LA Times Coverage of Frank Gehry Redesign of Grand Avenue Project

photo courtesy of Related & LA Times

In this morning's LA Times Christopher Hawthorne has full coverage of the revised plans for the second phase of the Grand Avenue project - just re-designed by re-hired architect Frank Gehry - as reported here first last week.   And Hawthorne does a superb job of evaluating the politics and the design of the project.

Architect Frank Gehry's design for Grand Avenue retail, hotel & residential complex across from Walt Disney Concert Hall to be submitted Monday.
By Christopher Hawthorne, Los Angeles Times Architecture Critic

Frank Gehry and Related Cos. have kissed and made up. Now we'll see if city and county officials bless the reconciliation.

After soliciting plans from other architects in recent months, Related has put Gehry back in charge of the design team for a $650-million retail, hotel and residential complex on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles. On Monday the New York-based developer will submit a new proposal by Gehry's firm to the committee overseeing the project. Gehry's design is significantly more exuberant and suggestive of L.A. culture than designs for the site by the firms Gensler and Robert A.M. Stern Architects, which Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, chair of the committee, blasted in September as bland and uninspired. It calls for a stacked collection of shops and restaurants forming a U-shaped plaza directly across from Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The development will be crowned by a pair of towers, one holding a 300-room SLS Hotel and the other filled with condominiums and rental apartments. A series of terraces, restaurant patios and pool decks, many of them generously landscaped, cascades down along Grand facing the concert hall. Related now hopes to build the project in a single phase rather than constructing the residential tower first. Construction is pegged to begin in 2015 and finish by 2019.

What Hawthorne does not mention is the SLS Hotel will be built and run by Westside hospitality and hotel kind - Sam Nazarian.

The new version is simpler and more efficient than Gehry's original scheme for the site, which first surfaced in 2006. Boxy towers step up from a jumble of forms at ground level, replacing the wavier, more fluid forms of the earlier design. The residential building, the taller of the two towers, includes an open-air garden serving as a sky lobby for the condos on its top floors.

Gehry's willingness to rethink his original design to meet the financial reality of the LA real estate market is what made his return to Grand Avenue possible.  No developer can build a project without financing and no bank will finance a project that can not cover its costs.

Though the towers remain works in progress, the proposal is better developed at street level than in any of the previous designs. The plaza facing Disney Hall is more open and confidently resolved in its design than before.
A generous connection through the project down to Olive Street — a crucial element in the project's links to the base of Bunker Hill and the rest of a revived downtown — would allow pedestrians along Olive to look up through the complex, as if through a picture window, and see Disney Hall.

Gehry's buildings since Disney Hall have progressively gotten better and better at meeting the ground and relating to the environment around them.  He acknowledges this by proposing to redesign the streetscape on both sides of Grand and by also re-imagining Disney Hall's lobby and ground floor spaces to make them more welcoming to pedestrians.

Gehry has toyed with the idea of a narrow pedestrian bridge leading from the apartment tower, near 2nd Street and Grand, across to Disney Hall's upper-level garden.In addition, he is in the early stages of work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic to redesign the concert hall's lobby and ground-level spaces along Grand Avenue.

The result may be to move the Disney Hall gift shop inside the hall and bring its cafe, now buried deep inside the building, out to Grand.In a new twist, Gehry says he hopes to redesign the paving pattern of Grand Avenue itself between 1st and 2nd streets and string lights above the street between the concert hall and the new complex.

The extra attention to the Grand Avenue streetscape in the new plan is welcome but also carries a few risks. The last thing pedestrians on Grand or concertgoers coming out of Disney Hall want is a sense that the street design itself is funneling them straight into an open-air shopping mall.

This last point is my only real disagreement with Hawthorne's review.   Right now, Grand Avenue's biggest problem is none of the current projects reach out and invite the public inside them.   Even more confusingly, what he calls an 'open-air shopping mall', looks to be one of the great public spaces in Downtown Los Angeles. That plaza/shopping mall is also project's  - and Grand Avenue's - connection with Olive Street and last phase of the Grand Avenue Project between Olive and Hill  - and it will one day become Bunker Hill's long needed connection to all of  Historic Downtown.

In general, however, the new design is more open to Bunker Hill and downtown than earlier versions. It relates more subtly not just to Disney Hall but also to Eli Broad's forthcoming art museum, the Broad, at 2nd and Grand.

To a fascinating degree it is precisely Gehry's energetic and unfussy aesthetic, which can appear chaotic at first glance, that makes these new urban connections possible. The jumble of patios, restaurant terraces and pool decks along Grand pivots slightly but strategically at each level, allowing some portions of the development to face the Broad while others offer direct views of Dorothy Chandler Pavilion or Disney Hall itself.

And you can read the rest of the article (which has a lot more information) - here.

Frank Gehry Back as Architect for Grand Avenue Project!

I  haven't blogged about Frank Gehry being rehired by Related to design the Grand Avenue project after LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina rejected the vision presented to the Grand Avenue Authority for one reason.

Since 'everyone' already knew that - I assumed the story had already been reported.  But - since it appears that story has not  yet been reported, I will report that a much revised plan has been designed by Gehry and it will be filed with the City of Los Angeles on Monday.

I can also report, after seeing  a presentation of the plans and the model, the new conceptual plan is a major improvement over the last site plan.  The biggest - and best - change is how the project addresses Grand Avenue. Rather than having the entrance to the public courtyard being two narrow passageways on either side of the apartment building,  the entire public plaza now sweeps out to the street - and the sidewalk - it all but physically pulls pedestrians off the sidewalk and into the space.

As for all the other changes, I'll address them when the renderings are made public next week

Other elements added to the project include a  street/sidewalk landscaping plan for both sides of Grand designed to visually connect the two sides of street and an overhead lighting element which is being considered to also help connect the two sides of the street.

As for the other goods news, beyond Gehry being back,  a hotel is in the final stage of negotiations to anchor the project.  And after they formally sign-on (and they are already involved in the design) their participation will enable the entire block to be designed and built at the same time.

That then still leaves the two big questions.

Can Related afford to build a Frank Gehry design in today's financial climate - and will the design be any good if they can afford to build it?  Based on what I saw and heard, I'd say yes to both questions.  The design is both striking and simple at the same time.  It looks like nothing ever built in LA and yet still feels very much like an LA building.  And what the Gehry Partners architectural team has designed, Gehry Technologies will be able to ensure can be built within a set budget.

And that is - finally - the best news of all.

This is finally a project which can not only be built - but it is also a project that should be built.

DISCOVER Historic Downtown Los Angeles's Secret Histories on This Saturday Nov. 23rd - and Next 3 Saturday 2 Hour Walking Tour Starting at THE LAST BOOKSTORE at 453 S. Spring in the Spring Arts Tower

The Last Bookstore (and a  2nd floor with 50,000 books at ONE DOLLAR each!)  Presents  a 10:30 START TIME FOR 2 hour walking tours of the The Secret Lives of Historic Downtown Los Angeles -  Endorsed By - LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE!

There will be a HISTORIC DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES 101  2 hour walking tour this Saturday November 23rd with a start time of 10:30 AM and an ending time of 12:30 PM and then following Saturday's  we will also start at 10:30 AM for Saturday November 30th, Saturday December 7th and Saturday December 14th.

And with reservations totaling at least 4 or more people  made by 5 PM Saturday - Sunday Tours can  also be given this or next Sunday starting at 11 PM - or later depending -  on the first person's reservations.  And all tours start at THE LAST BOOKSTORE in the Spring Arts Tower at 5th and Spring and they are still only $15 per person.

And  besides our regular scheduled tours, we will be offering customized tours on different days and different times and from one to three hours including weekdays - depending on your schedule.  With a minimum of four reservations, we will design a tour of any part of Downtown focusing on any subject matter you choose.  These tours can be after work, during lunch breaks - or??

FOR MORE INFORMATION  - contact Brady Westwater at 213-804-8396 - or bradywestwater@gmail.com

BRADBURY BUILDING

All tours begin at THE LAST BOOKSTORE at 453 S. Spring Street in the Spring Arts Tower and will be led by long time Downtown resident Brady Westwater who, besides being involved with the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council, the Historic Downtown BID, Gallery Row, Art Walk, and the BOXeight and the CONCEPT Fashion Weeks, has brought over 150 businesses, artists and non-profit institutions to Downtown.  All tours are only $15 per person.  

Wyatt Earp

If you are a participant in 'Historic Downtown Los Angeles 101' Tour, you will see the first motion picture theater built,  the place where Babe Ruth signed his contract with the Yankees, the hotel where Charlie Chaplin lived when he made his early films (and the place where he made his Los Angeles vaudeville debut in 1910) - plus the homes and haunts of everyone from actor Nicholas Cage, the Black Dahlia, Rudolph Valentino, LA’s version of Jack the Ripper, President Teddy Roosevelt, the Night Stalker, western outlaw Emmet Dalton,  actor Ryan Gosling and more.  And you will also visit where O. J. Simpson bought his knife.

You’ll explore an intersection where all four buildings were often visited by gunfighter/sheriff Wyatt Earp since they were all built or occupied by friends of his from Tombstone during the shoot-out at the OK Corral.  At this intersection you will also discover what John Wayne, a prime minister of Italy, Houdini, Winston Churchill, boxer Jack Dempsey, Greta Garbo, President Woodrow Wilson and multiple Mexican boxing champions all had in common here.

You will also see where the first new lofts were opened, the places 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.

Tickets for either tour are only $15 per person - free for children under 8 - and reservations can be made by calling Brady Westwater at 213-804-8396 or emailing bradywestwater@gmail.com.  All credit card orders will be processed  at Last Bookstore and cash payments may be made at the start of the tour.   All proceeds will go towards the revitalization and the study of the history of the neighborhood.  

Lastly, future tours will feature specialized areas of interest such as architecture, art of all kinds, shopping and food, single streets, sports (from steer wrestling to luchador wrestlers to a Sumo wrestler), transportation, specific periods of history, the hidden Wild West history of Los Angeles, movie locations, Downtown after hours and many other aspects of the neighborhood. And custom designed can be developed by request  for groups of four or more.

We will also be soon starting weekday and evening tours on what it's like to live in Downtown Los Angeles. You will be introduced to the many of stores, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues (and often their owners, too) - along with being given previews of one of a kind special events - so you can get a feel for what it is like to live in Downtown Los Angeles.

We expect this tour to be popular with not only people considering moving to Downtown and people who work in Downtown and who would like to know what to do after hours in Downtown - but also to recent and even long established Downtown residents who want to know more about their neighborhood.

DISCOVER Historic Downtown Los Angeles's Secret Histories on This Saturday Nov. 16th - and Next 3 Saturday 2 Hour Walking Tour Starting at THE LAST BOOKSTORE at 453 S. Spring in the Spring Arts Tower

The Last Bookstore (and a  2nd floor with 50,000 books at ONE DOLLAR each!)  Presents  a 10:30 START TIME FOR 2 hour walking tours of the The Secret Lives of Historic Downtown Los Angeles -  Endorsed By - LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE!

There will be a HISTORIC DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES 101  2 hour walking tour this Saturday November 16th with a start time of 10:30 AM and an ending time of 12:30 PM and then following two Saturday's  we will also start at 10:30 AM for Saturday November 23rd  and Saturday November 30th. 

And with reservations totaling at least 4 or more people  made by 5 PM Saturday - Sunday Tours can  also be given this or next Sunday starting at 11 PM - or later depending -  on the first person's reservations.  And all tours start at THE LAST BOOKSTORE in the Spring Arts Tower at 5th and Spring and they are still only $15 per person.

And  besides our regular scheduled tours, we will be offering customized tours on different days and different times and from one to three hours including weekdays - depending on your schedule.  With a minimum of four reservations, we will design a tour of any part of Downtown focusing on any subject matter you choose.  These tours can be after work, during lunch breaks - or??

FOR MORE INFORMATION  - contact Brady Westwater at 213-804-8396 - or bradywestwater@gmail.com

BRADBURY BUILDING

All tours begin at THE LAST BOOKSTORE at 453 S. Spring Street in the Spring Arts Tower and will be led by long time Downtown resident Brady Westwater who, besides being involved with the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council, the Historic Downtown BID, Gallery Row, Art Walk, and the BOXeight and the CONCEPT Fashion Weeks, has brought over 150 businesses, artists and non-profit institutions to Downtown.  All tours are only $15 per person.  

Wyatt Earp

If you are a participant in 'Historic Downtown Los Angeles 101' Tour, you will see the first motion picture theater built,  the place where Babe Ruth signed his contract with the Yankees, the hotel where Charlie Chaplin lived when he made his early films (and the place where he made his Los Angeles vaudeville debut in 1910) - plus the homes and haunts of everyone from actor Nicholas Cage, the Black Dahlia, Rudolph Valentino, LA’s version of Jack the Ripper, President Teddy Roosevelt, the Night Stalker, western outlaw Emmet Dalton,  actor Ryan Gosling and more.  And you will also visit where O. J. Simpson bought his knife.

You’ll explore an intersection where all four buildings were often visited by gunfighter/sheriff Wyatt Earp since they were all built or occupied by friends of his from Tombstone during the shoot-out at the OK Corral.  At this intersection you will also discover what John Wayne, a prime minister of Italy, Houdini, Winston Churchill, boxer Jack Dempsey, Greta Garbo, President Woodrow Wilson and multiple Mexican boxing champions all had in common here.

You will also see where the first new lofts were opened, the places 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.

Tickets for either tour are only $15 per person - free for children under 8 - and reservations can be made by calling Brady Westwater at 213-804-8396 or emailing bradywestwater@gmail.com.  All credit card orders will be processed  at Last Bookstore and cash payments may be made at the start of the tour.   All proceeds will go towards the revitalization and the study of the history of the neighborhood.  

Lastly, future tours will feature specialized areas of interest such as architecture, art of all kinds, shopping and food, single streets, sports (from steer wrestling to luchador wrestlers to a Sumo wrestler), transportation, specific periods of history, the hidden Wild West history of Los Angeles, movie locations, Downtown after hours and many other aspects of the neighborhood. And custom designed can be developed by request  for groups of four or more.

We will also be soon starting weekday and evening tours on what it's like to live in Downtown Los Angeles. You will be introduced to the many of stores, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues (and often their owners, too) - along with being given previews of one of a kind special events - so you can get a feel for what it is like to live in Downtown Los Angeles.

We expect this tour to be popular with not only people considering moving to Downtown and people who work in Downtown and who would like to know what to do after hours in Downtown - but also to recent and even long established Downtown residents who want to know more about their neighborhood.

EXPLORE Historic Downtown Los Angeles' Secret Histories on The Next 3 Saturday 2 Hour Walking Tour Starting at THE LAST BOOKSTORE at 453 S. Spring in the Spring Arts Tower

The Last Bookstore (and a  2nd floor with 50,000 books at ONE DOLLAR each!)  Presents  a 10:30 START TIME FOR 2 hour walking tours of the The Secret Lives of Historic Downtown Los Angeles -  Endorsed By - LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE!

There will be a HISTORIC DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES 101  2 hour walking tour this Saturday November 16th with a start time of 10:30 AM and an ending time of 12:30 PM and then following two Saturday's  we will also start at of 10:30 AM for Saturday November 23rd  and Saturday November 30th. 

And with reservations totaling at least 4 or more people  made by 5 PM Saturday - Sunday Tours can  also be given this or next Sunday starting at 11 PM - or later depending -  on the first person's reservations.  And all tours start at THE LAST BOOKSTORE in the Spring Arts Tower at 5th and Spring and they are still only $15 per person.

And  besides our regular scheduled tours, we will be offering customized tours on different days and different times and from one to three hours including weekdays - depending on your schedule.  With a minimum of four reservations, we will design a tour of any part of Downtown focusing on any subject matter you choose.  These tours can be after work, during lunch breaks - or??

FOR MORE INFORMATION  - contact Brady Westwater at 213-804-8396 - or bradywestwater@gmail.com

BRADBURY BUILDING

All tours begin at THE LAST BOOKSTORE at 453 S. Spring Street in the Spring Arts Tower and will be led by long time Downtown resident Brady Westwater who, besides being involved with the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council, the Historic Downtown BID, Gallery Row, Art Walk, and the BOXeight and the CONCEPT Fashion Weeks, has brought over 150 businesses, artists and non-profit institutions to Downtown.  All tours are only $15 per person.  

Wyatt Earp

If you are a participant in 'Historic Downtown Los Angeles 101' Tour, you will see the first motion picture theater built,  the place where Babe Ruth signed his contract with the Yankees, the hotel where Charlie Chaplin lived when he made his early films (and the place where he made his Los Angeles vaudeville debut in 1910) - plus the homes and haunts of everyone from actor Nicholas Cage, the Black Dahlia, Rudolph Valentino, LA’s version of Jack the Ripper, President Teddy Roosevelt, the Night Stalker, western outlaw Emmet Dalton,  actor Ryan Gosling and more.  And you will also visit where O. J. Simpson bought his knife.

You’ll explore an intersection where all four buildings were often visited by gunfighter/sheriff Wyatt Earp since they were all built or occupied by friends of his from Tombstone during the shoot-out at the OK Corral.  At this intersection you will also discover what John Wayne, a prime minister of Italy, Houdini, Winston Churchill, boxer Jack Dempsey, Greta Garbo, President Woodrow Wilson and multiple Mexican boxing champions all had in common here.

You will also see where the first new lofts were opened, the places 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.

Tickets for either tour are only $15 per person - free for children under 8 - and reservations can be made by calling Brady Westwater at 213-804-8396 or emailing bradywestwater@gmail.com.  All credit card orders will be processed  at Last Bookstore and cash payments may be made at the start of the tour.   All proceeds will go towards the revitalization and the study of the history of the neighborhood.  

Lastly, future tours will feature specialized areas of interest such as architecture, art of all kinds, shopping and food, single streets, sports (from steer wrestling to luchador wrestlers to a Sumo wrestler), transportation, specific periods of history, the hidden Wild West history of Los Angeles, movie locations, Downtown after hours and many other aspects of the neighborhood. And custom designed can be developed by request  for groups of four or more.

We will also be soon starting weekday and evening tours on what it's like to live in Downtown Los Angeles. You will be introduced to the many of stores, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues (and often their owners, too) - along with being given previews of one of a kind special events - so you can get a feel for what it is like to live in Downtown Los Angeles.

We expect this tour to be popular with not only people considering moving to Downtown and people who work in Downtown and who would like to know what to do after hours in Downtown - but also to recent and even long established Downtown residents who want to know more about their neighborhood.

EXPLORE Historic Downtown Los Angeles's Secret Histories on The Next 3 Saturday 2 Hour Walking Tour Starting at THE LAST BOOKSTORE at 453 S. Spring in the Spring Arts Tower

The Last Bookstore (and a  2nd floor with 50,000 books at ONE DOLLAR each!)  Presents  a 10:30 START TIME FOR 2 hour walking tours of the The Secret Lives of Historic Downtown Los Angeles -  Endorsed By - LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE!

There will be a HISTORIC DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES 101  2 hour walking tour this Saturday November 9th with a start time of 10:30 AM and an ending time of 12:30 PM and then following three Saturday's  we will also start at 10:30 AM for Saturday November 16th, Saturday November 23rd and Saturday 30th.

And with reservations totaling at least 4 or more people  made by 5 PM Saturday - Sunday Tours can  also be given this or next Sunday starting at 11 PM - or later depending -  on the first person's reservations.  And all tours start at THE LAST BOOKSTORE in the Spring Arts Tower at 5th and Spring and they are still only $15 per person.

And  besides our regular scheduled tours, we will be offering customized tours on different days and different times and from one to three hours including weekdays - depending on your schedule.  With a minimum of four reservations, we will design a tour of any part of Downtown focusing on any subject matter you choose.  These tours can be after work, during lunch breaks - or??

FOR MORE INFORMATION  - contact Brady Westwater at 213-804-8396 - or bradywestwater@gmail.com

BRADBURY BUILDING

All tours begin at THE LAST BOOKSTORE at 453 S. Spring Street in the Spring Arts Tower and will be led by long time Downtown resident Brady Westwater who, besides being involved with the Downtown LA Neighborhood Council, the Historic Downtown BID, Gallery Row, Art Walk, and the BOXeight and the CONCEPT Fashion Weeks, has brought over 150 businesses, artists and non-profit institutions to Downtown.  All tours are only $15 per person.  

Wyatt Earp

If you are a participant in 'Historic Downtown Los Angeles 101' Tour, you will see the first motion picture theater built,  the place where Babe Ruth signed his contract with the Yankees, the hotel where Charlie Chaplin lived when he made his early films (and the place where he made his Los Angeles vaudeville debut in 1910) - plus the homes and haunts of everyone from actor Nicholas Cage, the Black Dahlia, Rudolph Valentino, LA’s version of Jack the Ripper, President Teddy Roosevelt, the Night Stalker, western outlaw Emmet Dalton,  actor Ryan Gosling and more.  And you will also visit where O. J. Simpson bought his knife.

You’ll explore an intersection where all four buildings were often visited by gunfighter/sheriff Wyatt Earp since they were all built or occupied by friends of his from Tombstone during the shoot-out at the OK Corral.  At this intersection you will also discover what John Wayne, a prime minister of Italy, Houdini, Winston Churchill, boxer Jack Dempsey, Greta Garbo, President Woodrow Wilson and multiple Mexican boxing champions all had in common here.

You will also see where the first new lofts were opened, the places 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.

Tickets for either tour are only $15 per person - free for children under 8 - and reservations can be made by calling Brady Westwater at 213-804-8396 or emailing bradywestwater@gmail.com.  All credit card orders will be processed  at Last Bookstore and cash payments may be made at the start of the tour.   All proceeds will go towards the revitalization and the study of the history of the neighborhood.  

Lastly, future tours will feature specialized areas of interest such as architecture, art of all kinds, shopping and food, single streets, sports (from steer wrestling to luchador wrestlers to a Sumo wrestler), transportation, specific periods of history, the hidden Wild West history of Los Angeles, movie locations, Downtown after hours and many other aspects of the neighborhood. And custom designed can be developed by request  for groups of four or more.

We will also be soon starting weekday and evening tours on what it's like to live in Downtown Los Angeles. You will be introduced to the many of stores, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues (and often their owners, too) - along with being given previews of one of a kind special events - so you can get a feel for what it is like to live in Downtown Los Angeles.

We expect this tour to be popular with not only people considering moving to Downtown and people who work in Downtown and who would like to know what to do after hours in Downtown - but also to recent and even long established Downtown residents who want to know more about their neighborhood.

Last Bookstore Re-Opens After Film Shoot With 8,000 New $1 Books!

Yes, during the four days the downstairs of The Last Bookstore in the Spring Arts Tower at 453 S. Spring Street was closed for shooting, over 8,000 more books were installed in the 'One Dollar' Room of the LABYRINTH.  Incredible, amazing books you will not believe can be bought for only.... $1 each.

And we open today - November 1st at 10 AM and will remain open until 11 PM tonight.  So find your dream books - and start your holiday shopping - today!