UN4LA: 2024 in Pictures
In February 2024, Los Angeles made international headlines when scores of graffiti artists scaled the unfinished, abandoned Oceanwide Plaza towers in Downtown and covered them with spray paint. Shortly after the LA City Council approved almost $4 million to secure the property. The project’s future is still uncertain.
After almost a century of serving moviegoers in Highland Park, the Highland Theatre closed its doors in March. Movie attendance has been declining for years, and operator Dan Akarakian told the LA Times that the theatre was losing money every week. The building’s owner, Cyrus Etemad, has held out the hope that the Highland could reopen in the future, possibly as a venue for music as well as movies.
In May, the LA City Council approved Mayor Karen Bass’ budget, which involved the elimination of about 1,700 vacant positions in various city departments. The cuts were made to offset the cost of pay raises for LAPD officers and other city employees. While Bass emphasized that closing vacant positions would avoid layoffs, critics argued that the move would quash any hope of improved services in areas such as park maintenance, sidewalk repair and animal shelters.
Recognizing the Yucca Vine Tower as “an excellent example of Art Deco architectural style”, in May the LA City Council approved its designation as a Historic Cultural Monument. Designed by Henry Gogerty, the building is one of many projects the architect worked on in the LA area during a career that spanned five decades. Currently home to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA), tenants over the years have included Gene Autry’s Western Music Publishing, the Motion Picture Daily, the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League, and Chao Praya, one of the first Thai restaurants to open in LA.
In July, the LA County Board of Supervisors voted to put a sweeping reform measure before voters. The measure called for an increase in the number of Supervisors from five to nine, the establishment of a County Ethics Commission, and making the County’s Executive Officer an elected position. The measure was narrowly approved by voters in November.
Copper wire theft has been growing at unprecedented rates in recent years, making it increasingly difficult for local governments to maintain infrastructure, especially streetlights. At the end of July, a copper wire task force which brought together the LAPD and the LA City Bureau of Street Lighting announced the arrests of 82 people and the recovery of 2,000 pounds of copper wire.
Another major sports/entertainment venue premiered in Inglewood this year when the Intuit Dome opened on August 15. The Dome joins SoFi Stadium and the YouTube Theater in Inglewood’s Hollywood Park complex, which spans nearly 300 acres. The Dome serves as the new home for the LA Clippers, and will also host live music events.
Founded in 1971 by Rozzell and Roderick Sykes, St. Elmo Village was conceived as a place where black artists could explore their creativity. Comprised of nine bungalows, a single-family home and an apartment building situated near the intersection of La Brea and Venice, the Village continues to serve as a community for artists. In October the LA City Cultural Heritage Commission recommended that St. Elmo be approved as a Historic Cultural Monument. In its recommendation report, the CHC cited St. Elmo’s association with musician Billy Preston, singer Diana Ross and dancer Lula Washington. The community also played a key role in the formation of the Black Lives Matter movement. [Image above from 2024 application for historic status.]
The former Columbia Ranch backlot in Burbank is being transformed into a state-of-the art production facility with 16 new soundstages and an office complex. Work began in late 2023, and by November of this year the new facility was taking shape on Hollywood Way. Completion is expected in 2025.
As a brutal reminder that California’s fire season continues to grow longer and more devastating, the Franklin Fire erupted in Malibu on December 10 and continued the burn for more than a week as firefighters struggled to contain it. The blaze raged across more than 4,000 acres, forcing residents to evacuate and destroying 20 structures. [Image above from Cal Fire.)
On December 3, the LA City Planning & Land Use Management Committee heard from six groups that had filed appeals of the proposed TVC 2050 Specific Plan, which would allow significant new development on the Television City site at Beverly and Fairfax. Most of the debate focussed on the Environmental Impact Report, which applicant Hackman Capital believed provided an accurate assessment of the project’s impacts to the surrounding community. The appellants repeatedly stated that they were not opposed to new development on the site, but asserted that the Specific Plan gave Hackman too much latitude in deciding what it would build over the next 25 years. Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky argued for approval of the project, claiming that she had obtained significant concessions from the developer. The PLUM Committee voted to deny the appeals. A long legal battle seems almost certain. [Undated image above from 2018 application to grant Television City historic status. The application was approved.]
