Have Your Own Personal Shopper in the $1 Rooms at THE LAST BOOK STORE until 6 PM Christmas Eve!

On a budget and looking for last minute presents?  The one dollar per book second floor at THE LAST BOOK STORE is open until just before 6 PM tonight and I will be t ac as a person shopper.  Tell me what you’re looking for or what your recipient is interested in – and I will do my best to find it for you.  Located at 5th and Spring in the heart of Downtown LA – 453 S. Spring in the Spring Arts Tower.  And if you can't find me - just call 213-804-83976.

LA Times Exposes Boy Scouts Long Term Refusal to Screen For Sexual Predators

The Los Angeles Times - and particularly reporters Marc Duvoisin and Kim Christensen (along with Ashley Powers and their editors) -  is to be congratulated for exposing this long buried story about child abuse within the Boy Scouts.

Every day I am reminded more and more of just how much evil exists among us.  Evil that is unknowing aided by those who fail to see the true motives of those who claim to be helping those among us who are unable to protect themselves.  Too often, as we have seen in Downtown and on Skid Row - it is the young, the poor and the mentally ill who are being exploited by their would be benefactors.

Los Angeles Times Article on Demographic Changes On Broadway Gets Story Right at the End

While the the start of the story says the owners of the Broadway/Spring Arcade Building going after 'young, hip' residents', the real story about why Broadway is changing is buried at the end of the Los Angeles Times article.

Arcade veterans like Balbuena and Azimi wonder about what all the changes will mean to them.

On this Sunday afternoon, they go through their familiar routines, checking through the week's receipts hoping for a big day of sales. But things are quiet once again.

Shopper Jackelin Panuco, 17, walks past with her younger brother Raul. Years before, she says, her mother would bring her to the arcade to buy toys and dresses.

But this afternoon nothing catches her eye. Balbuena's electronics store doesn't have the iPod she wants.

"There's not really much to find here anymore, and it's not busy," she says as she walks out to Spring Street. "I think we're going to look somewhere else."

The non-resident teenage Latina whose mother used to bring her and her brother there to shop now says she longer finds what she needs in the stores she used to patronize.  The generation that supported the existing stores is being replaced by a younger American born generation; a generation that is looking for a shopping experience that meets their needs.

The lack of customers in the older stores is not an example of an existing demographic being pushed aside for the younger and cooler residents.  It instead demonstrates how a new generation of Latino shoppers now expects a shopping and dining experience that meets their needs - and not the needs of their parents and grand-parents.

One trend which might have been added to the story is how increasing numbers of existing store owners are now revamping what they are offering so they can bring back the generation that has been leaving Broadway as well as service the new resident population.

Hosting Visiting Family? Give Them a Historic Downtown LA Walking Tour This Weekend Or Next. Or - If You're Not Traveling for the Holiday - Travel Back to 19th & Early 20th Century Downtown Los Angeles for Your Trip!

After a two month hiatus - due to my volunteering to organize and shelve the... 100,000 one dollar books...... on the second floor LABYRINTH of The Last Bookstore....

12 hours a day 7 days a week - I am now taking 2 hours off from work Saturday and Sunday mornings to resume my original walking tour of Historic Downtown Los Angeles or as it is better known...

... The Secret Lives of Historic Downtown Los Angeles...

Each 2 hour tour will start at 11 AM from The Last Bookstore at the Spring Arts Tower - 453 S. Spring Street at 5th and Spring - Saturday and Sunday starting this November 24th and 25th and next weekend on October 1st and 2nd and the cost is still only $15 per person.

There will also free tours of the LABYRINTH for anyone 30 minutes before and after each walking tour and then on Sundays - you will also be able to attend the Historic Downtown LA's Farmer's Market where you can have breakfast, brunch or lunch.

Plus on these tours you will not only see the historic buildings of the area...

... but also hear the long forgotten stories of those who built them and lived and worked in them.

You will learn how Los Angeles changed baseball history forever at 5th and Main and find out what Wyatt Earp was doing in Downtown La in the 1860's - and the 1920'S - and all the decades in between. You will also see the places where Charlie Chaplin lived when he made his early films (and the place where he made his Los Angeles theatrical debut in 1910) - and where he shot his first film.  And if you have particular interests - let us know and we'll add some new features onto the tour.

Also on the tour will be where the first new lofts were opened, where Gallery Row and the Art Walk were started along with many of the new boutiques, designer showrooms and stores that have recently opened in the area along with getting a sneak preview of what will soon be happening in the area.

So for reservations - either email Brady Westwater at bradywestwater@gmail.com - or call me at 213-804-8396.

What's New at The Last Bookstore in Downtown LA

Among the recent arrivals on the dollar only second floor at The Last Bookstore at 5th and Spring in Downtown Los Angeles...

... are hundreds  more book on history, dozens more on philosophy and poetry, some beautiful books on birds and birding, more basketball books to bring our inventory up to over 30, a few Eastern religion books which a lot of people have been waiting for, six hard cover novels by Robin Maugham, another 100 books on all things Jewish, another 50 books on psychology (with both sections still having well over 1,000 books each, lots more books on pets of all kinds, more books on decorating and celebrating Christmas, another 80 cook  books and thousands more since last weekend.

And remember the store - which is located in the Spring Arts Tower at 453 S. Spring - is open until 11 PM Friday and Saturday and it is also now open 9 AM to 9 PM on Sunday,.  And it is also the starting place for the two hour walking tours of Historic Downtown Los Angeles every Saturday and Sunday at 11 AM..

Two Walking Tours of Historic Downtown LA this Weekend - and Next

Discover the hidden stories of the past 200 years in Historic Downtown Los Angeles from padres and pirates to mountain men and merchants - and stage robbers and silent film stars  - and also see the 100,000 one dollar books...... in the LABYRINTH of The Last Bookstore when you go on this weekend's walking tours of Historic Downtown LA to discover...

.

... The Secret Lives of Historic Downtown Los Angeles...

Each of this weekend's 2 hour tour will start at 11 AM from The Last Bookstore at the Spring Arts Tower - 453 S. Spring Street at 5th and Spring - Saturday and Sunday starting this November 17th and 18th and next weekend on November 24th and 125h and the cost is still only $15 per person.

I'll also give free tours of the LABYRINTH  30 minutes before and a half-hour after each tour and on Sundays - you can enjoy the Historic Downtown LA's Farmer's Market and have breakfast, brunch or lunch.

And you will not only see the historic buildings of the area...

... but also hear the stories of those who built them and lived and worked in them.

You will also see where the Yankees became the most powerful team in baseball and visit places many of the West's wildest characters lived, worked and played.  You will also see the places that made Downtown the first Hollywood - long before the film industry existed Hollywood.

Also on the tour will be  where the first new lofts were opened, where Gallery Row and the Art Walk began..  You will see many of the new businesses  that have recently opened along with getting a sneak preview of what will soon be happening in the area.

For reservations - either email Brady Westwater at bradywestwater@gmail.com - or call me at 213-804-8396.

New GOOGLE book scanner could revolutionize access to historic research materials.

New GOOGLE designed book scanner makes scanning far easier - and quicker - according to the New York Daily News book blog - Page Views,

Google Books engineer creates the world's only cool book scanner

BY CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

Want to see a really cool scanner? Wait, come back! This thing really is awesome. Created by Dany Qumsiyeh, an engineer at Google Books, this book scanning machine can scan a 1000 page novel in 90 minutes. If you don't find that impressive, then clearly you haven't spent enough time hunched over the faulty machine at the office, praying for swift deliverance. Whether admiring its practicality or ogling the ingenious design of the thing, it's well worth checking out in the video below

One great use for this device is to scan non-fiction books that are not indexed - or which have minimal or inaccurate indexes.  With the hundreds of diaries and privately printed non-indexed books on subjects I have been researching - which are mostly in difficult to access research libraries, this could allow that information
to be available on-line.

Walking Tours of Historic Downtown Los Angeles Return This (and Next) Saturday and Sunday! November 10th and 11th Plus November 17th and 18th

After a two month hiatus - due to my volunteering to organize and shelve the... 100,000 one dollar books...... on the second floor LABYRINTH of The Last Bookstore....

12 hours a day 7 days a week - I am now taking 2 hours off from work Saturday and Sunday mornings to resume my original walking tour of Historic Downtown Los Angeles or as it is better known...

... The Secret Lives of Historic Downtown Los Angeles...

Each 2 hour tour will start at 11 AM from The Last Bookstore at the Spring Arts Tower - 453 S. Spring Street at 5th and Spring - Saturday and Sunday starting this November 10th and 11th and next weekend on November 17th and 18th and the cost is still only $15 per person.

I will also be giving free tours of the LABYRINTH  a half-hour before and a half-hour after each walking tour and then on Sundays - you will also be able to attend the Historic Downtown LA's Farmer's Market where you can have breakfast, brunch or lunch.

Plus on these tours you will not only see the historic buildings of the area...

... but also hear the long forgotten stories of those who built them and lived and worked in them.

You will learn how Babe Ruth made baseball history at 5th and Main and find out why Wyatt Earp spent so much time at 5th and Spring.  You will also see the places where Charlie Chaplin lived when he made his early films (and the place where he made his Los Angeles vaudeville debut in 1910).  And you will see where O. J. bought his knife and many, many other things.

Also on the tour will be  where the first new lofts were opened, where Gallery Row and the Art Walk began and where Fashion Week returned to Downtown.  You will see many of the new boutiques, designer showrooms and stores that have recently opened in the area along with getting a sneak preview of what will soon be happening in the area.

So for reservations - either email Brady Westwater at bradywestwater@gmail.com - or call me at 213-804-8396.

Great New Design for South Part Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles

Great renderings over at Curbed LA for the new design for the new DTLA South Park Hotel that will be built next to a restored 1909 old brick hotel.  And I predict the ground level courtyard and the roof-top pool area will become two of the coolest outdoor rooms in Downtown.

First there's the unique mix of the materials in the old and the new buildings down below and then there's the pool -  built right into its own grotto - with a view of the Downtown skyline; a perfect spot for a swim on a drizzly winter night while the steam rises off of the warm water.

The Last Bookstore Open Until 9 PM Today Sunday - and 11 PM Monday!

And among the new additions to the 100,000 books at only one dollar each on the second floor are new sections for  Los Angeles and California writers, education, books for and about gays & lesbians (fiction and non-fiction), travel writing and humor.  And THE LAST BOOKSTORE will be open at 453 S. Spring Street in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles until 9 PM this Sunday night and until 11 PM this Monday night.
 
And we also have over 1,000 books on each of the following topics: British history and literature, American history and literature, cooking, psychology, theology & religion, military history, film & theater. literature & writing in general and substantial collections of poetry, philosophy, sociology, all things African-American, gambling, sports, folklore. anthropology, biology, mathematics of all kinds, chemistry, physics, archaeology, natural history, gardening, interior decoration, pets of all kinds, science fiction, wood working, sewing & needlepoint, and Christmas (to name just a few) plus Asia, Latin America, Europe, Australia and Africa.

Over 1,500 Books on Theology and Religion - for Only One Dollar Each!

Over 500 theology books are being shelved - right this very minute - in the One Dollar section of the second floor of the Last Bookstore in DTLA. Dating from the late 19th Century to the late 20th Century - from both British and American p

ublishers - books from three separate collections have just joined the over 1,000 books on religion and theology already in the that section. We will be open until 11 PM tonight and from 9 AM to 9 PM this Sunday.  453 S. Spring Strteet in the Spring Arts Tower at 5th and Spring.

Support Local Los Angeles Writers and Local Publishers at THE LAST BOOKSTORE Today Saturday November 3rd at 3 PM

THE INDIE SHELVES INITIATIVE LAUNCH + READINGS

When:	Back to Calendar »November 3, 2012 @ 3:00 pm

We’re pleased to be announcing the launch of the Indie Shelves Initiative, a project which creates dedicated shelf space in the store for the purpose promoting the work of L.A.’s authors and independent publishing houses.  We’ve asked L.A. publishers A Barnacle Book, Gorsky Press, and What Books/Glass Table Collective to select works from their catalog, and we’ve enlisted movers and shakers from the literary community–Roz Helfand, Suzanne Lummis, Mike The PoeT Sonksen, and the Los Angeles Poverty Department–to pick some of their favorite reads. We hope that this project increases the visibility of independently published literature, and encourages new readers to explore the catalogs of local presses.

The project will kick off with readings from Bruce Boston (Poetry Co-editor, Poetry International), Brendan Constantine, Sesshu Foster (2010 American Book Award Winner), Bernard Radfar (Rare Bird Books/A Barnacle Book),  Todd Ratcliff (Honorable Mention, 2010 Association of American Publishers PROSE Award, Cosmology and Astronomy Category), Chuck Rosenthal (What Books Press/Glass Table Collective), and Jim Ruland (Gorsky Press).

Let us know you’re coming on Facebook.

Both the HAUNTED VAULT and the SCI-FI VAULTS will be open until 10 PM Halloween Night at Downtown LA's THE LAST BOOKSTORE

And so will be children's books 'ghost and goblin and dinosaur display' by the haunted book tunnel in the upstairs dollar book section - the LABYRINTH with its over 100,000 books at only a buck apiece- at the LAST BOOKSTORE at 5th & Spring - 453 S. Spring at the Spring Arts Tower.

Make Halloween a learning/reading experience for your kids at THE LAST BOOKSTORE

Besides all the great books for kids if all ages from pre-readers to young adults in the main first floor part of the store - the LAST BOOKSTORE's  one dollar only second floor LABYRINTH has just installed - for one week only - a display of books about ghosts and goblins and things that go bump in the night for all ages. 

It is loca

ted in the book cases attached to the... haunted book tunnel .... just past the Haunted Vault (filled with books that will keep adults wide awake on Halloween night) and the Sci-Fi Vault.

The store at 5th & Spring - 453 S. Spring Street in the Spring Arts Tower -  in Downtown LA is open from 10 - 10 this Tuesday to Thursday - and until 11 on Friday & Saturday.

Disney Buys Lucas - Making Disney One of the Few Local Companies to Continue to Buy Out of Area Competitors

One of the few bright spots in Los Angeles film future (with the loss of so many films to New York, other states and other countries due to tax credits and other programs), is the just announced acquisition of Lucas Films by Disney.  This is one of the increasingly rare cases where a Los Angeles firm is doing the acquiring rather than a New York or overseas company being the surviving entity..

While Lucas Films' production schedule has declined in recent years, its four campuses - all in Northern California except for one in Singapore) for its eight divisions - with Industrial Light & Magic being only one of the major divisions - are still one of the largest concentration of film & entertainment talent outside of Hollywood.

So even while the plan is for all the divisions and employees to remain in their present facilities, it is logical future expansions will likely take place in the LA area.  This move continues to make Disney one of the very few local companies in any field to aggressively buy out of area  and local competitors (starting with their purchase of ABC, Pixar and then Marvel) as opposed to being acquired by an out of area corporation, a fate shared most of the other major film studios.

Over 100,000 Books at Only One Dollar Each at THE LAST BOOKSTORE!

Today THE LAST BOOKSTORE at 5th & Spring in Downtown Los Angeles opens at 9 AM for the Sunday Historic Downtown LA Farmer’s Market also at 5th & Spring and stays open until 9 PM on all Sunday nights.  It opens at 10 AM on all other days and stays open until 11 PM on Friday, Saturday and Monday nights and 10 PM on all other nights. And besides the low priced books on the 10,000 foot ground floor - be sure and visit the upstairs… LABYRINTH - with it’s 100,000 books at only $1 each.    And besides the Sci-Fi Vault and the Haunted Vault in the first room - along with an aisle filled with one dollar cook books - the second room now has over 30 sections of carefully curated books.

In just the past week, over 100 books have arrived on Asia  - with many on India,  Judaic, all things English, early 20th Century European novels, business and economics (with over 1,000 books, psychology ( with over 1,000 books), literature & writing (over 1,000 books), and substantial additions have been made to the poetry, philosophy, sociology, Latin America/Mexico, (now over 300 books), folklore, gambling, France, Russia, Italy, Germany, woman’s sports, football, Socialism & Communism,  wood working, gardening, short story collections (over 300), ancient Greece & Rome, American history, biology, how-to-books, children’s books, young adult books, military history (over 700 books), chemistry, self-help, popular Russian novels, interior decorating, pets, physics, philosophy, natural history of all kinds, computers, knitting & needlepoint, law, medicine, Australia, theater, film, Africa, African American history & literature & popular novels, the Middle East, theology & religion  (also over 1,000 books), education, baseball, the history of sports,  and women in sports sections.

We have also added to our smaller but selective sections on  doll houses, chess, Christmas, snow sports, 19th Century books, anthropology, archeology, pre-Raphaelite artists, foreign languages, Scandinavian, Asian, Portuguese & Italian writers, plumbing, gay & lesbian novels & non-fiction, medieval history, Egypt, astrology, psychics, Central America & the Caribbean, and many, other subjects.

Clifton's Cafeteria is Becoming Downtown LA's Own 'Museum of Jurassic Technology' - With 7 Bars & Restaurants

First, for those of you who are not familiar with  'The Museum of Jurassic Technology' - on of LA's great cultural treasures - here are several links about it:  California Through My Eyes, ArtInfo, and the New York Times.

Second, as Hayley Fox explains in her blogdowntown column yesterday, the present owner/savior of Downtown's historic Clifton's Cafeteria on Broadway - Andrew Meieran, has always seen Clifton's 'as its own natural history museum'.  That is why he will be preserving - and restoring many of the unique historic features of the building - and the cafeteria - and establishing a museum dedicated to Clifton's history within the building..

But what makes the Museum of Jurassic Technology  allusion so apt is Meieran's plan to - after restoring Clifton's, to then open six other venues withing the historic building - each of which will reference a different time and a different sub-culture of  Los Angeles history - including a 1950's Tiki Bar and a 1920's Speakeasy.


And here are the opening paragraphs of the article:

'I've always seen Clifton's as its own little natural history museum,' says owner
By HAYLEY FOX
Published: Tuesday, October 16, 2012, at 10:59AM
Hayley FoxThe first phase of the renovated Clifton's is scheduled to open in five to six months.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — As crews peel back layers of Downtown’s historic Clifton’s cafeteria during the 50,000-sqaure-foot building's retrofit and renovation, owner Andrew Meieran says the space is a gold mine of treasures.

"The wonderful things about Clifton's is that it has the most incredible history and there's artifacts from every era of its history," said Meieran.
In addition to the world's oldest neon discovered in one of the walls, crews have found old playbills from the Orpheum, advertisements for cabarets, medicine bottles, candy wrappers and silverware -- all from the building's many reincarnations over the past seven decades.

"I've always seen Clifton's as its own little natural history museum," said Meieran, and he plans on highlighting these items in an actual museum that's being built inside the renovated space. This "history room" will join the seven bars and restaurants slated for the multi-level Broadway building.

“The space is going to be very, very modular and flexible,” said Meieran, and will include everything from a soda shoppe to a tiki bar. All the locations will be loosely tied together by Clifton's theme which Meieran describes as, “where science meets nature.”
“The idea is to go and not have it be themey but …its going to be stylistically interesting and unique.”

Meieran, who also designed and owns the Edison, said crews are knee-deep in construction at Clifton's, updating the building to current code and opening up a few of the floors to create an internal atrium space. The new space is scheduled to open in phases; phase one will open in about five months and include a 24-hour-cafeteria and a basement bar. The other floors will follow, opening in three month intervals with the top-floor tiki bar slated to open last.

And click here for the rest of the article - and to discover the long hidden ...secret plans .... founder Clifford Clifton had for the building - plans that even members of his own family were unaware of....

Legendary Los Angeles Artist/Curator/Educator Michael Asher, RIP 1943 - 2012

Long before I had met Michael Asher, artist after artist told me how important his influence - and support - was to their art during his tenure at CalArts from the 1970's until his death last Sunday.

When I finally met him at a show he had curated, it only took a few minutes to understand how well their deserved their praise was. His excitement and enthusiasm for art of all kinds - along with his wicked sense of humor - influenced much of what has happened in both Los Angeles - and the international - contemporary art world over the past 40 years. His passing leaves a void that will not be easily filled.  

Here are some links to the first stores about his passing.

East of Borneo

The Art Newspaper

Los Angeles Times

THE LAST BOOKSTORE Has Thousands of Just Arrived Used Books at Only $1 Each!! Now Open From 9 AM to 9 PM on Sunday and from 10 AM until 11 PM Saturday, Monday and Friday. - and 10 AM until 10 PM all other days.

First the UPDATE for Sunday Oct. 14th :

THE LAST BOOKSTORE is now open on Sunday's from 9 AM to 9 PM so you can attend  the Farmer's Market that takes place right outside the front door of the store from 9 AM until 1 PM and you can visit the store after enjoying your daytime Sunday activities. And besides all the $1 books listed in the link below - we just had a great selection of books on English and American history & literature. Latin American & African history and literature, books on legal history, tons of bios on actors, writers, film stars & directors plus books on legitimate theater, classical music,science fiction, chess, gambling, doll houses. interior decoration, indoor gardening, the occult, pets of all kinds and many other subjects.

Located at 453 S. Spring,  THE LAST BOOKSTORE has one of the best collections of used books in California.  And the newly opened mezzanine,  the LABYRINTH has 100,000 books - all of which are only $1.  Most of these are randomly sorted,but among the larger curated collections of $1 only books are over 850 psychology books, well over 1,000 books on history - with strong selections  for Latin America, Asia, the US, Ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece, Russia, Africa, France and England, hundreds of children's and young adult books and cook books all over the second floor.  Photo is part of the Psychology section.

There are also strong collections of poetry, sports, all things African-American, the military (at least 700), religion and theology (at least 500), music, theater, film andTV, college & high school text books in most of the sciences (chemistry, biology, psychics, geology, bio-chemistry, etc.) and many of the major disciplines, hundreds of popular contemporary Russian novels, philosophy, science-fiction, sociology, golf, wine, computer books of all types, all things Jewish (at least 400 books), law and medical books, education  and many other subjects. Below photo is part of Asia collection.

The next photo is of half of the section that deals with words - writing and how to write anything, literary criticism, MLA journals, linguistics, printing & publishing books, zines,  magazines or anything else, literary history and bios, editing, public speaking, etymology, dictionaries of every type; rhetoric & logic and anything else that can be done to - or with - a word - along with media & cultural studies.

There are also smaller collections on pets, gambling and card games, gardening, books with 100 year old covers & bindings, nature and natural history, art history, birds, gardening and many other subjects.  And all are for only one dollar each.

But most of the almost 100,000 books are randomly sorted so that you can find the book you never knew existed by an author or on a subject you never knew would interest you.  And if you can't find it upstairs, you will likely be able to find it on the first floor where most prices are from $4 to $20 dollars for books that sold for far more when they were new.  The first photo below is of the Latin America, Mexico & Canada $1 section.

Next is just a small portion of a huge Russian Pop fiction $1 collection

Next are $1 books with old spines from 50 - 150 years old.

Next is just over half of the $1 business section.

Here is part of the $1 England collection.

Close-up of small part of $1 Judaic collection.

Another close-up of another small part of the $1 Judaic collection..

Top Shelves part of  $1 Judaic and bottom shelves math, accounting & statistics $1 books.

Lastly - view of the first floor of the LAST BOOKSTORE where the regularly low priced books can be found.

LA County May Purchase Old State Building Site Across From City Hall Hall to Expand Grand Park

The Downtown News reports on a plan for the County of LA to purchase the old State Building site across from City Hall - and adjacent to the Grand Park - to expand the park.

Another option - which might make an expansion of the park more feasible - could be to use part of the site for commercial development, such as a narrow condo tower (which would start the process of building a 24/7 residential community in the Civic Center) along with retail that would be open nights & weekends - to give more life to the area. Then the money from that project could pay for the land and the development of the rest of the site as park space.

And does anyone know where the murals (or any other historic elements) which may have been removed from the old State Building - and the old Hall of Records - are being stored?

‘Graffiti Pit’ Site Could Become a Park

by Ryan Vaillancourt, Staff Writer | Posted: Friday, October 12, 2012 5:30 am

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - The recently opened Spring Street portion of Grand Park infused the Civic Center with sorely needed green space. It gave Downtown residents and workers a place to relax and also delivered a small fenced-in dog run.

The opening of the third and final section of the $56 million park also magnified an adjacent blighted spot known as the graffiti pit. The fenced-in property on the northeast corner of First Street and Broadway has been derelict for decades.

Walking by the site, which contains the remnants of an office building razed after an earthquake 41 years ago, it’s hard not to wonder why it wasn’t folded into the neighboring park. Now, that vision is in the works.

Under pressure from Gov. Jerry Brown to sell off unneeded assets to raise revenue, the Department of General Services is putting the graffiti pit on the market. State officials have notified public entities of their intent to sell the parcel, but are waiting to finish a $600,000 cleanup of the site before it formally considers any offers, said GSA spokesman Michael Liang.

Both city and county officials have signaled interest in the site. If approval is granted from the Board of Supervisors, the county will submit an offer when the property becomes formally available, said David Sommers, a spokesman for County CEO Bill Fujioka.

“The County’s preliminary plan entails incorporating the site into Grand Park,” Sommers said in an email.

(the rest of the story can be read at The Downtown News) 

Stay DRY on Tonight's Downtown LA Art Walk at THE LAST BOOKSTORE and it's Second Floor with 100,000 Books at Only One Dollar Each!

Stay DRY on tonight's Art Walk!  If it's showering for awhile - spend a hour or two or three in the two stories of THE LAST BOOKSTORE and its attached art galleries - with over 20,000 feet of books and art..  The art is open until 9 PM and the books are open until midnight.  And for this Art Walk multiple collections of vintage books have just arrived.  Tonight you can easily fill an entire box with one dollar books on just the Spanish Civil War, Chinese-American relations, wine, classical music, doll houses, needlepoint, knitting, golf, a dozen different topics of American, English, Russian or French history and culture - and at least 50 other subjects.

Our Latin American and Asian collections have also expanded by two more shelves and our business, legal, medical, math, computer, sports and science sections have each expanded by five or more shelves and both our psychology and theology collection now have well 1,000 books,

Plus we have hundreds of books on sports, gardening, pets, archeology, anthropology, natural history, sociology, education, philosophy, home improvements, decorating and over 1,000 cooking books and even more self- help books.

And we always have lots of kids and young adult books - all for a dollar each on the second floor.

Located at 453 S. Spring,  THE LAST BOOKSTORE has one of the best collections of used books in California.  And the newly opened mezzanine,  the LABYRINTH has 100,000 books - all of which are only $1.  Most of these are randomly sorted,but among the larger curated collections of $1 only books are over 850 psychology books, well over 1,000 books on history - with strong selections  for Latin America, Asia, the US, Ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece, Russia, Africa, France and England, hundreds of children's and young adult books and cook books all over the second floor.  Photo is part of the Psychology section.

There are also strong collections of poetry, sports, all things African-American, the military (at least 700), religion and theology (at least 500), music, theater, film andTV, college & high school text books in most of the sciences (chemistry, biology, psychics, geology, bio-chemistry, etc.) and many of the major disciplines, hundreds of popular contemporary Russian novels, philosophy, science-fiction, sociology, golf, wine, computer books of all types, all things Jewish (at least 400 books), law and medical books, education  and many other subjects. Below photo is part of Asia collection.

The next photo is of half of the section that deals with words - writing and how to write anything, literary criticism, MLA journals, linguistics, printing & publishing books, zines,  magazines or anything else, literary history and bios, editing, public speaking, etymology, dictionaries of every type; rhetoric & logic and anything else that can be done to - or with - a word - along with media & cultural studies.

There are also smaller collections on pets, gambling and card games, gardening, books with 100 year old covers & bindings, nature and natural history, art history, birds, gardening and many other subjects.  And all are for only one dollar each.

But most of the almost 100,000 books are randomly sorted so that you can find the book you never knew existed by an author or on a subject you never knew would interest you.  And if you can't find it upstairs, you will likely be able to find it on the first floor where most prices are from $4 to $20 dollars for books that sold for far more when they were new.  The first photo below is of the Latin America, Mexico & Canada $1 section.

Next is just a small portion of a huge Russian Pop fiction $1 collection

Next are $1 books with old spines from 50 - 150 years old.

Next is just over half of the $1 business section.

Here is part of the $1 England collection.

Close-up of small part of $1 Judaic collection.

Another close-up of another small part of the $1 Judaic collection..

Top Shelves part of  $1 Judaic and bottom shelves math, accounting & statistics $1 books.

Lastly - view of the first floor of the LAST BOOKSTORE where the regularly low priced books can be found.

http://lastbookstorela.com/about/

Can LA's 'Light & Space' Artists & Las Vegas Fix the Downtown LA Football Stadium & Convention Center Addition?

According to Dakota Smith of the Daily News, that is the consensus of a group of architects the Mayor convened to look into the plans now being debated by the City Council.

Architects call for redesign of L.A. Convention Center hall, part of AEG NFL project By Dakota Smith, Staff Writer LA Daily News Posted: DailyNews.com Citing serious concerns, a group of high-profile architects advising Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on the downtown football stadium is recommending a redesign of the Los Angeles Convention Center hall that is part of the project. Several members of the "Vision Team," a group of eight architects assembled by Villaraigosa to consult on the project, believe the plan has major flaws, including having visitors enter the new hall through a dark, unsafe space created by stretching the building over Pico Boulevard. They believe this will so negatively impact Pico Boulevard and the Pico-Union neighborhood that an overhaul is required.   ((here is the rest of the story)

There is time to successfully address these problems.   Hopefully it can be done  by some rethinking of the footprint of the overall project.  But, if not, there are multiple ways adjustments which can be made to make the area more pedestrian friendly, some of which are addressed in the above article.

Additional uses might also be added to that stretch of Pico to attract  people to the area at times neither the stadium nor the Pico Hall are being used.  And by making those uses  places that would attract people entering and exiting the two big  venues, that could also make it more likely some people would arrive earlier and leave later, easing traffic congestion.

Another possible partial solution is to make the part of Pico covered by the new convention center into something resembling a very LA version of the Fremont Experience in Las Vegas.  One that would be far more subtle - and which would be one continuous non-stop experience - paced so that the slow - and very gradual - changes in the lights would be observable by pedestrians, but not noticeable by the drivers along  Pico so as not to distract them.

One or more of these shows might even be done by one of LA's  'light and space'' artists such as James Turrell. or Robert Irwin.  This could give the area a major new cultural attraction and considerably ... brighten... the experience of walking along Pico.

THE LAST BOOKSTORE Has Thousands of Just Arrived Used Books at Only $1 Each!! Now Open From 9 AM to 9 PM on Sunday and from 10 AM until 11 PM Saturday, Monday and Friday. - and 10 AM until 10 PM all other days.

First the UPDATE for Sunday Oct. 14th :

THE LAST BOOKSTORE is now open on Sunday's from 9 AM to 9 PM so you can attend  the Farmer's Market that takes place right outside the front door of the store from 9 AM until 1 PM and you can visit the store after enjoying your daytime Sunday activities. And besides all the $1 books listed in the link below - we just had a great selection of books on English and American history & literature. Latin American & African history and literature, books on legal history, tons of bios on actors, writers, film stars & directors plus books on legitimate theater, classical music,science fiction, chess, gambling, doll houses. interior decoration, indoor gardening, the occult, pets of all kinds and many other subjects.  And it's open until 11  PM tonight and from 10 - 6 PM on Sunday.

Located at 453 S. Spring,  THE LAST BOOKSTORE has one of the best collections of used books in California.  And the newly opened mezzanine,  the LABYRINTH has 100,000 books - all of which are only $1.  Most of these are randomly sorted,but among the larger curated collections of $1 only books are over 850 psychology books, well over 1,000 books on history - with strong selections  for Latin America, Asia, the US, Ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece, Russia, Africa, France and England, hundreds of children's and young adult books and cook books all over the second floor.  Photo is part of the Psychology section.

There are also strong collections of poetry, sports, all things African-American, the military (at least 700), religion and theology (at least 500), music, theater, film andTV, college & high school text books in most of the sciences (chemistry, biology, psychics, geology, bio-chemistry, etc.) and many of the major disciplines, hundreds of popular contemporary Russian novels, philosophy, science-fiction, sociology, golf, wine, computer books of all types, all things Jewish (at least 400 books), law and medical books, education  and many other subjects. Below photo is part of Asia collection.

The next photo is of half of the section that deals with words - writing and how to write anything, literary criticism, MLA journals, linguistics, printing & publishing books, zines,  magazines or anything else, literary history and bios, editing, public speaking, etymology, dictionaries of every type; rhetoric & logic and anything else that can be done to - or with - a word - along with media & cultural studies.

There are also smaller collections on pets, gambling and card games, gardening, books with 100 year old covers & bindings, nature and natural history, art history, birds, gardening and many other subjects.  And all are for only one dollar each.

But most of the almost 100,000 books are randomly sorted so that you can find the book you never knew existed by an author or on a subject you never knew would interest you.  And if you can't find it upstairs, you will likely be able to find it on the first floor where most prices are from $4 to $20 dollars for books that sold for far more when they were new.  The first photo below is of the Latin America, Mexico & Canada $1 section.

Next is just a small portion of a huge Russian Pop fiction $1 collection

Next are $1 books with old spines from 50 - 150 years old.

Next is just over half of the $1 business section.

Here is part of the $1 England collection.

Close-up of small part of $1 Judaic collection.

Another close-up of another small part of the $1 Judaic collection..

Top Shelves part of  $1 Judaic and bottom shelves math, accounting & statistics $1 books.

Lastly - view of the first floor of the LAST BOOKSTORE where the regularly low priced books can be found.