Downtown Los Angeles was no stranger to adaptive reuse. Dr. Walter Lindley built California Hospital at 315 W. Sixth Street in 1887. Years later, you could yourself buy a hat for $2.00, or rent a room for 50 cents at “The Lindley.”

The year was 1912.

Photo from the USC Digital Library

My love for Kim Cooper’s projects & collaborations is no secret, but this latest endeavor thrills me even more. Chronicling the glittering and ghastly history of LA’s Historic Core, centered around the footprint of the Downtown Artwalk/Gallery Row, the blog “In SRO Land” is only a week old but already is a treasure trove of info that’s left me utterly absorbed.

Every year Kim’s original blog, 1947project, undergoes a re-casting and covers a different year in Los Angeles history. But this year it becomes “In SRO Land,” named alternatively after the Single Room Occupancy hotels that are so prevalent in the area, and “Standing Room Only”–the common refrain of Broadway, whose golden era was a cavalcade of dancers and entertainers, criminals and movie stars, freaks and fans.

I am so stoked to have this new blog up and running, and I’ll be sure to check it every day. Welcome to the party, In SRO Land.

Also, a great big Congrats to Kim Cooper’s husband & Esotouric curator Richard Schave, the newly-minted Director of the Downtown LA Art Walk.

Photo by In SRO Land contributor Rob Clampett.

BSG @ California Plaza

Last weekend, Bear McCreary opened the  2009 Grand Performances series with The Music of Battlestar Galactica. I’ve seen the talented composer conduct his unforgettable score live on a couple of other occasions. Every concert has been fantastic, but this most recent one really blew me away. From the gorgeous outdoor setting, complete with water features, in downtown L.A. to Katee Sackhoff joining McCreary on the piano for the opening bit to his version of  “All Along The Watchtower,” it was a pretty magical evening. A good friend of mine got permission to videotape the entire show and is in the process of posting the footage, which you can see here. Check out the “…Watchtower” clip below.

I hope to go back for more of this summer’s Grand Performances. I found California Plaza to be a beautiful, unique venue under the stars that I’d love to revisit. The weekly event runs through the end of August with one show in each September and October. The concert days and times vary each week, so check the calendar for specific details. Another important thing to note is that all of the performances are free!

The address for parking is 351 S. Olive in downtown Los Angeles. I found it quite convenient to take the Metro Red Line to Pershing Square and walk the one block to the plaza.

Meet Ignacio, Downtown Los Angeles loft dweller.

Ignacio is likely feeling the pinch of recession. Here we find him pitching his crib as a vacation destination. It’s very nice.

While Iggy has given us a great tour of the place, and while he seems like a swell guy, there are three things that stick out here.

Consider it the Top 3 Vacation Rental Video No-No’s:

1. Take out the Bluetooth before filming. No call is important enough to ruin a good take.

2. Don’t flush the toilet. It conjures up memories of getaway weekends sabotauged by the likes of Jack Daniels.

3. Avoid bouncing on your bed. We’ll have trouble letting go of that image, and wonder what else has bounced there.

Good luck on your summer rentals, Ignacio. The Bonaventure has nothing on you.

Brand-new "vault lights," as those sidewalk grids of mini glass panes are called. Click the photo for more info.

So I was having dessert with a friend the other night and we got onto this great riff talking about the hidden parts of LA we’d love to explore, all the places we’re intrigued by.

For example, I want to explore the swap meet that’s across Broadway from the Orpheum. It clearly used to be some big old theater, but now all you see is a little glimpse of baroque architecture hidden behind the dropped ceilings of the subdivided knockoff-t-shirts booths.

Or the grids of thick glass squares on the sidewalk in downtown: when I was a little girl my family was taking a touristy tour through downtown Seattle and those glass grids were actually the skylights in the old town’s “underground.”

So those are the things I want to explore, but I bet each & every one of you knows a place that’s always intrigued you. Now’s your turn to tell me your dream urban archaeology trip! Have you ever wanted to explore the dark cobwebbed skeletons of L.A.’s past? You know, original things are disappearing all over our city every day. Maybe we should think about exploring these traces before they become permanent history.

Angels Flight was operating at Third and Hill as The World’s Shortest Railway. And one didn’t have too far to go to find a good vegetarian cafeteria.

The year was 1910.

Photo from USC Digital Archive

Casa, a brand-new upscale Mexican restaurant, opened on the 6th. A little birdie told me that this Saturday is the opening party, including such items as “cheap or free drinks, some fancy Mexican hors d’ouevres…and my charming personality.” So if you’d like to mooch some cheap/free eats a la myopenbar.com and enjoy my friend’s charming personality, this may be a destination to add in on your nightly cruise in search of Two-Buck-Chuck and Gelson’s cheese plates. The restaurant looks pretty cool too. Tip: friend arrives after 8pm. I’m just sayin’.

Downtown blog Angelenic has posted a great list of places in L.A. to count down the final minutes of 2008, with people you may or may not know. Let’s face it, sometimes the latter is better. And since we’re in the throes of a Depression, these parties are all on the cheap, and all conveniently located within stumbling distance of a Metro Rail station. 24 hours of designated driver fun.

Check out Angelenic’s 12 Downtown NYE options under $50 here.

Happy New Year!

The stars were shining over Broadway, as thousands turned out for the Christmas Parade in Downtown Los Angeles.

The year was 1940.

Photo from the Los Angeles Public Library

As if Saturday wasn’t going to be batshit crazy already (sorry, Santacon’s sleigh passes are sold out), the Old Bank District is partnering with Little Radio for their annual holiday event, which’ll have a beer garden & cocktail bar, a holiday light installation, an art and gift bazaar, tasty specials at the local restaurants and live indie bands curated by the geniuses behind Little Radio, plus a live jazz band in Harlem Place Alley next to Lost Souls Cafe.

Blogdowntown scooped this info first thing but I thought I’d republish it here in case anyone doesn’t check BDT regularly (you should).