues where you can have live theater one day and a classic film screening the next?

:dunno: Whatever. I'm going to sleep.

Yeah you're right, but how old is Barcelona? Ahh yes...very old. And lets see, how old is Santa Monica? Yeah, not that old. The 3rd st. promenade may have lots of bigtime retail stores, but it's not like there isn't culture there. Streets like Santa Monica and 4th/5th have lots of restaurants that aren't big company type places. And then there is the amazing public library that looks very urban to me. Then going back west, you get the pacific ocean right there! And Palisades Park where tons of people jog everyday. People waiting for buses, walking around. And just like a ten minute walk south, you get Main st. and its row after row of stores/restaurants. What it doesn't have is old timey architecture, but who needs that?

But I do get what you're saying, how Las Ramblas is more of an organic place, yadda yadda, but I feel like it's like that because its OLDDDDDD...Imagine what SM would have loked like if it started around in the early 1800s.On point! A friend of mine who grew up in Barcelona came to visit this summer and from the time we stepped onto 3rd St he said 'this is cool, kinda reminds me of Spain'. You're starting to concern me "Westside" many of your statements as of late reek of shortsightedness and a lack of vision whereinwhich once you were a leading visionary on this forum.....has "edluva" over at SSP gotten to you? Bad month? Recent uptick in fares finally gotten to you?

He's a visionary, but he's branching out. :)

Klam, I'm not shortsighted...and I most certainly do not lack vision. I just don't believe in grouping Third Street Promenade with the likes of Las Ramblas. Drawing comparisons between Broadway and Las Ramblas, which was the actual topic to begin with, would be more appropriate.

Third Street Promenade is nice and somewhat urban, but it lacks the mixed-use aspect.

Well it's sort of not fair to go toe to toe in comparing Las Ramblas w/ our 3rd St, seeing that the former is as old as Methusla. But with time 3rd St will age and mature and I think similarly to what we actually would like to see.

Behind the Delijani Empire

Owner of Four Broadway Theaters Asserts Plans for the Future

By Kathryn Maese

In the 1980s, Broadway's fabled theaters and movie houses were closing one after the other, falling victim to changing cultural tastes, the ravages of age and disuse. Vaudeville and Wurlitzer organs had long ago given way to Spanish language flicks and churches, though even those films would soon end.

Concerned over the crumbling state of the historic treasures, Mayor Tom Bradley called in prominent local property owner Ezat Delijani. One venue in particular, the lavish Los Angeles Theatre at 615 S. Broadway, was in immediate peril as its owner began plans for demolition.

Bradley asked Delijani for a favor: Buy the 1931 theater and save it from the wrecking ball. It was no small request considering the busy corridor's seedy turn and the building's rundown condition. Graffiti was etched into nearly every visible marble surface, smoke permeated the rugs and walls, gum had ruined the plush seats and vibrant murals had been painted over.

But where others saw a white elephant, Delijani saw potential. He agreed to Bradley's request and purchased it in 1987.

"My father always said we have to contribute to society and everyone shares responsibility," said Michael Delijani, who now operates the theater. "Our heart is here on Broadway, even though most of our financial holdings are not."

Like most property owners along the corridor, the Delijanis prefer to keep a low profile. Nonetheless, their controversial story is tightly woven into the fabric of Broadway and its hoped-for rebound. Since his father acquired the Los Angeles Theatre 20 years ago, Michael Delijani has continued the preservation effort and purchased three other theaters: the State at 703 S. Broadway, the Palace at 630 S. Broadway and the Tower at 802 S. Broadway.

Delijani's Delson Investment Company has spent millions to acquire the theaters, though the lion's share of his attention when it comes to renovations has centered on the Los Angeles Theatre, arguably Downtown's most lavish.

Last New Year's, for example, a pump broke and flooded the lower level. It was a long holiday weekend and the water sat for several days, damaging the bathrooms and destroying the ballroom's intricate wood floor. Instead of replacing it, Delijani said he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring back the original zigzag pattern. He has also restored the seats, complete with the Los Angeles Theatre emblem emblazoned on the back, rather than replace them.

"I like to have everything 100% original," Delijani said. "I want to think I'm sitting where Chaplin used to sit. We want to make this a modern day vaudeville where people can spend an hour, then have dinner in another part of the theater. We want to have musical acts, skits and screenings. It's about loving art and architecture and history."

Despite the lofty aspirations, many prominent Historic Core players are critical of the Delijanis. They believe the family should be further along in repairs, especially since they have owned the Los Angeles Theatre for two decades. They point out that his theaters have generated lucrative filming revenue that could be sunk back into the venues - as much as $5,000 a day, in some cases.

"I wish that his family, instead of continuing to purchase other theaters, would have put that money into theaters they already own," said Steve Needleman, who spent $3.5 million to renovate the Orpheum Theatre at 850 S. Broadway. "Why did he buy the Palace Theatre only to own another building that has sat empty for years? Why not put it into the Los Angeles Theatre? To bring these theaters back to life takes a commitment. No one else is going to save them but the property owner or a very altruistic person."

Ed Kelsey, who has worked in Broadway's theaters for 20 years, including the Los Angeles and now the Orpheum, agreed. "I don't think [the Delijanis] have done a lot of big dollar improvements," he said. "They've been waiting until they get their parking issues resolved. A lot of the changes have been done for movie production and TV shows."

From Iran to Broadway

Michael Delijani grew up in Tehran, where he lived in a 100-year-old home built for the British ambassador. As a child he had dreams of becoming an architect or archeologist.

Ezat Delijani and his family fled the tumult in Iran prior to the revolution and came to Los Angeles in the 1970s. Their plight was similar to that of other Iranians who immigrated to Los Angeles and went into business in Downtown, some purchasing faded historic buildings.

Michael Delijani assimilated well. He was voted "most likely to succeed" in high school and went on to study at UCLA.

Though he prefers to stay out of the spotlight, Delijani is in fact at the center of a wave of momentum sweeping Broadway. The usually media-shy businessman agreed to a rare one-on-one interview with Los Angeles Downtown News (though his office did not respond to requests to be photographed for this story). Over lunch, he detailed his plans to bring back his theaters and help create a vibrant entertainment district that would draw throngs of visitors.

"The Broadway theater district can attract millions of tourists, create billions of dollars and lots of jobs," he said. "We need to promote it as a tourist destination. New York's Broadway generates $5 billion. Our Broadway is like a big secret. Nobody knows about it. People go all the way to New York to see a show when they should be seeing one here."

He spoke softly but authoritatively about his properties, reciting historical facts and details. Though he was visibly uncomfortable with revealing personal information, he became animated when discussing his love of classic cars - he spent 10 years restoring a silver Trans Am to mint condition.

But restoring the Los Angeles Theatre has been quite another project, one that in many ways has little if any fiscal payoff for an independent property owner.

Kelsey estimated that getting the Los Angeles up and running would cost about $10 million, just for the basics. That means improving patron comfort with new seats, clean carpets and revamped restrooms, as well as technical upgrades such as stage rigging for lighting, drapes and electrical.

"Beyond that, everything else is negotiable," Kelsey said. "You don't have to restore all the gold leaf or make it look like it did the day it opened. The Orpheum was fixed with paint, and though the gold leaf may not shine like it did 82 years ago, the seats are clean, the restrooms are nice and everything is clean and comfortable."

Preparing the venue to bring in opera, theater and dance could cost up to $40 million, Kelsey said. It would require major construction such as installing a larger stage, sloping the floor, reconfiguring the balcony and making the building accessible to handicapped patrons.

Kelsey and others noted that many of Broadway's property owners have held on to their theaters instead of investing in them because there has been little demand for their use. But that could change now that the area is blooming with new housing and entertainment. Downtown's renaissance could help attract a nonprofit to operate the venues, which is how it's typically done in other theater districts - often with private partners such as Disney or Live Nation.

"These theaters will never pay off for an independent owner," Kelsey said. "Usually someone donates money but that hasn't been done on Broadway. That's why the owners haven't stepped up to do it. For most owners it has to make economic sense."

Neighborhood Issues

Michael Delijani has been active for years in Downtown business and community organizations. It's a trait inherited from his father, and both Delijanis are well-respected in the Southern California Persian community - their conference room is hung with photos taken with Bradley, Bill and Hillary Clinton and other political leaders.

Though the senior Delijani has retired, many who know the business leader say he still plays an active role in the family enterprise, including deciding to what extent the historic properties are improved and operated. Some local observers say Ezat Delijani continues to pull many of the strings behind the theaters' curtains.

Nevertheless, his son has made a name for himself, becoming the family's face in Downtown Los Angeles. In 1999, Michael Delijani helped found the Historic Downtown Business Improvement District, serving as president for three terms. The coalition of property owners in the Historic Core funded a team to clean the streets and hired security patrols.

However, the BID has been largely dormant in recent years, even coming under fire for mismanaging its resources and failing to implement any meaningful revitalization plans. Earlier this year, the board hired a new executive director. Next year, property owners will vote on whether to approve the BID for another five years.

Delijani has also been working with City Councilman José Huizar, whose 14th District includes Broadway, to create a legislative "overlay zone" that would allow developers to open bars and restaurants and activate the theaters.

But some onlookers remain skeptical that Delijani and other stakeholders can overcome the problems that have hindered Broadway redevelopment over the decades - namely the lack of consensus among landlords and an unlikely retail market. Many of the existing Latino tenants on Broadway, for example, pay as much as $8 a square foot per month for street-front space on the busy corridor (more than what people pay in Beverly Hills), often in cash. It's a deal few landlords want to give up, and an arrangement that would discourage "mainstream" tenants such as bookstores, boutiques and high-end restaurants.

"I hope this effort on Broadway bears fruit, but no one should kid themselves when it comes to the complexity of this redevelopment effort," said developer Tom Gilmore, who sold the Palace Theatre to Delijani in 2003. "We sold the Palace Theatre primarily because I realized that without sustained effort on the part of the city government and sacrifice by the local business and property owners, Broadway had no chance of being revitalized, and I didn't see that happening. I haven't changed my opinion.

"No one seems to be willing to touch the dysfunctional status quo that exists there, the underground economy," he continued. "It's a political third rail that will be avoided at all cost."

But there are other signs of change. Needleman of the Orpheum Theatre is booking a regular slate of concerts and events, and is working to secure a long-term theater engagement in 2008. Michael Hellen of Mideb Inc., who owns several properties on Broadway, plans to restore the Arcade Theatre and is nearing completion on the Broadway Arcade Building, where a mid-block retail thoroughfare will open along with 142 apartments.

Delijani said the Los Angeles Theatre could come online for programming as soon as next year. He pointed to improvements such as restoring the ornate fountain and the light fixtures. Several statues that had been hidden under plaster were uncovered and are being restored. Black paint was stripped from the marble walls in the men's restroom.

Frank Schultz, who manages all four of Delijani's Downtown theaters, is overseeing the restoration of the Los Angeles' nursery, where children once played while parents watched a film in the theater above. Like much of the venue, the nursery was badly damaged and defaced. Work on the marble-clad bathroom, for example, was just completed; the solid walnut doors were taken off their hinges, sanded to remove graffiti and refinished by hand.

"It's piece by piece," Schultz said. "It's genuinely a labor of love. This bathroom was a two-week project of four guys working every day. You might look at it and say it's just a tiny bathroom, but it's a really expensive room."

As important as the restorations are the plans for the future. Last month Delijani applied for a conditional use permit to operate several entertainment venues in the theater.

Also on Broadway

As the Los Angeles Theatre comes together, Delijani is turning attention to his other properties. His most recent acquisition is the Tower Theatre, built in 1927 by S. Charles Lee. At 8,900 square feet, it is among the smallest of Broadway's 12 historic theaters.

Delijani bought the Tower after a deal fell through with Downtown bar owner Cedd Moses, who wanted to turn it into a nightclub. The bulb sign on the exterior has been restored and the grimy façade cleaned.

A block north, the 1921 State Theatre, which is currently occupied by the Iglesia Universal church, could become a boutique hotel, Delijani said. The 12-story venue is topped by jewelry manufacturing offices. Delijani has replaced the tattered awnings and cleaned the imposing brick façade, though recently a water line broke and flooded half the building, a setback that required replacing much of the plumbing.

The 1911 Palace Theatre is primarily used for filming (part of Dreamgirls was shot there). The venue has an advantage over other Broadway theaters because of its ample loading capabilities, which could enable it to host live theater. Below the stage is the original crank lift, which can hoist camera dollies weighing as much as 1,500 pounds.

In the bowels of the theater, where the auditorium above slopes the ceiling, Delijani has reclaimed much of the basement, which he envisions hosting retail or restaurant space. Light from the glass tiles embedded in the sidewalk above filters down.

A ride to the fifth floor penthouse loft via the hand-cranked elevator reveals a stunning space illuminated by arched windows with brightly colored terra cotta peeking out from the façade. In the far corner of the loft are a skylight and two walls of windows. Tara Jones, a historic consultant for Delijani and head of the nonprofit National Preservation Partners, said the space would be ideal for a special events location or restaurant.

"There's so much behind the scenes that people don't see," Jones said. "They just see that it's not open and think the theater owners must not be doing anything."

Delijani bristles at criticism that his family has been slow to restore the theaters.

"If it wasn't for my father, none of this would have happened," he said about the revitalization efforts. "We asked, 'What can we do to save some of the others?' and so we invested in others one by one. These theaters aren't about ownership. It's a work of love."

The Delijani Portfolio

A Rundown of the Family's Downtown Theaters

Los Angeles Theatre: Built by H.L. Gumbiner at a cost of more than $1 million - at the time the most expensive theater ever built, on a per-seat basis - tickets originally cost 25 cents. Constructed during the Great Depression, Gumbiner struggled to finish it. Charlie Chaplin stepped in to complete the project and premiered his silent classic City Lights in the space at 615 S. Broadway. Eventually, William Fox of 20th Century took over and it served as the home of Fox Film until 1988.

Palace Theatre: The 1911 structure at 630 S. Broadway dominated the vaudeville circuit for 40 years. Located on Main Street for more than 20 years, it moved to Broadway to keep pace with development trends. The theater holds 1,056 seats and has two steep balconies, one of which sat only "colored" patrons. These days it is used mostly for film and television productions, including frequent "CSI: New York" appearances.

State Theatre: Built in 1921 in the Spanish Renaissance style, this 2,380-seat theater at 703 S. Broadway boasts the largest brick façade of the 12 Broadway theaters. Judy Garland got her start on this stage and it hosted several popular vaudeville acts. In the 1960s it screened Spanish language films. It is now occupied by a church.

Tower Theatre: The French Renaissance venue at 802 S. Broadway was S. Charles Lee's first theater, and perhaps one of his most challenging - he had to squeeze 1,000 seats onto the tiny parcel. Metropolitan took over the theater in the 1960s and operated it until its lease expired a year and a half ago. It has been used for filming since the 1990s. With its tiered floor, it is suitable for cabaret shows, dancing, comedy acts and live music.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Los Angeles Downtown News (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2007/12/03/news/news01.txt)

"I like to have everything 100% original," Delijani said. "I want to think I'm sitting where Chaplin used to sit. We want to make this a modern day vaudeville where people can spend an hour, then have dinner in another part of the theater. We want to have musical acts, skits and screenings. It's about loving art and architecture and history."

He sees the value of making them multi-venued spots.

"The Broadway theater district can attract millions of tourists, create billions of dollars and lots of jobs," he said. "We need to promote it as a tourist destination. New York's Broadway generates $5 billion. Our Broadway is like a big secret. Nobody knows about it. People go all the way to New York to see a show when they should be seeing one here."


And so this man gets the big picture.

Plus from the screening, filming and retail fees he's getting the man is getting paid. We know he realizes the potential of the Broadway district, which is why he's acquiring as many theaters as he can because in the long run not only is it gonna help L.A. out, but it's gonna help his pockets out too. I can't be mad at that, except for the fact that I wish I had the money to do what he's doing.

Like every other article concerning the revitalization of Broadway, I'm taking it with a grain of salt. Why? Because Broadway is extremely vulnerable, where even the slightest move must be treated with caution. The article points out how Delijani chose to acquire more theaters (rather than to invest his money into the renovation of the Tower) and the subsequent frustration his onlookers have for him. But I'm actually sooo grateful that he chose to take possession of more theaters instead of putting all his money into the Tower, because as VZN said, he's the one guy that gets it. He has the right vision. This means that there is a lesser chance of someone screwing up along the way (given Delijani's leadership and vision). After all, who was it that saved the Tower from the wrecking ball? Clearly, Delijani is a visionary -- he's a man with passion. This all goes back to our discussion of civic pride, and how a little vision and dedication can go a long way. Props to Delijani. He ranks at the top of my list, up there with Eli Broad.

^^ Right. The renovation of the theaters will come in due time. The most important thing right now is to procure all (if not most) of the theaters to keep prevent conflicts of interest. Once that's out of the way, THEN renovation can begin (and the rest of Broadway will come shortly thereafter). As the article states, the dude has got old money, and he's got new money coming his way so the renovations will be no problem whatsoever.

Edit.

^^

It's good to see a layout of the entire district including the residential projects being planned for that area. It's crazy to imagine that once we develop and modernize everything from top to bottom, one day you'll see massive foot traffic all up and down that corridor. As a result, everything will spill out to the surrounding streets with Broadway being the core.

1) Is there a legend that comes with that diagram?

2) There's 4 theaters missing from that diagram... why? (Or perhaps some of those theaters go under different names according to the building they reside in?)

3) Now that I'm really looking at it, there's a lot of parking spaces that could either expand some other theaters or they can be replaced with something worthwhile... I don't see that happening until we get our rail situation underway though.

That photo is now gone:redx:

That photo is now gone:redx:

NOW it's gone.

Some pics from Broadway (All pics by fridayinla)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2299/2079837123_14a35e4b75.jpg?v=0
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Broadway is the one place in ALL of LA where potential for growth is limitless.

There are so many wonderful buildings of the teen's, 20's and 30's on Broadway, it's nice to see some are undergoing renovation, (the Arcade building is looking good)

I'd like to see some infill on this steet, like the planned towers on Spring st.

thanks for the great photos guys

It so much looks better on PIcs... and different where ur actually there... atleast for me...

Most of those pics look like El Paso. Gentrification is a bitch......oh well time to kick out those cheap discount shops and quarter arcades.

Outside of the theaters, I wonder what's going to be there once all of those swapmeets are gone? Whatever it is, I just hope national chains keep their greasy damn mitts off of Broadway.

So where will all of those stores go? First and second street? Will we get gentrification there too because of Broadway Revitalization? Maybe the city will set up a new zone for these shops when they are relocated?

Probably somewhere near the Santee Alley. :dunno: That's my guess.

^^Hmm, that's be nice to start a spread of downtown to the southeast and maybe push it to the river, but I think maybe the city would just let 1st and 2nd streets gentrify.

^ The Arts Distrct is located right next to the river.

Yeah, my dream is to have the area bounded by the 110, 10, 101, and LA River completely built up. But that will take years, if not decades. But who knows. Transit (heavy/light rail) takes years to build and many people just can't wait that long. This will spark a plethora of developments -- developments that will most likely be mid-rises. Once it's completely built out, people will start building up.

^^We could always spread beyond the freeways (except for the 10 unless something is done about the viaduct). Parks over freeways and downtown can spread out.

A major problem with Broadway is all the latino business that are on that specific street. Not to say that THEY are the problem, but the way they handle business is very horrific. Ive heard many say it looks like a Latin American city street which Im still trying to figure out how and why did Los Angeles let this happen to Broadway out of all streets???
I dont know if you guys have mentioned this already, but how do you suppose the city is going to deal with this problem if they are trying to revitalize Broadway?
Are all those shops going to remain there or are they going to get kicked out?
Im not being racist or trying to be rude but its just a serious question.

^ Those shops will be driven out in the same fashion as the Holiday Inn on Figueroa will be. ;)

^ Those shops will be driven out in the same fashion as the Holiday Inn on Figueroa will be. ;)

:lol:

I suppose so. Maybe if the latino popupation there would take better care of the street and business this would not be necessary... :fiddle:
I still dont know if that Holiday Inn is going to get kicked out though...but something needs to be done with that as well.

A major problem with Broadway is all the latino business that are on that specific street. Not to say that THEY are the problem, but the way they handle business is very horrific. Ive heard many say it looks like a Latin American city street which Im still trying to figure out how and why did Los Angeles let this happen to Broadway out of all streets???
I dont know if you guys have mentioned this already, but how do you suppose the city is going to deal with this problem if they are trying to revitalize Broadway?
Are all those shops going to remain there or are they going to get kicked out?
Im not being racist or trying to be rude but its just a serious question.


Well in a away if it werent for the latino taking over broadway. Broadway would have been a dead street. Maybe even losing some of the old theaters.

Well in a away if it werent for the latino taking over broadway. Broadway would have been a dead street. Maybe even losing some of the old theaters.

I highly doubt that would be true. Having your business in downtown would be good location, especially on Broadway. Maybe cleaner streets and better retail would have attracted more people to live there a long time ago. Anyways, a dead street would give a better impression than the one Broadway gives today to many of the tourists who come to Broadway expecting something better.

Umm...really? I don't really think that many tourists [so far] visit Broadway on thei list of thhings to do. Broadway and a lot of downtown became its own urban micro city because everyone else left. So they took over and handled their own business. Nothing wrong with that.

A major problem with Broadway is all the latino business that are on that specific street. Not to say that THEY are the problem, but the way they handle business is very horrific. Ive heard many say it looks like a Latin American city street which Im still trying to figure out how and why did Los Angeles let this happen to Broadway out of all streets???
I dont know if you guys have mentioned this already, but how do you suppose the city is going to deal with this problem if they are trying to revitalize Broadway?
Are all those shops going to remain there or are they going to get kicked out?
Im not being racist or trying to be rude but its just a serious question.

I'm sorry, but it does sound like you are being rascist.

Your first sentence states this examples and points like as if you know their are true. Yet you go ahead and have the nerve to say you've heard which is very much different from SEEING. You don't know even know what you are talking about.

Why did LA let this happen? WTF does that mean? LA started out with LATINOS and they're going to stay. Oh wait, what is the name of the city? Oh thats right, its in spanish. Can you read that ALIEN language?

And you call Latinos having business and a way of live a problem. Just because it isn't how you grew up does not means something is wrong with it. It's a different, more urban way of living that is closer to their home.

I'm really sorry, but everything you said sounds like someone stuck in the 70s. Whgy can downtown LA have a natural way of hanfdling business like every other major city has. Like in some places in Tokyo, you act a certain way, you jknow, things are different. Not everything has to be a cookie cutter utopian GROVE-esque way of living.

Umm...really? I don't really think that many tourists [so far] visit Broadway on thei list of thhings to do. Broadway and a lot of downtown became its own urban micro city because everyone else left. So they took over and handled their own business. Nothing wrong with that.

There is nothing wrong with that. Just like the way they handle their business is not technically wrong but it looks like a mess and if you go to Broadway Blvd today you will realize that it needs to be revitalized. Im in downtown all the time, and I see lots of tourist there throughout the week. It makes sense that if youre going to visit Los Angeles, you will most likely want to visit the downtown area being that it is downtown.

I posted my replies in blue.
Umm...really? I don't really think that many tourists [so far] visit Broadway on thei list of thhings to do. Broadway and a lot of downtown became its own urban micro city because everyone else left. So they took over and handled their own business. Nothing wrong with that.



I'm sorry, but it does sound like you are being rascist.

Your first sentence states this examples and points like as if you know their are true. Yet you go ahead and have the nerve to say you've heard which is very much different from SEEING. You don't know even know what you are talking about.

Did I not state that "I hear many people SAY" How can I see what others say??

Why did LA let this happen? WTF does that mean? LA started out with LATINOS and they're going to stay. Oh wait, what is the name of the city? Oh thats right, its in spanish. Can you read that ALIEN language?

Maybe if you study some of the history of Los Angeles you will realize that many latinos did not reside in what is downtown Los Angeles today. When I stated that, I meant why did Los Angeles let the street become what it is today. I dont care if Latinos decide to put a business there but they should try to keep their stores and locations a little bit more clean.

And you call Latinos having business and a way of live a problem. Just because it isn't how you grew up does not means something is wrong with it. It's a different, more urban way of living that is closer to their home.

Yes it is a problem, not because they want to prosper but because Broadway is a big mess right now. Perhaps that is why people want to revitalize it! just maybe..

I'm really sorry, but everything you said sounds like someone stuck in the 70s. Whgy can downtown LA have a natural way of hanfdling business like every other major city has. Like in some places in Tokyo, you act a certain way, you jknow, things are different. Not everything has to be a cookie cutter utopian GROVE-esque way of living.

Where did you get this argument from?? your stating that I want Broadway to be a "cookie cutter utopian grove-esque way of living"?? when and where did I mention that??

One last thing, you need to use better grammar because I had to guess what you were trying to say half of the time. You can hardly spell, so this tells me you are probably still stuck in high school or have low education. It really doesnt matter to me if you do or dont, but half of the things you said were very irrelevant to the subject and had no background information to back it up.

But that's the thing. When I went to Tokyo, I didn't go to the urban areas and think to myself , "This looks like a mess. They need to change the signage, blah blah blah" I accept it because that's their culture. There are many areas that have very sleazy looking buildings, signage, ad everywhere and just next to it there is a upscale development that is full of gardens and theatres, yadda yadda yadda. People travel to see different things.

The best thing the city would do is include most [not all, might have to do some cleaning] businesses join in on the fun.

I posted my replies in lime green.


Where did you get this argument from?? your stating that I want Broadway to be a "cookie cutter utopian grove-esque way of living"?? when and where did I mention that??

One last thing, you need to use better grammar because I had to guess what you were trying to say half of the time. You can hardly spell, so this tells me you are probably still stuck in high school or have low education. It really doesnt matter to me if you do or dont, but half of the things you said were very irrelevant to the subject and had no background information to back it up.

False. I'm just high, but thats besides the point...

I didn't say you mentioned that or SAID that, I was just typing. I didn't say you said anything. haha.

But that's the thing. When I went to Tokyo, I didn't go to the urban areas and think to myself , "This looks like a mess. They need to change the signage, blah blah blah" I accept it because that's their culture. There are many areas that have very sleazy looking buildings, signage, ad everywhere and just next to it there is a upscale development that is full of gardens and theatres, yadda yadda yadda. People travel to see different things.
The best thing the city would do is include most [not all, might have to do some cleaning] businesses join in on the fun.

Exactly! people travel to different places to see different things. Los Angeles is not a city in Latin America and that is why some Americans argue and complain that some parts resemble cities from Latin America. I hate when tourists get a bad perception from Los Angeles and that is one thing they comment on a lot.

.
Your first sentence states this examples and points like as if you know their are true. Yet you go ahead and have the nerve to say you've heard which is very much different from SEEING. You don't know even know what you are talking about.
And you call Latinos having business and a way of live a problem. Just because it isn't how you grew up does not means something is wrong with it. It's a different, more urban way of living that is closer to their home.


^^

I think you dont know what you are talking about.

Maybe if you study some of the history of Los Angeles you will realize that many latinos did not reside in what is downtown Los Angeles today. When I stated that, I meant why did Los Angeles let the street become what it is today. I dont care if Latinos decide to put a business there but they should try to keep their stores and locations a little bit more clean.

Anything you say from now on is void to me. You do know where Los Angeles started, right? In case you didn't, its a place called La Placita Olvera.

Exactly! people travel to different places to see different things. Los Angeles is not a city in Latin America and that is why some Americans argue and complain that some parts resemble cities from Latin America. I hate when tourists get a bad perception from Los Angeles and that is one thing they comment on a lot.

Have you ever been to Latin America? They have some of the most beautiful cities in the world. But off course, you're not talking about the city itself, you're talking about all the people. :ohno:

There is absofuckinglutely nothing wrong with having so many people from other countries (including Latin America). I know L.A. was founded by many different people, but Latinos will always live here. Thank God for that!

Anything you say from now on is void to me. You do know where Los Angeles started, right? In case you didn't, its a place called La Placita Olvera.

I think almost ALL Angelenos know that or should know.

Have you ever been to Latin America? They have some of the most beautiful cities in the world. But off course, you're not talking about the city itself, you're talking about all the people. :ohno:

There is absofuckinglutely nothing wrong with having so many people from other countries (including Latin America). I know L.A. was founded by many different people, but Latinos will always live here. Thank God for that!

Okay, you people are bringing arguments that are completely unrelated to the question I asked in the begenning. Of course Ive been to cities in Latin America, when and where did I state that cities in Latin America are not beautiful in some way??
One thing you have to realize is, that when youre a tourist or visitor it is completely different from actually living there. People go to many different cities and enjoy them, but if you ask them "would you want to live here?" they give you a completely different answer. Take San Salvador, its very beautiful and with many different styles of living but would you want to live there? with all the gang and poberty that sorrounds it?

You are so smart for realizing that latinos will always live here, and that they established Los Angeles. I think everybody knows that, and if youre like me; you dont have a problem with that.

What I have a problem with is the bad reputation that Los Angeles gets when people from other cities come and perceive Los Angeles as the next Tijuana.

Realize that I have nothing against Latinos or any othe race out there because I live in Los Angeles and like New York its full of people from different backgrounds and I like that.

We cant go around calling people racist because really we are all racist in some sort of way. Even if we dont know it. Latinos are veiwed as "LAs" problem most of the time. So when we see something thats not right we right away assume its because of the Latin people but really its more than that.

Guys, back on topic here. I dont want to pass out bans....

We cant go around calling people racist because really we are all racist in some sort of way. Even if we dont know it. Latinos are veiwed as "LAs" problem most of the time. So when we see something thats not right we right away assume its because of the Latin people but really its more than that.

I totally agree with you on this one. Theres much more to the problems Los Angeles has than just a group or groups of people.

LA BWAY
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e44/innout321/phtgrphy/broad.jpg
NY BWAY
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p115/herberthmartin/NY-%20DEC06/31.jpg

Broadway should better once its revitalized and whith out the swap meet on the street level...

We have everything in Broadway the space the theatres, the people. Its just that its not want it could be... Broadway can be ten times more better than what it is....Hopefuly people start moving and hope it does not become another dead attempt Revitalize broadway

LA BWAY
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e44/innout321/phtgrphy/broad.jpg
NY BWAY
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p115/herberthmartin/NY-%20DEC06/31.jpg

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Funny, those 2 pics don't look that much different from one another.

Funny, those 2 pics don't look that much different from one another.

They really don't. With a little bit of work, LA's Broadway could rival NY's. There are more than thirty possible theaters in downtown. Chicago led the way transforming its movie palaces to live theaters. We could do the same if we had the will.

^ We don't have the will. LA's not determined and passionate like Chicago is. :(

^ We don't have the will. LA's not determined and passionate like Chicago is. :(

More like, Los Angeles is NOT Chicago, and it's not New York City, these citys all operate on a totaly different basis, I personally don't see the need for 10 live theater venues on Broadway, who would fill all these venues on a nightly basis, (unless a majority of the shows were latino) even then i have my doubts.

LA has all the passion and drive that any other city has and were growing superfast. I think Downtown Los Angeles has started a fire that is getting strong unlike the litte sparks in the 80s that never materialized. It just cant happen overnight but it is happening right now I believe the entire political structure of DT LA is going to change. When I worked at La opera, the singers brought in from the met were telling me this is it.
I also believe that mexico is becoming more and more desireable and I believe there will be a turnaround in immigration as more americans and europeans move there and start demanding better services in health care.
Not only los Angeles but the entire west coast is happening. Seattle, SF all are in a new building frenzy, seattle is off the hook right now and the Downtown life is awesome. Im not an expert but The develpers in Seattle told me recently that every crane in the USA is being used and what were seeing is just the tip of the iceburg there are buildings approved and ready to go right now just waiting for cranes to become available.

The latest in the Broadway Development:



http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-broadway28jan28,1,252168.story

City officials are set to kick off a new campaign to redesign the bustling street, fixing up movie palaces and restoring buildings.

By Cara Di Massa and Ari B. Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
January 28, 2008

City officials today will announce a new campaign to remake downtown Los Angeles' historic Broadway corridor by redesigning the bustling street, fixing up some of the grand movie palaces and restoring the fading facades of buildings.

The city and private developers have earmarked nearly $40 million to begin the effort this year, hoping to pull the gentrification that has swept much of downtown into the district's main commercial area. They envision many of the movie facades giving way to a live "theater district" forming on the street, with a trolley car system running down its center.

But the revitalization is already creating something of a culture clash. While the downtown development boom has brought thousands of mostly white-collar professionals into lofts and luxury high-rises, Broadway has for decades been the premier shopping destination for working-class Latinos.

Along the rows of bridal shops, discount stores and shopping arcades, some Broadway merchants agree the street could use a face-lift but wonder if the city's plans include them.

"On one side, I like the idea," said Marina Martinez, 28, who works at Teresa's Bridal, between 7th and 8th streets. "The only thing is that I don't think they want our types of businesses."

As downtown's building boom continues, it mirrors a debate being played out in other parts of the city center as well.

Broadway, which cuts through the heart of downtown, has long been one of the city's best barometers of demographic and social change.

Before World War II, it was considered by many to be the center of the city, where residents far and wide came by car and street trolley to catch movies at ornate theaters, such as the Globe, Orpheum and Million Dollar, and shop at department stores.

After the war, even as downtown declined, Broadway continued to bustle -- catering to the growing Latino immigrant population settling in neighborhoods to the east and west of the area.

The department stores and theaters closed, but Broadway's businesses thrived, so much so that in the early 1990s some store rents were higher than those in Beverly Hills.

The "Bringing Back Broadway" campaign will begin with a series of street and landscape improvements, including beautifying crosswalks, adding trees and plants and possibly widening sidewalks.

A central focus this year will be restoring the district's rich but crumbling architectural heritage. Many of the movie theaters have fallen into disuse and disrepair, and some were razed years ago in favor of parking lots. Other commercial buildings, with ornate architectural details in Art Deco, beaux-arts and Baroque styles, have sat vacant or are being used only on their ground floors.

Officials hope that some of the movie palaces can be used for live performances and that building owners can find uses -- such as residential space -- for the upper floors of many vacant Broadway buildings.

"This is the last linchpin of downtown that needs attention," said City Councilman Jose Huizar. "I consider Broadway just as important [to L.A. history] as Olvera Street. We should not let one of our major historical avenues continue to be neglected."

Huizar, whose district includes the Broadway corridor and who is leading the revitalization effort, said this campaign is different from previous attempts because it has the support of property owners and city officials. He and other supporters believe the "new" Broadway can coexist with the "old" Broadway.

Steve Needleman, owner of the Orpheum Theater, said Broadway has been challenged in recent years by other areas catering to Latino immigrants.

"It's going through a transition because of competition," he said. "It's just happening. There are other shopping opportunities."

Needleman noted that Broadway needs to change to better serve the needs of the more than 20,000 new residents who have moved into downtown lofts and high-rise condos over the last five years. The number of new residents is expected to double as more buildings are completed.

"There are homeowners on this street now. You can't take that away," he said. "And they have demands here; they are living here all the time."

Broadway still packs in shoppers -- particularly during weekend days. But it's largely deserted at night -- something that could change with the addition of theaters and sit-down eateries.

"We want a mix," Needleman said. "I don't want to see it just become an entertainment district . . . and hopefully, that's part of what will happen."

The projects being announced today are the first steps in what officials hope will be a much more ambitious effort. The city has committed $16.5 million, and private property owners will add $20 million for this phase. Officials are also studying the idea of creating a trolley line that would run along Broadway, and perhaps even banning cars. But those plans are only in the beginning stages and would be far more costly than the street improvements and theater renovations.

Merchants along Broadway are torn by the gentrification that has swept downtown. Many agree that the changes have made the area safer, but they worry that their base clientele -- immigrants, some here illegally -- feel less comfortable being there.

Doris Vasquez, 43, is a cook at Casa India, a small Mexican restaurant on Broadway, between 3rd and 4th streets, where she spends long spans of time flattening dough and mixing fresh drinks of tamarind and horchata.

She says Broadway has changed and that making a living there is increasingly difficult.

"A lot of people used to walk around. Now there's not as many," she said. "It's the economy."

When she started working downtown 10 years ago, Vasquez said, business was booming and it was common for immigrants, documented and undocumented, to flood the streets of Broadway during the day. She said the new residential development, along with a beefed up police presence, has scared off some illegal immigrants, though the business is staying afloat.

She could see the Broadway plan drawing more shoppers, but not the kind that would go to her restaurant.

The city has been talking about changes on Broadway for decades, but this marks the first time a large amount of money has been dedicated to the effort.

Some question whether Broadway needs a face-lift. UCLA law professor Gary Blasi noted that the Latino-oriented businesses have stood the test of time.

"Unless you have a different vision, aesthetically and ethnically, then why?" Blasi said.



Nice. I'm applauding how they have a pedestrian friendly vision in mind for this project - of course, anything otherwise would be foolish. For example, the article mentions:

1) Widened sidewalks

and

2) A possible trolley down the street/banning of cars

This in addition with the eye candy aspects of giving the theaters a facelift and the addition of plants/shrubbery will make Broadway a viable destination for Angelenos and tourists alike. I'd personally like to see as many neon and vintage streetlights as possible to give it that throwback feeling... not to mention that they're trying to make it a mixed-use district.


Anyway though, in the article is mentions that some theaters were razed in favor or parking spaces. :ohno: :bash: Is there anyone out there who knows what the name of these theaters were before they were destroyed?

And once again we're seeing it again, gentrification. I'm sure the city will take of those who have been there, though...

I like th accompanying render with that article:

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-01/34972647.jpg

though, it seems to good to be true...i'm sure it is.

^^ Wow, I never saw that render up until right now. It seems as if they're going to go all out on this project, if they're going to follow that render... as I mentioned earlier, bringing back the trolleys is a good start. The next couple of months will be interesting...

^^ Wow, I never saw that render up until right now. It seems as if they're going to go all out on this project, if they're going to follow that render... as I mentioned earlier, bringing back the trolleys is a good start. The next couple of months will be interesting...

what do you mean "the next couple of months"?
are they starting any time soon?:)

anyways...hopefully this revitalizations goes well and stays well. I dont want 8 years after its done to start going down hill all over again.

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2008-01/34972647.jpg

:cheers:

Wouldn't that just be amazing for LA? The trolley is simply a perfect touch.

^ We don't have the will. LA's not determined and passionate like Chicago is. :(


Yes we do, we are just about ten to fifteen years behind the curve of inner city renewal compared to Chicago which has undergone decline and renewal ahead of us.

Renewing the Broadway theaters is not really an issue of Anglo vs. Latino. It is recognition of the fact that we have a severely underutilized resource in this city (the downtown under used theaters) that could almost equal New York's theater district. We also have the biggest concentration of actors, musicians, writers, and creative people in the country. We are also a pretty good theater town contrary to poular opinion. There are about 250 active theater companies in LA. We actually see more productions in a year than NYC according to the folks at Reprise. The productions are just smaller and have much shorter runs. Why? because tourists come to NYC to see the shows. In LA the theater is pretty much supported by the locals. I hate to tell you how many times I have gone to NYC or London and found myself sitting next to someone from LA making a pilgrimage to see "theater".

You should really see what Chicago has done renewing its old movie theater district on Randolph Street. We could do it bigger and better.

Consider the inactive theaters downtown, many of them could be converted back with relatively little effort.

1.Million dollar
2. orpheum,
3. Los Angeles
4. arcade
5. belasco (on hill street)
6.cameo
7. globe
8. kim sing (in Chinatown, still close)
9. Linda Lea (recently reopened as Imaginasian theater showing Asian movies)
10. Mayan
11. Merced in Olvera street
12. Olympic auditorium
13, Olympic theater (on eighth)
14. Music Hall
15. Palace
16. Palace seventh st.
17. Regent (Main Street)
18. Rialto
19. Roxie
20. State
21. Tower
22. United Artists
23. Warner Brothers

Then let's not forget the theaters that are still open

24. Ahmanson
25. taper
26. Dorothy Chandler
27. Redcat
28-29-30 LA Theater center
31. Henry Hwang theater (Little Tokyo)
32. Shrine
33. Japan America Theater
34. St. Vibiana's
35. Bovard auditorium
36. Bing theater
37. Nokia

That's almost forty potential venues in the greater downtown area and I left out Bob Baker's marionettes, Disney Hall and the auditoriums at Thornton and MOCA. If most of these theaters were brought back to life with live theater, I am sure both locals and tourists would flock for this type of attraction. Especially considering the additional theater available in Hollywood, NOHO, the West side, Pasadena and scattered all over the city. Actually Hollywood could be redeveloped in the same way giving us two possibly three (counting NOHO) major theater clusters. LA could evolve into an alternative to London or New York for theater and entertainment lovers.

More like, Los Angeles is NOT Chicago, and it's not New York City, these citys all operate on a totaly different basis, I personally don't see the need for 10 live theater venues on Broadway, who would fill all these venues on a nightly basis, (unless a majority of the shows were latino) even then i have my doubts.


If the district were developed like NYC, the tourists and the locals would come. LA has more folks interested in the creative arts than you may think. The same people that fill up Staples and Dodger stadium (both downtown) would come for a revitalized theater district if it offered a quality product.

Remember all the under employed actors, musicians, and dancers living out here. They just need a space.

I think that if done right they could mix the Lation culture and it would make Broadway with character and not make it look like all the other entertainment districts.

Svs, that was a seriously delayed response, but okay. :)

That article was fun to read. I now have much more confidence in our city officials to pull off something really spectacular. I just hope that "something" won't be a carbon copy of the Gaslamp District in San Diego.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h125/MBenzLover/Broadway.jpg?t=1201572041

Times Reports $40 Million Investment for Broadway

By Eric Richardson
January 27, 2008

Update (Monday, 9:35am): The Bringing Back Broadway (http://www.bringingbackbroadway.com/) website includes most of the information to be unveiled at today's press conference. Be sure to hit the twelve page vision document PDF (http://www.bringingbackbroadway.com/BBBVisionDoc.pdf).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scooping Monday's "Bringing Back Broadway" presentation at the Los Angeles Theater (which we'll be at), the Times writes that $40 million has been put together for a phase I (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-broadway28jan28,0,4297826.story) effort to bring some renewed life to Broadway buildings. $16.5 million is said to come from the city, with private developers kicking in the rest.

Light on development details, much of the story focuses on the businesses currently on the street. No surprise, some people aren't happy to see things change.

Some question whether Broadway needs a face-lift. UCLA law professor Gary Blasi noted that the Latino-oriented businesses have stood the test of time.

"Unless you have a different vision, aesthetically and ethnically, then why?" Blasi said.

While this is certainly a prime subject for discussion -- and we had a 47-comment thread on it back in August (http://blogdowntown.com/blog/2833) -- I continue to maintain that to say today's Broadway is a failure is not to say anything about the retail. Certainly you could say that, but to me Broadway is a failure because atop these first floor shops are great old buildings that have been left to rot and crumble in on themselves. That's not the tenants fault, but a change in tenants is likely to be part of the solution.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: blogdowntown (http://www.blogdowntown.com/blog/3088)

I hope that they're still accepting input, because I see something missing. There's a lot of talk of having abundant parking for Broadway, but they don't mention too much encouraging people to use the subway. The Pershing Square station would be perfect for this, but the only mention of Pershing Square includes better utilizing parking there.

I like the idea of the trolley connecting Grand Ave and LA live via Broadway. I also hope that this project will include a renovation of Pershing Square. I'm definitely getting a Market St/Union Square vibe from that pdf file, only better because the hills here aren't nearly as steep here compared to SF.

what do you mean "the next couple of months"?
are they starting any time soon?:)

According to the "one year objectives" that they have lined up in the PDF file, they should be starting very soon if they want to get as much as they would like accomplished in one year... this would mean by February of '09, the Broadway as we know it right now will be completely different.

Speaking of which, the linking of L.A. Live and The Grand via streetcar was a very smart move. In addition of making accessible parking for Broadway by way of Pershing Square, I hope that they let people know that they can also use the subway stop to get there, too (like phattonez was saying). Public transportation should be promoted especially for a project of this caliber.

And I wonder how the "history walk" will be implemented? IMO this is one arguably one of the more intricate projects in L.A... At any rate, it's great to be alive to witness all of this stuff and this will just solidify our status as the entertainment capital of the world.

I like the idea of the trolley connecting Grand Ave and LA live via Broadway. I also hope that this project will include a renovation of Pershing Square. I'm definitely getting a Market St/Union Square vibe from that pdf file, only better because the hills here aren't nearly as steep here compared to SF.

I would actually like to see a longer line extending to Exposition park/USC on the south and Dodger stadium/Elysian Park on the north, taking in Little tokyo, Chinatown, Olvera street and Grand ave on the way, maybe a circular route.

^ Yeah but this is just a quick little connector for Grand Av. and LA Live via Broadway; of course the route you mentioned is the ideal route eventually come, but most likely not via Broadway.
This whole concept of bringing back Broadways really cheers me up, this street and Wilshire are my favorite.
As of parking, they shouldn't even be providing the idea of it. Make the people ride the goddamn trains, westsiders ride the red line, and green line (transferring to the blue line) and the southsiders ride the blue line. And don't worry about us eastsiders, we got our buses set.

I say they should invent like this parking machine. Where you just drop of your car and machine grabs it and stores it away. I call it dense parking the urban way.

It's not like there's zero parking out there. There are lots of side streets that could street parking.

Ahhh, I just knew the subject of parking would enter the picture sooner or later. ;) :|

I like the idea of the trolley connecting Grand Ave and LA live via Broadway. I also hope that this project will include a renovation of Pershing Square. I'm definitely getting a Market St/Union Square vibe from that pdf file, only better because the hills here aren't nearly as steep here compared to SF.

LA should model it's future DT Connector system after Portland's. Not only is it beloved and one of the best in the nation but it looks great. I'm not a fan of the historic style of trolley car. Something similar to Portland's would not only be benifical to Broadway but all of DT.

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii169/affrojuice/pdx-tramparade-072001-04.jpg

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii169/affrojuice/PortStCar.gif

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii169/affrojuice/portland-pearldistrict.jpg

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii169/affrojuice/streetcar_by_starbucks.jpg

The streetcar system is separate from the downtown connector. People are pushing for an underground downtown connector and a streetcar to link together all of the parts of downtown.

That streetcar looks great, but I was envsioning something more like the F line in SF.

Latest Broadway Revival Gets Underway

City, Property Owners Tout Joint Effort for Bringing Back Historic Theater District

By Kathryn Maese

The Los Angeles Theatre came alive last Monday morning, its usually blank marquee emblazoned with the words "Bringing Back Broadway." A Charlie Chaplin impersonator and a group of classical musicians entertained the crowd as they entered the ornate, if faded, venue.

But the activity had nothing to do with a Broadway production - at least the traditional kind. Instead, the event kicked off a public-private partnership that aims to revive the historic theater district from Third Street to Olympic Boulevard. Although there have been several failed similar efforts over the past two decades, city leaders and local property owners were optimistic about the plan - budgeted at $36.6 million in the first phase - to return the corridor to its former glory, when Angelenos flocked to the area to watch films, dine and shop at the department stores lining the boulevard.

"With Bringing Back Broadway, we'll make sure Broadway hasn't seen its last premiere," said 14th District City Councilman José Huizar, who is spearheading the effort and began meeting with area stakeholders about eight months ago. "Theater districts are the cultural heart of all great cities, and it's time for the city of Los Angeles to realize that its own cultural heart can once again beat right here on Broadway."

The plan centers on restoring the district's collection of 12 faded movie houses to active use, whether through live productions, music and comedy shows, or as nightlife venues. A modern mix of retail is also envisioned as a way to generate foot traffic in the district, which is currently dominated by independent Latino-oriented shops selling a mix of clothing, discount goods, electronics and perfume.

Huizar's office said $16.6 million in city, state and federal funds have been secured for sidewalk and streetscape improvements, as well as finding property for a new parking facility and to study the comeback of the iconic Red Car trolley that once traversed Downtown.

"Immediately about $100,000 of that goes to continue the study for the streetcar," Huizar said following the announcement. He was referring to funds previously secured by Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard.

"We have immediate improvements that we need to make on sidewalks, streetscape, beautification, perhaps increase public safety, signage. That's about $1 million that will go this year into the basic public improvements on the streets," he added.

Huizar's office said ultimately $4.5 million from the Community Redevelopment Agency will be used for street improvements. Another $12 million will be used to identify additional parking solutions for Broadway, a reality that has stymied efforts to program events. The Pershing Square garage two blocks away is being studied as an option and Huizar is looking at building another parking structure along the street.

"A lot of these theater owners tell me, 'Hey, if you give me the parking we'll be able to book the types of shows that people would want to come and see,'" he said. "But they have nowhere to park, or if they do they don't feel safe walking to our theaters. [They say] 'Give me the parking, we'll book the shows, and then you'll have that critical mass in the streets after the shows to give that domino effect.'"

Past Failures

Huizar eagerly touted the private participation in the first phase, more than half of which is being fronted by local property owners. A spokesman for Huizar said the $20 million would be spent on future building rehabilitation, technical upgrades and façade improvements, in addition to adaptive reuse for housing on some upper floors. Specific projects were not identified.

In recent years, some theaters have already begun the restoration process. Steve Needleman, for example, spent $3.5 million to renovate the Orpheum Theatre, while the lavish Los Angeles Theatre has seen improvements over the years to the tune of several million dollars.

Later phases of the plan, particularly the Red Car system, will be costly. Experts have estimated a five-mile route to be in the $50 million range, and Huizar said federal funding would be needed to pay for the line. Planners will also examine the possibility of closing parts of Broadway to vehicle traffic.

The effort to bring back Broadway has seen several failed attempts over the decades, including most recently the Nighttime Broadway Initiative floated by former Mayor Jim Hahn in 2001. Though many of the concepts were similar, Huizar said the current iteration is marked by cooperation from the civic and private sectors.

To underscore that point, Huizar announced the formation of a 27-member board of trustees that will meet twice a month to flesh out guidelines, marketing, historic preservation, urban design and zoning. It is comprised of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, seven city department heads, business leaders and a handful of prominent Broadway property owners, including Needleman and representatives of the Delijani family, which own four theaters on the street.

Also a trustee is city Planning Director Gail Goldberg. The department will play a central role in approving new guidelines for the district. In past efforts, the department has clashed with Broadway planners.

"I have come to believe over the past two years that everything I have in my career has prepared me for this job," said Goldberg. "Having worked on the Gaslamp District in San Diego, I can tell you that dreams do come true. The historic restorations of districts like this speak to who we are today."

The trustees will be lead by an executive director who will act as a liaison between the city and the community, reporting to the councilman directly. Huizar said there will be a national search to hire someone for the full-time position, though filling the post could take six months. The city is asking property owners to help fund the salaried position.

Many of the stakeholders have participated in previous attempts to bring back the district, which ultimately fell apart due to a lack of funding and cooperation among reticent or absentee property owners. Despite those failures, Huizar said there is growing momentum across the board in the form of new housing opening along the strip, interest on the part of theater owners to renovate and a concerted city will.

"As you can see it's an impressive group of trustees. It shows the commitment, it shows the focus," Huizar said. "We've had about 70% of property owners on Broadway attend these meetings. We're ready to kick this off and I'm excited. It's long overdue."

The first year could be the most telling for the project team, which has set several aggressive goals including plans for activating hundreds of thousands of square feet of underused upper floor space into new uses, creating a Broadway signage district, adopting design guidelines, and identifying a new parking facility.

The first meeting of the trustees is Feb. 13.

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Source: Los Angeles Downtown News (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2008/02/04/news/news01.txt)

Editorial

Success on Broadway Requires Money and Muscle

Fourteenth District Councilman José Huizar has taken a laudable step in bringing together city officials and building owners who last week laid out a vision for a new, improved Broadway. It is important that Huizar and those on his team recognize the moment as merely a start. History has taught us that the coming months and years will require significant work.

The challenges ahead will be more difficult than many imagine. Arriving at consensus on specific improvements for the key street will require all manner of creativity, as well as smart business decisions and some arm-twisting.

The most difficult piece will be keeping in place the enthusiastic participation of building owners - they're the ones who need to pay for many of the changes that would result in long-term benefits for the community, even if that means short-term hits to their wallets. Building owners were among the "trustees" of Huizar's coalition, but real-world participation depends on many variables. Some owners have promised changes in the past but have been slow to make good on them.

Any landowners not ready to participate ought to do the neighborhood, and their wallets, a favor and sell. If they neither participate nor sell, the world will change around them, leaving them behind and disadvantaged.

We don't make the join-or-sell suggestion lightly, but rather as a matter of necessity for the future of Downtown Los Angeles. Broadway has long been in a precarious state. Considering the size of some of the properties, a few grim stretches can cast a pall over entire blocks.

Both the opportunity and the difficulty of the street flow from Broadway's architectural treasures, the 12 historic theaters that provide a resource unmatched anywhere else in Los Angeles. For far too long these buildings have been underused - some would say squandered. While demographic shifts and entertainment trends played a role in the malaise, these days the strongest force against change is intransigence.

The title of Huizar's project is Bringing Back Broadway. The basic plan involves creating restaurants, shops and entertainment attractions on the street, and finding uses for the empty upper floors of the buildings.

It is an impressive start, and Huizar deserves much of the credit for the work to date, everything from getting about 70% of the building owners to meet with city officials and area stakeholders, to creating a smart website which lays out short- and long-term visions. His plan appears to have more potential than some past Broadway revitalization efforts.

But truly bringing back Broadway will require altering the economics of the corridor. Landowners who in recent decades have made little investment in their properties may need to pump millions into their buildings, and perhaps make other changes.

Huizar touted the existing revenue for a $36.6 million first phase, though even with $16.6 million of that coming from government coffers, it is uncertain what kind of benefits will materialize. Only $1 million will go to immediate street-level improvements, while more than $12 million will be spent on addressing parking issues in the area, but not right away. There are no details yet on where that money will go, what it will fund. The devil is always in the details.

The first phase calls for $20 million to come from the private sector, a mix of building rehabs, façade improvements and adaptive reuse projects, among other efforts. However, it is questionable what that will accomplish on a six-block stretch. Considering that the only Broadway theater now hosting regular concerts and other events is the Orpheum (where owner Steve Needleman invested more than $3 million), the initial batch of "private sector" money may not go far.

This is where the situation becomes tricky. Huizar and his trustees need to ensure that the limited public investment is well-spent and nets notable results; these results, in turn, need to encourage the property owners to invest far larger sums in their buildings.

Huizar's aim is nothing new; there have been many failed efforts to resurrect the street. As plan after plan tumbled into nothingness, Broadway has become dominated by swap-meet style businesses and electronic shops, most of which turn a good buck. Many of these businesses reportedly pay rents as high as those in Beverly Hills, often in cash. However rents are paid and profits are garnered, the results are that few property owners have invested significantly in their buildings.

Some argue that calls to change the street reflect a negative ethnic bias because Broadway remains a hub for largely Latino shoppers, and many of the new businesses that area stakeholders anticipate moving in would serve a more "mainstream" crowd, whatever that means. Bias is an understandable assumption, but it is also incorrect.

The issue requiring the change on Broadway is those theaters. It's not about altering a place where Latinos and others shop, but rather about utilizing the resource that exists nowhere else. There is no reason the street can't have multiple functions.

Myriad issues are at play here. As the plan moves forward, it will be easy to get bogged down in minutiae and swayed by uncomfortable arguments. Everyone needs to keep in mind the way Broadway looks now and understand that altering this atmosphere will take fortitude, time and money - and community dedication to a common vision.

We think José Huizar and supporters of this idea are on the right path. Considering the climate and the changes taking place in the rest of Downtown, there are opportunities for Broadway, real chances to bring entertainment, restaurants, mixed-income housing and other amenities, as well as to establish connections to various Downtown mega-developments. This is the right time to prepare Broadway for the future.

To get there, Huizar will need to dig deep. In the past he has spoken of making the Broadway turnaround his "legacy project." He has the opportunity to establish that legacy, but must keep in mind that reputations are not made overnight. Bringing back Broadway will require him to lead now and well into the future. He and his trustees also need to be ready and willing to use some muscle.

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Source: Los Angeles Downtown News (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2008/02/04/news/opinion/edit01.txt)

Resurrecting the Red Car

Renewed Plans for Broadway Ignite Interest in Bringing Back Fabled Trolley Line

By Kathryn Maese

Ever since the Red Car trolley ferried its last passenger across Downtown in 1963, there have been attempts to resuscitate the fabled transit system. But scraping together the funding and rallying the political will to get it rolling seemed to frustrate even the staunchest supporters.

Now, momentum for reviving the iconic streetcar appears to be building, thanks to a new plan aimed at enlivening the historic Broadway theater district. Fourteenth District City Councilman José Huizar, who is heading the Bringing Back Broadway initiative to turn the corridor into a shopping and nightlife destination, said the Red Car is a key component of that effort.

Experts have put the cost north of $60 million. Still, Huizar hopes to have it designed, funded and operational within a decade.

"The streetcar revival will be great for Bringing Back Broadway and is important for Downtown," Huizar said. "It will provide a historic connection between Broadway and the great new developments in our urban core, and will help the business owners on Broadway because it will literally deliver people to their doorsteps. Other Western cities have benefited greatly from streetcar systems, and the same will be true here."

Already, the Red Car is seeing movement on a few fronts, as once-dormant designs are being dusted off and planners are seizing on renewed interest to reintroduce the vintage trolley not only as a tourist attraction, but as a practical connection to Downtown's various districts.

Last Thursday, the Community Redevelopment Agency voted to boost funding for a Downtown Red Car feasibility study that would connect the bustling Broadway corridor to the $2.5 billion L.A. Live entertainment district on the south and the planned Grand Avenue project on the north.

The original study, which was completed in 2005 by IBI Group, will receive another $60,000 to fund the next phase. In the coming months, the CRA will examine station locations, analyze how the trolley would operate on Broadway, and identify potential maintenance and repair facilities. Planners would also look at ways to fund the operation and construction.

"There is a coalition of support for this along Broadway and how it would connect to Grand Avenue and L.A. Live," said Curtis Gibbs, a CRA project manager who is spearheading the Red Car effort. "We're working in tandem with the Broadway initiative. This project has lots of momentum right now."

Portland Model

The original Red and Yellow cars were an iconic part of the city, making up the world's largest streetcar system. During its heyday in the 1920s, and later in the 1940s, the Pacific Electric carried passengers from Downtown to San Bernardino, Santa Ana, San Pedro and San Fernando, with as many as 900 trolleys on the street at one time.

However, the growth of the automobile industry caused ridership to wane and finally be replaced by the new network of freeways crisscrossing the region. The last Downtown Red Car rolled 45 years ago.

There have been several explorations of reviving the transit system. In the most recent effort, U.S. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard secured the initial $100,000 in federal funds to study bringing the streetcar back. She has secured an additional $98,000 for Red Car planning in the 2008 federal budget.

Gibbs said the CRA is also contracting with transportation engineer Allyn Rifkin of Reconnecting America to conduct a public workshop this spring on reviving streetcar service in Los Angeles.

"We are going to be talking about what's going on now and how streetcars are presenting a sense of place in other cities such as Seattle and Portland," he said.

Portland is considered one of the models for the Downtown Los Angeles streetcar project. That city's 2.4-mile system, which opened in 2001, was completed in seven years at a cost of $56.9 million. The line was funded by city parking bonds, the local business improvement district, tax increments, federal transportation funds, and city parking and general funds.

It has also been credited with helping revive the downtown Portland neighborhood known as the Pearl District. There, the streetcar came in tandem with a burst of housing development.

According to the 2005 CRA study, construction costs for a Downtown Los Angeles line would range between $60 million and $73 million. Annual operating costs are pegged at up to $5 million.

Victor Franco, with Downtown-based consulting and lobbying firm Ek & Ek, is part of the Red Car Advisory Committee, which has held occasional meetings during the last few years to push the vision of a fixed rail line that would operate in much the same way as the original line, with overhead cables.

The committee, which is comprised of stakeholders from local groups including the Central City Association, will convene next week to discuss options. They also plan to meet with Huizar's office to talk about the next steps for the Red Car.

"It was great to see the councilman had included the Red Car as part of Bringing Back Broadway," Franco said. "He laid out the framework, but there is a significant amount of work ahead. The city at this point is looking at a number of different funding options."

Franco said with budgetary constraints facing the city, funding will have to come from several sources, and possibly include the creation of a benefit assessment district in which property owners pay for a portion of the project.

"That seems to be the model that would work best," he said. "The Portland program, for example, is shepherded by the business community but also a nonprofit association that used a third or quarter of its funds from state and federal sources. One of the benefits was that property values went up where the streetcar was."

Some local agencies also seem more amenable to the idea than in the past, when a streetcar system was seen as competition for funds. Metro officials are now studying how the Red Car could be incorporated into a long-term plan for a Downtown Regional Connector that would link up to the Gold and Blue light rail lines.

"The idea is that it would work together," said Metro Project Manager Dolores Roybal. "At a certain point, the Red Car would be going further east from our alternatives, but it would be a wonderful complement to the connector. It would help connect the Fashion District to the existing system."

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Source: Los Angeles Downtown News (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2008/02/11/news/news01.txt)

A Million Dollar Opening

Historic Broadway Theater Gets New Life as Live Venue

By Kathryn Maese

For more than a year the red letters on the Million Dollar Theatre's marquee have proclaimed "Coming Soon." Last week, the static sign changed to "The Million Dollar Presenta," ushering in a new era for the 1918 landmark as it reopened with a flurry of fanfare that included Aztec dancers, mariachis and other performers.

Following a yearlong renovation that cost more than $1 million, managing partner Robert Voskanian on Thursday welcomed a host of city and community leaders to the refurbished Spanish Baroque venue at 307 S. Broadway. Mexican singer and Latin Grammy winner Pepe Aguilar christened the theater's massive stage, which has not seen a live performance in more than two decades.

With Broadway closed off to traffic, the theater's glitzy debut was a snapshot of its past life, when it once drew throngs of patrons to watch the top entertainers and films of its day. The Million Dollar is only the third historic theater on Broadway to reopen for a regular slate of live concerts and events.

Voskanian, a former nightclub owner who operated Downtown's now defunct Stock Exchange, leased the Million Dollar more than a year ago from landlord the Yellin Company - which owns the entire complex of offices, apartments and the adjoining Grand Central Market.

"In my wildest imagination I didn't think it would take as long as it did," he said. "We thought three months. But because it's historic the landlord had to pretty much approve everything from the paint to the carpet."

Voskanian said the theater's makeover was largely cosmetic, with the exception of new plumbing and electrical. There was no major construction, but instead a laundry list of improvements ranging from replacing the stained and aging carpet to installing new stage lighting.

The Million Dollar's former tenant, a Hispanic church that leased the space from 1993 to 1998, did significant damage to the original finishes, he said. Wall murals were covered with white paint (as well as the chandeliers) and the historic lobby was stripped. As part of the revamp he installed new marble flooring, repaired the crumbling 80-foot ceiling, and refurbished the proscenium stone archway inside the theater.

The lower floor of the 2,100-seat theater has been reopened, though the upper balcony remains closed while a contractor updates the 90-year-old fire exits.

Though not original, the new red and gold paint palette is in keeping with the feel of a historic theater. Voskanian said he plans to host concerts, movie screenings, theater productions and other events, which will be promoted and booked in-house.

The Million Dollar has already booked about half a dozen musical acts, and will host films for the Los Angeles Conservancy's annual Last Remaining Seats series and the Jules Verne Film Festival later this year. A liquor license is pending, Voskanian said, and the lobby could include a cafe or restaurant down the line.

Unlike some other theaters along Broadway, the Million Dollar has access to parking, a rarity that will enable it to host larger productions where loading is required.

The theater's opening comes on the heels of the Bringing Back Broadway initiative, which was announced earlier this year by 14th District Councilman José Huizar. With $36 million in seed money, the effort is aimed at spurring the development of retail, restaurants and clubs along Broadway between Third Street and Olympic Boulevard.

It also envisions revitalizing the dozen or so faded and shuttered theaters that make up the historic district and reviving a plan to bring back a streetcar system to Downtown.

Huizar said last Thursday's reopening marks a major milestone in the corridor's progress, which so far has seen only the Orpheum and the Los Angeles theaters open to the public.

"Step by step, the Million Dollar Theatre has been brought back and is now in the spotlight once again to shine on Broadway," Huizar said during the opening. "With lots of effort and dedication, and more than $1 million in private investment, the theater is once again truly beautiful, and most importantly, viable for entertainment programming. This effort and its wonderful success is a prime example of what I think we can achieve all the way up and down Broadway in the coming years, all of us working together."

Sid Grauman's Muse

The Million Dollar Theater was the first movie palace commissioned by legendary showman Sid Grauman, and opened Feb. 1, 1918, with the debut of the cowboy film The Silent Man. Among the stars to turn out were Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and Lillian Gish, as well as hundreds of eager fans who lined up for two blocks.

Built at a reputed cost of more than $1 million, the theater was designed in the ornate Churrigueresque style by movie house luminary William Woolett and Downtown architect Albert C. Martin. The theater's exterior is marked by an ornate terra cotta arch with columns, swags and medallions. The interior resembles an 18th century Mexican cathedral.

"Where saints and cherubs would reign on churches, sit whimsical images of the Wild West, like bison heads, Texas longhorn skulls, allegorical figures of the arts and a frolicking girl who dangles her leg over the doorway," says the Los Angeles Conservancy, which leads public tours of Broadway's theaters. "Within, a dark, richly carved coffered ceiling, magnificent and intricate organ grilles and dramatic proscenium engulf the auditorium and arouse awe."

Though most of Broadway's theaters were shuttered and fell into disrepair over the decades, the Million Dollar continued to go strong. From about the 1950s to the mid-'70s, the theater became the premier venue for Spanish-language films as well as music and variety shows, packing the house for big-name acts such as Maria Felix, Jose Alfredo Jimenez, Vicente Fernandez and Celia Cruz.

In 1999, the Metropolitan Theatre Co. tried a short-lived bid to bring back films to the Million Dollar, but the theater sat empty until Voskanian leased it. With the Million Dollar's opening, three theaters now operate on Broadway with concerts and special events. The Orpheum Theater at 850 S. Broadway underwent a $3.5 million renovation and reopened six years ago with a regular slate of concerts, while the owner of the Los Angeles Theatre at 615 S. Broadway has pumped several million dollars into the elaborate interior and façade (it hosts a more limited schedule of events).

Voskanian said he hopes his theater renovation will inspire other property owners along the corridor to reopen their venues. He noted that the current effort to bring back Broadway has the potential to reshape the area in a way other plans before it had not.

"If they put enough effort behind it, I think it will work," he said. "There is money in the bag, and there wasn't in the beginning. I'm hopeful that they can keep it going."

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Source: Los Angeles Downtown News (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2008/03/03/news/news02.txt)

Broadway Plan Gets Boost

News Brief

Last week, the City Council unanimously approved spending $550,000 for street upgrades along Broadway. The funds will be allocated to the Community Redevelopment Agency, which is expected to begin work on a streetscape design next month. "The more than half-million dollars will help us begin immediate work on the revitalization of Broadway," said 14th District Councilman José Huizar in a statement. Huizar announced the Bringing Back Broadway initiative Jan. 28. The public-private partnership is aimed at reviving and luring new development to the historic but faded corridor between Third Street and Olympic Boulevard. Huizar has said the first phase of the project will bring streetscape improvements; later additions could include a new parking facility and the revival of the streetcar. Last month, Broadway's Million Dollar Theatre reopened following a $1 million-plus renovation.

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Source: Los Angeles Downtown News (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2008/03/10/news/news_briefs/at05.txt)

Good news all around. It's good how they'll be working on the streetscapes soon... at this rate, a year from now Broadway will be completely different.

Already seeing some differences on Broadway:

A Million Dollar dream

Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Developer Robert Voskanian sits in the velvet seats of his historic Million Dollar Theatre on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.


Robert Voskanian has spent the legendary theater's title sum to restore it as a multicultural venue.
By Agustin Gurza, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 12, 2008

PASSERSBY were greeted to a most unusual sight this week on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. Unusual in recent memory, that is. The iron gate at the entrance of the historic Million Dollar Theater was wide open.:) Nobody was manning the box office, but the unshuttered exterior, in all its Churrigueresque glory, was a sign that life is returning to the ornate auditorium, which this year celebrates its 90th anniversary.

The other sign of revival can be found on the side of the marquee: The Million Dollar presents Mexico's venerable Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, appearing May 11. This marks the first major concert in about a decade staged by the landmark theater that many worried would never reopen. Not noted on the sign is tonight's centennial tribute to Mexican mariachi composer Tito Guízar, sponsored by the Cervantes Center.

Located at Broadway and 3rd Street, the Million Dollar was once considered the grande dame of the marvelous movie palaces that line L.A.'s historic theater district. It was Sid Grauman's first movie house in town, designed by noted architect Albert C. Martin Sr. and hailed as one of the finest in the world when it opened on Feb. 1, 1918, to a crowd of celebrities including Charlie Chaplin and Cecil B. DeMille. For decades, it would serve as the site of glitzy Hollywood premieres, often preceded by live vaudeville shows featuring the likes of Buster Keaton and Gloria Swanson.

In recent decades, the theater has fallen on hard times. It had served most recently as a church before the faithful also abandoned it five years ago, leaving its once-gilded interior inexplicably whitewashed. Then, it just sat empty.

Inside, the lobby is lined with large posters of some of the Latin stars that appeared here during the 1950s and '60s -- glamorous Mexican actress Maria Felix, Cuban singer Celia Cruz in full rumba regalia and comedian Cantinflas with a beaming smile. The slightly faded photos are vivid reminders of the venue's postwar heyday as an important Latin entertainment showcase, kept alive by the city's new immigrants as Angelenos fled downtown for the suburbs.

Upstairs, in a plain office behind a messy desk, sits the theater's new manager, Robert Voskanian, a tall and skeletal Armenian immigrant who has dabbled in moviemaking and spent years running two big downtown discos before taking on the theater's renovation. The man is either a visionary or a fool, betting on the chance of restoring the Million Dollar to even a quarter of its past glory.

"They told me, 'It's not going to work. Broadway is never going to be what it used to be,' " Voskanian recalls with a shrug. "All your typical stuff. Hopefully, I'll show them wrong."[/B]

Resting on the floor is a framed photograph of the entrepreneur on stage with local dignitaries, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. It was taken at an invitation-only event last month that heralded the theater's reopening as part of [B]"Bringing Back Broadway," a city-sponsored drive to spruce up the corridor. (No public funds were used to restore the Million Dollar, Voskanian says.) On the 800 block, the Orpheum Theater has already undergone a $3.5-million makeover and now features a busy schedule of performances.

But gone are the days when the theater can depend exclusively on Latino audiences to stay afloat. The Million Dollar long ago lost its monopoly as L.A.'s Latin music showcase, after other venues opened their doors to Latino performers.

Voskanian understands the need to diversify. The day I met him, he was checking out the website of Michael Kleitman, a Soviet-born opera singer he's considering presenting. The moment was a glimpse into the multicultural future of the new downtown. At the Million Dollar, we have an Armenian promoter who was born in Iran interested in presenting a Russian singer who immigrated to Australia and performs romantic pop in Italian.

People seem sensitive to the perception that downtown gentrification means pushing Latinos out. Even without being asked, they deny it.

"Why on Earth would we want to get rid of this amazingly vital community that already exists?" :banana: asks Cindy Olnick, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Conservancy, which also promotes the revitalization of Broadway. "We want to keep the authentic resources that make the community unique and vital. We just want to augment it."

"I'm not going to give up on the Spanish crowd," Voskanian says in his heavily accented English. "I'm going to add an international flavor. There's 365 days to fill the theater, so there's enough nights to do everything I want to do." :cheers:

With his spindly fingers, bushy mustache and long hair pulled back in a ponytail, Voskanian looks like a character that could have come out of the 1977 independent horror movie he directed, "The Child," which the All Movie Guide calls an "odd little period zombie film." Eventually, he wants to get back to making movies.

Voskanian came to the United States in 1962 as a teenage exchange student and was later joined by his mother, a homemaker, and father, a trucker who hauled gasoline in Iran. Armenians were a minority back home, he recalls, but not like L.A.'s Latinos. "No, there's a difference, because Latinos have a lot of power here, and we didn't," he says.

He studied business at Whittier College and cinema at CalArts. In 2006, joined by partners from the disco business, he signed a 20-year lease from the Million Dollar, owned by the Yellin Co., which also has the neighboring Grand Central Market. He says he has since invested $1 million for renovations, an amount that coincidentally gave the theater its name because that's what it cost to build. "The place was, bluntly put, in a sad shape," he says, as he tours the interior.

The Spanish Baroque auditorium (designed by William Woollett) must have been awe-inspiring in its day, with its massive arched proscenium, 75-foot-high coved ceilings, filigreed organ grilles and massive balcony, an engineering feat at the time. The tenants have replaced the ragged carpets and painted everything from the gold vases in the alcoves to the ornate chandeliers. But there's a lot left to do, judging from the water stains on the high ceiling caused before leaks were fixed. The balcony is closed off pending repair of a rickety exterior staircase. But the show must go on. Already scheduled this year are a film festival, a beauty contest and two screenings as part of Last Remaining Seats, the conservancy's annual film series in historic venues.

With so much on the line, you'd expect Voskanian to be a little nervous.

"No, not really," he says, strolling through the theater with his hands causally tucked into the pockets of his suit pants. "It's like, you're already in it, so you've got to try to make the best of it."

Musical Tribute to Tito Guízar, featuring performances by singers Tito Guízar Jr. (son) and Mauricio Guízar (grandson) and actress Lilia Guízar (daughter), among others. 6 tonight, Million Dollar Theater, 307 S. Broadway, Los Angeles. Admission is free. Info, (310) 526-1480 or go to www.cervantescenter.org.

The Million Dollar theatre should be called Grauman's Million Dollar theatre.

Another Piece of the Broadway Puzzle

Street's Evolution Continues With 60-Apartment Judson C. Rives Building

By Anna Scott

Amid the colorful bazaar of Broadway in the Historic Core, abuzz with Spanish pop music and sidewalk vendors, the narrow white façade of the Judson C. Rives Building is easy to miss. Ironically, the man who just converted the building's previously vacant office space into 60 apartments originally had little affinity for it.

"When I first saw the building from the outside, I didn't like it at all," architect and developer David Gray admitted last week, as crews put the finishing touches on the 101-year-old edifice. "But then, when I looked inside, I realized that it had so much potential."

In a way, the building reflects Broad-way itself, a faded corridor of historic theaters and structures that is now the target of a revitalization campaign. The Bringing Back Broadway initiative, launched this year by 14th District Councilman José Huizar, aims to enlist property owners in helping to revive Broadway between Third Street and Olympic Boulevard.

While renovations continue on several former movie palaces (the Million Dollar Theatre at Third and Broadway reopened in February), a handful of residential projects are helping give the street a critical mass. In addition to the Judson, Heritage Development Group is finishing the Chapman condominiums at Broadway and Eighth Street, and last year Phoenix Realty Group completed the for-sale Pan American Lofts at Third and Broadway. Also underway is the 84-apartment Metropolitan Building at Fifth and Broadway, from developer South Broadway, LLC.

Gray, who developed the Judson as a partner in 424 S. Broadway, LLC, has a long track record as both an architect and developer in Downtown. He developed the Tomahawk Building at Spring and Main streets, and as an architect has worked on the Douglas Building, the Orpheum Lofts and the National City Bank Tower Lofts. Also as an architect, he has projects in the pipeline at 810 and 756 S. Spring St., and 309 E. Ninth St.

The Judson, Gray said, is uniquely suited to its location, thanks to spaces that take advantage of the building's historic character and an unusual approach to ground-floor retail.

"We are the poster child for Broadway," he said. "It's a prototype for everything in the neighborhood."

Let There Be Light

The 10-story, 74,000-square-foot Judson C. Rives Building has stood at 424 S. Broadway, between Fourth and Fifth streets, since 1907.

Named for the 1920s-era owner who renovated the onetime office building and brought in the movie theater that once occupied its ground floor, the Judson's upper floors were long empty when Gray and his business partners purchased the property in 2005.

Now, after an $11 million renovation, the Judson has undergone another major transformation.

Visitors enter a vaulted marble lobby, decorated with cornices. An elevator with gold doors rises to the upper floors, where units range from 600 to nearly 1,600 square feet and rent for $1,495 to $4,995. Layouts include loft-style singles, and one- and two-bedroom units (plus one three-bedroom residence).

Apartments combine the old and new, with some original walls, Cesarstone countertops, Italian cabinets and a full line of modern appliances. The U-shaped building also features a rooftop garden and Jacuzzi, laundry facilities, parking in the nearby Community Redevelopment Agency headquarters and a restored outdoor courtyard.

But the best part, said Gray, are the original steel windows in each apartment. "To me, light is the most important thing that you can offer a tenant," he said. "When you've got this amount of light, it sort of lays itself out."

In one of the most striking units, a 940-square-foot loft on the second floor, a skylight overlooks most of the main living space. The unusual element helped convince Jill Willis to put down a deposit on the apartment.

"It has this frosted-glass ceiling, and I didn't see that at any of the other buildings I looked at," said Willis, 34. An attorney, Willis' company is relocating her from Riverside to Downtown Los Angeles in mid-May. She searched for a Downtown apartment for about three months before deciding on the Judson, she said, where selling points included the building's relatively small size and proximity to nightlife and businesses.

"I wanted a community feel," she said. "It's in walking distance not just to the office, but a million restaurants, a yoga studio, coffee shops and everything you could possibly want." She added, "There's a lot happening on Broadway. It seems like a really exciting place to be."

Slow and Steady

The Judson so far has garnered strong interest from young, single, professional women like Willis, said leasing manager Danielli Cosgrove.

Six reservations have been placed since the end of March, and the building should be ready for move-ins within a month, Cosgrove said. Though reservations are proceeding slower than she expected, Gray's development partner, Jeremy Miller, said he is not worried.

"Even if we do six apartments a month, we'll rent out within the year and that's the key thing to do," Miller said. "Because of our small size, I don't see why we shouldn't be able to."

With a recent dip in occupancy across Downtown's rental market, attributed to a glut of new units opening amid the ongoing credit crunch, Miller said his team is prepared for a slowdown, and may drop rents if necessary. As for Broadway, the developers consider it a sure thing.

"It's going to have its transitional problems," Gray said, "but I don't see it as risky at all. It's near the Metro, the Financial District, the Old Bank District. I think if people come here, they'll be convinced."

Part of the attraction, he and others believe, will be retail outlets that appeal to longtime street visitors as well as new inhabitants. In a unique twist, the Judson's refurbished ground-floor retail space will soon house the same tenants that occupied it when Gray purchased the building from a group led by real estate investors Stanley Black and Robert Barth.

As part of the deal, Gray agreed to lease back the renovated ground-floor space for an extended period to Black and Barth, who in turn will rent it to the original tenants, including shoe and denim stores along with a juice bar. Gray sees the arrangement as a way to help upgrade Broadway while curbing gentrification.

"On Broadway, the whole struggle, the goal, is to get a good mix of Hispanic retail and upscale retail," he said. "Gentrification is a problem. By keeping the original tenants, I'm taking my stand." He added, "In a perfect world, this would be the retail center of L.A. That is what every owner is gambling on."

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Source: Los Angeles Downtown News (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2008/04/21/news/news01.txt)

Tall building to the left...http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/CHS-42083jsessionid7461E14B9B1A1149.jpg usc digital archive

"On Broadway, the whole struggle, the goal, is to get a good mix of Hispanic retail and upscale retail," he said. "Gentrification is a problem. By keeping the original tenants, I'm taking my stand." He added, "In a perfect world, this would be the retail center of L.A. That is what every owner is gambling on."

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Source: Los Angeles Downtown News (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2008/04/21/news/news01.txt)


This is one of the best quotes I've ever heard regarding Broadway revitalization. :)

This is one of the best quotes I've ever heard regarding Broadway revitalization. :)

The term "original tenants" I think is a little misleading and is being confused with "current tenants." There is certainly a difference and is clearly the state most seem to dislike about that area now and how run down it looks. I don't think that there is a compromise in keeping is as is while revitalizing it at the same time, but then perhaps I am wrong. I like diversity as much as anyone else but if you're going to resuscitate the theater district, then the "current tenants" played little part in that, did they not other that visiting it to take in a show, like everyone else?

Well one of the ways they could curb gentrification is by making some of those apartments affordable, which they've failed to do.

Streetcar Mission (http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2008/04/28/news/news_briefs/at02.txt)

News Brief

A trip north has focused attention on how to bring a streetcar back to Downtown, 14th District City Councilman Jos/ Huizar said last week. On April 16-18, Huizar led a 23-member delegation of Downtown stakeholders to Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash., to observe the successful and popular streetcar systems in the downtowns of those cities. The group included representatives from the city, the Community Redevelopment Agency, business owners, community members and property owners. The group studied the streetcar's effect on economic development and traffic. "This experience has reconfirmed my commitment to bringing a modern streetcar system to Downtown Los Angeles," Huizar said in a statement. "The streetcar has always been a central focus of my Bringing Back Broadway initiative, but now more than ever, I am laser-focused on making this happen." Along with riding the rails, the team heard from Vic Rhodes, Portland's former director of transportation, who told the delegation that some of that city's concerns about pedestrian safety, traffic flow and car accidents were put at ease by their system's performance. The group also got a tour of formerly blighted areas along the streetcar lines and saw ways businesses have sponsored streetcars that stop by their stores. Huizar hopes to have a Downtown streetcar designed, funded and operational within a decade.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/141/319786924_e0255d107c.jpg
The United Building, located at 707 S. Broadway, could be
converted to 155 condo units.

Delijani Looks to Add 155 Bite-Sized Condos in the United Building (http://www.blogdowntown.com/2008/04/3211-delijani-looks-to-add-155-bitesized-condos)

By Eric Richardson
April 01, 2008

The United Building, better known as the State Theatre Building, could soon become home to 155 live-work condo units. An application for the Vesting Tentative Tract was submitted to the city in November, and a hearing has been set for mid-April. The 12-story building, built in 1921, is currently home to office and jewelry manufacturing uses. Delijani had previously talked of a potential boutique hotel on the site.

Most interesting about the plan is the size of the units the building would contain. The smallest unit would be only 304 sq. feet, while average unit area would be 494 sq. feet. Only one unit per floor would be over 1,000 sq. feet.

And why such small units? The Request for Variance says that "the design and structure of the existing building, including its existing historical elements, do not allow for the minimum and average units sizes as specified in the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance." It cites "historical elements (i.e., interior walls and doors)" as special circumstances that should lead to the city allowing such small units.

Last August the City Council passed new planning rules that would allow such smaller units within Downtown. At the time there was much discussion of whether there would be a market for such little units in Los Angeles.

A hearing on the tentative tract is scheduled for April 16th at 10:45am.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/124/321148171_14b1764fbe.jpg
The Los Angeles Theatre is part of a single development
with the Fox Building, on Hill street.

More Theatre Reuse: Units for Palace, Los Angeles? (http://www.blogdowntown.com/2008/04/3227-more-theatre-reuse-units-for-palace-los-angeles)

By Eric Richardson
April 04, 2008

Applications have been filed to convert space in two more Broadway theater buildings to residential use. The Broadway office tower above the entrance to the Palace Theatre is proposed to be converted to 20 condo units. That space includes an amazing 5th floor with skylight and enormous windows, site of numerous recent movie shoots.

Another application lists 96 live/work units in the Los Angeles Theater building. Before you spend too much time scratching your head on that one, though, it's worth pointing out that the "building" encompassing the Fox office tower that fronts on Hill street. It is the office tower that residents could soon be calling home, not the historic theater.

The Los Angeles Theater and the Fox office building were announced in 1930 by William Fox. Fox, a theater owner and producer, bought the plot of land running between Hill and Broadway in 1929. While S. Charles Lee is rightfully known as the architect of the Los Angeles Theater, S. Tilden Norton was the architect charged with supervising the combined project. The 13-story office tower contained 200 offices and ground floor retail.

According to documents filed with the Planning Department, conversion of the Los Angeles would bring 96 units, with eight each on floors two through thirteen. The smallest would be 433 sq. feet, with the largest 743 sq. feet. Average unit size would be 544 sq. feet.

The much smaller Palace office tower would be converted to 20 units on four floors. Diagrams on file with the Planning Department show that fifth floor units would include a mezzanine level. The smallest unit would be 611 sq. feet, with average size 793 sq. feet and the largest unit running 1,168 sq. feet with the mezzanine included.

The fifth floor office space has been a location for many films, including 2003's I Love Your Work, and the 1998 classic The Big Lebowski.

Both Vesting Tentative Tract maps have their public hearings on April 16th at 10:30am, the same session that will include the application for conversion of the United building, home of the State Theater.

that is positively gorgeous.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2012/2079842853_70a3fdec54.jpg

$6 Million Pledged to Rialto Theatre for Changes (http://www.angelenic.com/758/6-million-pledged-to-rialto-theatre-for-changes/)

By Stephen Friday
June 20, 2008

Following the fates of many historic properties affected by the ongoing Bringing Back Broadway initiative (http://www.angelenic.com/337/broadway-is-going-to-be-all-you-dreamed-it-could-be-villaraigosa/), the currently defunct Rialto Theater has found a suitor to boost its low profile on the strip.

According to an announcement made yesterday, Hollywood-based Longest Marquee LLC has signed a 25-year lease on the structure with plans to spend $6 million on renovations to reopen it as a restaurant/bar/live music venue.

Originally constructed in 1917, this nickelodeon theatre may have a small stature next to its more grand neighbors, but it held a big role in Sid Grauman’s film palace empire during the early-20th century.

Today, several low-end shops fill its entrance hall, while the rest of the building remains vacant and unused. No time line for reconstruction is known at this time.

-“Broadway Is Going to Be All You Dreamed It Could Be” - Villaraigosa (http://www.angelenic.com/337/broadway-is-going-to-be-all-you-dreamed-it-could-be-villaraigosa/)

^ I wish they'd use the theater for stage productions, rather than live music performances.

Is it large enough for perhaps touring off-Broadway productions?

^ I wish they'd use the theater for stage productions, rather than live music performances.

It's been a number of years since I was in that theatre but if I remember it correctly there is no stage to speak of. The theatre was built as a Nickelodeon and has none of the things you would need for stage productions (unless you wanted to do thrust stage / avant-garde type shows).

Downtown's mainstay
Broadway was L.A.'s version of New York's Great White Way -- in this case, grand movie palaces. The thoroughfare's fortunes have fallen and risen, but landmarks remain. http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/FiestaBroadway.jpganswerwithaction.blogspot
July 7, 2008

Remember those dismissive jabs from New Yorkers about Los Angeles not having a downtown?

No more. Anyone who mentions rolled-up sidewalks has not walked Broadway on a weekend, when crowds and a mix of sounds and smells stir memories of Lower Manhattan or Mexico City.

Before World War II, Broadway was Los Angeles' version of the Great White Way -- in this case, the world's largest concentration of movie theaters. The grandiose style of its film palaces spilled over to nearby office buildings and stores, still resplendent in gargoyles and rococo trim.

Broadway's fortunes have fallen and risen, but landmarks remain. The Grand Central Market is awash with the scent of fish, tortillas, barbecue and ripe vegetables. Outside the International House of Music, an old RCA Victor dog statue stands with its head cocked to hear the music. At the Guadalupe Wedding Chapel, couples can buy a $250 package with minister, chapel, music and a choice of video, bride's bouquet, cake-cutting knife or gold-plated rings for two.

Day and night, film crews zoom in on brownstone storefronts and 1920s foyers. The Guadalupe chapel appeared in "The Wedding Singer" and "Six Feet Under." This is Broadway, after all, and entertainment is king.


Deborah Schoch
Los Angeles Times

Broadway Effort Would Do Well to Look at Denver Mall
By Eric Richardson
Published: Thursday, July 03, 2008, at 09:25PM
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/2635734310_85476d76ec.jpg
Eric Richardson
Looking south on Denver's 16th Street Mall, with its free bus running north and south.

DENVER — Three years ago I pitched Denver's 16th Street Mall as a model for Broadway. Built in the 1980s, the mall took sixteen blocks of derelict downtown and turned it into a walkable destination. The street was closed off and turned into tree-lined pedestrian space, with a free bus as the only traffic.

Yesterday I was back in Denver and again walked along the mall with Broadway in mind. After three years some of my opinions on the implementation have changed, but the 16th Street Mall continues to provide some excellent advice for Broadway revitalization.

In the last three years we've seen talk that Metro was continuing to look at Broadway as a transit mall, the launch of the Bringing Back Broadway campaign and brought a national streetcar workshop to the Orpheum. There's a lot of energy around Broadway ideas.

The 16th Street Mall provides a great case study for looking at how Broadway functions. I think it's worth pointing out a few things to emulate, and a few to avoid.

EMULATE: Removing traffic from 16th street creates an environment that's ideal for sidewalk dining. While restaurants are a target for Broadway's revitalization, it's hard to imagine anyone wanting to sit and dine on a Broadway that features its current bus traffic. Metro's transit mall concept removes auto traffic, but leaves overly loud buses. Dining that looks out onto a pedestrian way with a streetcar running up and down it would be a great draw.

EMULATE: Simple transit up and down the corridor works wonders. Denver runs hybrid buses with low floors and multiple boarding doors for easy on-off access. The streetcar would serve that same function, and it would be important to consider how a fare-free zone on Broadway might encourage ridership and multiple trips.

AVOID: The 16th Street Mall can feel manufactured. Broadway has more historic structures, including the theatres. The diversity of structures creates a better base to build off of. Current business owners should be encouraged to be a part of the new Broadway, one in which the street houses a diverse range of uses.

AVOID: Be friendly to non-auto uses. The 16th Street Mall bans bicycles, rollerblades and skateboards. Broadway, with its wider right of way, should create a street design that encompasses these uses and helps push the concept of a car-free Downtown. BlogDowntown

^^ I love that idea. I know that it will take a long time to execute something like this. Has anyone heard of any "real" updates? What's going on now?

Broadway closed to traffic seems off.

its kinda like 3rd street promenade in santa monica... sounds cool and all but I'm totally against it... its artificial and it disturbs the national ebs and flows of the city

Denver's 16th Street Mall reminds me a lot of Barcelona's Las Ramblas, which I've been to. Both are pedestrian-only strips with one lane of traffic on each side. I like this model and I think it would work well in Broadway's case. I don't worry about it becoming another Third Street Promenade because of the preservation.

downtown already has santee alley and olvera street as pedestrian destinations. i'm with PotatoGuy on this.

even if we could get more pedestrian activity anywhere, there are plenty of other alleys or abandoned blocks we could put pedestrian areas without disrupting already disrupted traffic.

If you're gonna go pedestrian, have it look like post #127! Don't fuck it up like Vegas did with Fremont Street :)

downtown already has santee alley and olvera street as pedestrian destinations. i'm with PotatoGuy on this.

I wouldn't really call those pedestrian "destinations".

even if we could get more pedestrian activity anywhere, there are plenty of other alleys or abandoned blocks we could put pedestrian areas without disrupting already disrupted traffic.

Turning alleyways into pedestrian corridors... I wish. If they can make it happen, great. I doubt it, though.

Converting the strip of Broadway from 3rd St. down to Olympic Blvd. would entice people to get out of their cars and WALK. WALK not just along Broadway, but all around Downtown.

Don't set up any permanent kiosks, or planters, or promotional desks or booths of any kind! Keep the street clear! Of course, if it's permanently converted for victims uhhh... pedestrians, then the asphalt has to go. It would be interesting what they would choose to install. :)

Denver?

Yeah right...I dont want Broadway being turned into a ped-only strip mall.

Agree w/ PotatoGuy. Sorry, I love LA and all but when things get planned in this sense I see it going corporate/sterile/lowest-common-denominator. A little 3rd Street Promenade, maybe some Grove. A kiosk here and there, maybe a nice little juggler the city pays for. Perhaps a peppy recorded voice on the trolley mentioning corporate sponsors. Be careful.

I keep seeing over and over the missing link is more affordable housing. It seems so constipated waiting for all the pretty loft buildings to fill up.

^^ I sense that you are downtown. Welcome :) Did you go to ROLL CALL and then stick your face on SHOW YOUR FACE L. A.?

Agree w/ PotatoGuy. Sorry, I love LA and all but when things get planned in this sense I see it going corporate/sterile/lowest-common-denominator. A little 3rd Street Promenade, maybe some Grove. A kiosk here and there, maybe a nice little juggler the city pays for. Perhaps a peppy recorded voice on the trolley mentioning corporate sponsors. Be careful.

I keep seeing over and over the missing link is more affordable housing. It seems so constipated waiting for all the pretty loft buildings to fill up.

Aside from assuming that there exists no affordable housing what other problem do you have with 3rd St.? I personally really really like 3rd St for what it is which is a tourist trap and a gathering place. I see Hollywood Blvd being another one of those and the coming LA Live whether we like it or not being one as well.

Downtown Delegation Heads to San Diego
By Eric Richardson
Published: Thursday, August 21, 2008, at 12:07PM

Eric Richardson

File photo of the San Diego Trolley passing by the Hilton Gaslamp.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2224/2349517449_08713501bc_m.jpg
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — A large group from Downtown is headed south today, taking part in a Bringing Back Broadway field trip to San Diego’s Gaslamp District. Councilman Jose Huizar and Councilwoman Jan Perry headline a list of fifty-two folks taking the short trip down the coast, looking to learn lessons that can help in the revitalization of Broadway.

Planning Department head Gail Goldberg came to Los Angeles from San Diego, where she was head City Planner. She’s put together an itinerary for Friday that includes tours of the area and talks with those who were involved in the redevelopment of the once seedy Gaslamp District into a very popular nightlife destination.

Most attendees will be making good use of the transit system in their trip, boarding an Amtrak train at Union Station and taking San Diego’s Trolley from the station to their hotel.

This is the second field trip put together by the Bringing Back Broadway project. In April, a smaller group visited Portland and Seattle to learn about streetcar projects in those two cities.

Note: I’ll be on the San Diego excursion, so if coverage is a bit light during the day tomorrow, know that I’m getting lots of good stuff that’ll be making its way onto the site shortly.

Broadway Trustees Approve Streetcar Non-Profit
By Eric Richardson
Published: Friday, August 15, 2008, at 05:10PM

Eric Richardson

Theatre in January, 2008.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The concept of a Downtown streetcar took another step forward Friday, as the Bringing Back Broadway Trustees voted to create LA Streetcar, Inc. The organization would be a sole purpose non-profit that would design, build and operate a streetcar system Downtown.

Jim Atkins of the South Group was involved in the creation of the Portland streetcar, where a similar non-profit entity was created to manage the project. He led the effort to write the proposal that was in front of the Trustees on Friday, after having been discussed at length in the effort's Streetcar, Parking and Transportation committee.

Over its first eighteen months, LA Streetcar, Inc., would look to raise just under $400,000. The money would be used to advocate and coordinate the streetcar effort.

The Bringing Back Broadway Trustees is a group of more than two dozen stakeholders, made up of property owners, city departments, preservation interests and local business groups. The Bringing Back Broadway project, run out of Councilman Jose Huizar's CD14 office, recently named Jessica Wethington Mclean as its Executive Director.

Why aren't there any planed metro stops on Broadway?

http://images.ballhype.com/uploads/photos_large/2008/03/23/StoneCold_Steve_Austin.jpg

Because he didn't say so.

Why aren't there any planed metro stops on Broadway?

There's a red line stop at pershing square..only 1 block. If people aren't willing to walk..well then...metro will never work in this city.

There's a red line stop at pershing square..only 1 block. If people aren't willing to walk..well then...metro will never work in this city.

Also Civic Center, again one block from Broadway.

If you look up "Pershing Square" on Flickr... most photographers try to avoid having people in the pictures :D

Broadway's Upper Floors Targeted with New Reuse Rules (http://www.blogdowntown.com/2008/10/3738-broadways-upper-floors-targeted-with-new)

By ERIC RICHARDSON
October 22, 2008

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Councilman Jose Huizar today took aim at the million square feet of vacant upper floors lining Broadway, introducing a motion intended to remove the red tape involved in converting that vacancy into uses such as creative office space.

Huizar wants to see an ordinance that would do for these buildings what the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance did for residential conversions. His motion calls for an inter-departmental task force to be put together to craft such language.

The motion points at the $6-billion in new development sparked by the 1999 passage of the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, allowing by-right conversion of old commercial structures to residential uses. “While adaptive reuse continues to be a boon to revitalization and helps preserve historic buildings,” the motion reads, “not all buildings are suitable or feasible for housing, leaving a great number of other buildings behind – vacant indefinitely.”

Additionally, the motion targets the 15-20% vacancy rate along Broadway, and seeks to bring help to businesses that wish to open up in these historic structures. It asks for “financial and programmatic incentives” to help with the effort.

The motion asks for the creation of a Bringing Back Broadway Commercial Reuse Task Force, bringing together more than a dozen city agencies and departments. The group would be responsible for returning recommendations to council within 60 days.

It also asks that projects on Broadway and in the Historic Core that has applications in the city’s system be put into case management, a process designed to help the applicant efficiently navigate the different city departments involved in a project.

Huizar’s office will be issuing a press release on the motion shortly. The motion, seconded by Councilwoman Jan Perry, next must go to the Housing & Economic Development and Planning & Land Use Management committees.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Council District 14 just put out a press release about today’s motion.


LOS ANGELES (Oct. 22, 2008) – Councilmember José Huizar introduced City legislation today calling for a Bringing Back Broadway Commercial Reuse Task Force to develop recommendations for an ordinance aimed at encouraging and providing incentives for upper- and lower-floor commercial reuse on Broadway and in the Historic Core.

More than 1 million square feet of commercial space is vacant in the upper floors of Broadway’s buildings and the vacancy rate on the ground floor – which has increased since the exodus of commercial businesses and employees to Bunker Hill – is estimated to be at least 15 percent and is on the rise.

“Unless the City does something to encourage the reuse of long-vacant commercial spaces, we’ll be staring up at architectural ghosts all along Broadway,” said Councilmember José Huizar, who is heading the Bringing Back Broadway Initiative, a public/private effort aimed at revitalizing the Historic Broadway Corridor. “Tragically, too many of these beautiful historic high-rise buildings are completely vacant on the upper floors, and the City will continue to miss the opportunity for much-needed long-term revenue from millions of square feet of vacant commercial and retail space.”

Due to their 19th-Century design and functionality, Broadway’s commercial and theatrical buildings have fallen to substandard levels of occupancy safety, especially in the upper floors. Much of that upper floor space cannot be legally occupied today after years – even decades – of vacancy.

The task force will be convened by the City’s Community Redevelopment Agency within 30 days and will include a wide variety of City departments and business leaders. The task force will then report back within 60 days with recommendations, including meaningful financial and program-based incentives for the consideration of a new ordinance.

The City’s 1999 Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, which allows residential units to be built in underutilized commercial buildings, has been an estimated $6 billion boon to development downtown and to the City’s economy, exceeding the combined cost of the Staples Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Cathedral, and LA LIVE, in addition to the projected cost of the Grand Avenue Project.

“Adaptive Reuse has changed the face of downtown and has jump-started revitalization that would otherwise not have been possible in the Historic Core,” Huizar said. “Unfortunately, not all of the wonderful buildings on Broadway are suitable for conversion to housing and the low-hanging fruit for adaptive reuse have been plucked.”

Due to market forces in place when many Broadway buildings were acquired, ground-floor rents continue to be sufficient to cover operational costs for many building owners, leaving little incentive to invest in the costly renovations necessary to legally reuse upper-floor commercial spaces.

At the same time, independent “Mom & Pop” businesses – especially restaurants and other amenity-oriented establishments – are discouraged from occupying vacant lower and ground floor spaces on Broadway due to costs and difficulties related to completing change of use projects within historic high-rise type buildings.

Huizar will call on the task force to move quickly and to think aggressively and creatively about how to capture the significant revenue the City is currently missing by creating commercial reuse incentives in the historic core and promoting business and job growth downtown.

“There are so many options, even for spaces which would not be appropriate for adaptive reuse for housing – we should look at creative office space and boutique hotels to find ways that restaurants and cafes can more easily get into the vacant spaces on Broadway,” Huizar said.

The Bringing Back Broadway initiative intends to revitalize the historic Broadway corridor so that Broadway can once again serve the City of Los Angeles as a thriving entertainment, commercial and retail center. Planned public projects such as new parking facilities, a streetscape plan, the Downtown LA Streetcar and an entertainment-oriented overlay zone will help prevent this historic corridor from falling into further decline.

Broadway Effort Announces New Financing (http://www.blogdowntown.com/2008/11/3793-broadway-effort-announces-new-financing)

By ERIC RICHARDSON
November 10, 2008

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — It's tough to get financing in today's market, but the city doesn't want to see that put a squeeze on Broadway redevelopment. While details are yet to be finalized, Bringing Back Broadway Executive Director Jessica Wethington McLean today announced that the effort had secured a line of credit that will make $150 million annually available for projects on the corridor.

Part of the fallout in the financial sector has been a dramatic tightening of the credit market, making it much harder to get loans for development projects. This new credit is money that the city can make available to projects on Broadway under its own terms, ensuring that financing trouble doesn't delay the street's redevelopment.

The funding is a partnership between Bringing Back Broadway and the city's Community Development Department. It's a 5-year agreement set to kick off in 2009. Terms and eligibility will be announced early next year.

Bringing Back Broadway is an effort launched by Councilman Jose Huizar that aims to restore the glamor to what once was Los Angeles' premier shopping and entertainment corridor. At today's property owners meeting, McLean and those involved in various parts of the effort highlighted the progress that has been made in its first nine months.

Last month Huizar introduced a motion creating a task force to craft new rules for the reuse of vacant upper floors, targeting the estimated one million square feet of empty space on Broadway. Presentations at today's event highlighted some of the possibilities for that space, and offered property owners advice on how to access funds and plan renovations.

now’s your chance: public input needed for broadway streetscape plan http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee192/trolltoast/bringingbackbroadway020309.jpg
Broadway, running through the heart of Downtown LA, was once home to magnificent movie palaces and historic department stores where a broad Angeleno middle class once shopped, dined and gathered.

The corridor is still bustling with activity, though many of those architecturally significant details have fallen into disrepair, the department stores and theaters converted into swap meets in the decades following a post-World War II suburbanization push.

In recent years, a citywide effort to restore historic properties and convert them to residential uses has gained steam as former commercial buildings have become loft housing. Broadway itself has seen several “adaptive reuse” projects take hold, including the acclaimed Eastern Columbia Building, the Judson Lofts and the Chapman Building.

But in order for Broadway to shine as one of the city’s premier destinations, the public and private sectors have to work together to make it happen. In short, the city needs to fix the street.

That’s where you come in.

Bringing Back Broadway is a partnership between city government and local property owners working to restore the architectural heritage of the district and to include programmatic uses that are conducive to the original intent of the properties.

Under that umbrella, the Broadway Streetscape Plan is a set of projects that will enhance the pedestrian experience with a focus on street furniture, lighting, sidewalk infrastructure and signage. Public input is needed to identify those improvements most wanted by the community.

On February 17, 2009, the community is invited to the Broadway Walk, a self-guided tour of the corridor. From the public invitation on Facebook:

This Broadway Walk is the kickoff for the community process that will inform the Streetscape Design — come and share your input! All are welcome!

1. Meet at The Chapman Building * — Get inspired by what other communities are doing to improve their streets.

2. Take a stroll at your own pace along both sides of Broadway — Share your vision for the Broadway Streetscape. Tell us what you think is special about the street and what could be improved or changed.

3. Bring your camera to document what you see! — We will solicit your photos to share with everyone via Flickr after the Walk.

4. Return your completed worksheet to us at The Chapman Building.

* Check-in and receive worksheet forms at The Chapman Building starting at 4:00 PM, then embark on a self-guided walk to observe and compile input. We recommend allowing 60 minutes or more to walk both sides of Broadway, from 2nd Street to Olympic. The Chapman Building base camp will be open from 4:00–7:00 PM.

See you on Broadway!
Broadway Walk
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
4:00pm–7:00pm
Meet at the Chapman Building, 756 S. Broadway (at 8th Street)
Want new sidewalks? Benches? Trees? Let us know your ideas in the comments! Rich Alossi angelenic

^^ That is awesome thank you for posting that Milq!!! I want so badly for this to come to fruition! Broadway is such an amazing look into our history and this is the right way to preserve it! What an awesome way to bring the community into it!

it'll take some serious work to restore this area to surpass former glory (even meet the former glory). i find it one of the most interesting parts of the entire city, and visit frequently, but yeah it's a giant swapmeet. that rendering is actually perfect to what i would like. add a decent streetcar system and it's a go for me. i'd rather be at broadway than LA Live perhaps if it were like that.

The website for the Bringing Back Broadway program seems to be updated regularly (when news is available) and has some beautiful renderings of what we may have to look forward to! According to the website sidewalk repair and improvements to the streetscape may begin as soon as this June. When the improvements are done the BBB has the following artist rendering of what changes we'll see:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/KJLJPICS/BBB1.jpg
Visit the website's progress report here: Bringing Back Broadway Progress (http://www.bringingbackbroadway.com/timeline/index.htm)

Exactly! people travel to different places to see different things. Los Angeles is not a city in Latin America and that is why some Americans argue and complain that some parts resemble cities from Latin America. I hate when tourists get a bad perception from Los Angeles and that is one thing they comment on a lot.

To be fair: The majority of LA's population is of Latin American Origin. Just look at the demographics. If tourists don't like that America is overrun with Latin Americans, they should be educated on who actually make up a large part of the United States' population.

We are the greatest country in the world and we've always had immigrants flocking to the core of our cities. They never assimilate into american culture because they don't have to in places like Broadway.

If you look up "Pershing Square" on Flickr... most photographers try to avoid having people in the pictures :D

Pershing square sucks. Very bad design so there's hardly anyone there anyway.

Pershing square sucks. Very bad design so there's hardly anyone there anyway.

Actually, theres quite a lot of people that do visit and relax at Pershing Square. It has gotten a lot more crowded with the rising number of residential buildings in downtown. The bad aspect about Pershing Square is the cement and lack of green.

Actually, theres quite a lot of people that do visit and relax at Pershing Square. It has gotten a lot more crowded with the rising number of residential buildings in downtown. The bad aspect about Pershing Square is the cement and lack of green.

If by a lot of people you mean the homeless, then yes a lot of people are there.

One basic problem with the design of the park is that the interior is closed off from the exterior. Each side is visually barracaded which makes it harder for view corridors for police, so safety is an issue.

And you're right, there's too much concrete.

http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=796


Pershing Square
South Olive Street and West 5th Street
Los Angeles, CA

Submitted by: Keith Malone

This open plaza that sits on top of an underground parking garage is rarely used.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why It Doesn't Work
Two blocks by three blocks long, this ugly open space sits on top of an underground parking garage. This would be good use of the space, except that the square is rarely used. Office workers in the nearby building or guests at the Biltmore Hotel, one of the oldest and most prestigious hotels in LA, are the only people that you may find in the square, other than homeless people.

It is a very uninviting spot, and attempts over the years to update and make it relevant have yielded little.

What Puts Pershing Square in the Hall of Shame?
Public transportation connections are available around the park, and a great deal of daytime traffic swirls about it. Most people use it as a pathway to somewhere else and they do not linger there for very long.


It seems to provide little comfort. At its best, it is ugly and dingy, despite its makeover more than 10 years ago.


There are often lots of activities that draw people into the park, but it seems to do little good. Once the activity or event is over, people scatter, fearing they may be left alone.


The square is used as a pathway to somewhere else. A small group uses the area, but few view it as the social spot many city leaders want it to be.

these are some examples of what i think are appropriate single-block city parks:

NYC's Union Square:
http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww148/croyboy87/2007_09_UnionSquare.jpg
San Fransisco's Union Square (could be more green):
http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww148/croyboy87/800px-Union_Square_Christmas.jpg
Bartholdi Park:
http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww148/croyboy87/Bartholdi-park-map.gif

In the above photo NYC's Union Square probably has more concrete than Pershing Square and the SF USP has as much concrete as the aforementioned and less trees. The problem with Pershing Square is more than concrete or lack of trees it's where it is situated the fact that there are car ramps surrounding it and the color scheme is hideous. Also on its north side is a massive parking lot....always a pedestrian killer.

^^ Hopefully Park Fifth taking the place of the parking lot will help some...

these are some examples of what i think are appropriate single-block city parks:

NYC's Union Square:
http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww148/croyboy87/2007_09_UnionSquare.jpg

YOU CAN SEE MAH HOUSE (left hand side with green copper cornice)


anyway
could the problem with Pershing Square be that pedestrian entrance is sort of funneled into the four corners, so you can't even really see into the square, let alone want to enter it?

The success of Union Square seems to be that it's wide-open and sidewalk-level, and is kind of a block-wide extension of the life that already lines the streets around it.

In the above photo NYC's Union Square probably has more concrete than Pershing Square and the SF USP has as much concrete as the aforementioned and less trees. The problem with Pershing Square is more than concrete or lack of trees it's where it is situated the fact that there are car ramps surrounding it and the color scheme is hideous. Also on its north side is a massive parking lot....always a pedestrian killer.

of course the concrete to green ratio would have to be altered, but my main point to the pictures is the openness and welcoming feel of the parks based on path design and escavation. we know that pershing square is undesirable from the akward slopes and steps (and yes, the parking entrances are a real mood killer for park lovers). color, i agree, is horrible to the point that i can hardly believe the designs were approved.

i also hate that the park is literally half taped up somewhere within at all times. the picket fence thing they have in there now is tacky beyond tacky... reminds me of fake grass (turf)

^^ Speaking of turf, did you know that the city is putting synthetic field on the north side of MacArthur Park? Ew. At least the park is getting a new playground, lighting, and seating.

^^ Speaking of turf, did you know that the city is putting synthetic field on the north side of MacArthur Park? Ew. At least the park is getting a new playground, lighting, and seating.

I'm all in favor of synthetic turf if its a sports park. Maintenance and water are being preserved at such parks.

YOU CAN SEE MAH HOUSE (left hand side with green copper cornice)


anyway
could the problem with Pershing Square be that pedestrian entrance is sort of funneled into the four corners, so you can't even really see into the square, let alone want to enter it?

The success of Union Square seems to be that it's wide-open and sidewalk-level, and is kind of a block-wide extension of the life that already lines the streets around it.


That's exactly what it is, You can't see inside of the park, so why go in? When the sidewalks lead you all around it...

there are greatly successful squares all over Europe that have little or no green.

The grass to concrete ratio is just something we should see more anyway because Innercities are too concrete and then their parks are concrete too?!?!? come on.

Can anyone argue that adding grass to NYC's Union square wouldn't be benefit?

I'm all in favor of synthetic turf if its a sports park. Maintenance and water are being preserved at such parks.

Although commonly used for "futbol", the space isn't meant for sports. It's suppose to be a green-space. Really its the bottom of the lake that got cut off when they built Wilshire through it, and the grass that was planted there kept getting torn up by the people using it as a soccer field. I guess synthetic was the only option short of concrete.

Although commonly used for "futbol", the space isn't meant for sports. It's suppose to be a green-space. Really its the bottom of the lake that got cut off when they built Wilshire through it, and the grass that was planted there kept getting torn up by the people using it as a soccer field. I guess synthetic was the only option short of concrete.

I'm just saying that the Synthetic stuff works as a good replacement for grass and it conserves water.

I don't want to see all grass being replaced by this stuff, but I definitely think more cities should go this route, particularly with sports parks and highly frequented lawns.

I frankly don't really see the point of grass to begin with.

I frankly don't really see the point of grass to begin with.

Grass is the easiest way for people to incorporate nature within urban areas.
Grass helps filter the air of carbon and lessens the carbon footprint.
Grass covers dirt and prevents dust.
Grass adds stability to hillsides.
Grass gives kids a place to play.
Grass is where many sports started and still take place.
Grass is a food source.
Grass blades collect energy from sunlight through photosynthesis.
Grass that is normally maintained and mowed is increasingly more absorbent of carbon from the atmosphere.

Personally I think concrete worlds with minimal green are ugly. Science would argue that such places are unhealthy for humans.

Read this article:

http://http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/01/04/how_the_city_hurts_your_brain/

In Re: Globe Article, Of course in a place where there's less shit going on you'll be sharper, since there's less shit to distract you. But unfortunately it isn't practical or even desirable for all of us to live in the bush, where according to this article our cognitive functions will be at their peak... so what?

My issue with grass is that a) it's rarely present in quantities that are useful in any way and b) there are many, many more water-efficient landscaping options for a semi-arid city like Los Angeles. Decorative paving is infinitely more useful, anyhow.

Grass is something to be walked around, generally, unless it's a large lawn or sports field, which doesn't really make sense for an urban square. It's an obstacle and an ornament more than anything.

In Re: Globe Article, Of course in a place where there's less shit going on you'll be sharper, since there's less shit to distract you. But unfortunately it isn't practical or even desirable for all of us to live in the bush, where according to this article our cognitive functions will be at their peak... so what?

My issue with grass is that a) it's rarely present in quantities that are useful in any way and b) there are many, many more water-efficient landscaping options for a semi-arid city like Los Angeles. Decorative paving is infinitely more useful, anyhow.

Grass is something to be walked around, generally, unless it's a large lawn or sports field, which doesn't really make sense for an urban square. It's an obstacle and an ornament more than anything.

Have you ever heard of Central Park man?
No one said we should all live in the Bush.

Your issue with grass as I interpret it : is that it isn't being incorporated in useful ways into the urban areas...so it's a design problem...

Grass, like trees, make more sense than you know in urban areas for reasons I mentioned before but for also limiting urban run off and flooding. Grass serves greater purposes than concrete and should always be seen as a priority in urban parks and squares.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/CentralPark.jpg

In Re: Globe Article, Of course in a place where there's less shit going on you'll be sharper, since there's less shit to distract you. But unfortunately it isn't practical or even desirable for all of us to live in the bush, where according to this article our cognitive functions will be at their peak... so what?

My issue with grass is that a) it's rarely present in quantities that are useful in any way and b) there are many, many more water-efficient landscaping options for a semi-arid city like Los Angeles. Decorative paving is infinitely more useful, anyhow.

Grass is something to be walked around, generally, unless it's a large lawn or sports field, which doesn't really make sense for an urban square. It's an obstacle and an ornament more than anything.


did you read conclusion of the article that said even a little bit of nature and green in an urban area goes a long way? Great parks should be incorporated in major urban areas.

you said Grass serves no purpose. In fact, grass serves many purposes, especially in urban areas.

I think you may have missed that I live in New York City, thanks.

All I know is that if Union Square was more grass than it currently is (the lawns are fenced in and separated from the spacious and decorative walkways by planters) I'd probably walk around it instead of through it.

And I think an important distinction needs to be made between parks and squares; to me, they're physically and functionally very different.

So what should Pershing be, park or square?

anyway, anything on broadway?

^^ Wow, ok guys. Unmentioned, sometimes I think you do everything in your power to never agree with anybody else. It seems the only option in having a civil conversation with you is to agree unconditionally with you. Just my observation.

Irregardless of how stimulating this conversation is, it has become extremely off topic to the Bringing Back Broadway program that this thread is dedicated to.

So, does anyone have any news on BBB?

Grass is something to be walked around, generally, unless it's a large lawn or sports field, which doesn't really make sense for an urban square. It's an obstacle and an ornament more than anything.

Sorry, but if you must walk around grass every time you come up to it, I think you might have a grass-phobia, or Hastenburaphobia. According to the all-wise google, the best way to deal with it is eating some grass. Wish you well ;)

Touche croy LOL :tongue2: beat me to it hahaha!

And Alex..... ew. LOL

Touche croy LOL :tongue2: beat me to it hahaha!

And Alex..... ew. LOL

its funny but its real. WikiAnswers say the best way to deal with it is to eat grass :lol:

I would go back on topic but I do not have anything on this topic, so I'll just end here.

I think you may have missed that I live in New York City, thanks.

All I know is that if Union Square was more grass than it currently is (the lawns are fenced in and separated from the spacious and decorative walkways by planters) I'd probably walk around it instead of through it.

And I think an important distinction needs to be made between parks and squares; to me, they're physically and functionally very different.

So what should Pershing be, park or square?

Pershing should be a well designed public space, then people can call it whatever they want to.

Okay guys sorry for the off topic stuff. I'm pretty passionate about urban design so I can go on tangents about grass for crying out loud!!!

Anyway, I believe the street car should be the top priority in revitalizing broadway.

Back to the topic please. enough talk about grass

Does anyone believe that a street car that links all of the downtown districts would help in revitalizing broadway?

^^ absolutely. if anything, don't make it a pointless loop. connection of vital district 'centers' would bring enough passengers onboard. and the great thing is that passing through broadway (with stops) would get everyone's interest and attention... enough to bring up the area in recognition and status. i'm actually surprised to find many people elsewhere in this city don't even know broadway in LA exists, much less about the pastlife it led

I think the streetcar should have a spur off to Union Station. Then there would be a direct connection between the two. That would be great to encourage tourists to take a train into LAUPT and then hop onto the streetcar to get to Broadway, Bunker Hill, and even LA LIVE! I'd much rather take that than the Red Line and Blue Line, especially since you get to see the sights and skyline along the way instead of being stuck inside a dark tunnel.

I think the streetcar should have a spur off to Union Station. Then there would be a direct connection between the two. That would be great to encourage tourists to take a train into LAUPT and then hop onto the streetcar to get to Broadway, Bunker Hill, and even LA LIVE! I'd much rather take that than the Red Line and Blue Line, especially since you get to see the sights and skyline along the way instead of being stuck inside a dark tunnel.

I can definitely see a street car making a stop at all of those districts.

Why not right?

Here are some pictures I took while visiting Broadway: just picture a streetcar there...
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/Broadway5.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/Broadway2.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/Broadway9.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/Broadway4.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/Bum.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/Broadway10.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/Broadway6.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/Broadway8.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/Broadway7.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/Broadway.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/Broadway11.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/Broadway12.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/Broadway13.jpg

^Nice pics of St. Vincent Court... The place looks inviting.

Got bored and wanted to see what a streetcar would look like here:

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/BWAYStreetcarcopy.jpg

^^they'd have to throw dust all over the streetcars to make them fit in with the surroundings.

Or maybe clean up the surroundings....just throwing it out there.

Maybe plant some trees, get some real retail.

I think they plan on using the old Pacific Electric Red Cars for the streetcar system.

I think they plan on using the old Pacific Electric Red Cars for the streetcar system.

Understandable, they're part of the history and would look better here.

Here is a better photoshop job, I'm not the best photoshopper:

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k307/squintsvocals/Developments/BWAYStreetcarcopy-1.jpg

Like that of Market Street in San Francisco:

http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/streetcar_san_fran_2.jpg

http://ablarchitecture.com/images/tom/streetcars-as-entertainment/01.jpg

clean and repaint the existing structures, glamor it up with attractive signage and suitable retail (i don't think we need 10 different suffering bling-bling stores the size of closets within mere blocks of each other), and streetcar, and you have a major destination for all to see

I like the idea of adding shops like those you find in small towns; nice but unique. They do need to get rid of a lot of those discount stores though, completely unattractive!

I just think there's a lot of people-with-nowhere-to-go

I'd like to see the stupid signage and the architectural gems stripped down to the bare bones and revitalized! That alley is interesting, but the whole area should be that kind of interesting.

^^ Never seen that alley before....
Just like how I've never had a scorpion that fell off a palm tree landing on me

I just think there's a lot of people-with-nowhere-to-go

Those people probably work in downtown and take public transit already. The tourists could use the street car as well and quite frankly:

Street Cars work.

So LA has a Broadway?

So LA has a Broadway?

used to. it was once a thriving broadway with many great theaters.
Now it is run down with numerous vacancies and leaning on the side of slum

used to. it was once a thriving broadway with many great theaters.
Now it is run down with numerous vacancies and leaning on the side of slum

But one thing it does still have which always gives it hope, are its opulent theaters, and many of them.

But one thing it does still have which always gives it hope, are its opulent theaters, and many of them.

exactly, all they have to do is remodel them a little bit. There's great potential on Broadway.

^ Broadway's full potential will not be met if those theaters aren't used properly. Again, I stress the importance of the theaters being used to stage live theatrical productions (plays, musicals, and comedy acts), rather than cinema.

DTLA can only be successful if it offers things you can't find anywhere else in the city.

theatres used for cinema in other cities like NYC, DC, and SF have done those things and are very successful and it makes the venues even more priceless

^ The theaters have done what things? Stage live theatrical productions? I don't think the theaters on Broadway (NYC) were originally movie palaces. They've always been used for live theater.

But then why did you suggest in your previous post that it was proper to use them as live productions? These theaters (mostly) aren't able to support live theater.

^ I meant proper use in the sense of them not being used for their original purpose (cinema) but for their potential (live theater). Sorry, it came off as ironic.

The theaters can be rehabilitated to accommodate live theater. In fact, if you read the article in post #13, you'll know that Brady Westwater is trying to bring live theater to Broadway.

^ The theaters have done what things? Stage live theatrical productions?

yes, just like you mentioned one post before, that is what i meant.:booze:

Update from downtown news:

BROADWAY REVITALIZATION

Last month, the steering committee that is forming the nonprofit Los Angeles Streetcar Inc. appointed Dennis Allen, formerly of Downtown developer the Kor Group, as project manager for its board of directors. LASI, to consist of property owners, civic leaders and public officials, will serve as a fundraising and advocacy entity for bringing a streetcar back to Downtown Los Angeles. The streetcar effort, which would cost an estimated $60 million-$90 million and is still mostly unfunded, is part of the larger Bringing Back Broadway initiative, launched last year by 14th District Councilman Jose Huizar and aimed at revitalizing the historic Broadway corridor between Third Street and Olympic Boulevard. The Bringing Back Broadway Trustees, a group of 30 government officials and community stakeholders, are also working on a plan to create special sidewalk standards for Broadway. Meanwhile, another task force is working on a plan to create more parking along Broadway by acquiring property for new facilities, negotiating with lot owners to maximize operating hours at existing venues and working with historic theater owners to reactivate their buildings.

Update from downtown news:

BROADWAY REVITALIZATION

Last month, the steering committee that is forming the nonprofit Los Angeles Streetcar Inc. appointed Dennis Allen, formerly of Downtown developer the Kor Group, as project manager for its board of directors. LASI, to consist of property owners, civic leaders and public officials, will serve as a fundraising and advocacy entity for bringing a streetcar back to Downtown Los Angeles. The streetcar effort, which would cost an estimated $60 million-$90 million and is still mostly unfunded, is part of the larger Bringing Back Broadway initiative, launched last year by 14th District Councilman Jose Huizar and aimed at revitalizing the historic Broadway corridor between Third Street and Olympic Boulevard. The Bringing Back Broadway Trustees, a group of 30 government officials and community stakeholders, are also working on a plan to create special sidewalk standards for Broadway. Meanwhile, another task force is working on a plan to create more parking along Broadway by acquiring property for new facilities, negotiating with lot owners to maximize operating hours at existing venues and working with historic theater owners to reactivate their buildings.

Jose Huizar sounds like he's got the ball rolling on the right track.
I think the street car is vital here. But sidewalk standards and additions to parking will be great improvements.

I think some things have to happen before you can excpect theater owners reactivate their building because of all the cost it would take to get those up and running. If it becomes a better place and more of a tourist attraction, then those Theaters can become a draw as well. A street car in itself will be a tourist attraction.

Okay, I know it's been a while since anyone posted on this thread, but I have an idea of what Broadway should be in order to fulfill the community and thrive.

First of all, I don't believe that closing the strip within those 8 blocks or whatever to traffic is a good idea. Install the streetcar and make Broadway a two way, two lane street. Or even a two lane, one way street going both directions starting in the middle.

Second of all, if there is even enough room, widen the sidewalks just a little bit and add trees every 30 to 40 feet or so. In between that, add a 15 foot long planter or so filled with colorful flowers and various native plants. On either side of the planters, install old-style street lamps 5 feet or so away from the planters. On the lamps would be flower pots with flowers that would droop around. Even add banners on the lamps to signify local downtown events.

Thirdly, and probably most important, local government officials need to work with property owners and on the other hand property owners need to realize the major profit that would come with this revitalization.

Fourth, all, or most, of the historic buildings need to be restored to their former glory and facades need to be renovated and cleaned.

All in all, I believe these ideas could possibly push Broadway to being a more civilized, enticing neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles. It would connect LA Live to the Grand Ave. Shopping District and umtlimately create a thriving cultural center that could easily compete with other World Class cities such as New York, Paris, London, Chicago and others. Bringing citizens toward the city center could also easily boost the pride and devotion toward the city and making it a better place for all.

My two cents.

I'm glad you posted here since Broadway is one of the great unsolvable problems of DT. You have a great vision and one I would devoutly hope for. But I guess someone has to point out some problems.

First, Broadway, unlike Main or Spring, is not economically dead; in fact, it is doing well. The problem is that most of the businesses are unsightly bottom-end retailers and eateries. It is also 95 percent Hispanic which adds the ethnic issue, that is, arguably you are not revitalizing a neighborhood, you are booting out "undesirable minorities" for "yuppies and tourists".

Second, while it is true that there are a number of formerly beautiful theaters along Broadway, most of them have long since been converted to warehouses, churches and retail. There is no reason to believe that LA can support the level of legitimate theater or even movies that would arise if they reopened. In any event, Hollywood, the Westside and NoHo are fighting for the live theater-goers, and please note Westwood in this regard, where single theaters have been almost obliterated by neighboring multi-plexes.

Third, don't forget that LA already has world-class shopping: Wilshire and Rodeo in BH; 3rd St. Promenade and Melrose; CC, Beverly Center, SM, WeHo and Pasadena. These have a lock on upscale shopping. And where are all the middle-class shoppers going to come from? Parking and carrying bags and boxes on the subway discourages outsiders. Why would I do that when Glendale, the Westside and many other areas are nicer and have free parking. So we are dependent on DT residents or tourists. In my view, the average conventioneer is not going to like Broadway. This means we have to get lots more middle class living DT or reimagine it's look: Broadway as Melrose? maybe keeping a Latino theme? tourist oriented or more organic? Even SoHO has big boxes and chain stores; is that what we should hope for?
.
Fourth, you have a similar problem to me: you view DT as you hope it should be not as how it is. Connecting poor Broadway to non-existent Grand Ave. shopping to hoped-for South Park is making too many assumptions about the future. Should Broadway be left alone until South Park, Grand Ave, Little Tokyo, Spring and Main have proven themselves? Or would they really help each other?

Just so that I am not a complete downer, maybe the best bet is to widen the sidewalk, eliminate all traffic except for street cars and make the streetcar line long-enough to extend into South Park and the Union Station area. Then some level of outsiders (conventions, tourists, travellers) would be attracted to the outdoors scene, while the middle class or some funkier class with money starts to fill in.

^Thanks.

I say that because you put what I was trying to say in better words. Plus you added things that I believed as well. Lol when I wrote that post I had so many things I wanted to say I forgot to write them.

I'm not entirely sure, but I assume the architecture of Broadway is similar to 7th, which I know is a step back in time. If that's the case, Broadway should simply be re-imagined as a state-of-the-art step back into time. Westwood, as I see it now, needs to be this way also, although they need more reconstruction and new construction that completely mimicks the 1930's style art deco found there- just updated with modern seismological standards. Exteriors faithful to the past, with modern amenities and interiors capable of modern need. Broadway, for all I know, just needs to be retro-fitted and jet washed. Now the hard part; getting rid of the entrenched economy at place there now for the economy of the perceived future. Let's attack this as if we were remaking TS, without making TS. .Everything old, would be new again :) . Got money?

I agree with everything you said Milque, but I disagree on your point that all new development should be of that architechture style. I think new modern developments in the area would create a great contrast and add some variety to the area architechturally.

For example, in Chicago, on Michigan Ave:
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee230/pittsteelers247/313.jpg

Notice the third or fourth building from the corner. The glass facade in contrast to the old stone architechture looks great.

I'm glad you posted here since Broadway is one of the great unsolvable problems of DT. You have a great vision and one I would devoutly hope for. But I guess someone has to point out some problems.

First, Broadway, unlike Main or Spring, is not economically dead; in fact, it is doing well. The problem is that most of the businesses are unsightly bottom-end retailers and eateries. It is also 95 percent Hispanic which adds the ethnic issue, that is, arguably you are not revitalizing a neighborhood, you are booting out "undesirable minorities" for "yuppies and tourists".

Second, while it is true that there are a number of formerly beautiful theaters along Broadway, most of them have long since been converted to warehouses, churches and retail. There is no reason to believe that LA can support the level of legitimate theater or even movies that would arise if they reopened. In any event, Hollywood, the Westside and NoHo are fighting for the live theater-goers, and please note Westwood in this regard, where single theaters have been almost obliterated by neighboring multi-plexes.

Third, don't forget that LA already has world-class shopping: Wilshire and Rodeo in BH; 3rd St. Promenade and Melrose; CC, Beverly Center, SM, WeHo and Pasadena. These have a lock on upscale shopping. And where are all the middle-class shoppers going to come from? Parking and carrying bags and boxes on the subway discourages outsiders. Why would I do that when Glendale, the Westside and many other areas are nicer and have free parking. So we are dependent on DT residents or tourists. In my view, the average conventioneer is not going to like Broadway. This means we have to get lots more middle class living DT or reimagine it's look: Broadway as Melrose? maybe keeping a Latino theme? tourist oriented or more organic? Even SoHO has big boxes and chain stores; is that what we should hope for?
.
Fourth, you have a similar problem to me: you view DT as you hope it should be not as how it is. Connecting poor Broadway to non-existent Grand Ave. shopping to hoped-for South Park is making too many assumptions about the future. Should Broadway be left alone until South Park, Grand Ave, Little Tokyo, Spring and Main have proven themselves? Or would they really help each other?

Just so that I am not a complete downer, maybe the best bet is to widen the sidewalk, eliminate all traffic except for street cars and make the streetcar line long-enough to extend into South Park and the Union Station area. Then some level of outsiders (conventions, tourists, travellers) would be attracted to the outdoors scene, while the middle class or some funkier class with money starts to fill in.

I hear what you're saying but Broadway with a streetcar, readily available major mass transit adjacent, connected to LA Live and the burgeoning Grand Ave and comparing all of that to the likes of Westwood is like comparing horses and sea turtles. Broadway with its walkability and immediate connection to the larger urban fabric unlike Westwood and/or Glendale is almost destined for success. Broadway as envisioned is rungs above the fake Americana at Brand and the stiff and traffic choked Westwood. The only other nodes that could compete with the envisioned Broadway and downtown would be SM Promenade which is planning connection to transportation and Old Town which is already part of the larger transportation system. Do we see a theme here?

The main issue for Broadway isn't its location, its infrastructure or its draw once it is finally revitalized. No, the main issue is what the main issue always is when "revitalizing" these potentially off-the-chart areas that are usually centered well within the inner city and frequented by either brown, black or poor......how do we kick them out without making it seem like we are kicking them out? As Digital Underground sang: "All around the world it's the same song".

It is the same song. It's always been the same song. Day in and day out it's been the same song. Money talks and bullshit walks. Choose your cliche'. Westwood has fantastic potential. The most people I've ever seen in one place in my life have been there! UCLA is a huge expender of young money. There are villages set up next to Universities around the world, and none of them have the history or potential of Westwood. Westwood needs what the city needs- balls, vision and money!

never wait til the area amounts to anything (southpark and grand avenue for example) before building a transit system of any kind. we wait and there might not be room for the system (in any district) and who knows what the multiplied expenses in construction would be and how many future residents might turn against it.

as dense as the westside is in places, there is still a surprising crowd of NIMBYs.

even if broadway doesn't change (in class or racial mix), it needs the system. i really don't care if tourists or conventioners even find the place, it's the atmosphere i want to live in. tourists can find it if they so desire, a slow meld over time isn't bad as long as the numbers are always going up.

yeah the average tourist might not like broadway at first, but that's why this discussion (Broadway Revitalization) is here and the planners are taking it seriously.

theatres can reopen as theatres too if there is demand to support it, but again the shopping is still great. i really don't see this type of theatre-going being as popular anywhere else (in Westwood or even in Hollywood). Multiplexes have their place in the people's hearts in Westwood.

pittsteelers247, that's a great picture (and example) of Michigan Ave that really makes an area interesting to me.

I was unhappy with the tone of my earlier response which basically said upscale and upper middle shopping is hopeless for Broadway now, so I thought about what could be successful. I thought about 3rd St. in SM. It was redone in the 60’s and did nothing for years while the street people lounged on the new cute benches and the same old seedy shops continued (notions, small repair, mini-markets). I don’t know what exactly caused the resurgence but it eventually slowly got some government help (offices and UCLA store); beach stuff and small restaurants and then became hot when tourists “had” to go see it). Finally, comes the new SM Place which is going to make it a must-see for female visitors, who control the tourist market.

For Broadway, street improvement and building restorations are critical. I think new buildings are OK because the Broadway style is not all that consistent (Beaux arts, deco, modern drab, etc.).

I think we also have to accept the idea of transition so the following is tightly focused on one path. These ideas are hokey and touristy but they attract money and create some life on Broadway to balance out the grittiness and leverage on what is already there. Perhaps they are not an end-point but they may help bridge the gap until the middle-class and tourism is large enough to support the area. In any event, here is a bunch of ideas:

1. No traffic other than streetcars since pedestrians are what the following calls for. The buses are really unpleasant in the Broadway canyon and eliminate the possibility of strolling and outdoor dining.
2. A “Mercado del Mundo” concept: a permanent street farmer’s market tying in to Grand Central Market with the Latin and international theme carried out; this turns the actual current use of the area into a tourist attraction of sorts while keeping room for small businesses.
3. The same extended to some of the theaters where there would be live ethnic and “American” musical or theatrical performances; maybe foreign movies (mostly Latin?).
4. Toward the south, a recycled clothing row or discounters to serve both the existing shoppers and to extend the fashion district onto Broadway. “Factory shops” in a little classier context than in the Fashion District could attract more conventioneers and visitors from outside DT. Maps for going into the Fashion District proper.
5. On other blocks a more main-stream Old Navy, Timberland, etc., kind of look to attract the more mainstream convention visitors and local middle-class who can both shop and “sightsee”; this area may grow if tourism weakens or vice-versa.
6. Some playing up of local Hollywood connections; sites and buildings used for movies; maybe some street entertainment on weekends or when conventions are in
7. Some non-historic buildings or parking lots converted into paseos or pocket parks.
8. Commercial tie-ins to the diamond district, flower district, toy district
9. HSR ticketing/luggage drop off. LAX also. Keep people in DT a few more hours.
10. Dodgers, Lakers, Clippers, Kings ticketing; streetcar connections.
11. Banks and real estate firms funding a museum of California’s business and housing boom in the 20th century; people looking for a new start; historic displays of area.
12. Exhibits and walking tours or self-guided tours of Chinatown, Olvera St/Hispanic districts, Little Tokyo, Jtown.
13. If these work out the larger stores will follow.

excellent points. I especially like the integration with other districts. this is what is so lacking in downtown. All these seem so sensible, yet we will be lucky to get half of those in the actual plan.

agree especially with the district integration. too many pockets of "unwalkable" areas scattered throughout L.A., and is especially true downtown between broadway, fashion district, and the surrounding areas.

i think parking lots (all surface ones) can be eliminated, but there must be a good capacity structure to make up for parking on both ends of broadway (north and south) and maybe even one or two in the middle (but on spring street or hill). SM promenade of course does this so you can walk the length of the promenade without coming across a single foot of unwalkable space and work your way back and possibly buy things you passed up or were gonna wait til the end for.

the parks is a good idea and i think a great, memorable pocket park worthy of recognition and fame for broadway would be excellent. possibly needs a grand statue.

i've always wondered if the street itself needs to be closed off to the automobile. it sounds good at times, but i wonder if downtown even has the capacity or rather fluency on other streets. spring street for example is a one way street (a lot of streets are) and i like the order of: this way, that way, this way, that way (<--,-->,<--,-->) with maybe an occasional two-way in between as long as there is equall streets in opposite directions.

i could accept eliminating busses on broadway for a streetcar and busses move over to spring or hill (might even get more booming business on these streets). but closed off completely like the SM promenade (if it were to happen that way)... well, i'd have no personal problems of my own with since i'm walking everywhere i go anyways. yet i don't like fellow angeleno's from out of downtown to hate coming here (as so many already do without even trying).

the constant farmer's market sounds great and on the north side, where there is more open space and surface lots and less development, sounds like the perfect place (in my opinion).

sidewalk improvements,... of course. and i like the idea (which is an immediate goal of the revitalization) of plants, benches and such lining broadway. i even like the idea of outdoor dining on broadway (on the sidewalk or even on a balcony). imagine when it's all lit up... now that's city romance at dawn.

Love the balcony dining idea!! And most of the others too.

I sort or agree and sort of disagree with everyone. Broadway is a wonderful palette to work on.

First, transit is a red herring. All of LA could use better mass transit but Broadway, via Union Station and 7th/Grand, is well connected to the rest of the region. This will be even better once STTS reaches SM and the street car is done. SM, Glendale and Pasadena are booming because of plentiful free or very cheap parking plus a pleasant shopping environment; Pasadena was booming way before the Gold Line showed up and the others still have only the usual bus lines.

While MIchigan Ave. has a surface resemblance to Broadway, it has been the economic/hotel/shopping hub of Chicago for about 70 years. I would love to have some 20-30 story glass and metal buildings but I am not sure who would build them and why. I am afraid we may have to go the Times Square route: from bottom end to middle and touristy. If this eventually builds into more upscale, so much the better.

I have focused on capitalizing on local assets or turning local liabilities into assets. Once 50,000 urban people move DT, the sky's the limit; otherwise ethnic neighborhoods, tourists and conventioneers look like the best assets.

Philosophical issue: Once DT shows some real vitalilty, someone will want to build the Grove, say, between 11th and Pico; Broadway and Main (or similar site). What attitude? Would it kill Broadway or help?

I think a statue of Charlie Chaplin would be appropriate in a park around Broadway

I associate Charlie Chaplin with half-baked Communism and abusing women.

In any event, I would focus on an Angelino of note. Ray Bradbury seems almost ideal: he read and wrote in the DT Library; created imaginative worlds, while exploring the problems with such worlds.

Another possibility, in keeping with the theme of moving to LA for freedom, would be some reference to the artists and thinkers who left Nazi Germany in the '30's and settled in LA.

But the real problem with a statue(s) is that ethnic issues and politics will overwhelm all other issues quickly. You might have to have different themes in different areas.

Charlie Chaplin helped pioneer Broadway back in the 20's and 30's.

Once DT shows some real vitalilty, someone will want to build the Grove, say, between 11th and Pico; Broadway and Main (or similar site). What attitude? Would it kill Broadway or help?

it wouldn't hurt, but 12th street would have to keep vehicle flow since it's a one-way that compensates for 11th street (a one way in the other direction). crosswalks or even a pedestrian bridge could link the two blocks or possibly even create an elevated courtyard walk (cobblestone or brick layed down in mediteranean fashion) lined with shrubbery and tuscan-like stone rail. that is, if it is going for a grove-like feel. really, any two empty blocks in downtown have limitless potential.

that immediate area needs to see some growth in any kind of business. right now there's just people squatting outside on the sidewalks waiting for people to offer them a job for the day.

you can even condense a grove-like development between 11th and 12th. or add to the block bounded by olympic and 11th while converting the bottom level of existing buildings into major storefronts/restaurants. a paseo could be formed if that angled building stays and new development was built to meet up with it.

that area of Broadway is really the most "dead" part of the street within downtown. it needs (and i stress that) some development to fill in that space that seems like a random patch of "blank" in the universe.

a multi-screen cinema would also be a great addition to Broadway (north side or south side) even though the regal is within a mile away of south broadway. it would be nice to have variety in Broadway's own realm of entertainment.

Very interesting ideas and design points. I chose that area since it is sort of nowhere and doesn't have much valuable residential or commercial construction on it. You could find other areas, especially off-Broadway, that are even more expendable. Sooner or later someone will propose some kind of shopping center or larger development of this sort. I suppose a Grove plus high-rises would be another another possibility.

I was trying to elicit comments on organic or authentic growth of communities vs. a pragmatic approach to growth. You are on the pragmatic, whatever reasonable investment you can get, side. I expect the people horrified by the DT Grove are out there.

But leaving aside authenticity, it does seem possible that the DT Grove would exclude the homeless, create clean beautiful surroundings and push the crime and unsightliness back out onto Broadway, while stealing their top renters. Does the city stop this? I doubt it, because if there is that kind of demand, then there is going to be other housing and commercial demand in the area as well. Maybe the best bet is to require the DT Grove to open onto the street (Glendale style) and integrate it into the South Park/Fashion District. This would be the city acting to permit further growth rather than dictating it.

An interesting analog to this is Santana Row in SJ, but this is off topic.

I looked into the Bringing Back Broadway website and related sources and found some mildly interesting things.

They are expecting the whole streetcar system to run about 100M, of which 10M is committed and most of the rest comes from taxes on the property owners (replacing lapsing taxes). Huizar claims that the merchants, owners and city are absolutely 100 percent in agreement about this and the final vision.

The look they are after is what you would expect: historic fronts restored; signs that cover architectural elements removed; construction or rehab must be to streetfront and consistent to 150 ft, more flexibilty after that; parking underground; historic lamps, benches, trees; ugly stuff hidden; paseos, arcades, pocket parks encouraged. SD seems to be the main model.

They talk about 1M sq. ft. of unused upper story space that the city will restore to use. I don't know if this means housing or commercial use (or both).

Parking is a top priority since it is one of the biggest complaints from DT residents and merchants alike. Huizar notes that Pasadena and SM's 3rd St. Promenade provide city-subsidized parking and this has been the key to their success. The idea is to build new structures, get existing structures subsidized to become accessible and attractive day and night, accept credit cards and otherwise be consistent in look and policies (sounds like 3rd St.).

They don't talk about getting buses off Broadway, but none of their pictures show buses. Cars will still be allowed. Personally, I think that banning cars altogether on Broadway will be critical but no one else even seems to think that this is important. The leading plan is for streetcars next to the sidewalks with cars in the middle but this seems to be open. Portland and Seattle are the models.

The "ethnic" issue is handled by arguing that vacancies are rising and rents falling, shoppers moving to other areas, rents in other parts of town growing much faster (probably 'shrinking much slower' would be more accurate these days). I would hope there would still be a place for open-air or ethnic markets but this does not seem to be in the thinking. Neither is much reference to other parts of DT except in terms of the streetcar getting your there.

There are several committees (basically, streetcar/parking, business development, preservation, theatres) whose meetings are open to outsiders with prior notice. See their website (bringingbackbroadway.com) under Calendar. One is coming up on Sept 2nd, 2:00 to 4:00. It would be great if someone could go.

Great info "pest", thanx!! But what does 100m mean? 100 meters?

it means "Magnums" :)

100 meters. You're a funny guy. We had a guy like you in my neighborhood. We broke his face.

Actually it's going to run 5000 meters (3 1/2 miles), assuming no breakdowns. Unclear how many Magnums involved. You might want to suggest that they name the cars after different leading brands.

Oh I thought you meant million..

With a streetcar and a nearby subway, do we really need subsidized parking? Subsidized rail isn't enough?

More importantly, are they going to widen those sidewalks? Things can get very crowded on Broadway.

Now I'm not sure who is kidding who. It does mean million. Magnums is an attempt at crude humor. I suppose I should use a $ sign as well.

$100M total cost (hard to say what that includes) of which $10M is funded.

Do you mean "million" or "meters"? This is SSC- we don't suffer ambiguous fools lightly. We like it when you get to the point.Pest, you're impestuous.

With a streetcar and a nearby subway, do we really need subsidized parking? Subsidized rail isn't enough?

More importantly, are they going to widen those sidewalks? Things can get very crowded on Broadway.

I guess you and I are the only ones in this city wondering about the same thing.

These are interesting questions. The pictures show wider sidewalks, a track adjacent to each sidewalk and two more lanes of traffic in the middle. But they are all called preliminary. The literature points out that modern streetcars run in the normal lanes of traffic and the pictures seem to be consistent with that. A 3 lane option is also being considered. For sure, no buses are in the pictures.

We probably need to get someone to the committee meetings to understand what the latest thinking is.

Parking seems to be something that merchants, residents and the city agree on. I suspect the lessons of 3rd St. and Pasadena are critical here. For better or worse, an excerpt from the website:

PARKING

We're working hard to increase parking options for Broadway to support increased activities in the theatres, upper floors and along the streetfront. We're also working to ensure that existing parking is maximized and made available when Broadway's patrons will need it, especially at night.

MICLA financing identified for Broadway parking in City of LA budget

City Council has authorized negotiation for acquisition on sites for potential municipal parking facilities, as identified by a City parking task force. A statement of Interest (SOI) process was undertaken in fall 2008 which sought partnerships and interest from property owners regarding mixed-use Broadway parking facilities.
Statements of Interests also being sought for City/CRA to extend private parking availability into evening hours for garages that are closed at night

Pershing Square garage parking policy has been confirmed as reserved for commercial use, and the nightly rate at Pershing Square has been extended to 2:30am in order to encourage use of the garage for evening and latenight activities.

Cost studies underway for installing Pershing Square garage elevator at 6th & Hill. Wayfinding signage / kiosks to make Broadway more accessible from garage

Broadway Design Overlay Gets Official

By Eric Richardson
Published: Wednesday, September 02, 2009, at 10:18AM

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The City Council yesterday put its official stamp of approval on the Broadway Theater and Entertainment District Design Guide, a planning document intended to guide renovations and new construction along the Broadway corridor.

The ordinance that makes the guide into law was given its second and final reading on Council's first day back from summer recess.

The document was drafted by the Planning department, with input from wide range of stakeholders participating in the Bringing Back Broadway movement led by Councilman Jose Huizar's office.

"Since announcing Bringing Back Broadway in January 2008, we have made leaps and bounds in revitalizing the Historic Broadway Corridor," said Huizar yesterday in a release. "I want to thank all the members of the working group who put in long hours each and every month for more than a year to make sure we had a plan that will provide design guidance and direction to protect Broadways historic character, while helping invigorate the area and usher it well into the future."

Among other things, the conditions of the design guide:

•Require that ground floor uses are limited to those that will contribute to an active street.

•Ensure that projects in the district maintain the continuity of the streetwall by requiring buildings and building additions to be built to the property line abutting a public street or the prevailing setback (whichever applies).

•Require parking to be located in the basement or rear of a project, not on the street.

•Reduce sign clutter and prohibit signs that are inappropriate for the pedestrian oriented and urban context of the district.

The rules apply to properties on Broadway between 2nd and Olympic.

Does anyone have any idea when they are closing down those Asian swapmeets on Broadway. Having them in full operation 7 days a week makes me loose hope about Broadway's revitalization* :(

Can't let go of parking.

I'd rather not have parking in this area at all- even in the rear or underground. It just takes away from the legitimate feel of the area as an urban, mature experience. I'd almost rather have the cars on the street. Parking in the rear or underground gives it a controlled vibe..... like a "Grove" or a mall. NO MORE F'ING PARKING LOTS!!

since when is broadway asian? mostly latin.

i think the middle of the transition to broadway's future theatre glory will be the most interesting. going to the theatre palaces, dining outside, and picking up items that are cheaper than retail prices all in a single trip... awesomely convenient.

I'd rather not have parking in this area at all- even in the rear or underground. It just takes away from the legitimate feel of the area as an urban, mature experience. I'd almost rather have the cars on the street. Parking in the rear or underground gives it a controlled vibe..... like a "Grove" or a mall. NO MORE F'ING PARKING LOTS!!

ok, don't have people visit broadway then... at least it's hidden. even other major city centers have this.

i think the middle of the transition to broadway's future theatre glory will be the most interesting. going to the theatre palaces, dining outside, and picking up items that are cheaper than retail prices all in a single trip... awesomely convenient.

Can "theatre glory" really co-exist with flea markets?

read again... i said the TRANSITIONAL phase from now (swapmeets) to theatre glory (in the future). that means in-between (TIME:>>>like right here>>>).

i said that the transitional phase will be the more interesting time (and that's my opinion).

Can "theatre glory" really co-exist with flea markets?

^ Heck No!
I rather have an IKEA on Broadway than swapmeets/flee markets selling junk. :ohno:

^^ this is the antithesis of what Broadway should be. Frankly, I like all the crappy swapmeets.

I think we should let them stay and have certain venues immediately adjacent to the theaters cater specifically to the theater crowd. Why not have a Fallas Paredes next to a Pinkberry's next to a theater next to the hot dog carts. A true agglomeration of Los Angeles. This can be the one true destination for all Angelenos.