THE ANNUAL holiday party at Atwater Village dance and fitness studio Heartbeat House, 3141 Glendale Blvd., is Saturday, Dec. 12. Appetizers and bar open at 7:00pm, with dance performances starting at 7:30pm. Sure to raise holiday spirits and temperatures on this cold, wet weekend in Los Angeles.
Come for the treats and drinks and prizes, stay for the visual and performing arts. Free admission and free parking.Atwater Playhouse Grand Opening and
Atwater Village Art Center 4th Birthday
- Casitas Artists Complex
- 3191 Casitas Ave., Atwater Village
- Saturday, Dec. 12, noon to 5:00pm
- Sunday, Dec. 13, noon to 5:00pm
- Free
Word is one or more of the former Yoga Lab instructors can be found at nearby Heartbeat House."Drove by Yoga Lab today and they have shut shop, and posted a large To Let sign on the windows. Sad to see another small business shut its doors. I never really thought that would last though. The few times I'd been in they only had 2-3 people in each class!"
LOS ANGELES City Council President Eric Garcetti surely has been accused of worse, but this interesting exchange took place over the course of 2 interviews on Neon Tommy; one with Garcetti, one with Council Member Tom LaBonge).Garcetti may not consider himself "hip" but just over the last 3 years it's hard to ignore the extra bit of style baked into the appearance of the future LA mayoral candidate. Yes, in answering, "What's next?" Garcetti admits that one possible path "would be to look at mayor in 2013." Hipsters represent.NEON TOMMY: Who do you think represents more hipsters, you or Eric Garcetti?
TOM LABONGE: (thinks for a second) I think it's probably Eric because Eric is more of a hipster than I am. Though I could talk you up if you wanted me to.
NEON TOMMY: You know I talked to Tom LeBonge...
ERIC GARCETTI: Yeah I heard, I can answer the hipster question right out. I mean, not even close. CD 13 is hipster central. Silver Lake, Echo Park, Atwater Village...
NEON TOMMY: Are you a hipster?
ERIC GARCETTI: No but I represent them proudly.
HELICOPTERS OVER Atwater Village this afternoon. At about 12:30pm, from the Los Angeles Fire Department: River rescue, 3398 W. Riverside Dr., one victim needing help in the storm drain; not the water at this time.
UPDATE FROM Chef Karen Yoo, who back in June was hunting around Atwater Village for a possible location for her future restaurant, about her new plans in neighboring Los Feliz:"My husband and I are currently building out a small meat and fish market in Los Feliz called McCall's Meat and Fish Company. We are part way through construction on a space on Hillhurst Ave. right next to Mexico City Restaurant [Google map]."We are planning on selling amazing quality meats and seafood as well as some retail items like our favorite oils, vinegars and salts, etc... We will also offer dry aged steaks, house made sausages, and pre-seasoned and tied roasts on a limited basis."We are really excited to be in the neighborhood and have a projected opening date set for mid January."
SUNDAY MORNING report from a tipster, although unsubstantiated by anyone or anything else: "My friend Barbara has a new bakery in Atwater and she is giving a free polenta/raspberry cookie to anyone who comes in today [Nov. 22] and says 'chupacabra.' I just tried one of the cookies and they are ridiculously good. I thought I'd let you know, but you are probably out enjoying your Sunday. I've attached a photo I took of the cookies just in case." Village Bakery & Cafe is at 3119 Los Feliz Blvd. Someone try the password and let us know how it goes.
MORE DINING options coming to the southeast side of Glendale Blvd. here in Atwater Village. From a tipster: "Walked past the new cafe that's taken over the old Coldstone building. They finally have their fancy new sign up. Been told that they will be open for business in the next two weeks." (Cold Stone Creamery closed its location at 3134 Glendale Blvd. back in December 2008.)
ATWATER VILLAGE'S tree lighting, in years past one of the biggest and best-attended neighborhood holiday events in Los Angeles, is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4. The 50-foot, 82-year-old California Redwood in the median of Glendale Boulevard will again be the centerpiece of this year's event.18th Annual Atwater Village Tree LightingThe event is put together by the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council, the Atwater Village Chamber of Commerce and LA City Council President Eric Garcetti (CD13).
- Wells Fargo parking lot
- 3250 Glendale Blvd.
- Friday, Dec. 4, 2009
- 6:00pm ceremony begins
- 6:45pm Santa Claus arrival (via fire truck) and tree lighting
THIS JUST IN: Workshop is a new jewelry gallery opening in the old Amelia Fitzwater space at 3129 1/2 Glendale Blvd. Grand opening event is Nov. 21, 7:00pm, with refreshments and handmade artist jewelry by Serena Kojimoto. Regular store hours will be Tuesday through Friday, 12:00 noon to 7:00pm and Saturday, 11:00am to 6:00pm.
HALLOWEEN HORROR and mischief in and around this northeast Los Angeles neighborhood we call Atwater Village:
FRIDAY MARKS the 6th annual Trick-or-Treat on the Boo-levard, a fall festival put on by the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council and nearly 50 local businesses. Costumed kids hit the 3100 Block of Glendale Blvd., between Glenhurst and Revere, October 30, 2009, 4:30pm to 6:00pm. Might be the most villagey thing that happens in Atwater Village.
THROUGH AN INFORMATIVE reader comment we learn the Atwater Village house that caught fire last week was the location of "Amos," a 1985 made-for-TV movie starring Kirk Douglas. Look at a subtitled YouTube version. Perlita Avenue appears toward the end of the credits, around the 2:00 mark. And then take a look at how the house looked pre-fire on Google Street View. Good news: the commenter says the house will be rebuilt by summer.
Neighbors, you are on alert. Check windows and doors. Watch for interlopers. Report emergencies to 911, other police matters to 1-877-ASK-LAPD."The house across the street from us on Valleybrink Road was burglarized last week! It was a weekday; not sure which one. During the day while the husband and wife were at work. The burglar(s) broke in thru a side window. They stole a huge flat screen TV, the wife’s jewelry, etc. The couple have a lab dog that stays in the backyard. Please alert your neighbors!"
THIS PHOTO by Dan Gabai was taken more than a year ago, Sept. 13, 2008, back when street lamps on the Glendale-Hyperion bridge viaduct system came on at night. These days, the lamps stay dark. The corners and shadows along and beneath the bridge and its staircases and sidewalks are even darker. What gives? Can't be all about money savings for the city, especially on a bridge where City Council spent $2,000 to install American flags. (Which, by the way, some might say, ought not be waving in the dark.)
UPDATE: Week later. Lights on.
TO RAISE FUNDS for Atwater Avenue Elementary School, a community organization is hosting a movie screening. The deets:
MORE TIDBITS about that 2-story $1,096,000 listing on Sunnynook Drive: Turns out the seller is a musician named Ginger Fish, a drummer for Marilyn Manson. The Real Estalker gives the lowdown and adds a fresh opinion about our neighborhood:Real Estalker's POV aside, the Fish house adds another note (with Beastie Boys, Eels, Black Eyed Peas) to the musical history of Atwater Village."The 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom house is located in a modest section of Los Angeles called Atwater Village, a neighborhood with a Silver Lake zip code that borders Glendale, Elysian Valley, Glassell Park, Los Feliz, and the sprawling Griffith Park. Being the hub in a geographic wheel certainly makes Atwater Village accessible to and from many parts of the Tinseltown but, as far as Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter are concerned, it's far to [sic] hot and smoggy for our delicate constitutions..."
"Snow White" isn't the only Disney connection with the Scottish-themed restaurant and pub, according to Jim Hill Media:"And the inside? Looks just like a little nook-filled cottage, still. Is it a coincidence that Snow White was in the works around the time the artists would dine here?
And if Walt's table 31 doesn't do it for you, see if table 15 is available. That was John Wayne's."Someone once told me that the houses around the Tam were built by Walt Disney for his employees to live in. I've also been told that the architecture of the Tam helped influence building design on the Pinocchio ride at Disneyland."
THIS FIRST week of autumn it's snowing in Colorado (where we used to live) but it's quite sunny and warm here for Atwater Village's third and final Summer Nights on the Boulevard for 2009. The festivities start on the 3100 block of Glendale Blvd., with several blocks of retailers, restaurants, shops and galleries staying open late and hosting live music and other social activities, Thursday Sept. 24, 6:00pm to 10:00pm. See you out there before the temps dip into the autumnal 80s next week.
THE NORTHEAST DIVISION of the Los Angeles Police Department is warning Atwater Village about a rash of daytime residential burglaries in September. Most of them take place between 8:00am and 4:00pm. See the latest Atwater Village crime map.
TONIGHT I'M requesting graffiti removal via the new "self help" website from the City of Los Angeles, anti-graffiti.lacity.org.
NOW OPEN: The Village Bakery and Cafe opened its doors this week in the former L.A. Bread space, 3119 Los Feliz Blvd. Helmed by the founding co-owner/pastry chef at Eagle Rock's Auntie Em's Kitchen, this new breakfast and lunch spot in Atwater Village promises to be a richer, nicer cousin of the building's former occupant. I stopped by yesterday for the decadent Thanksgiving on a Bun: turkey, stuffing, cranberries, gravy on the side. Huge. With a salad. For $8.95.
ALTHOUGH IT sometimes feels like we're already living inside a police drama, this marks the first time NBC's "Southland" will shoot scenes in Atwater Village. This Friday, Sept. 11, keep eyes peeled for hunky cops, moody perps and parking restrictions on the south side of Fletcher Drive, the east side of Casitas Avenue, both sides of Kerr Street, and the south side of Carillon Street. Highway 2 and the Los Angeles River will also have their fair share of: WE ALREADY know the body of Michael Jackson will be buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, just across the tracks from Atwater Village. It (he) goes down tomorrow, September 3, during a private evening service.But where will the King of Pop finally rest? Where would you? One detailed report has MJ resting near Walt Disney's garden grave beside the Freedom Mausoleum. Another story says Jackson will be slid into a crypt inside the Great Mausoleum. Forest Lawn staffers are notoriously mum toward tourists and fans, but this one is sure to eventually pop up on one of the many celebrity grave location websites. |
UPDATE: From the AVNC forum, word is this spot will be an as-yet-unnamed art-themed coffee, juice and organic food cafe of some kind, probably not unlike the new-ish Yoga Lab about 3 blocks up.
FOR THE FIRST time in this 6-day-old Station Fire, I noticed ash this morning on vehicles in Atwater Village. We're about 10 miles from the nearest flames. Of course it's not the visible stuff that gets you, they say, it's the finer particulates in the air that cause the greatest health risk. And AQMD's air quality forecast map calls for "unhealthy" air today, with an air quality index value of 159. I think this'll take more than one Shamwow.
SINCE THE "Station Fire" in La Canada Flintridge falls outside the City of Los Angeles, we can't rely on the Los Angeles Fire Department's excellent blog and tweet updates; it's out of their jurisdiction. But as the flames and smoke fill the sky over Atwater Village and the rest of northeast Los Angeles, the City of La Canada Flintridge is providing its own hourly updates:
IT'S BACK: For the second time this summer, Atwater Village shops and restaurants are spilling out onto the sidewalks of Glendale Blvd. for another Summer Nights event. Expect sidewalk sales, live music, art and fashion in this LA version of a retail block party. It starts tonight, Aug. 27, 6:00pm, up and down both sides of Glendale Blvd., north from Glenfeliz Blvd.
AS A PREVIEW of Grass Burger, their upcoming restaurant at the Farmers Market on Fairfax, Nancy Silverton (Pizzeria Mozza, Osteria Mozza) and Amy Pressman (Pasadena's Old Town Bakery) are guest chefs at Atwater Village's Canele, 3219 Glendale Blvd., tonight, August 25, 5:30pm to 10:30pm. No reservations. The 3-course, $36 prix fixe menu:
TWO MORE FREE outdoor movie nights are scheduled this summer for the Los Feliz Municipal Golf Course, 3207 Los Feliz Blvd., in Atwater Village. Saturday August 21 is Ghostbusters and September 18 is The Princess Bride. Blankets and picnics on the green are encouraged. Chairs and pets, not so much. This will make 3 movie nights this summer, and might just make the beginning of a monthly summer tradition for the AV. Kudos to the neighborhood council and the (long list of) community sponsors. Here come the Marshmallow Man and the Dread Pirate Roberts!
FOLLOWING THE successful Toonerville gang raids in July, City Councilman Eric Garcetti has been focusing all kinds of love on North Atwater Village. This Wednesday was a "job readiness" workshop at Chevy Chase Park helping citizens figure out how to get construction jobs. And last Saturday morning saw a neighborhood walk where Garcetti's roving gang was repeatedly thanked for LAPD efforts to crack down on other less desirable roving gangs.
IN THIS WEEK's heralded redesign of the LA Times website, one thing's forgotten: deep links. In its new design the paper neglected to keep old URLs, like the ones for articles blogs like mine link to all the time. In fact it seems the paper seems to have retired the latimesblogs.latimes.com address and its accompanying LA Now blog, perhaps the Times' best online news effort. No redirects, either. Aren't inbound links still important, LAT? Isn't this one of the top reasons news organizations have websites in the first place? So next time you see a "host not accessible" blank page when clicking through from my blog to an old LA Times article, you know whom to blame...
I WAS SUSPICIOUS of the window sign, "iced hempaccino," on the building next to our neighborhood post office. Was this yet another new business hanging off the quickly-departing caboose of the medical marijuana gravy train in Atwater Village?
HERE'S A CALL to that architecture-themed ice-cream truck-about-town, Coolhaus. How about showing some cool, sweet love to your hometown neighborhood? According to Pasadena Star-News, one of the Coolhaus co-founders is an Atwater Village native. Does this mean we might see some Frank Behry or Mintamalism ice-cream sandwiches at the next Summer Nights event? I think it's worth asking. Let's all hound them on Twitter.THE NORTHERN TIP of Atwater Village has the neighborhood's last remaining strip club, and now the whole area might be stripped from the neighborhood. Not that anyone really lives in this concrete industrial stem at the top of Atwater Village's banana, but Los Angeles City Councilman Tom Labonge has taken to renaming it River Glen. The new moniker appears on the LA River Revitalization Plan and other City documents, according to the Friends of Atwater Village blog. Labonge has also been using it in emails to describe development initiatives in the area. Never mind the name. (Not much Glen-like about it.) But splitting it from residential areas of Atwater Village seems rather arbitrary.  Are we saying industrial and residential don't mix? Or could this be a clever ploy by Labonge's office to locate a waste treatment facility in North Atwater Village without approval from our usual stakeholders, like neighborhood council?The "River Glen" area is also adjacent to the Chevy Chase Park area, where LAPD recently raided Toonerville gang compounds and promises continued cleanup of the area. I suppose neighborhood stakeholders could want continued say in how both areas are governed. I only spent time in "River Glen" once, at a furniture sale. (Didn't buy anything.) But I wouldn't be surprised if people through it was part of the City of Glendale anyway. |
| SUMMER NIGHTS on the Boulevard, tonight, Thursday July 23, 6:00pm to 10:00pm, in Atwater Village along Glendale Blvd., from Glenfeliz to Perlita. |
 TOMORROW MARKS the return of the street fest to Atwater Village. In 2008, our neighborhood enjoyed an April "Artwater" art festival, a June sidewalk festival, an October trick-or-treat event and a December holiday tree lighting festival. But this year, with anticipated budget cuts to neighborhood organizations, it looked like we'd get through all of 2009 without taking to the streets. No worries, now. Enter the Atwater Village Chamber of Commerce:Summer Nights on The Boulevard |
NOT TO MISS: Top Chef season 2 winner Ilan Hall takes over the kitchen Tuesday July 21, 5:30pm to 10:00pm, at Canele, 3219 Glendale Blvd., in Atwater Village. Hall's 3-course prix fixe (price TBD) Scottish-influenced menu is predicted to include:
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JULY 9 gang raid in North Atwater Village is being hailed, not least of all by the raiders themselves, as an unqualified success. The numbers, from Northeast LAPD:
