Keeping up with Broadway

You'll find plenty of write-ups cheering the "natural progression" of Starbucks opening on Spring Street and 6th in Downtown Los Angeles. I get that Starbucks has its fans, but it just seems weird to drop a few dollars on Starbucks coffee on Spring Street when there are about five other coffee options within a block.

I've said so before, but I'm fascinated by the long-time businesses that try to stay relevant while Downtown residential and retail demographics change. That includes Stereoline, the guitar shop where I picked up a bass for EzraPounded a couple years ago. They were bumped out by Starbucks and landed a block away in a cramped space on Broadway. Not only did they lose their prime corner location, they ended their run a couple months ago when the driver of a van crashed into one of the Stereoline storefront windows.

What's a business to do when the customer base is moving to other neighborhoods? Some move to keep up with the clientele, while others drift from location to location and try out gimmicks and goofy signs.

On the 500 block of Broadway, Sassy Perfume is putting up new wall signs tonight. Check out that hot pink.

Via viaduct

I took a few days off work last week to catch up on some things, including my morning jog around town. On Wednesday morning the three finalists in the design competition for the 6th Street Viaduct (6th Street Bridge) replacement project set up displays inside the Los Angeles Public Works Building. Inside I went to get the lowdown on the proposals to replace the deteriorating connector between Downtown and Boyle Heights.

So it's down to AECOM, HNTB, and Parsons. The staffers representing AECOM and Parsons were kind enough to answer my bonehead questions despite my sweaty appearance, and the HNTB folks rolled up just as I was leaving. The end selection will most likely come down to cost, and you can bet the nice connections to the lower level and recreational and river access improvements will be trimmed. Whatever happens, I'll have a new jogging route to look forward to.

Crazy signs - Finney's Cafeteria

A lot has been written about the Dutch Chocolate Shoppe and the Batchelder tiles inside the Finney's Cafeteria building (217 W. 6th Street) that will be restored if all goes according to plan.

In the meantime a MetroPCS dealer in the building has moved from one suite to another and installed an illuminated wall sign. The sign guy they hired ran electrical wire through PVC pipes, and I am fascinated by this resourceful handiwork.

April march

March in the streets yesterday morning...Downtown Los Angeles, near Pershing Square...

Story Story

The large and loud red awnings and bands of advertising that were on the Walter P. Story building at the corner of Broadway and 6th Street were removed last weekend. I heard that city inspectors were constantly nagging the property owner to remove them because they weren't fire rated, and he finally relented to safety codes when faced with a court order.

I like the banner that had been hidden for years under the material. It's advertising pagers...

Famina plans

The contractor left a set of construction plans in plain view at the Broadway Arcade Building...another Famima convenience store is on the way.

I'm a fan of their onigiri, which I usually just call "triangles." Those rice balls wrapped in seaweed were lifesavers when EzraPounded and I were working in Japan...we were only paid once a month, and our company deducted all kinds of upfront housing fees from our first month's checks. By the end of that first (second?) month, we were living off of bread from the Little Mermaid bakery and triangles from 7-Eleven.

Although I can walk a few blocks to one of the Famimas already open for business, this one will be the closest yet to home sweet home. Or as they write in Japan, home sweat home.

yawning awning

Late night removal of awnings...on a holiday...to avoid city inspectors because nobody bothered to get permits, or to avoid regular folks walking around?

Help Japan

The slowest painter

Ok, this looks somewhat safer than the last time I saw this fellow in action at the corner of 6th and Broadway. Too bad my camera missed the one-legged wave he flashed.

Play it safe

At the corner of Broadway and 6th...


Oh, I'm pretty sure those rigged up ladders are a perfectly safe alternative to scaffolding.

Home

The first time I saw BaddicusFinch emerge from the back door of the alley where I'd parked, I thought he looked just like Jim Kelly. Puffed hair, skinny body...I just felt bad. When he showed me all the white hairs that sprouted in the last six weeks, I really felt awful. My poor man has let me do this trip which was an impulse act. He shouldered my responsibilities as well as his and had time to call me several times a day with nothing but good intentions. No maliciousness. Seeing him feels right. Being home is just right.

We had falafel not too far from our building. We sat by the window and watched Downtown foot traffic go by. I love my city, I thought. I'm lucky for the super nice and super cool Baddicusfinch, I'm lucky for my brothers and sisters who called me everyday, and I'm lucky for my mom, who kept asking, "Where are you? When are you coming home?" And to my friends who clearly missed me. Bring on the heat SoCal. I can take it...inside my air conditioned loft!

Stonewall Jackson

I thought the shouting had to do with the USA vs. Ghana World Cup game this afternoon, but it was actually Michael Jackson fans yelling, "Justice for Michael!" as they marched the streets of Downtown Los Angeles.

This whiskey is 60 years old

EzraPounded is gearing up for some quality Kentucky time tomorrow. She called to tell me that her motel's Wi-Fi connection is down, and the management claims it will be fixed "shortly." How long and how many times do you think they've made that promise?

I came across this bottle of Biltmore Bourbon ("Made Exclusively for the Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California") when I wandered the lobby of the Pacific Center after a late night run through Downtown Los Angeles. It's displayed behind glass along with metal doodads from the past.