Regent Changes its Hue..

After a little over a year and a half, the "Main Street Recovery" mural came down today. A fresh new coat of bright yellow paint is now gracing the facade of the Regent Theatre..


The mural as seen from spring of 2008. The mural was originally installed on the Regent Theatre the 30th of January, 2008. Each part of the mural tells a story of Main Street's changes and the changes in Downtown. It was a temporary installation, but one can't help but think it had become a part of the landscape of Main Street.

This morning.. the scaffolding was being raised:






By late afternoon, the mural was halfway down.. and much of the new paint had been applied.






and then a little after 7pm.. this is what the Regent looked like:


As for the "Main Street Recovery" mural, it's rumored that it may make future appearances around the Old Bank District at some point. As for now, for the immediate future, the Regent will be grooving out in bright yellow.

Main in Bloom

Stella waters her sunflowers.. You can see them blossoming outside Stella Dottir dress shop near Winston & Main.

Around the Historic Core

Walking around the neighborhood..

cleaning up the Rosslyn Hotel sign..


This side all done!

7-11 7-11!

opposite Rite-Aid..

future location of a new 7-11 at 5th & Broadway.

and lastly, (but NOT least!) in the Old Bank District..


Old Bank DVD will be headed around the corner..


sometime soon** ("AUGUST") Old Bank DVD will be relocated.. They will be in the same building (San Fernando Bldg @ 4th & Main) but taking over the currently empty former home of MJ Higgins Gallery.

**update: 22 August 2009 After talking to Old Bank DVD it may be late August or early September for the relocation of the store.

Cupcake Day

Some sites suggest that yesterday, August 18th was "National Cupcake Day" while other sites suggest it's not til December. Regardless, I was out & about and made a point to stop in at Lot 44. Lot 44 is your downtown location for "Blue Cupcake" varieties.

They had several of their familiar flavors: strawberry red velvet, coconut, PB&J.. coconut.. lime, and a new one.. blackberry chocolate! I wanted to try a couple flavors so the mini cupcake at about $1.35 ea was the way to go.


mini "Blue Cupcake" cupcakes @ Lot 44 Coffee.


Look at that yummy filling.. was like biting into a blackberry chocolate truffle. Good stuff!

Whether "National Cupcake Day" was yesterday or December.. Any day is a good day for a cupcake. Seems like Downtown has some good options out there whatever you're wanting.

I think I'll be back. Soon.


Blue Cupcake
Lot 44 Coffee

It's National Night Out!

Downtown/Skid Row Senior Lead Deon Joseph at last year's National Night Out (held in Little Tokyo).

Tonight is National Night Out.. a night out against crime. Block parties will be going on all over the city, and downtown LA is no exception. Downtown neighbors will want to head over to the Paseo Plaza at El Pueblo tonight as the party will be going on there from 6-10pm.

National Night out is a good opportunity to meet your SLO (Senior Lead Officer) in a fun, informal environment.. live music and food and possibly booths with local businesses and neighborhood committees might be there as well.

If you haven't seen it already, check out Downtown News article SLO Patrol about your Downtown Senior Lead Officers.

Believe it or not, the LAPD is very community minded, and the National Night Out is an excellent opportunity (among many) for residents and the community as a whole.

The LAFD should be there as well in a support mode. However, I hear from a very reliable source that they are also happy to meet the community! So say "Hi!" and if you want, thank them for their efforts. In a time of budget cuts, staffing cuts and State-wide deficits, they are still doing a most excellent job and deserve all our support.

PDF List of Events going on around LA

my (fuzzy) 2008 National Night Out flickr set