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.

Discover the Secret History Of Historic Downtown LA Next Weekend! Walking Tours Starting at THE LAST BOOKSTORE! Saturday & Sunday September 29th & 30th at 10:30 AM!

After taking six weeks off due to it being - too damn hot - the Walking Tours of Historic Downtown are resume the coming weekend - and the following weekends!  

The Last Bookstore Presents
(and it's just opened 2nd floor with 100,000 books at only ONE DOLLAR each!)
Presents….

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

The HISTORIC DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES 101  2 hour walking tour will take place this coming Saturday September 29th and Sunday September 30th at 10:30 AM - and then the following Saturday and Sunday October 6th and October 7th also at 10:30 AM starting at THE LAST BOOKSTORE at 453 S. Spring Street.

And  besides our regular tours, we will be offering customized tours on different days and times - depending on your schedule.  With 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.  

If you are a participant in Saturday's '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 Emment 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 tours 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.

9/11 Tribute Opens The Grand Park's Flag Garden

Excellent 9/11 ceremony at the opening of the Court of Flags - the second of the three phases of the Grand Park at the Los Angeles Civic Center.  The ceremony concentrated upon the living - while also taking full notice of those who did not survive that day. And it particularly - and tastefully - honored those men and women who were among us this morning.

Little was said this morning about any of the events of that morning eleven years ago - other than to ring of a bell four times to honor those who  lost their lives at each of the four sites - and to thank the bravery and sacrifice of those who risked their own lives to save others.

And at this moment in history, it was a perfect way to quietly and respectfully mark the anniversary of that tragedy.

Some day, future generations will  likely need to be told more about all that happened on that morning and its affect upon those who experienced it.  But, for now, our joining together to reflect on still fresh memories and thank those still with us and honor those who are not, turned out to be a perfect way to commemorate the day.

Delijani Family Reveals Plans to Activate Their Four Historic Theaters in Downtown Los Angeles

Here is the opening to the Downtown News Article on the immediate plans of the Delijani family for its four historic Broadway theaters situated in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles.

Family Looks to Upgrade Four Broadway Theaters

by Richard Guzmán, City Editor | Posted: Friday, September 7, 2012 9:03 am

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - For years, the status of four Broadway theaters owned by the Delijani family has been one of the biggest trouble points for the revitalization of Broadway. Although many have envisioned a revived Palace, State, Los Angeles and Tower theaters functioning as mini-epicenters of nightlife, the family has been slow to act, worried about the cost, loading issues and a perceived lack of parking.

Now, all that could change. If the new plan comes to fruition, the family could have a major role in really bringing back Broadway.

What most people do not realize is that the Delijani family simply by buying the Los Angeles Theatre at the personal request of Mayor Thomas Bradley - 25 years ago - at a greatly inflated price to save it from being demolished - have gone out of pocket tens of millions of dollars by not converting it to retail, a restaurant or a nightclub by taking out all its seats. 

And while I can not go into details, keeping the LA Theater also cost them far more than even that when one takes into account what they needed to do with other properties during major recessions in order to be able to keep the LA Theater safe from developers.

And yet, even then, even after all those losses, since the family knew it would take an entire theater district to make these venues work in the long term, they continued to buy and preserve other historic theaters (first the State Theatre, then the Palace Theatre and then the Tower Theatre) - and lose money on them - until the time has finally come when their overall vision of a true theater district can be realized.

Unfortunately, it will likely take a future generation - once all the theaters are open and operating - to be able to appreciate the wisdom of their long term vision vision - much less begin to understand or appreciate, the immense costs they voluntarily shouldered by deciding to forgo making a quick buck and keeping these four theaters completely intact for all these years.

THE LAST BOOKSTORE Open Until 11 PM Labor Day With Big 20% off Books, CD's & Dvd's - Plus 15% off Vinyl Records - Plus Second Floor has Two GIANT Rooms of One Dollar Books!

Not only are we open for Labor Day tomorrow, but we are also having a big old sale!

*20% off books, DVDs, CDs
*15% off records
*25% off your entire purchase  (excepting only records) when you spend $100+