Increasingly, the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles is gaining popularity, both by the public and local media. Here are some key stories you may have missed this week about our neighborhood. What are your thoughts about these?
“Downtown L.A.’s ‘mural mayor’ Daniel Lahoda draws praise, controversy” by Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times
“… He’s also known to many as “the guy who gets the walls” for artists. Through his LA Freewalls project, [Daniel] Lahoda brokers deals between businesses and street artists, offering building owners new murals to cover up unwanted graffiti and securing wall canvases for artists. The project has resulted in more than 120 new murals, mostly in downtown L.A.’s Arts District, by some of the world’s leading street artists, among them Shepard Fairey, French artist JR and SEEN…”
CLICK HERE to view an online interactive map that shows some of the murals in the Arts District from Lahoda’s L.A. Freewalls project.
[DOWNTOWN MUSE NOTE: Regardless of any controversy, real or imagined, the visually compelling and colorful results of the work by artists supported by the efforts of Daniel Lahoda speaks for itself.]
“A Los Angeles Primer: The Arts District” by Colin Marshall, KCET Departures
“… in Los Angeles’ Arts District, something has actually happened, and, more to the point, continues to happen … Even at the moment, though, several features mark the Arts District as distinctive. Most obviously, it lives up to its name with an almost comic literalness by offering at least one mural to look at from most anyplace you happen to stand.”
[DOWNTOWN MUSE NOTE: Thank you to those countless artists who have created the bold outdoor imagery found throughout the Arts District over the years. Special thanks to Daniel Lahoda of LA Freewalls and LALA Gallery who has remained steadfast in his work, regardless of swirling rumors, to successfully secure walls and help artists produce major art projects in the neighborhood since 2011.]
“True Grit: Tech Firms Connect with Downtown Arts District” by Natalie Jarvey, Los Angeles Business Journal
“… Today, the neighborhood is brimming with local denizens who shop at hip boutiques and dine at trendy restaurants. The activity has attracted a cluster of technology companies looking for a less polished alternative to Silicon Beach … Many businesses complain about the lack of parking for employees, especially as restaurants open up and draw car-driving customers from outside the area … converted warehouses were never meant to house more than a handful of workers at any one time. Parking becomes a problem when tech companies take over those spaces and fill them with desks.”
[DOWNTOWN MUSE NOTE: Oblong Industries has quietly housed its offices in my building since 2007. Like others in the Arts District, there are numerous businesses in the area that maintain a low public profile of their presence here.]
“Arts District Grocery Store Urban Radish to Open This Week” by Richard Guzmán, Los Angeles Downtown News
“… the 8,200-square-foot grocery store on Mateo Street … is an eagerly anticipated addition to a quickly changing neighborhood that has seen an influx of restaurants and coffee shops … What people are going to find is a full-range grocery store of products they would look for in a Ralphs, a Whole Foods … The difference is in the types of quality and the products.”
[DOWNTOWN MUSE NOTE: Urban Radish offers single-origin coffee roasted by a micro-roaster that sells for only $2 per large cup. All items in the grocer’s selections indicate a true commitment to quality, artisanal products and small-batch producers while attending to the needs and interests of local residents.]
HONORABLE MENTIONS: A.D. Residents & Businesses in the News
A custom shuffleboard designed and produced by District Millworks is featured this week on Uncrate.com.