Music Center Cast in New Lights in Late Night

0

Music lovers lounging in bean bags, watching an abstract light show against the backdrop of thumping music might sound like the scene at a super-secret party, but it’s actually taking place at downtown L.A.’s Music Center.

The performing arts venue hosted its experiential, all-night event “Sleepless: The Music Center After Hours” earlier this month and offered visitors a rare chance to experience the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in a whole new light, or lights, as it were.

The event, which launched last year, has been so successful that additional dates were added this year.

Ming Ng, who serves as interim head of programs for the Music Center, said visitors often arrive feeling surprised.

“We often hear people say, I’m invited or allowed to come here to do what in a place like this in the wee hours?” Ng said. “And to me that’s very exciting. It has a bit of an underground feel.”

“Sleepless” features local DJs, dance parties, and video installations.

The event runs from 11:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. and is open to all ages. Prices are $20 in advance and $30 at the door.

Visitors are able to bring their own soft seating or lounge on pillows, cushions, and bean bags provided by the center.

Ng said it’s a stark contrast to how the space is normally used. For example, the lobby on the second floor typically hosts educational lectures before performances.

“You can lie down and look up at these amazing visual abstract projections hitting the chandeliers,” she said. “It’s great because it’s asking people to look at us differently.”

Upcoming “Sleepless” dates are June 17, Sept. 23, and Nov. 11.

Matter of Taste

A proposed ballot measure that would clamp down on megabuildings has a sour taste to downtown developers. The Downtown Breakfast Club blasted the proposal as a “lemon” at its 36th annual Roses and Lemon Awards Breakfast last month. The organization of real estate, urban planning, architecture, financing, and government professionals hosts the event to take stock of downtown’s progress – for better or worse.

Club member Hal Bastian, a downtown business consultant, urged smarter city planning rather than enacting the proposal, which is known as the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative.

“Responsible civic leaders grasp the serious problems with L.A.’s current planning process, but this proposal is a reckless response,” Bastian said at the breakfast.

Other projects received more favorable reaction. The club heralded a new Whole Foods and the restored Clifton’s Cafeteria restaurant as game changers for hiring local workers and attracting visitors. The Broad museum won accolades for boosting the cultural profile of Grand Avenue, which is already home to Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Museum of Modern Art. The Broad announced last month that 400,000 people had visited its contemporary art collection since opening in September. The Skid Row Housing Trust was recognized for turning a Victorian-era building in the Historic Core into the New Pershing Apartments – housing for people transitioning out of homelessness.

Crossing to Downtown

Co-working space Cross Campus of Santa Monica has rapidly expanded its facilities across Los Angeles in recent years, opening in Pasadena in 2014 and planning a location in El Segundo at the end of this year. But of all its expansion plans, no project is bigger than its 33,000-square-foot facility set to open downtown on May 1.

The co-working space at Wilshire Boulevard and Flower Street will be able to host up to 600 members. It will also feature a full-service artisanal coffee bar, rejuvenation rooms, and member discounts for massages given by a regularly scheduled masseuse.

“We knew that downtown was an important submarket for us to be in,” said Chief Executive Ronen Olshansky. “The centrality of downtown Los Angeles is so critical. The retail and all the amenities, it feels like they’ve caught up and created a great vibe.”

Downtown has become an important market for co-working companies as the neighborhood is increasingly viewed as a viable place for tech employees to work and live. Santa Monica’s Blankspaces and New York’s WeWork have opened there in recent years.

Given tight parking constraints in downtown, Cross Campus has implemented a proprietary bicycle and car valet app for its members, Olshansky said, adding that the forthcoming Metro Expo Line extension linking downtown to Santa Monica will be helpful for commuters.

“It will be interesting how many people drive versus how many use public transportation,” he said.

Staff reporters Subrina Hudson, Daina Beth Solomon, and Garrett Reim contributed to this column. #DTLA is compiled by Managing Editor Omar Shamout. He can be reached at [email protected].

No posts to display