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BOHEMIAN PARADISE LOST

by

Rebecca Meichi Ford

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF THE ARTS
(PRINT JOURNALISM)

May 2008

Copyright 2008 Rebecca Meichi Ford
ii

Dedication

To all artists,
fledgling and accomplished, starving and satisfied.

iii
Table of Contents

Dedication ii
Abstract iv
Bohemian Paradise Lost 1
Build It, and They Will Come 4
Walking Ahead 6
Urban Cowboy 7
A Place to Call Home 9
“There Were No Rules” 12
Growing, Growing, Grown 14
Bibliography 18

iv

Abstract

In the late 1970s, artists moved into abandoned warehouses in downtown Los
Angeles. They renovated the empty rooms—building kitchens, bathrooms and making
the spaces livable. At the same time, the spacious rooms were perfect for home-studios,
where artists had room to paint and create. Still, the Arts District, bordered by Skid Row,
was considered dangerous, and the streets were abandoned at night.
The artists were alone—in what they regarded as a Bohemian Paradise.
In the past few years, drastic changes have been occurring downtown. As the
entire area grows at a rapid rate in its “renaissance,” the Arts District has become the
trendy place to live—with developers renovating buildings into spacious lofts. With the
new developments comes a wealthier clientele, which also pushes up the rents of older
buildings. And the “starving artists” are being pushed out.

1

Bohemian Paradise Lost

On a sunny afternoon in October, a woman wrapped in a light jacket walks down
Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles, holding the hand of her young daughter. Her
husband walks next to her, gripping the leash of a black Labrador.
“That’s something you would have never seen before—a family downtown,” says
Ed Fuentes, a local graphic designer, as they pass by.
But families are becoming a more common sight in the Los Angeles Arts
District—and artists less so. Lately, Fuentes has noticed a quiet shift of the demographics
of the Los Angeles Arts District. As developers renovate buildings into new, spacious
lofts, and businesses pop up creating a more livable environment, the people calling this
area home are also changing. Fuentes says he has seen an exodus of artists in recent years
from the district—the area of downtown Los Angeles between Fifth and Seventh Street,
Alameda Street and the L.A. River—as the prices of living quarters rise and wealthier
people move to the area for the convenience and ambience.
“People see downtown as livable again,” says Fuentes. “The Arts District inspires
development.”
In the late 1970s, artists were inspired to move into the abandoned warehouses in
downtown Los Angeles. They renovated the empty rooms—building kitchens,
bathrooms, and making the spaces livable. At the same time, the spacious rooms were
perfect for home-studios, where artists had room to paint and create. Still, the area,
2
bordered by Skid Row, was considered dangerous, and the streets were abandoned at
night.
The artists were alone—in what they regarded as a Bohemian Paradise.
In the past few years, drastic changes have been occurring downtown. As the
entire area grows at a rapid rate in its “renaissance,” the Arts District has become the
newest trendy place to live—with developers renovating buildings into spacious lofts.
With the new developments comes a wealthier clientele, which also pushes up the rents
of older buildings. And the “starving artists”—those who built the district when no one
else wanted to live there—are being pushed out. Some say about half of the artists who
once lived there in its prime are gone.
“We’re going to lose these people if we don’t make some kind of arrangement for
them,” said Marc Loge, Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID)
marketing coordinator.
Other residents argue that there has not been such a dramatic change of
demographics in the district. They say that the exodus of some artists pales in comparison
to the potential for a real center to the city of Los Angeles.
“Communities evolve,” said Cecelia Esguerra, screenwriter and blogger of Fifth
and Main. “And if I can't get a downtown loft for $550 per month like I used to because
everyone else thinks downtown is cool too, then I might have been part of the problem in
driving up the price.”
Esguerra, who has lived downtown for sixteen years and had been coming to the
area even before 1992 for the underground club scene, chose to move for the convenience
of walking to work, and being centrally located.
3
“At first I didn’t like it,” she said of the recent expansion of downtown. “I thought
that the influx of new residents would ruin my downtown experience, but people have
come and gone and the ones that stayed have greatly enhanced this community.”
Esguerra does not currently live in the Arts District, but in the neighboring
Historic Core, the area between Hill and Main streets and Third and Ninth streets. She
noted that there were plenty of artists living in her building, even though it is not in the
Arts District.
But regardless of where artists live downtown, as the city builds so does a demand
for low-cost housing. “I think there should be more affordable housing throughout the
city, not just in downtown, and not just for artists,” said Esguerra in an interview. “On
many levels, it is bad when you have to live far away from work because that's all you
can afford. If there were shared prosperity and affordable housing for all income levels,
then I have no doubt that downtown would have more than its fair share of creative types
living here.”
In a city where a commute to work can easily take over an hour, Arts District
living has become a popular choice because of the convenience of living within walking
distance from work. Also, while the median price of a home in Los Angeles hovers
around $472,000, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a loft in downtown can
average anywhere form $300,000 to $400,000. People in their 20s and 30s are also
attracted to downtown because of the art scene and budding nightlife.
The sprawling city of Los Angeles has sometimes been called a city looking for a
center. The potential for downtown to become an anchor for the city has sparked the
4
recent avalanche of growth, including hundreds of renovated and new residences, a major
grocery store, and two monumental projects which will be worth over $5 billion.

Build It, and They Will Come
Ed Fuentes wanted out.
Working for a Hollywood film magazine on the Westside, Fuentes craved an
escape from the confines and suffocation of corporate life.
He packed his bags, left his job and moved away from the Westside to a loft on
Second Street and Santa Fe Avenue in the Arts District in September of 1998.
“It was the image and romance of living in a loft downtown,” said Fuentes who is
currently a photographer, graphic designer and blogger of View From a Loft. “There was
the availability of space, and I wanted to see if this artists’ environment would be
inspiring.”
Sitting at a café on Fifth and Spring Street, Fuentes keeps his camera around his
neck, snapping pictures of local events: a car being towed as the owners try to argue their
way out of it, a local fashion designer from a reality show jay–walking across the street,
and ashes falling from the sky from Malibu’s recurrent fires.
Today, the image and romance of the Arts District are attracting people other than
artists. But how many more people are moving downtown? Because the U.S. Bureau of
the Census statistics include large areas beyond the borders of Downtown, including the
highly-dense areas of Central City West, Chinatown and a part of East Los Angeles, the
Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID) performed its own
5
demographic survey. Its 2006 report estimated the downtown population at 28,878, a 21
percent increase in the population from 23,894 residents in 2004.
“Most residents moving downtown are between 25 and 35 years old, with sizable
disposable incomes, making $100,000 or more per year,” said Carol Schatz, executive
director of the DCBID, to The Washington Post. “And they are moving here because they
want a cool, hip, nontraditional living experience.”
The Downtown Center Business Improvement District is a coalition of nearly 480
property owners “united in their commitment to enhance the quality of life in Downtown
Los Angeles,” according to its official website.
Founded in 1998, the DCBID funds the Purple Patrol, a group which tries to
improve the safety and cleanliness of downtown, as well as business retention and
recruitment programs, and acts as a housing and investment resource for potential
residents and developers.
The DCBID also provides marketing programs such as special events,
promotional offers, advertising campaigns and public relations efforts to both businesses
and consumers.
Since the passage of the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance in 1999, over 7,000 new
housing units have opened in downtown Los Angeles and more than 7,500 additional
residential units are currently under construction. These currently under construction
units are expected to help generate 36,400 jobs and $5.4 billion in direct and indirect
business revenues, according to a report released by the DCBID.
The Adaptive Reuse Ordinance was passed in 1999 in hopes of revitalizing
downtown by allowing older buildings to be converted into residential and commercial
6
spaces by expediting the review process and providing financial and zoning incentives.
"It's been one of the great municipal success stories in urban planning nationwide," said
Ken Bernstein, head of the city's Office of Historic Preservation to the Los Angeles
Business Journal. "It has reached such proportions that it should be viewed as a national
model in municipal planning."

Walking Ahead
On a cool December evening, two homeless men in oversized black jackets argue
on the corner of Fifth and Main Street. On the opposite corner, a three piece band plays a
jazz song. Behind them, the lights from Bert Green’s gallery illuminate the dark streets as
people walk from art gallery to art gallery during the Arts District’s monthly free, self-
guided art walk. More than 30 galleries open their doors to the walkers.
Since its founding in 2004, the Downtown Art Walk has grown in size and vision.
More galleries have opened and crowds have expanded, especially around the epicenter
of Fifth and Main streets.
Last year, the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council took another key
step by organizing a special DASH bus to run a circular route around the Art Walk. The
DASH shuttle provides free tours of the art walk loop, going north on Main Street and
south on Spring Street from 2nd to 9th Streets. Local historians give tours on DASH
shuttles, orienting newcomers to the loop. One of the tour guides, Richard Schave, who
also has his own Los Angeles bus tour company, Esotouric, pilots one of the busses
around the loop to orient first-time art walkers.
7
“I think that about two years ago [the art walk] hit the tipping point and everyone
knows about it,” said Schave. “It is a generally accepted form of entertainment in Los
Angeles. Anyone who has any cultural awareness of the city knows it, goes to it.”
A few years ago, the streets in the Arts District would have been deserted come
sundown, but tonight they buzz as people float from gallery to gallery.
“I think that downtown is gentrifying much faster than other areas that I’ve
witnessed gentrify,” said Richard Schave. “I used to live in New York City, and I think
downtown [Los Angeles] is gentrifying a lot faster.”
During the January 2008 art walk, community activist and urban cowboy Brady
Westwater’s many brainchildren came to life with the Comedy Walk, as 30 comedians
preformed in empty warehouses around the Historic Core.
“I think that downtown Los Angeles has been ignored for 50 years,” said Schave.
“And now it’s starting to get some attention and the world is looking at it.”
Responding to the developers who are renovating older buildings, and building
new ones, Schave is wary of the massive growth. “They do a lot of things and they say a
lot of things and they think that maybe 100 people are watching, but the whole world is
watching,” he warned.

Urban Cowboy
Downtown Los Angeles has always been the center of Brady Westwater’s
universe. Or “ranch” might be a better term, as the 55-year-old often strolls down the
urban sidewalk in a cowboy hat and wrestling t-shirt.
8
He grew up within walking distance of downtown. Later on, he moved to Malibu,
but says he still came downtown every week. In the late 90s, Westwater moved back to
the Arts District to “retire” and became a full-time community activist. He is
representative of some of the unusual and passionate people that downtown attracts.
“I was a professional street fighter for ten years. Ten years of cowboy stuff,” said
Westwater in an interview. He often strikes some as eccentric with his wild stories of his
past.
“Screenwriter, television, real estate and development, horse breaking and beating
up people for money.” Today, he is one of the most active and outspoken proponents of
downtown.
Westwater’s blog, LA Cowboy, often documents his adventures in downtown. On
New Years Day he wrote:
I headed out to a New Year's party in the San Fernando Building - just a
block away—which was the very first of the new loft buildings to open
up…In less than one block, with the intent of only attending one brief
party—I spent an hour and a half with five different groupings of friends
and acquaintances. And when I tried to recall what that walk would have
been like even last New Year's Eve - much less the year the San Fernando
Building first opened—much less the year I first moved down here—it can
all seem like a fantastic dream from which I will all too soon wake up.

Noting the enormous change of the downtown scene—from an area deemed too
dangerous to live in to an urban center of art and business—Westwater points out the
growth of the Arts District into a mature community.
Overall, he is optimistic about the exploding development of Arts District. He
believes that people should be closer to their jobs, and have the opportunity to create
workspaces in their residences.
9
When asked about the artists, Westwater acknowledges the need for affordable
housing in the Arts District. But he also says that artists need to find a way to make ends
meet. “In Los Angeles, we don’t have enough artists who can live off their art yet,” he
said. Westwater says he knows artists working in the film industry who make enough
money to keep up with the rising rents. He says more artists need to find venues for their
talents to make more money.
“Someday, I am going to find somebody who can work with me to find a way to
have artist housing developed,” he said in an interview. “It is necessary to have reserved
spaces for artists. Instead of whining about it, you need to actively make it happen.”
Lilli Muller, a plaster artist who has lived in an Arts District loft bordering Skid
Row for 16 years, says affordable housing for artists is not a possibility in the present
time. Most artists make too much money to qualify for low-cost housing that is available,
and there is no incentive for developers to build artist-only housing.
“It is a bad situation,” she says. “I don’t think it’s going to improve, personally.
I’m not counting on it.”

A Place to Call Home
On an evening in October, three residents of Unit 108 threw a cocktail party in
their 1960s décor loft. In Unit 408, a group of residents lounged around in their pajamas,
making salad, playing guitar and discussing art theory.
None of them were really residents. And the units were only display models. The
event was the opening of the Barker Block Lofts, the newest lofts built by the
development firm the Kor Group, to open in the Arts District.
10
“These artists, and all the present and future members of the Barker Block
community, are using art to redefine how Angelenos live, work and find inspiration,” said
Tyson Sayles, Kor Group Executive Vice President, Acquisitions in a press release.
“Downtown Los Angeles Arts District is now a real rival to other metropolitan downtown
loft districts.”
While seeming to cater to artists, the Barker Block provides only market-rate
work/live spaces. The $75 million project has already sold a third of the units to residents
with prices advertised starting at $400,000.
Additionally, the 297-unit Barker Block building will hold a wide variety of
commercial space, including a film prop shop, Reel Appeal, and a nonprofit arts
organization, Arte Calidad Cultural Institute, which provides job training. A furniture
store and a dog grooming daycare center are also slated to open in the near future.
But Tim Keating, president of the Los Angeles River Artists and Business
Association, criticizes the Kor Group for not giving anything back to the community.
While he says that the neighborhood council has a policy to encourage 20 percent
affordable housing, it is becoming clear to him that developers are interested in building
only market-rate housing.
“It’s depressing. Very depressing,” said Keating. “I will talk to a friend and we’ll
say, ‘Whatever happened to Ed?’ and someone will tell us he moved to Palmdale.” While
some buildings are owned by artist-friendly landlords, they are becoming scarce as the
area continues to grow and develop.
11
While Keating spends a few days per week working in the film industry, he
focuses most of his time on creating a livable Arts District. He says he thinks there were
about 4,000 artists living downtown a few years ago, but now there are only about 2,000.
“The city has an obligation to build affordable housing for upcoming artists,” says
Keating, who is still hopeful that they can build at least 100 units of artist housing in the
near future.
Keating is optimistic about one of the newest developments for the Arts District,
the One Santa Fe Project. Adjacent to the L.A. River, the proposed building stretches
over three blocks, and reaches 70 feet in height.
The $140 million project has been met with criticism, however, because of its size
and scope. Called an “eyesore” by some, the project would run along Santa Fe Avenue,
and would replace the chain-linked-fence-enclosed Metro Rail car repair depot.
The 500,000-square-foot development would include 439 rental units, retail
space, and the addition of dozens of trees. Most importantly to Keating, the project
includes a 5,000-square-foot arts community that the developer, McGregor Co., would
lease to Keating’s neighborhood art community for $1 per year.
“They are taking over an ugly train track, and building it in such a way that it is
going to be one of the most reasonable housing rentals in Los Angeles,” said Brady
Westwater in defense of the project.
But others, such as the group behind the website opposing the development,
www.onesantafe.org, object to the scale of the project, calling it a “massive wall”, and
say it will “create an imbalance between artists and residential dwellers in the Arts
12
District.” Their official opposition statement also claims that the development will not
offer any Artist-In-Residence apartments.
McGregor Co. responded to the flyers from the opposition with an official
statement arguing that it had shaped the project based on the feedback they received from
the community. They also pointed out that there would be a rental complex geared
toward the adjacent Southern California Institute of Architecture’s students, and
Metropolitan Transit Authority employees.
“It has been carefully designed to ensure that it does not overwhelm the
neighborhood by incorporating pass through walkways that create view corridors,” said
Chuck Cowley, senior vice president at McGregor Co. in a press release responding to
the criticism of the project. “And also preserve neighborhood access to future L.A. River
recreation opportunities while at the same time providing community serving retail stores
and shops.”
Currently, the project is been approved by several neighborhood organizations,
including Keating’s Los Angeles River Artists and Business Assn., the Historical
Cultural Neighborhood Council, and the Southern California Institute of Architecture.
While it has been approved by the Los Angeles Planning Commission, the City Council
must still give the project the green light before groundbreaking can begin.

“There Were No Rules”
The first wave of artists moved into the Arts District in the 1970s. They moved
into older, abandoned industrial buildings and renovated them, often in secret.
13
In 1981, the City of Los Angeles passed the “Artists in Residence” (AIR)
ordinance, allowing downtown artists to legally live and work in an industrial zone
provided they passed all local building and safety codes. As long as the building was up
to fire, health and safety requirements including plumbing and electrical, the artist could
combine his or her work space and living quarters. This led to a surge of artists moving
downtown, and a plethora of gallery openings.
“In the 80s and 90s, it was kind of a free-for-all,” said Tim Keating. “There were
no rules, no sets of tradition we were breaking.”
But Keating points out that the “Artists in Residence” ordinance is enforced by
landlords, “which means it is not enforced at all,” he says. Other artists point out that the
term “artist” can be interpreted loosely to include people in the film industry and graphic
designers who make much more money than the average watercolor artist.
“Maybe the market that will end up living here is graphic artists,” mused Keating,
who moved into the Arts District in 1984. He was paying as little as $825 per month for
his 1,200-square-foot loft. In 2005, his building was bought, and his rent jumped to
$2,000 per month.
“It’s life or death time for the Arts District,” says Keating, who was able to buy
into one of the early condo projects in the district. “I think it’s going to live.”
The second wave of artists flowed into downtown in the 1990s. They included
Jim Fittipaldi, who started Bedlam, an underground art space on Molino Street. Over the
years, Bedlam became an epicenter for art activities, housing hundreds of parties, shows,
and events.
14
“Before there was an art scene on Fifth and Main, there was Bedlam,” said
Richard Schave. “Bedlam was truly an underground art scene.”
In 2000, in order to avoid rising rents, Bedlam was moved to 1275 E. Sixth St.,
where it continued to anchor the southern end of the Arts District. However, in 2006,
Bedlam was unable to keep up with the rising rent, and closed.
“There was a tremendous art scene, but it was very diverse,” said local historian
Schave. “I really think the downtown art scene was a bunch of quiet epiphanies.” The
quiet art scene of the past contrasts to the wide spread growth of today, said Schave.

Growing, Growing, Grown
With hundreds of projects on the horizon, it is difficult to accurately predict what
the future of the Arts District will be. Many artists are demanding affordable housing,
while others accept the change of the area as inevitable. Most agree that the Arts District
provides a unique living environment that cannot be found in other areas of this
sprawling city.
“Friends ask me all the time if I would consider living anywhere else,” Cecelia
Esguerra recently wrote on her blog, 5
th
and Spring. “I can't think of any reason why I
would want to live anywhere else in Los Angeles.”
In an interview, Esguerra predicted that in twenty years downtown Los Angeles
will be “a world class city.”
Richard Schave is not as optimistic of the future of the Arts District. “I think
downtown is going to look like a big fucking mall in 20 years,” said Schave. “I hope to
God there will be parks.”
15
The development of downtown is anchored by several major projects that have
recently been finished, or are still in the construction phase. A grocery store, the Grand
Project, and L.A. Live are in various phases of production. They will provide downtown
visitors and residents with produce, parks and play time.
In July 2007, Ralphs grocery store opened in downtown. While a grocery store
opening is not usually an event of epic proportions, for downtown, this was huge. It was
the first major grocery store downtown in 57 years, and a reflection of the need for a
livable downtown.
At Ninth and Flower, the line formed around the corner on opening day of the
50,000 sq. ft. store. Somewhat of a homecoming for the grocery store chain, which
opened its first store downtown in 1873, the store returned new and improved—providing
not only organic produce, but a dry cleaner, coffee shop, pharmacy and sushi bar.
"Ralphs is pleased to be the first full-service supermarket to serve the residents of
downtown Los Angeles and we are proud to be a part of the ongoing redevelopment of
downtown Los Angeles," said Dave Hirz, president of Ralphs Supermarkets in a press
release. "We hope the opening of our new downtown supermarket will provide an
impetus for further residential and business development in the area."
If downtown Los Angeles is supposed to be the new heart of the city, then The
Grand Avenue Project is touted as the heart of the heart of the city. Construction work
has already begun on the $2.1 billion project, which is located on Grand Ave. next to the
Walt Disney Concert Hall. The plan, which is slated to be completed by 2011, includes
entertainment venues, restaurants, and retail stores mixed with a hotel and up to 2600
16
new housing units. The tower designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry will
combine 126 market rate condominiums with 98 units of affordable housing.
Consuming 3.6 million square feet of development, the project is aimed to create
a center of activity and entertainment downtown and also includes a much-anticipated 16-
acre park. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will manage the 275-room hotel that will
occupy the first 20 floors of the 48-story tower.
The project is estimated to create 29,000 construction-related jobs and 5,900 long-
term jobs, and will generate more than $615 million in revenues annually along with an
estimated $105 million annually in tax revenues, according to the a study performed by
the Downtown Center Business Improvement District.
On the other side of downtown, adjacent to the Staples Center, the L.A. Live
sports and entertainment project has already completed its first phase, the much-
anticipated Nokia Theatre, a 7,100 seat concert and awards show venue. The other phases
include a bowling alley, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and 12 restaurants.
The Nokia Theater and other facilities at this $2.5 billion dollar development are
expected to produce a $10 billion economic impact, create more than 25,000 jobs, and
produce more than $18 million in new annual tax revenues.
“To be sure, Downtown Los Angeles is not yet Manhattan,” said Sam Hall
Kaplan, former design critic for the Los Angeles Times, in his column in the Los Angeles
Downtown News. “It has a long, long way to go before it achieves cosmopolitan urbanity,
whether modeled after New York or wherever, or, as I hope, evolving into something
unique that speaks to L.A.’s distinct culture and climate.”
17
Ed Fuentes agrees that it is hard to predict which way downtown will grow.
“There is no where to go but up,” he said. “I am curious to see what downtown will look
like. If people are still here.”
A friend of Fuentes is a young District Attorney, who has recently moved into a
loft in the Arts District. At a dinner party in 2007, the D.A. said he was concerned that
soon he would not be able to afford to live in the area. Fuentes responded that people like
the D.A. were the ones that were taking over the artists’ residences. And now even they
were worried about being forced out by the rising prices.
“There will always be bigger fish coming in,” said Fuentes.

18

Bibliography

$3 Billion Grand Avenue Project Starts Construction. Press Release. 4 Dec 2007.

Bernstein, Sharon and David Pierson. “L.A. Aims for a More Urbanized Downtown.”
Los Angeles Times 8 Aug 2007.

Bloomekatz, Ari B. “Artists Are Sharply Divided Over Project Near L.A. River.” Los
Angeles Times 9 Nov 2007.

Booth, William. “Angelenos’ New Refrain: ‘I Love (Downtown) L.A.’” The Washington
Post 30 Sep 2007.

Cornerstone News. “Barker Blocks Lofts Grand Opening,” Press release. 12 Oct 2007.

Cowley, Chuck. “One Santa Fe Project,” Press release. 25 Sept 2007.

DataQuick Information Systems. “Southland Home Sales Slowest For Any Month in 20
Years.” 13 Feb 2007.

DiMassa, Cara Mia. “A Suburb Sprouts in Downtown L.A.” The Los Angeles Times 19
July 2007.

Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID). Downtown Renaissance
Economic Impact Study. Los Angeles: 14 Feb 2006.

Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID). The Downtown Los
Angeles Market Report & Demographic Survey of New Downtown Residents.
Los Angeles: February 2007.

Downtown Center Business Improvement District. About Us. 2004. 4 Jan 2007. <
http://www.downtownla.com/about_us.asp>.

Esguerra, Celia. “Freaks Come Out Downtown.” 5
th
and Spring Blog. 27 Feb 2005.

Esguerra, Celia. Personal interview. 20 Dec 2007.

Fuentes, Ed. Personal interview. 24 Oct 2007.

Herman, Robert D and Maria Gorsuch. Downtown Los Angeles: A Walking Guide. New
York: Gem Guides, 2000.

Kaplan, Sam Hall. “Suck It Up, L.A.” Los Angeles Downtown News 10 Sep 2007.

19
Keating, Tim. Personal interview. 30 Oct 2007.

Loge, Marc. Personal interview. 3 Nov 2007.

Lopez, Steve. “He’s King; the L.A. Loft Scene His Throne.” Los Angeles Times 14 Oct
2007.

Miller, Daniel. “Adaptive Reuse Has Changed the Look of L.A.” Los Angeles Business
Journal 12 Feb 2007.

Muller, Lilli. Personal interview. 4 Mar 2008.

Pomfret, John. “Downtown Los Angeles Gets a $10 Billion Remake.” The Washington
Post 2 Jan 2006.

Ralphs Grocery Company. “Ralphs to Open First Supermarket in Downtown Los
Angeles in More Than 50 Years.” Press release. 19 July 2007.

Schave, Richard. Personal interview. 12 Jan 2008.

Scott, Allen John and Edward W. Soja. The City: Los Angeles and Urban Theory at the
End of the Twentieth Century. Los Angeles: University of California, 1996.

Scott, Anna. “New Kids on the Barker Block.” Los Angeles Downtown News 18 Jan
2008.

Starr, Kevin. Personal interview. 26 Nov 2007.

Westwater, Brady. “A Historic Downtown New Years Eve.” LA Cowboy Blog 31 Dec
2007.

Westwater, Brady. Personal interview. 28 Nov 2007.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract In the late 1970s, artists moved into abandoned warehouses in downtown Los Angeles. They renovated the empty rooms building kitchens, bathrooms and making the spaces livable. At the same time, the spacious rooms were perfect for home-studios, where artists had room to paint and create. Still, the Arts District, bordered by Skid Row, was considered dangerous, and the streets were abandoned at night.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Ford, Rebecca Meichi (author)

Core Title Bohemian paradise lost

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Journalism (Print Journalism)

Degree Conferral Date 2008-05

Publication Date 04/21/2008

Defense Date 04/01/2008

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Arts District,Los Angeles,OAI-PMH Harvest

Place Name Los Angeles (city or populated place)

Language English

Advisor Nelson, Bryce (committee chair), Flick, Robbert (committee member), Pryor, Lawrence (committee member)

Creator Email Beccamford@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m1175

Unique identifier UC1282041

Identifier etd-Ford-20080421 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-59547 (legacy record id),usctheses-m1175 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Ford-20080421.pdf

Dmrecord 59547

Document Type Thesis

Rights Ford, Rebecca Meichi

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu