Steve Harvey's "Only in L.A." column this weekend heads underground to some familiar LAist territory: The Belmont Tunnel. The one-mile stretch used to be LA's first--and only--subway, opening in 1925 but shut down thirty years later. Harvey notes that once the Red Cars stopped using the tunnel, it was put to work as "a storage site for survival rations, a holding cell for impounded vehicles, a movie set and, unofficially, a giant graffiti canvas and field of study for urban explorers." more ›

Think LA's relationship with underground rail transit began with the first tunnels blasted out to make way for the Red Line? Think again! LA's first subterranean transit system was a short stretch of tunneling dubbed the "Hollywood Subway," which moved its first passengers under the city in 1925 via electric interurban rail cars. more ›

Meet Daniel Hernandez, one of this LAist Interviewer's most elusive targets. He's only 25, but he's already an important voice in the Los Angeles media. Always on the go, we've been chasing him for an interview for the past year. We're glad our persistence paid off because Daniel has a keen sense about what's really interesting about this city. We first noticed Daniel's writing when he wrote a piece about the endangered graffiti art... more ›

The Belmont Yard, aka the Belmont Tunnel, aka the Belmont Art Park has been threatened with destruction by a developer with 276 units of apartments up its corporate nose. Located off the west edge of downtown, the park has served as rare greenspace for a soccer-like game called Tarasca and as a canvas for some breathtakingly talented graffiti artists. While the rains held the bulldozers back for a short interval, the yard and its surrounding graffiti-coated walls have now been plowed into foundation-ready ground for the approved apartments. On February 9, the City Council's Planning and Land Use Management Committee approved designation of the tunnel and substation (pictured) as landmarks, but exactly how anyone will see them after the new construction takes place is beyond us. For now, the best vantage point is from the 1st street bridge as it crosses second. Either that or follow the stray dogs through the gap in fence off Lucas and get a closer-up view. more ›

In the days before we could legally drink Ketel One sodas and martinis at Lola's, we'd often find ourselves in the tight quarters of The Florentine Gardens on a Friday or Saturday night. As one of the few venues in Los Angeles that pumped hip hop through the speakers while only requiring you to be 18 to get in, it has been a haven for young folks desperate to drop it like it was hot and maybe find a new person to make out with. It is of particular interest to the minority communities living outside the 323 wanting to venture into Hollywood but also wanting to be in a space that they felt comfortable. more ›

The Architecture and Design Museum continues to showcase Los Angeles’s finest with "34 Los Angeles Architects." The exhibition opens tomorrow with a reception at 7:00 PM, 8560 W. Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood (exhibition remains on view through February 22, 2005). According to the A + D Museum, the exhibition contains "a wide representation of an open-ended view of modernist architecture in the fertile architectural ground of Los Angeles – a cutting edge 21st Century City." Participants include local firms whose impact is beginning to register beyond Los Angeles, such as Koning Eizenberg Architecture, Lorcan O’Herlihy, Michael Maltzan, Neil M. Denari, and Marmol Radziner. O’Herlihy created a diamond-shaped "tower" within which the presentations are installed. Hmm, it sounds like you gotta see it to understand how this scheme works. more ›

Los Angeles is once again busy trying to scrub away our colorful and interesting heritage. The Belmont Tunnel, formerly used to hustle rail traffic into and out of downtown, is in danger of being restricted from public use. The issue is rancorous because since its abandonment, the Tunnel has become a sort of wasteland, inhabited mostly by the unseemly characters that police pin all sorts of nastiness on: the homeless and taggers. more ›