Waterfall

Those of you keeping track of the ongoing construction at The Roosevelt should be noticing the frenzy of activity taking place as we near completion. What you can’t see is that the interior of the building is a 9 story tall 30 foot wide mural of a cascading waterfall surrounded by a tropical green landscape. The mural covers the northern wall of the building's light well, where four walls meet to create a courtyard under an open roof. A rock wall will be built at the base of the mural, where water will fall into a pond, giving the impression that it is coming from the mural itself. Grass will be added to the courtyard to further complement the mural and complete its effect - all the work is coming into place.

Another Construction Photo

Interior unit "curtain wall"

Plans to Revive the Broadway Corridor....Again?

Downtown LA is on its way to becoming another great cultural center of LA. Live/work lofts are in construction, art galleries are moving in, bars and nightlife are emerging as a viable night-on-the-town option for those as far as Santa Monica. But what about the Broadway corridor? You may know it as the street you drive through on your way to MOCA, Chinatown, or the Walt Disney Concert Hall, dotted with swapmeets and and inexpensive shopping.

There's plans again to revitalize the area, including six projects in the works:
Million Dollar Theatre: Screenings, premieres, and theatre performances
Arcade Building: Apartments
Chapman Lofts: Condos
Pan American Lofts: Condos and Retail
Judson C. Rives Building: Apartments and Retail
Metropolitan Building: Apartments and a modernized Fallas Paredes

Currently, the Broadway overhaul has been left in the hands of property owners who have done little to nothing. In order for Broadway Street, and the greater Downtown area, to become the bustling locale for shopping and nightlife that it once was, the city may need to contribute redevelopment funds, re-landscaped streets, and loans. So far, it seems as though a Broadway revitalization is as far off as the "fabled" Metro Aqua Line.

Before the area gets a facelift, you may want to check out the quintessential diamond in the rough of Downtown, The Los Angeles Theatre. The Los Angeles theatre remains open only for parties and special events, but if you wander down there, try to take a peek in.

The theatre, built in 1931 in the French baroque style of Louis XIV, was a virtual Hollywood cathedral. Famous for its huge crystal fountain in the lobby, not an inch of the interior was left undecorated from the elegant stage curtains and ornate balcony to the intricately-carved ceiling of its lobby. When the Los Angeles Theatre was about to go under during the Depression, Charlie Chaplin paid an exorbitant amount of money to keep the posh 1,967-seat theater afloat, so that he could have the grand premiere of his masterpiece "City Lights" there. When downtown LA was abandoned for other new neighborhoods and nightlife, the Los Angeles Theatre closed and had been sitting idle, except for occasional film shoots

More Construction Photos

Bathroom and tile installation completed in many units.



Close up of tile work...

Kings Game on Halloween

If you are a Downtown L.A. resident (with proof of address), and are looking for something to do this Halloween, you may want to check out a King's game at the Staples Center. Print out this flyer and receive a free ticket to the Kings vs. Blue Jackets with a donation of $10 to UNICEF.

Lightwell Mural Underway

The lightwell mural is underway. Here is a photo from one of the interior-facing units. More construction update photos to follow shortly.

Festival de la Gente

The 8th Annual Festival de la Gente was this past weekend on the 6th St. bridge that connects Downtown LA and Boyle Heights. For two days the bridge was alive with art, music, dancing and celebration of Dia de los Muertos. If you were lucky, you could have even seen Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa dancing in the streets.

Performing amid larger-than-life paper maiche skeletons, Aztec suns and serpents by Tony Dominguez were Quinto Sol, Upground, Redbone, Santos de Los Angeles, Union 13, and Chalo Eduardo and the Samba Pimps. The crowd danced around Dia de los Muertos altars, live painting exhibitions, the Dia de los Muertos vintage car show, and vendors selling a variety of clothing, jewelry, and books. A variety of authentic foods were offered throughout the festival. Saturday night wrapped up with LA's own fiery Phoenix Projekt in an astounding acrobatic performance.

Part of the proceeds will benefit Arte Calidad Cultural Institute, a non-profit academy providing art education and job training in the Hispanic community for employment in the arts and entertainment industries.