Noho
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It keeps rising in the LATDA horizon. Actually not just from the horizon, but from all directions. It has been suggested as a possible site from no less than four different and unconnected people. There are many aspects that lend credence to the idea – the CRA involvement, the new Metro link station, its proximity to the studios and connection to the animation community. All in all, a pretty amusing location…
Here’s a report I emailed on 7/16/03:
On Sunday I decided to do a little reconnaissance in North Hollywood. I actually found a vacant building that would make a very charming museum...it was two stories and a total of 11,000+ sq. ft. It was one block from the Metro station and surrounded by vacant lots. I took down the number and will try and make an inquiry. Unfortunately it was only for lease, not for sale. But then again, we don't have that kind of capital yet anyway. But it always helps to have a vessel in which to visualize one's dream.
In the same neighborhood I passed an interesting place surrounded by auto repair shops. It was a blockhouse covered with cat's claw ivy gone wild and overgrown. The word "Museum" was scrawled in folk-arty type on the side of the building - it caught my eye and I pulled over to check it out. There was a pair of shoes hanging over the telephone wire in front - a pair of clown shoes. The letters 'C-I-A' were painted on a small ivy-cleared sign on the roof. When I got close to the front door (buried under a very dark overhang) I could see a painted clown face in bas-relief. To the left of the door was a small showcase with some very creepy rubber puppets jammed uncomfortably inside the glass. The sign said "California Institute of Abnormal Arts" with a smaller card that read "Dead Puppets Society". Although I have an instinctive dislike for clowns, I knocked on the door while at the same time flashing on the fact that no one knew where I was...
Being a dyed-in-the-wool Angeleno, I have always had a natural distrust and disdain for all things Valley. But I know that it is changing. Sandra Tsing Loh lives out there for chrissakes – how bad can it be? Still, when I was roaming the near deserted streets in dog-day heat, I had a hard time visualizing the lively, animated scenes depicted in the renderings on the NoHo Arts District web pages. But then again, I remember what Old Town Pasadena looked like 30 years ago. I would have never imagined it to be what it is today. But can we wait 30 years?
Here’s a report I emailed on 7/16/03:
On Sunday I decided to do a little reconnaissance in North Hollywood. I actually found a vacant building that would make a very charming museum...it was two stories and a total of 11,000+ sq. ft. It was one block from the Metro station and surrounded by vacant lots. I took down the number and will try and make an inquiry. Unfortunately it was only for lease, not for sale. But then again, we don't have that kind of capital yet anyway. But it always helps to have a vessel in which to visualize one's dream.
In the same neighborhood I passed an interesting place surrounded by auto repair shops. It was a blockhouse covered with cat's claw ivy gone wild and overgrown. The word "Museum" was scrawled in folk-arty type on the side of the building - it caught my eye and I pulled over to check it out. There was a pair of shoes hanging over the telephone wire in front - a pair of clown shoes. The letters 'C-I-A' were painted on a small ivy-cleared sign on the roof. When I got close to the front door (buried under a very dark overhang) I could see a painted clown face in bas-relief. To the left of the door was a small showcase with some very creepy rubber puppets jammed uncomfortably inside the glass. The sign said "California Institute of Abnormal Arts" with a smaller card that read "Dead Puppets Society". Although I have an instinctive dislike for clowns, I knocked on the door while at the same time flashing on the fact that no one knew where I was...
Being a dyed-in-the-wool Angeleno, I have always had a natural distrust and disdain for all things Valley. But I know that it is changing. Sandra Tsing Loh lives out there for chrissakes – how bad can it be? Still, when I was roaming the near deserted streets in dog-day heat, I had a hard time visualizing the lively, animated scenes depicted in the renderings on the NoHo Arts District web pages. But then again, I remember what Old Town Pasadena looked like 30 years ago. I would have never imagined it to be what it is today. But can we wait 30 years?