This week marks the 73rd anniversary of the opening of Union Station, and to celebrate the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles is hosting Cocktails in Historic Places along with a free tour of the downtown landmark this Friday evening, 6 to 8 pm. more ›

There’s an opening reception tonight for Bryan Cunningham’s Wander Lost exhibit at La Luz de Jesus Gallery starting at 8 pm. His inspiration for the art was born out of a road trip across America. He got sick of seeing gentrified towns with megastores and chain restaurants, so he got off the freeways and took forgotten roads with “mom & pop diners, picturesque motels and backyard shrines (to anonymous deities) that gave an indigenous face back to the road.” more ›

Downtown LA’s Poketo Studio is hosting an evening of art and music in the show “Bang! Bang! Draw!” tonight at 7 pm. Her Space Holiday will kick the night off with a live performance followed by a moderated Q&A session with the pop outfit and Tokyo-based illustrator-designer Heisuke "PCP" Kitazawa. The official art show and party follows right after until 10 pm. Admission is free and desserts and drinks will be provided. more ›

Join the Art Deco Society for Cocktails in Historic Places™ -- a learning session and happy hour all wrapped in history. Tonight’s adventure will be held from 6-8 pm at The Kress on Hollywood Boulevard. “Built in 1934 by architect Stephen Burrell as the S.H. Kress Department Store, Angelenos are more likely to remember this soaring Art Deco beauty from its more lurid incarnation as the flaming purple flagship Frederick's of Hollywood boutique.” Deco attire is welcome, but not necessary. If you arrive promptly at 6 pm, there will be a brief tour of the location. more ›

The Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills began its almost 80-year-long life as the Fox Wilshire when it opened in September 1930. The 1900-seat late Art Deco-style venue began as a movie house, and was designed by S. Charles Lee, the architect behind other Los Angeles movie palaces such as the Los Angeles Theatre, the Tower, the Bruin, and the Academy. The theater was a top showplace for Fox studios, who often used it for lavish premieres like 1953's How To Marry a Millionaire, starring Marilyn Monroe, and, in 1970, it is where Woodstock ran during an exclusive engagement. more ›

Shopping "experiences" like those Rick Caruso has developed in Los Angeles certainly give locals a lot to grouse about, but aside from the perils of modern living (see: Muffin tops, American Girl, and Uggs), these outdoor hyper-designed environments aren't anything new. Of course we can go back hundreds and hundreds of years and note that shopping outdoors in a village-esque atmosphere was a way of life--mainly because you lived in that village--but we can also go back to the 1930s to look at was once a glorious architectural and entrepreneurial vision that was much celebrated right here in LA. more ›

FILM: The Aero in Santa Monica screens the L.A. premiere of the rock doc Patti Smith: Dream of Life at 7:30 tonight. “Twelve years in the making, the first film directed by fashion photographer Steven Sebring stitches together layer upon layer of human experience to paint a portrait of Patti Smith, the artist as a tireless and dynamic worker for music, poetry, peace, family and friends.” more ›

Even more restaurant news is coming down the wire -- earlier today, we checked out some early reports on Bond St in Beverly Hills, and now we hear that developers The Valencia Group will be transforming Downtown's historic Union Bank building into The Union Restaurant & Lounge (it's all about the restaurant-slash-lounge concept nowadays, isn't it?). So, yes, Downtown will have another fancy-schmancy dining space; the website is promising "2 Floors of Entertainment, Upscale Dinning [sic] and Cocktail Bar, The Vault Lounge & Bar." more ›

Forget Malibu. Forget the Hollywood Hills. Forget Mulholland Drive. Downtown is the new hot LZ for A-list celebrities, at least for the beloved Johnny Depp. He looked and bought into the $2-million property six months ago, but still hasn't moved into the Art Deco Eastern Columbia Building on Broadway, which has reportedly been having problems selling all the units. To that, the LA Times gives you the hard sell:

It's not too late to become one of Depp's neighbors. There is a furnished corner unit in the building listed at about $1.8 million. It's on the 12th floor and is described as light-filled with an open floor plan and high ceilings. The unit has a bronze and iron entry gate, storage for 112 bottles of wine, flat-screen TVs, a jukebox, a vintage-style safe and city views. The 1,827-square-foot loft was decorated by designer Jim Hughes. more ›

If the department stores can put their Christmas merch out already, we can sure as hell start celebrating Halloween! Friday, October 12th Rosemary's Billygoat, who always put on a special-effects extravaganza along with some serious rocking, will be playing at The Haunt at the Northridge Fashion Center. There will also be three haunted houses and a Fall Festival. Rosemary's Billygoat plays at 9pm. The CIA (California Institute of Abnormal Arts) in North Hollywood's Fright Night... more ›

Now a “career woman", Leilani Wertens searches for the perfect meal during her lunch hour in an oft neglected part of Los Angeles—the newly revitalized downtown district. Read about her weekly culinary adventures on LAist. more ›

The Los Angeles Conservancy offers guided walking tours of various of parts of LA. The Conservancy has brought back their summer walking tours due to their popularity and today was the first part of 4 week series which repeats again next month and covered the Art Deco period of architecture which took place mostly between the two World Wars. We met at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel at 5:30pm and then walked across the street to Pershing Square to get a brief introduction to Art Deco, which is a contemporary term for what was then known as "Style Moderne." Art Deco became known to the world at the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes and with its strong geometric patterns and designs was strikingly different than the curvaceous and fluid Beaux Arts style which graces the facades of many of pre-World War buildings of Downtown LA. more ›

Ed Note: We postponed publication of Monday's LAist Interview until today in honor of the Independence Day holiday. more ›

Frank Lloyd Wright-designed residences in Los Angeles are few yet unforgettable. His genius doesn't come without a price in the long term, though. While Wright is widely considered to be the most influential architect to emerge from late nineteenth and twentieth century America, his realized projects for Los Angeles were at times impractical indeed. This stubborn brilliance and his miscalculations means that his local repertoire -- including the Hollyhock House, Freeman House, and the Ennis-Brown House -- pose serious challenges concerning maintenance, rehabilitation, and preservation. more ›