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Westlake's newest indie music venue, The Teragram Ballroom, may not be open just yet, but they are selling tickets for June shows starting today. Yesterday afternoon, we visited the space at 1234 W. 7th St. that will become the Teragram Ballroom. Crews were busily working to convert the former Quality Cafe (seen here in numerous films) and adjacent spaces into a small restaurant, a bar and most importantly, a venue for live music. Once finished, the 9,000-square-foot Teragram should have space for about 600 people and will focus on live indie shows.
The Teragram comes from NYC's Bowery Ballroom's Michael Swier, who lived in L.A. briefly during the '70s. The name is a tribute to Swier's late wife, Margaret Hannigan: Teragram is Margaret spelled backwards.
Swier told LAist he is particularly interested in the resurgence of downtown L.A., which was a factor in choosing Teragram's location on the outskirts. Broadway Bar's Joe Baxley, who helped find the location, said he's "confident the Teragram Ballroom will be a positive cultural addition, one that will have an economic benefit to the immediate neighborhood" in a release. Teragram will share the block with Lethal Amounts, a gallery and clothing shop that opened 2012, the Monty Bar and the historic Mayfair Hotel, which is currently undergoing renovations.
While an opening date has not been set, the first few shows have already been announced and you can buy tickets here. Acts include indie rock band Delta Spirit and vaudeville marching band March Fourth.
