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U R B A N V I L L AG E : W I N T ER 2 017/2 018

WEST HOLLYWOOD MAGAZINE

IS WEST HOLLYWOOD AN URBAN VILLAGE? That depends on how you define the term, which emerged in the 1980s. Its most prominent early user was the U.K.’s Prince of Wales, who outlined the concept in his book “A Vision for Britain.”

P U B L I S H E R /E D I TO R- I N - C H I E F Henry E. (Hank) Scott henry@westhollywoodmag.net C R E AT I V E D I R EC TO R Allana Johnson allana@yokcreative.com S A L E S & M A R K E T I N G D I R EC TO R Doug Stichler Doug@WeHoMediaCo.com

Urban planners denote an urban village as a place with medium-density housing, zoning that allows for both homes and business, good public transportation and an emphasis on walkability and public space such as parks. The City of West Hollywood meets all those criteria, although we have some work to do on public transit (Metro is coming, eventually).

BUT PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANT, IS THAT WEST HOLLYWOOD IS

CO N T R I B U TO R S James Mills: Writer (The Urban Village) Michael Jortner: Writer (The Getaway: Palm Springs) Edward Ipp: Copy Editor

A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE GET TO

A DV E R T I S I N G (323) 454-7707 advertising@westhollywoodmag.net

Who could imagine that a city that spans only 1.89 square miles could have seven officially designated neighborhoods? And then there are the various business districts -- the Sunset Strip, Boystown, the Design District and those that haven’t yet been labeled on the city’s Eastside and Center City.

FO L LOW U S westhollywoodmag.net facebook.com/westhollywoodmag.net instagram @westhollywoodmagazine

KNOW THEIR NEIGHBORS AND CARE ABOUT THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.

rants and grocery stores on the east side of Santa Monica Boulevard. If celebrity is what thrills you there are restaurants such as Craig’s and Catch you can visit. Missing New York City’s Jewish cuisine? Stop by Greenblatt’s on Sunset Boulevard, known since its opening in 1926 for its homemade matzo ball soup and Reuben and corned beef sandwiches. (And of course there is the classic Cantor’s on Fairfax Avenue, part of what we call Greater WeHo). If you live in and love West Hollywood because it’s an urban village, there are ways to take advantage of that. One is to join one of the city’s many neighborhood associations, which are mentioned in the stories that follow. Another is to sign up for one of the 17 Neighborhood Watch groups. The purpose of those groups is getting neighbors to work together to reduce crime. Joining them also is a great way to make friends who care as much about their neighborhood as you do. You can find a list of them on the city’s website at http://www. weho.org/services/public-safety/neighborhood-watch/neighborhood-watchgroups.

By Henry E. (Hank) Scott Hank Scott is editor and publisher of WEHOville. com and West Hollywood Magazine.

All in all, the best way to enjoy WeHo’s urban village vibe is to walk its sidewalks rather than drive and remember to stop from time to time and bend down and say hello to your neighbors’ dogs. There’s no better way to become part of the West Hollywood family!

The fact that West Hollywood is the central location in an urban community that includes downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Glendale and Pasadena also reinforces its urbanity. West Hollywood is also a cosmopolitan village. You can get a literal taste of Eastern Europe by stopping by the restauWHMC, 1138 Hacienda Place, No. 211, West Hollywood, CA 90069. 323.454.7707. 16

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WEHOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 7 NEIGHBORHOODS

E XPLORE WEHO

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e d i s t s a E

MIKE DOLAN

PHOTO COURTESY OF DOMAIN WEHO

happen. But at the same time, there’s a lot of history and a lot of neighborhood here too.” With four large retail-residential buildings (the Dylan, Huxley, Avalon and Domain) having opened in the past three years, the face of the Eastside has changed dramatically in the area near La Brea. But longtime resident Mike Dolan says those six- and seven-story buildings are helping give the Eastside the feeling of a city, and also helping it move away from its grittier past, which is still evident on some stretches of Santa Monica Boulevard.

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P H OTO CO U R T E S Y O F AVA LO N

PH OTO CO U RTE S YO F TH E H U X LE Y

MORE DIVERSE AND ECLEC TIC THAN ANY OTHER WEST HOLLY WOOD NEIGHBORHOOD

HOLLY WOOD NEIGHBORHOOD, THE EASTSIDE IS EXPERIENCING A RESURGENCE THANKS TO NEW DEVELOPMENT AND NEW PEOPLE MOVING IN. Made up of the areas south of Fountain Avenue and north of Willoughby Avenue, between Fairfax Avenue and La Brea Avenue, the Eastside is the panhandle of West Hollywood (or the gun barrel if you prefer to view the city as shaped like a gun).

“There’s an energy on the street that’s been missing until recently,” says Dolan. “It feels like the Eastside has finally grown up. Those big buildings [along La Brea and Santa Monica Boulevard] create a city effect.”

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TOD HALLMAN

PHOTO COURTESY OF LORELEY THE BEER GARDEN

PH OTO CO U RTE S Y O F TH E DY L A N A PA RTM E NT S

“The Eastside is a vibrant, exciting place to be,” says longtime resident Tod Hallman. “It’s experiencing a revitalization, and I am hopeful for the possibilities of things that are going to

Indeed, the Eastside is no longer a sleepy place. Clubs like Harlowe (7321 Santa Monica Boulevard, at Fuller Avenue) and Bar Lubitsch (7702 Santa Monica Boulevard, at Stanley Avenue) are bringing nightlife to the Eastside. Meanwhile, Loreley (1201 La Brea, at Lexington), the German beer garden that opened in late 2016, draws people from the neighborhood and beyond. 21

E S PEC I A L LY U P WA R D LY M O B I L E S I N G L E WO M EN .

A “ H I P S T ER ” C ROW D O F YO U N G , U P WA R D LY M O B I L E PEO PL E ,

Single Women

G AY A N D S T R A I G H T, YO U N G A N D O L D

With these changes, the Eastside is also experiencing an identity crisis. “What you’re seeing on the Eastside is a lot of different realities,” explains Steve Martin, who moved to the Eastside in 2014 from the Tri-West neighborhood. “Long-term residents are having one experience, while the new people moving in are having a different experience. They’re not connected to the businesses that used to be there. They’re not looking back with nostalgia, but are looking forward and seeing the possibilities for the area.” The area was once made up almost entirely of Craftsmen-style and Spanish Colonial revival single-family homes. Over the decades, apartment buildings replaced many of those homes, but enough remain to give you the idea of what the area looked like a century ago. With Hollywood surrounding the Eastside on three sides, many think of it as more a part of Hollywood than West Hollywood. In fact, back in 2010 when Adam Bass moved into an apartment on the Eastside from the nearby Fairfax district in Los Angeles, he proudly told his friends he had moved into West Hollywood proper. However, when he told them he was living on Ogden Drive, many of them responded, “That’s not West Hollywood. No, you live nearby.” Even when people thought of the Eastside as part of West Hollywood proper, they tended to view it more as an “ugly stepchild.” That attitude likely arose in large part because of the industrial businesses once based on the Eastside, like a cement factory and a plating shop. Similarly, many businesses that supported the motion picture industry were housed here. Ruth Williams, who has lived on the Eastside since 1948, reports the area was originally referred to as the “East End.” Shortly after West Hollywood was incorporated in 1984, she pushed to have it called the “Eastside” to match calling the other end of the city as the “Westside.” “I felt the names should be equal, Westside and Eastside,” says Williams. “I took offense at calling it the East End. That name gave the feeling it was ‘less than’ the Westside.” The Eastside is where many Russian emigrants settled in the last half of the 20th Century. Even today, many signs in the area are still written in both Rus-

sian and English. Likewise, many businesses still cater to the Russian community. There’s even a Russian library near Plummer Park. That Russian influence helps give the area a different feel from other parts of the city. Life moves at a slower pace and family plays a much more significant role on the Eastside. This is the part of town where you’ll find a wider cross-section of generations, from babies to great grandparents, all living together, or near each other. The area also has a strong mix of gay and straight, young and old, married and single, as well as many other ethnicities. As the Russian population is dying off, or moving away, they are being replaced a “hipster” crowd of young, upwardly mobile people, especially upwardly mobile single women. “The new demographic is single women,” reports Mike Dolan. “A decade ago, you didn’t see many young, upwardly mobile women living here, but now you do.” The Eastside dates back to the 1870s when Captain Eugenio Plummer built a six-room, adobe-style house on his large ranchero, which extended all the way to what is now the Hollywood Bowl. Plummer gradually sold off parcels of his land and also allowed his backyard to be used as a community park where a dance pavilion and barbeque pits once stood. Today, Plummer Park is the centerpiece of the Eastside and plays a central role in the lives of many residents, much more so than the parks in other areas of town. “There’s an old-world feeling to Plummer Park,” says Stephanie Harker who has lived beside the park for 35 years. “People use the park like they do parks in Europe. They’ll spend the entire day there. They meet their friends there.

The park really is an extension of their living room.” Back in 2012, the city planned to close off the central portion of the park to dig a 179-space underground parking garage as part of a $41 million makeover of Plummer Park. While some residents favored the upgrades, many others felt the extensive redesign would completely change the character of the neighborhood park. Harker successfully spearheaded an effort to halt the park construction just a few weeks before it was scheduled to begin, something that ultimately proved to be fortuitous as Sacramento snatched away a large portion of the park redevelopment money during a state budget crisis in 2012. Now that the economy has improved, the city will likely soon begin holding public meetings to discuss a more modest park makeover. In the meantime, Plummer Park continues to be heavily used throughout the day. However, Adam Bass would like to see it used even more, wishing the city would use it more often for official functions and events. “There’s a sense of community that happens when we have large community gatherings,” says Bass. “We could foster that more on the Eastside with more events in Plummer Park. We don’t always have to go to the Westside when we get together as a city for rallies and events.” Ruth Williams hopes the city will open a substation of the Sheriff’s department in, or near, Plummer Park. She notes that not only would response times be quicker, it would help the neighborhood feel more connected to the deputies. The Eastside is also home to one of the oldest motion picture studios in the region, Pickfair Studios, opened in 1919 and later acquired by stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Located on the

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“ T H E R E ’ S A S E N S E O F C O M M U N I T Y T H AT H A P P E N S W H E N W E H A V E L A R G E C O M M U N I T Y G AT H E R I N G S . . . ” southwest corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Formosa Avenue, today the studio is now known as The Lot. Films like “West Side Story” (1961), “Some Like It Hot” (1959), and “Wuthering Heights” (1939) were shot there. More recently, the TV series “True Blood” filmed at The Lot. While The Lot continues to do a lot of business, some residents wish the city would do something to honor the city’s motion picture history and the films shot there. Meanwhile, the Eastside is home to the only remaining movie theatre in the city limits, the Studs theatre (7734 Santa Monica Boulevard, at Spaulding Avenue), which is one of only two adult theatres in Greater Los Angeles and which shows both gay and straight porn films. With the new energy and new development happening, many hope it will bring in new restaurants and stores (several say they want to see clothing stores). Steve Martin reports the neighborhood desperately needs a good coffeeshop where people can linger over their laptops or meet up with friends. Ruth Williams says more neighborhood-serving businesses are needed like a dry cleaner or laundromat on the eastern side of the Eastside. A major problem confronting the Eastside

is the homeless population. While homelessness is an issue throughout West Hollywood, it seems most pronounced on the Eastside, especially in Plummer Park. The Eastside has historically been a draw for the homeless. In the 1990s, there was a homeless shelter on the block where the Target now stands. Likewise, until a few years ago, the West Hollywood Food Coalition fed homeless people nightly at the corner of Romaine Street and Sycamore Avenue (just across the WeHo border in Los Angeles). Today, the Coalition still feeds the homeless there on weekend nights. Despite all that, the area is still home. Ruth Williams moved to the Eastside as a child and even after she married, opted to live on the Eastside. Tod Hallman first moved to the Eastside in the early 1980s. Over the years, he’s moved away several times (sometimes to other states, sometimes to other parts of Los Angeles), but keeps moving back to the Eastside. Both Williams and Hallman explain it simply, “The Eastside is home.”

The most populous of the West Hollywood neighborhoods, Center City is home to one fifth of the city’s 37,000 people. Comprised of the areas below Sunset Boulevard to the city’s southern border (Waring Avenue, Willoughby Avenue or Romaine Street, depending on which block you’re on) between La Cienega Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, Center City may be densely populated, but residents describe it as cozy and quiet. With tree-lined streets, the area feels residential, yet also urban since two major commercial corridors are nearby on Sunset Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard. It’s an easy place to get to know your neighbors, especially if you have a dog (which most people do). This is a neighborhood of renters. The vast majority of the buildings are apartments, although a few have been converted to condominiums. Only a handful of single-family homes or duplexes remain.

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NADIA SUTTON

#MOSTPOPULARNEIGHBORHOOD

y t i C r e t n Ce

“ I T F E E L S R E A L , I T F E E L S G R I T T Y. . .”

“This area tends to be younger because there are so many renters,” says Stacey Jones, who has lived in Center City for 12 years. “It’s also incredibly diverse because there are so many renters.” That’s not to say there aren’t longterm residents here. Nadia Sutton has lived in Center City for 22 years and wouldn’t consider living anywhere else. “It feels real, it feels gritty; there are some beautiful parts and some gritty parts,” says Sutton. “It’s not slick and shiny like Beverly Hills. It feels like a true neighborhood.” The styles of the apartment buildings range from contemporary to mid-century modern to Spanish Colonial revival to art deco to French Colonial revival to eclectic and everything in between. Oh sure, there are plenty of nondescript apartment buildings in the area, but there are also some true gems.

Nowhere is that range of architectural styles more evident on a single block 28

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than on Hayworth Avenue, where walking between Sunset and Fountain offers a time-capsule of the many styles popular over the decades.

CENTER CITY BOASTS A HISTORIC “COURTYARD THEMATIC DISTRICT,” CENTERED PRIMARILY ALONG HARPER AVENUE NORTH OF FOUNTAIN, FEATURING AN

STYLE APARTMENT BUILDINGS DATING BACK TO THE 1920S AND 1930S. Center City also features a number of ornate, historically designated larger apartment buildings built in the 1920s and 1930s that were designed to appeal to people in the motion picture industry. Among them are La Fontaine (southwest corner of Fountain and Crescent Heights Boulevard), El Mirador (northeast corner of Fountain and Sweetzer Avenue), Colonial House (Havenhurst Avenue, near Sunset), Villa Italia (Crescent Heights at Norton Avenue) and Savoy Plaza (Crescent Height, near Sunset). The area is also home to the historically designated Schindler House. Built in 1922, this ahead-ofits-time, modern style home offered a radical departure from the contemporary concept of a single-family house. Located at 833 Kings Road, near Willoughby, the Schindler House is now home to the nonprofit MAK Center for Art and Architecture and is open for tours or private events.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THEMAK CENTER FOR ART AND ARCHITECTURE

PHOTO COURTESY OF THEMAK CENTER FOR ART AND ARCHITECTURE R O G E R I O C A RVA L H E I R O

“If you’re looking for architectural diversity in the apartment buildings, Center City is where you’ll find it,” says Rogerio Carvalheiro, an architect who has lived on Laurel Avenue in the historically designated Villa D’Este apartment building for the past three years. “Fountain Avenue and the adjacent streets have some of the most amazing buildings.”

ARRAY OF COURTYARD-

Center City is home to three small but heavily used parks – Kings Road Park, Laurel Park and Hart Park, which has the only dog park in the city. The area also has two tiny parks, the Matthew Shepard Triangle (Santa Monica at Crescent Heights) and the Sal Guarriello Veterans Memorial (Santa Monica at Holloway Drive), both frequently used as gathering spots for protest rallies and other events. Two of those parks had long fights associated with their coming into existence. In the 1990s, the city planned to build low-income housing on the property at 1000 Kings Road, but residents fought to have it made into a park instead. In the 2000s, the city also planned to build low-income housing at 1343 Laurel Avenue, a property donated to the city by its elderly owner, Mrs. Elsie Weisman. While Weisman gave oral instructions (the house, which she called “Tara,” but is now known as “Laurel House,” and grounds were not to be developed), she failed to put those instructions in writing. As a result, a gigantic, eight-year battle over the fate of the property divided residents throughout the city, culminating with a lawsuit that went all the way to the California Supreme Court.

Parking is an issue throughout the city, but nowhere is there a greater shortage than in Center City. The “robo garage” is providing much needed parking for the businesses along Santa Monica Boulevard, but it has done little to ease the severe parking shortage in the residential areas. Stacey Jones explains that many of the older apartment buildings do not have enough parking for all their tenants. Consequently, many residents are forced to park on the street. In fact, some residents say when they find a good parking space, they are reluctant to leave because they might not be able to find parking in the area when they return.

While the low-income housing is no longer a consideration, exactly what the city will do with Laurel House has yet to be decided. At preliminary public meetings held in 2013 and 2014, residents seemed to favor making it into an arts center for art showings, author readings, music recitals, lectures, meetings, etc.

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In the meantime, the city opened Laurel Park in the property’s front yard and it quickly became a favorite gathering spot in the neighborhood. Carvalheiro reports that he and other dogowners in the area gather there nightly to catch up. West Hollywood City Hall is located in Center City at

“THE ABILIT Y TO WA LK E V E RY WH E R E , BE IT THE SUPERM A R K E T, R E S TA U R ANTS OR STORES, I S W H AT I S S O G R E AT A B O U T T H I S A R E A ,” says longtime Center City resident Cynthia Blatt. “And if I need to drive, I’m halfway between everything I need to do.” While many businesses along Sunset Boulevard seem designed for the tourists, those along Santa Monica Boulevard seem oriented toward the residents. With lots of locally owned, mom-and-pop type shops and restaurants such as Marco’s Trattoria, the restaurant at 8200 Santa Monica, and Hector’s Tailor Shop at 8278 Santa Monica, this stretch of the boulevard feels like the city’s “downtown” especially with the presence of City Hall.

“Center City is where you truly support local businesses,” notes Nadia Sutton. “And I hope it stays local. We don’t need chain stores there.” Carvalheiro wishes the sidewalks along Santa Monica Boulevard were a bit wider to “enhance the pedestrian experience.” Others would like to see more neighborhood-serving businesses, such as a tailor or shoe repair shop. Residents would also like to see speed bumps added to some of the residential streets to slow down traffic. They also want the city to install more street lights on residential streets, or at least put in brighter bulbs and trim the trees near the street lights since some parts of the sidewalk can get very dark.

C Y T H I A B L AT T

8300 Santa Monica Boulevard, at Sweetzer. Behind City Hall is the “robo garage” opened in 2016, one of the few automated parking garages in operation on the West Coast.

As Cynthia Blatt, who has lived on Kings Road since 1993, explains, when she leaves from visiting a friend who lives two blocks away, the friend always advises, “Walk in the middle of the street so no one can jump out and grab you.”

That forces a lot of people to walk in the area. But for some, that walkability is what drew them to the area. And if they live near Sunset, they get a good workout walking up the hill back to their apartment. “I really wanted to have that walking experience,” says Carvalheiro. “I didn’t want to have to get in my car to do everything and living on Laurel [Avenue] provided that.”

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“The Sunset Strip is the most exciting part of West Hollywood,” says Elyse Eisenberg, who moved to Horn Avenue in 1987. “I moved here to be closer to the Strip since I was spending all my time here anyway.” The smallest of the seven West Hollywood neighborhoods, West Hollywood Heights is the area of the city north of Sunset Boulevard. Made up of just five streets, this area has about 1,000 residential units, almost all apartments or condominiums, according to Eisenberg, who serves as chair of the Weho Heights Neighborhood Association.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PLEASURE CHEST

Only a handful of single-family homes remain in the area. A house on Horn Avenue, which at one time belonged to actress Bette Davis, was torn down a few years ago to make way for a fourstory, seven-unit condo building. Several more houses are slated for demolition to make way for more apartment or condo buildings.

THE PLEASURE CHEST

S U N S E T S T R I P D R AW M I L L I O N S E AC H Y E A R .

T H E G L I T Z A N D G L A M O U R O F T H E W O R L D - FA M O U S

R E S TA U R A N T S ! S H O P S !

THE SUNSET STRIP! NIGHTLIFE! CLUBS! 32

The Sunset Strip! Nightlife! Clubs! Restaurants! Shops! The glitz and glamour of the worldfamous Sunset Strip draw millions each year. It’s also drawn thousands who make the West Hollywood Heights neighborhood their home.

These lush, tree-lined streets above the Strip offer fantastic views of the Los Angeles basin. Eisenberg can see Catalina from her condo. Despite being so close to the Strip, the area also offers a tranquil existence. Susan De Boismilon, who has lived on Clark Avenue since 1972, says the area is relatively quiet, especially the further up the hill you go. Condos in this neighborhood can sell for $1 million or more. Apartments are hard to find since people tend to stay after falling in love with the neighborhood. “It’s a very stable neighborhood,” says Eisenberg. “Very low turnover. I know most of my neighbors.”

Above the Strip

THE GLITZ AND GL AMOUR

WEHO HEIGHTS RESIDENTS A R E A D U LT A S W E L L . Eisenberg is not aware of any children under 18 living in the neighborhood. “This isn’t a neighborhood for raising kids,” says Cleary. The area boasts some of the finest restaurants in town, as well as some exclusive shops at Sunset Plaza such as Badgley Mischka, Philip Press and Zadig & Voltaire. It also is home to Book Soup, the last remaining English-language bookstore in West Hollywood (there is a Russian-language bookstore on Santa Monica Boulevard). Walking down the hill to the shops and back up keeps residents in good shape. What it lacks, residents say, is a park. “Green space is sorely missing,” says Eisenberg. It also lacks neighborhood-serving businesses like a tailor or dry cleaner. Or even a grocery store.

JEROME CLE ARY

“THIS IS ONE OF THE FRIENDLIEST NEIGHBORHOODS IN

TOWN,” SAYS LONGTIME RESIDENT JEROME CLEARY. “IF YOU HAVE A DOG, YOU REALLY GET TO KNOW ALL YOUR NEIGHBORS.”

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The neighborhood coalesced in 2008 to successfully fight against the proposed Centrum Sunset office-retail building set to go into the old Tower Records building. While it took five years for

the neighbors to defeat Centrum Sunset, the residents easily fought off a proposal to put a pre-school in the old Spago restaurant building earlier in 2017. In both cases, the residents successfully argued that the steep, narrow Horn Avenue could not handle all the traffic that such businesses would generate. “We wanted some control over our destiny,” said Eisenberg. “We’re trapped up here. The only way out is Sunset. So we had to fight it.” While the ever increasing traffic is a concern throughout West Hollywood, nowhere is it a greater cause for concern than this neighborhood. The streets of WeHo Heights only exit onto the perpetually jammed Sunset Boulevard. “Traffic on Sunset is horrendous now, even in the middle of the day,” says

De Boismilon, who books entertainment for private events, reports clients are often loath to come to her offices on Sunset near Doheny Drive because of the traffic. “Our business has fallen because clients are reluctant to come to the office,” she says. “Luckily, we can do a lot of our business online now, but there is a huge difference between interacting with a client online versus in person.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF BOA STEAKHOUSE

FOR ITS NIGHTLIFE AND

De Boismilon. “It sometimes takes 30 minutes to drive down the mile of the Strip. Is that really quality of life?”

P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F S K Y B A R AT M O N D R I A N

THE SUNSET STRIP IS KNOWN

P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F R O K U W E S T H O L LY W O O D

“This is one of the friendliest neighborhoods in town,” says longtime resident Jerome Cleary. “If you have a dog, you really get to know all your neighbors. The Coffee Bean has become the unofficial place where everyone in the neighborhood meets.”

“MORE R E S TA U R A N T S , CLUBS AND SHOPS COULD O P E N T O O .” Parking is another major issue since the overwhelming majority of apartment/condo buildings don’t have any guest parking spaces, and street parking is usually taken up by residents because many buildings don’t even have enough parking for its residents. “I haven’t been able to have guests over to my apartment in 15 years,” says De Boismilon. “There’s no place for them to park.” Even businesses on Sunset are feeling the parking pinch. While there are a few municipal lots, they don’t offer a lot of spaces. Eisenberg notes in 20122013, there was a Thursday night farmers’ market with vendors, food trucks and live entertainment held in the cityowned parking lot near Horn Avenue. That farmers’ market was popular with the neighborhood residents who could walk down the hill to it, but ultimately failed in large part because of the parking issue. “The farmers’ market was being held in the largest [municipal] parking lot in the area, and people from outside the neighborhood were reluctant to pay $15 or $20 for some of the private lots,” says Eisenberg.

While the city currently has no plans to build more municipal parking lots, come March 2018, it will begin a sixmonth test run of a free nighttime weekend shuttle along the Strip to encourage visitors. WeHo Heights residents are poised to fight a 72-foot-high billboard/art installation proposed to be erected in the municipal parking lot just east of the Sunset-Horn-Holloway intersection (the same parking lot where the farmers’ market was held). That installation will incorporate giant video screens that will show digital art displays as well as digital advertisements. Some are calling it an innovative, future-thinking idea, while others feel it will be an eyesore that will attract homeless people to the plaza the city intends to build around it. The future direction of Sunset is also in question. For several decades, the

music business is what made Sunset sing – many record companies had offices on Sunset, new record releases were featured on billboards along the Strip and up-and-coming bands as well as established acts played the clubs, while the Tower Records’ flagship store anchored it all. Famous clubs like the Whisky a Go Go, the Viper Room and the Roxy are still around and doing relatively well, but the rest are long gone. Consequently, the music business is no longer a vital part of the Strip. Instead, Sunset Boulevard seems to be evolving into an area made up primarily of hotels. In addition to the existing hotels on the Strip, at least six other large, high-end hotels are proposed or under construction. While the hotels will add to the city’s coffers thanks to the hotel room taxes, Eisenberg and De Boismilon both wonder exactly what the attraction of staying on Sunset is going to be in a decade if it’s nothing but hotels. “What exactly are tourists going to do on the Strip?” asks De Boismilon. “Stay at one hotel and go visit the one next door?”

Eisenberg hopes the city will build a large municipal parking lot(s) along Sunset to support the businesses and residents. “If parking were easier, the existing businesses could thrive,” she says.

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OFFICIAL BOUNDARIES ARE S U N S E T A N D S A N TA M O N I C A B O U L E VA R D S T O T H E N O R T H

A S YO U R E D G E S , T H E N E I G H B O R H O O D I S E C L E C T I C A N D DY N A M I C .

N E I G H B O R H O O D . A S O N E M I G H T E X P E C T W I T H T H O S E T W O FA M O U S S T R E E T S

F L A S H Y F L A M B O YA N C E O F B O Y S T O W N L I E S T H E W E S T H O L LY W O O D N O R T H

SANDWICHED BET WEEN THE GRIT T Y GLITZ OF THE SUNSET STRIP AND THE

WeHo North

E C L E C T I C , DY N A M I C A N D PA S S I O N AT E . 38

THE NEIGHBORHOOD’S

AND SOUTH, SAN VICENTE B O U L E VA R D T O T H E W E S T A N D L A C I E N E G A B O U L E VA R D T O T H E E A S T. “What’s so great about West Hollywood North is its proximity to everything,” says Sam Borelli, who has lived in the neighborhood for 15 years. “You’re just steps away from the cosmopolitan areas of Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevards. But Melrose is also within walking distance. So is City Hall and things further east. I’m someone who doesn’t like to drive, so this is the perfect place for me.” For Tai Sunnanon, who moved to Alta Loma Drive three years ago, the excitement of the Sunset Strip was always a lure. “As a kid passing through the Sunset Strip and seeing the lights, I used to say to myself, ‘Wow, wouldn’t it be great to live here one day,’ and now I do,” says Sunnanon. “I love the fact that there are all these restaurants and burger joints and coffee joints on Sunset, just minutes from me, but I still live on a quiet residential street.” Meanwhile, for Joe Brighton, who moved to Palm Avenue a year ago, living in the gay ghetto is a dream come true. “Coming from a small Texas town, the idea of someday living in a gayborhood and being able to be completely out kept me going,” says Brighton. “When I finished college, this is where I came.” West Hollywood North has two distinct parts – western (closer to San Vicente) and eastern (closer to La Cienega). Residents on the western side tend to be younger and more transient, while those on the eastern side tend to be older and more stable. If West Hollywood has a party neighborhood, it would be the western half of WeHo North. With a high concentration of large apartment buildings, this is where younger people often live when they move to WeHo.

“This is definitely a party street,” says John Allendorfer, who manages a building on Larrabee Street. “I tell people if they want quiet to get a unit at the back of the building or go to another street.” At the same time, Allendorfer tells prospective tenants that if they want easy access to the nightlife and to feel a part of the various celebrations happening in town, this is the right neighborhood. “I tell them it’s going to be especially noisy at gay pride and Halloween,” says Allendorfer. “You really can’t help but feel like part of the celebration going on living so close. The energy and excitement makes its way up the hill and it’s infectious.” Bob Pranga, who has lived on Palm Avenue for 30 years, loves the hopeful, daring, ambitious energy that having young neighbors provides. “As I age, I like to be around the younger energy,” says Pranga. “I’m not quite ready to settle into the sands of Palm Springs. I like all the creative energy that comes from the kids. It keeps me young.” Conversely, the eastern side of WeHo North seems to be steady and peaceful. There’s a good mix of apartment buildings and condo buildings and far less turnover. “It’s a fairly quiet area. Yes, I can hear noise coming from Santa Monica Boulevard, but there’s not noise coming from the residential area,” says Sam Borelli. “It’s safe. I’m always aware of my surroundings, but I don’t feel the need to be on guard or looking around.”

a n i g n i v i L ayborhood G

“ WHAT’ S SO GRE AT ABOUT WEST HOLLY WOOD NORTH IS ITS PROXIMIT Y TO E VERY THING”

TA I

SUNNANON

EASTERN

HALF

CALLS OF

WeHo North is also home to the original West Hollywood Library at 903 Westbourne Drive (now the V Wine Room) and the original West Hollywood Fire Station at 958 Hancock Avenue (now a three-unit affordable housing building). Residents say speed bumps on residential streets are needed to slow traffic coming down the hill from Sunset. The traffic islands the city has installed have little effect.

THE

WEHO

N O R T H “ R E L I A B L E .”

t to expec t a h w w ys “I kno ome,” sa h e m o c when I it’s “I know . n o n a n w n Su et. I kno i u q e b . going to be safe o t g n i o it’s g many of e e s l l ’ I I know s they’re a s r o b h my neig ir dogs.” e h t g n i k wal

“It can be a freeway out there the way cars speed down Palm Avenue,” says longtime resident Tom Demille. Likewise increased street lighting is desperately needed. The large trees hanging over the streets add to the feeling of being in a nice neighborhood, but the trees near the street lights need to be trimmed. “It’s dark at night,” says Demille. “Some people are afraid to go out at night, it’s so dark.”

Despite the number of apartment buildings, both sides of WeHo North have a decent number of single-family homes. For a taste of what the area looked like a century ago when it was a part of the town of Sherman (the original name for West Hollywood), look to the single-family homes on Betty Way (a tiny dead-end street off Larrabee) or the two historically designated houses at 927 and 931 Palm Avenue (near Cynthia).

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JOHN HEILMAN

Allendorfer would like to see sheriff’s deputies, and/or security ambassadors routinely patrol in the neighborhood at 2 a.m. when the bars close since so many clubgoers live on Larrabee and Palm.

SAM BORELLI

“ I LOVE THE R AINBOW C R O S S WA LK S ; TH E Y M A K E M E

ous exactly how far you can pull up,” says Borelli. “Mayor [John] Heilman said he wanted residential parking issues to be a priority. I hope they follow through with it.”

F E E L W E L C O M E A N D AT H O M E ” —JOE BRIGHTON

Borelli would also like the city to experiment with removing the cul-desacs on Alta Loma near Sunset and Westmount Drive at the Trader Joes, at least temporarily, to see what impact opening those streets up has on traffic. Joe Brighton questions why the city hasn’t refreshed the five-year-old rainbow crosswalks at the San VicenteSanta Monica intersection.

“There are simple changes that could be made, like place the parking signs in the greenway so they line up with the white parking lines painted on the street. That would make it more obvi-

BOB PRANGA

Borelli hopes the city will find ways to improve parking on the residential streets, noting there are “missed parking opportunities” when cars take up two spaces. If they would pull up a few more feet, another car would be able to park.

“I love the rainbow crosswalks; they make me feel welcome and at home,” says Brighton. “But damn, they need to be repainted. Or at least scrubbed and cleaned really hard.” Bob Pranga would like the city to adopt policies that encourage small, independent businesses and discourage chains from opening here.

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“More creativity comes from smaller stores,” says Pranga. “The big stores are a bland representation of the entire country, but true creativity comes from the small shop owners.” He also hopes the city will put more artwork in the medians of Santa Monica Boulevard. “What about a giant ruby slipper in the median near Micky’s?” says Pranga. “We’re the Creative City. Let’s show some creativity in street art.” Along similar lines, Pranga wishes the city would invest in better holiday decorations, noting the 30-year-old decorations on street poles have long passed their expiration date. “I would love it if the Creative City were truly creative in its Christmas décor,” says Pranga. “For all the money this city makes, Burbank has better decorations than we do.”

t s e W i r T T H E U R B A N V I L L A G E : W I N T E R 2 0 1 7/ 2 0 1 8

With West Hollywood Park and the West Hollywood Library nearby, plus the many restaurants, stores and clubs on Santa Monica Boulevard within walking distance, it’s a good neighborhood for people who don’t have a car or don’t like driving in Los Angeles traffic.

PH OTO CO U RTE S Y O F PACI FI C D E S I G N CE NTE R

P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F L I LY - L V N A T I K K

PHOTO COURTESY OF ZINQUÉ

PH OTO CO U RTE S Y O F PACI FI C D E S I G N CE NTE R

THE SECOND SMALLEST OF WEST HOLLY WOOD’S SEVEN NEIGHBORHOODS

C O M P A C T A N D D E N S E LY P O P U L AT E D ,

TRI-WEST

Alan James first discovered Tri-West three years ago when he answered a roommate ad. His initial impressions were lukewarm; he liked being part of a gayborhood, but there didn’t seem to be much to distinguish it from any other neighborhood in greater Los Angeles. Since then, he has come to appreciate what Tri-West has to offer.

THE

SECOND SMALLEST OF WEST H O L LY W O O D ’ S S E V E N N E I G H BORHOODS, BUT THE FOURTH M O S T P O P U L AT E D . Composed of the area north of Melrose Avenue and south of Santa Monica Boulevard between the Pacific Design Center and La Cienega, Tri-West is made up primarily of apartment buildings with a few single-family homes or duplexes thrown in. Because of the many apartment buildings, the neighborhood tends to be young and transient. But Tri-West has a good number of long-term residents who are there to stay. “Tri-West is a great neighborhood,” says Amanda Goodwin, who has lived in Tri-West for 20 years. “It’s relatively quiet considering how close it is to major streets. You can still hear the birds singing. It’s very community oriented, I know a lot of my neighbors. It’s incredibly walkable and convenient to everything.”

“Initially, the best thing about this area was that it was so close to the gay clubs and there were lots of gay people in the area,” says James. “The longer I’m here, the more I love it. What it lacks in looks, it more than makes up for in friendliness and accessibility to everything I want. It’s a really comfortable neighborhood, and I feel safe here. I love being able to look out my window and see the Pacific Design Center. Those are beautiful buildings.” Although situated between two major thoroughfares, the neighborhood is oriented more toward Santa Monica Boulevard since it has more shops and restaurants that residents use on a regular basis.

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N OT R ELY I N G O N T H E PEO PL E L I V I N G I N T H E N EI G H B O R H O O D.”

D EM O G R A PH I C O F T H E N EI G H B O R H O O D. T H OS E B U S I N E S S E S A R E

“ T H E D EM O G R A PH I C YO U S EE O N M EL ROS E TO DAY, I S N OT T H E

SHOPPING ON MELROSE IS G E ARED TO 46

“Tri West revolves around 24 Hour Fitness and Starbucks,” says Steve Martin, who’s lived in the neighborhood for 22 years. “That’s where you run into all your neighbors.”

“Melrose was taken away from us to make the Design District,” says Goodwin. “It’s a shame they didn’t make Melrose into something like Abbott Kinney [the trendy, ultra-cool shopping street in Venice]. The Melrose of 20 years ago felt a lot like the Abbott Kinney of 20 years ago.” No one is sure how the neighborhood got the name Tri-West. While it is on the western side of the city, it is rectangular shaped, not triangle shaped. In fact, many residents are unaware that Tri-West is the official name for the neighborhood. “They could surely come up with a better name,” says Alan James. “If this is the Creative City, they should get creative with the neighborhood’s name.”

Residents especially like having Trader Joes grocery store readily adjacent and are excited that Sprouts grocery store will be opening in the building currently under construction on the southwest corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and West Knoll Drive. As for Melrose Avenue, it has evolved drastically in the past 10 to 15 years as the City of West Hollywood designated it part of the Design District (along with Robertson and Beverly Boulevards). Consequently, many designer clothing boutiques and high-end home furnishing stores have moved in. “Shopping on Melrose is geared toward hipsters and designers,” says Martin. “The demographic you see on Melrose today, is not the demographic of the neighborhood. Those businesses are not relying on the people living in the neighborhood.” Today, Melrose may be attracting upscale customers, but for decades before that, it attracted an eclectic mix of people looking for bargains in the unique, hole-in-the-wall shops and for spiritual enlightenment. For 41 years, the Bodhi Tree, a renowned New Age/ spiritual bookstore, was a primary draw on Melrose. Its closure in 2011 seemed to mark the end of Melrose as a haven for funky shops.

Cut-through traffic is an increasing problem in Tri-West. Speed bumps are needed to slow down the traffic, residents say. “When Santa Monica Boulevard is at a standstill, cars will cut through TriWest to get to Melrose,” says Goodwin. Residents say they are anxious to see what will happen with the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) bus depot on the southeastern corner of San Vicente and Santa Monica boulevards. That lot, along with the adjacent Pacific Design Center, was originally owned by the Los Angeles Pacific Railway, which ran the streetcar lines in greater Los Angeles. The city hopes to transform at least a portion of that area into shops and apartments, possibly even office space. At one point, there was even talk of moving City Hall to that location. While serious discussions about developing that 11-acre lot, which the MTA owns, began in 2013, so far nothing definite has materialized. It could be years, or even decades, before anything happens there.

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W E S T H O L LY W O O D W E S T H O L LY W O O D ’ S O W N M AY B E R R Y

Hidden away on the side streets north of Beverly Boulevard, south of Melrose Avenue between Doheny Drive and La Cienega Boulevard.

HIDDEN NORTH OF

AWAY OF

B E V E R LY

MELROSE

AV E N U E

THE

SIDE

STREETS

B O U L E VA R D, BETWEEN

SOUTH

DOHENY

D R I V E A N D L A C I E N E G A B O U L E VA R D , A LM O S T 1 , 1 0 0 H O M E S M A K E U P W E S T H O L LY -

erly Center, the Design District on Melrose and Robertson. It’s a good place to raise a family, yet there are plenty of gay couples, retired couples and single people too.”

W O O D W E S T.

This is the only neighborhood in the city zoned exclusively for single-family homes and duplexes (the handful of small apartment buildings in the area predate the city’s incorporation in 1984). With a mix of bungalows and Spanishstyle houses, this area dates back to the 1910s and 1920s, with homes originally built for employees of the streetcar company Los Angeles Pacific Railway, which had a large depot where the Pacific Design Center now stands.

“THIS IS LIKE A LITTLE SUBURBIA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOST E XC ITI N G PA R T O F W E S T H O L LY W O O D ,”

This is a tight-knit neighborhood with a small-town feel where people easily get to know their neighbors and socialize together frequently. Rodriguez reports he knows almost half the people on his block, but also knows at least three people living on each of the 25 blocks that comprise West Hollywood West. “If you’re inclined to want to be in a community, around people and neighbors and really live together, that’s West Hollywood West,” says Rodriguez. “If you’re inclined to go behind a hedge and never be seen or talk to anybody, that’s West Hollywood West too. It’s the community for both those types of people.”

PHOTO COURTESY CLEM ONOJEGHUO

says Manny Rodriguez, who moved to the neighborhood in 2004. “We’ve got everything nearby, West Hollywood Park, the library, Boystown, the Bev-

As Richard Giesbret, the president of the area’s residents association, explains, “West Hollywood West is just this special place. It’s quiet and charming. It has a park like quality that offers a respite from all the urban areas around it.”

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Although many homes in West Hollywood West can now fetch over $1 million, it wasn’t always the fashionable neighborhood that it now is. For a long time, it was a forgotten area, easily overlooked. That was the situation in the mid 1990s when Giesbret was looking to purchase his first home. He looked all over Los Angeles and eventually found a fixer-upper on Norwich Drive which he purchased for $145,000, a fantastic price even in those days. He had to invest a lot in renovating the house, but he felt the area was special because of its convenience to restaurants, shops and bars, and its proximity to Beverly Hills, which is just on the other side of Doheny Drive.

West Hollywood West has the strongest residents/neighborhood association in the city. If something affects their neighborhood or the Beverly or Melrose commercial corridor, residents turn out in large numbers at City Council meetings to speak up. “Whether you’re a renter or a homeowner, we had a tremendous investment in where we live,” says Rodriguez. “We want to make sure we protect that investment, and by protecting that investment, it just makes the neighborhood better.”

“I thought, ‘this neighborhood has got to be pulled up by Beverly Hills eventually’,” recalls Giesbret. “And sure enough, it became East Beverly Hills.”

—MANNY RODRIGUEZ

Rodriguez loves that the neighborhood is so vibrant, but still somewhat hidden away. When he first moved to West Hollywood from New York in 2002, he lived in an apartment on Larrabee Street while he explored the Los Angeles region looking for a house. At a gay pride event, someone suggested he look south of Melrose. MANNY RODRIGUEZ

V E G E TAT I O N .”

T R EE S I N G EN ER A L , H ED G E S , L AW N S , B E AU T I F U L

S T Y L E H O M E S M I X E D I N , PA L M T R E E S , L O T S O F

L I K E – C H A R M I N G M O D E S T C O T TA G E S W I T H S PA N I S H

SOUTHERN C ALIFORNIA NEIGHBORHOOD TO LOOK

“ I T L O O K E D L I K E W H AT I A LW AY S I M A G E D A

this is whereI want to live

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SOUTH OF MELROSE?

“ I S A I D , ‘ T H E R E ’ S A N E I G H B O R H O O D 50

want to live,” recalls Rodriguez. “It looked like what I always imaged a Southern California neighborhood to look like – charming modest cottages with Spanish style homes mixed in, palm trees, lots of trees in general, hedges, lawns, beautiful vegetation.”

“I said, ‘There’s a neighborhood south of Melrose?’ Next day, I took a walk down south of Melrose, and that’s when I first discovered West Hollywood West and said this is where I

The residents first came together in the mid 1980s to get parking restrictions for the neighborhood when workers at the nearby Beverly Center, which opened in 1982, would park there for their entire work day. Soon after, the neighbors further coalesced to fight a 25-story, hotel-and-convention center proposed for the Sherbourne Triangle (Sherbourne Drive at San Vicente; currently a parking lot for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center).

In the ensuing years, they’ve fought many projects they felt might have an impact on their quality of life, winning some battles and losing some. Consequently, the residents are often viewed as NIMBYs (Not in My Back Yard). However, Giesbret disagrees with the NIMBY label. “No one here is against commercial development,” Giesbret says. “We’re just expecting, and demanding, sensitive commercial development. Commercial buildings should respect other commercial buildings and also respect residential needs so that we are not overwhelmed by noise, traffic, and special events.”

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The residents are also fiercely protective of their special enclave and all the things that make it unique. In the early 2010s, they started seeing modest houses demolished and replaced by “McMansions.” Richard and Leslie Karliss, who moved to West Hollywood West in 2012 from Malibu after their sons left for college, were particularly upset. “I loved the architecture of West Hollywood West; it was a unified collection of charming and eclectic cottages and bungalows,” recalls Richard Karliss. “That all quickly changed. Developers and flippers discovered the profit potential for building up and maximizing square footage, and that was that.” Karliss and other residents persuaded the City Council to enact design guidelines to preserve the intrinsic character of the neighborhood and prevent an onslaught of oversized, nearly identical looking big-box style houses.

Giesbret believes the resident’s quick response to the McMansions is “indicative of how much people really care about the neighborhood.”

While Karliss, who served on the design guidelines committee, is happy they were adopted, he is not sure they are being followed carefully. “A lot of houses are under construction that still feel like big boxes to me,” Karliss says. “I wish the city would enforce these things closely. We didn’t get these guidelines enacted just to have them ignored.” Cut through traffic on the residential streets is a growing concern. Cars parked on the street are getting sideswiped and cars backing out of driveways are being hit by speeding traffic. Although the city has installed some “traffic islands” to slow traffic, residents say their impact is minimal. They want the city to install speed bumps.

RICHARD GIESBRET

McMansions

Cul-de-sacs are another way to combat cut-through traffic. In the 1990s, the residents pushed to get those created on several streets, thereby creating several dead end roads (and consequently adding to the neighborhood feel). Giesbret wonders if it’s time to create partial cul-de-sacs that would prevent turns into the neighborhood from Doheny, but still allow residents to turn onto Doheny. “It would be half blocked; you could get out, but couldn’t get in,” he explains. “That would limit access to the neighborhood streets.” Despite the charming area, many people wish the neighborhood had an equally charming name. “West Hollywood West is a mouthful,” says Rodriguez. “People think the second ‘West’ is a typo. We really need to work on finding a better name.”

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GUESS WHILE DRIVING T H R O U G H W E S T H O L LY W O O D T H AT T H E R E I S A Q U A I N T, PICTURESQUE NEIGHBORHOOD tucked behind the Pavilions supermarket on Santa Monica Boulevard, the tall buildings on Sunset Boulevard or the mostly non-descript apartment buildings on San Vicente Boulevard. It is only from Doheny Drive that you get a brief glimpse of the enchanting neighborhood that is Norma Triangle.

G R E AT E R L O S A N G E L E S .

Y O U FA R A W AY F R O M T H E H U S T L E A N D B U S T L E O F

THIS IS WHERE TR ANQUILIT Y SEEMS TO TR ANSPORT

Norma Triangle

W E S T H O L LY W O O D ’ S O L D E S T A N D M O S T H I S T O R I C N E I G H B O R H O O D 54

ONE WOULD NE VER

But when you do turn off those busy boulevards into this area, you quickly discover West Hollywood’s oldest and most historic of neighborhoods. The hidden-away quality combined with tree-lined streets, charming-if-small houses and friendly, close-knit residents is what makes Norma Triangle feel like a storybook hamlet. “Norma Triangle seems to be the perfect example of the West Hollywood urban village concept,” says Joe Guadarama, who moved to the neighborhood 17 years ago. “It’s a beautiful residential area, but there are plenty of great shops, restaurants and bars within easy walking distance.” Norma Triangle has two distinct parts. The upper portion, between Sunset and Cynthia Street, is made up almost entirely of apartment/condo buildings. The lower portion, between Cynthia and Santa Monica Boulevard, is primarily made up of singlefamily homes and duplexes that date back to the 1910s and 1920s. It’s that lower portion of Norma Triangle that seems magical. This is where you can get lost in the maze of streets so narrow that street parking is only allowed on one side. This is where the lots are so small and the houses are so close together, it feels European. This is where the foliage and trees are so lush, you wonder if you’re in Key West. This is where tranquility seems to transport you far away from the hustle and bustle of greater Los Angeles. Legend has it that the silent movie star Norma Talmadge had a film studio in the area and the homes were originally dressing rooms for the stars after whom she named the streets (Cynthia Street,

Lloyd Place, Dicks Street, Phyllis Street, Keith Avenue, etc). However, historians say the homes were built for employees of the streetcar company, Los Angeles Pacific Railway, which had a depot where the Pacific Design Center now stands. Those historians say the streets were named after children and friends of Moses Sherman, who founded the area (West Hollywood’s original name was Sherman). The small houses were originally fairly bland, built mostly in Craftsmen or Spanish Colonial revival. But in the 100 years since they were built, many got face lifts. As Joe Guadarama explains, in the 1940s and 1950s, a lot of designers who decorated homes in nearby Beverly Hills lived in Norma Triangle. In the early 1990s when Todd Bianco and his then boyfriend decided to move from Los Feliz to West Hollywood to be closer to the gay epicenter, they explored several neighborhoods before deciding Norma Triangle was where they wanted to settle. Bianco had a special fondness for Norma Triangle, dating back to his time as gay teen coming to West Hollywood. They rented an apartment in the neighborhood and kept an eye out for homes for sale, while also digging into the history, even going so far as to research tract maps of Norma Triangle. Many of the houses were in disrepair. “These were little, crappy houses,” recalls Bianco. “They were built for railroad workers. They were flimsy and they were way overpriced for the size.” When the couple bought their house, they originally intended to tear it down and rebuild, but ultimately decided to renovate instead, taking advantage of Mills Act tax breaks.

l e e f n a c u o Y y g r e n e e th PHOTO COURTESY OF BAR 10

“THIS IS A LITTLE POCKET OF HEAVEN IN A VERY, VERY DENSE PART OF THE CITY...”

With houses now fetching $1 million or more, residents are protective of what makes their neighborhood special. Following the lead of the West Hollywood West neighborhood, in early 2017 Norma Triangle residents got the City Council to institute design guidelines for new homes that discourage real estate speculators from buying properties, tearing the houses down and building oversized, boxy McMansions.

Despite living in the enclave-like area, residents are always just minutes away from restaurants and bars. Rogerio Carvalheiro, who rented a “postage-stamp sized” house near the Pavilions for several years, notes the area was peaceful, but you could still feel the vitality of the Boystown nightlife. T H E U R B A N V I L L A G E : W I N T E R 2 0 1 7/ 2 0 1 8

Bianco hopes mass transit in the form of the subway will one day come to the area with a stop at San Vicente and Santa Monica Boulevard. But realizing that is decades away, his wish is that the city will install more electric vehicle charging stations, perhaps attaching them to some of the power poles so you can recharge on the street.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAINT FELIX

Guadarama wishes the city would make the area an historic preservation overlay zone to protect the old homes. Short of that, he hopes more houses will be historically designated, so “that part of our history isn’t erased.” Only about a dozen in the area are currently historically designated, including the houses at the San Vicente Inn, an urban hotel on San Vicente, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard.

The area is also home to the worldfamous Troubadour nightclub at 9081 Santa Monica Boulevard (near Doheny). The 60-year-old club is where many musicians and comics got their start, including James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, The Eagles, The Pointer Sisters and Guns N’ Roses.

“The nightlife of Santa Monica Boulevard is so adjacent to it, you can’t not sense it,” says Carvalheiro. “You feel very connected to the pulse of Santa Monica Boulevard, even though you’re a couple of blocks up.”

Carvalheiro hopes the city will repair the neighborhood’s sidewalks, which tend to be narrow. Guadarama laments that cut-through traffic on Cynthia Street is so heavy that it sometimes takes ten minutes to get between Doheny and San Vicente.

Yvette Inclan, who moved to Norma Triangle six years ago, reports a similar feeling living just a block south of the Sunset Strip nightlife.

While the restaurants is the area are top notch, residents say they would like a wider selection, especially a good diner. And slightly more affordable prices.

“You just can’t help but know Sunset is up there. You can feel the energy, but it’s still a fairly quiet area,” says Inclan.

But those are just minor quibbles, as residents say they couldn’t be happier.

An advantage to living adjacent to Sunset is that Lyft and Uber cars are always nearby. “I don’t think I’ve ever had to wait more than two minutes for Uber,” says Inclan.

“This is a little pocket of heaven in a very, very dense part of the city because it is little single family homes,” says Bianco. “It always struck me as being home because of the scale and the gay community. I didn’t want some big house in the valley. I wanted to live in an urban environment, and this was as close to having your own little slice of that here.”

TH E G E TAWAY: YOU R 36 - H OU R WE E K E ND

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W H AT ’ S T H AT FEELING? IS IT “A A A H H … ? ” You’ve just veered off the I-10 onto California Highway 111. The San Jacinto Mountains stand majestically to your right as you see the Coachella Valley unrolling itself out like a carpet before you. Your body relaxes as your mind releases its grip on your workaday obsessions. The smile on your face is real. You’re only minutes from spending a weekend in the oasis known as Palm Springs. You drive south on North Palm Canyon Drive through Uptown, the ridiculously seductive collection of Mid Century Modern shops and toocute restaurants.

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You make a right onto Granvia Valmonte and park in

front of the A L C A Z A R , a sweet, inviting modern Spanish Colonial hotel offering 34 rooms, a surprisingly secluded pool deck and access to two of this desert town’s most in demand restaurants: Cheeky’s and Birba.

# S AT U R D AY S H E N A N I G A N S

S AT U R D AY

You are shocked at how early you’ve arisen. The des-

Your room is white, as in allwhite – even the floor. It is affordable desert minimalism warmed up by brightly colored throw pillows. Suddenly, you’re famished, anticipation of your weekend sojourn whetting your appetite.

ert has that effect on many, and breakfast never sounded better. C H E E K Y ’ S – the hottest breakfast joint in town -- is attached to your hotel, but you’d better hurry. A long line has formed and it’s only 7:45 a.m. Ron, the silver fox of a host, seats you at a table outdoors, underneath a canopy of vines.

# F E E L G O O D F R I D AY

JOHANNES PHOTO COURTESY OF ALCA ZAR

WHOA .

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHEEK Y’S

s g n i r p Palm S

T H E G E TA W AY: Y O U R 3 6 - H O U R

is where you end up, one of the first upscale restaurants of the modern Palm Springs renaissance. Your eyes scan the Continental-inspired California menu and your head cocks to one side. Wait. Schnitzel? Ja. Austrian chef Johannes Bacher has two options for you: traditional veal (Wienerschnitzel) and chicken. Both are served with fingerling potatoes, dill-cucumber sour cream dressing, fresh cranberries and a half lemon wrapped in a micro-weaved yellow net straining the sour citrus

juice dripping onto the fried, breaded deliciousness that is schnitzel. Quench your palate with any number of European or Californian wines. Or, better yet, imbibe their signature sangria made with more ingredients than you can count. Your evening isn’t over yet. Bootlegger Tiki is just a mile north. Upon entering you notice the Polynesian-infused décor: kitschy paintings of topless, well-endowed hula dancers and puffer fish lanterns. The bartender recommends the (literally) flaming King Louie’s Downfall or the Pog Tiki – served in a tiki tumbler. One sip from each and, well… life is good.

The Bloody Marys are to die for. You giggle because they are served in little glass cowboy boots. That’s because they kick ass. The glass tchotchke theme continues as real maple syrup – pouring out of a log-cabin-shaped bottle – drenches your corn and blueberry pancakes. Gobsmacked is what you are next as you drool over the bacon flight featuring five moutwatering flavors including jalapeno and Indio date glaze. Yu-uum!

Work off all the calories you just ate by hiking the gorgeous Indian Canyons. Drive south on Palm Canyon, onto the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Reservation. Pay your $9 entrance fee and choose from Palm, Murray and Andreas Canyons to hike in. P A L M C A N Y O N displays a lush oasis and an outdoor museum showing how these Indians lived. If you say to yourself,

! t o o c s a tt o g e v ’ u o y Your night not quite completed, you crave something more before turning in. The Club at the HARD ROCK in downtown Palm Springs is a “mashup” of the days of disco and modern desert

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HARD ROCK CAFE

T H I S T O O F F E R ,” YO U WO U LD N ’ T B E T H E F I R S T.

O K AY, YO U ’ V E E A R N E D O N E . S I T BY T H E A LC AZAR POOL AND SHUT YO U R E Y E S .

Returning to full consciousness, you’ve gotta scoot! Your dinner reservation at

I L CO R S O O N E L PA S EO in Palm Desert – 14 miles away – awaits. Upon arrival, you are greeted by a friendly Sicilian. This is Federico, and his accent pulls you to your table as you admire the industrial-inspired interior, open kitchen and glass-walled wine cellar.

you prefer gnocchi alla vodka or tagliatelle all’emiliana. Il Corso is one of those rare finds in the desert: great food, impeccable service and inviting ambiance.

style. Just consult its website. The DJ knows her stuff. Your bootie shakes as your foot taps. You find a partner and move onto the dance floor before ordering craft cocktails and people-watching. What happens from here is, frankly, none of our business.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HARD ROCK CAFE

SPRINGS HAD

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HARD ROCK CAFE

PH OTO CO U RTE S Y O F I L CO R SO O N E L PA S EO

N O I D E A PA LM

N A P S . YO U L I K E ‘ E M?

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HARD ROCK CAFE

“ W O W , I H A D

Your head still spinning from The Club, you push open the Alcazar’s gate as the frothy waters of an inviting Jacuzzi compel you. Soon, jets of hot bubbles tickle your shoulders, and you couldn’t possibly get more chill.

Federico will probably steeryou to the perennial special: Dover sole, sliced tableside and accompanied by julienne vegetables. Il Corso’s pasta is homemade so maybe

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# S U N D AY F U N D AY

S U N D AY

s s e l bomttiommosas?

UPON EXITING IT A P P E A R S YO U ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CHEAP SKI LO D G E F R O M A 196 0 S S P Y MOVIE .

Peaks now stand on your left as you speed toward the I-10 west, toward L.A. There’s a heavy feeling in your chest. You feel…sad. You’re leaving a magical place, misnamed after the Spanish word (conchilla) meaning “little shell.” You put on your favorite tunes and hit the gas pedal, knowing Palm Springs and its environs will always be only about two short hours away.

Within this unique vestibule, which rotates, giving every passenger a 360-degree view of the valley floor, you might as well be in the Swiss Alps noticing the craggy rock formations getting more dramatic as you approach your destination.

There’s a gift shop and a restaurant but the real magic is outside. After traipsing along concrete walkways you soon see pine trees. Yeah, that’s a forest. Moments ago you were driving through desert; now you are in the mountains. Amazing.

#AMAZING

t o i r a h c r yaorurives By Michael Jortner

Michael Jortner writes about entrepreneurs, leaders and influencers running small businesses in and around West Hollywood for WEHOville.com. More information can be found at michaeljortner.com and Jortner can be reached at writer@michaeljortner.com.

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