The Derby No Longer So Money

Three years ago, preservationists managed to save (or at least, delay) the building housing Los Feliz’s Derby night club (and a Louise’s outpost_ — the last standing remnant of the once-popular Brown Derby chain — from destruction.

At the time, L.A.’s City Council designated the Derby, in its entirety, as a historic cultural monument to the city of Los Angeles. (Check out our posts on the “Save the Derby” campaign here.)

Unfortunately, it looks like now it’s the Derby nightclub itself — made famous thanks to its appearance in the 1996 movie “Swingers,” and the swing dance revival craze that followed — that now needs saving.

According to the L.A. Times, the Derby was recently moved to a month-to-month lease. And now, word is that Sunday night’s swing dance night would be the club’s last.

Now, Rebecca Goodman — who was behind the original Save the Derby campaign — has reignited that website and is once again looking for some help. She writes:

We will continue to work with the Councilman Tom LaBonge, The Cultural Heritage Commission, The Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council, Hollywood Heritage, The LA Conservancy, and other groups and individuals who care about the rich legacy of Los Angeles, Hollywood’s Golden Age and a vibrant, active future for this building.

Msgr. John Kucingis, Founded Los Feliz’s St. Casimir’s Church

We wrote several years ago about the quirky Catholic church in Los Feliz, St. Casimir’s, which we attend and where Blogger Preschooler was baptized.

The secret about St. Casimir’s no frills mass: It’s done in 30 minutes. That may be one reason the Lithuanian church’s English masses are so packed with non-Lithuanians. (And that’s part of the charm: A mostly Filipino congregation being led by a Lithuanian priest. God Bless America!)

St. Casimir’s founder Msgr. John Kucingis passed away on Jan. 6, having just celebrated his 100th birthday two weeks prior.

Kucingis, who was ordained as a priest in 1937, took over St. Casimir’s Lithuanian Church Parish in Los Angeles in 1947 (it had been founded in 1941) after fleeing his homeland. Kucingis lived through the German and Russian occupations of his country, but was arrested four times by Soviet police in the 1940s before escaping first to Germany and then to the United States in 1946. The L.A. Times obit notes:

Kucingis (led) efforts to build the parish church, school, rectory and convent. He encouraged church members to sponsor Lithuanian refugees and speak out about Communist repression in their homeland.

“We were thrown out of our country,” Kucingis told The Times in 1969. “We were happy there. Like all people who are exiled, we brought a mission with us, to help those at home who are suffering, to be a loudspeaker for the whole world.”

Kucingis retired in 1984, but continued to live at the church. He was laid to rest last Saturday.

St. Casimir’s continues to serve as the centerpiece for Lithuanian life in Southern California; the church holds a popular annual Lithuanian carnival, among other events. Its school, however, was closed last year due to declining enrollment; Holy Trinity School took over the buildings to expand to a second campus.

Los Feliz Cancels Its Holiday Festival, But Atwater Village Carries On

One of our favorite neighborhood holiday events, the annual Los Feliz holiday festival, has been canceled this year.

According to the Los Feliz Business Improvement District, the festival was scrapped because the group is “re-evaluating our festivals and fairs.” But it also came down to money: The city’s no longer waiving its fees, and “street closures are expensive.”

(Flickr pic by Jory.)

Good news now: The 17th annual Atwater Village Tree Lighting Ceremony is still on.

Event takes place this Thursday, December 4, 2008 starting at 6:30 p.m. Details:

The tree lighting ceremony will be accompanied by a Holiday Festival in the Wells Fargo parking lot at 3250 Glendale Blvd. The evening’s program will include children’s choirs from local schools, the world premiere of a new locally produced song, a fashion show featuring local merchants and citizens, a short film about the Atwater neighborhood, and traditional Christmas harmonies by the Tam O’Shanter Singers. Santa Claus is scheduled to arrive on a Los Angeles Fire Department fire truck, heralding the lighting of the tree at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Also this year: The Old Bank District Holiday party takes place 6 p.m. to midnight on Dec. 6. It’s free. Details:

- Main Stage presented by Little Radio with live performances from The Like, Whispertown 2000, The Afternoons, Restaurant, and special guest headliner performing from 6 pm – 12 am.

- An outdoor Beer and Wine Garden on 4th St., with seating for partygoers to enjoy the lights and entertainment.

- Harlem Place Alley will be transformed into an intimate Jazz Bar with performances by Pablo Calogero and band, hosted by Pete’s Café & Bar.

- Comme des Garçons, Blends, Orange 22, and Fremont Apparel, as well as other neighborhood retailers including those on Main St. like Banquette, Blossom, Raw Materials and others, will be offering specials and discounts for holiday shoppers.

- An Art Bazaar will be hosted in the historic Farmers and Merchants Bank, featuring the work of over 30 local artists. The Bazaar will be cash only and all work will be $200 and under.

Ye Expanded Rustic Inn

(Flickr pic by Uh…Bob.)

Fans of Sunday morning Bloody Marys in Los Feliz, good news: Reader Craig reports that Ye Rustic Inn is looking to expand.

He writes:

The notice says the bar wants to add 500 square feet to its patio, and 1,180 square feet to its interior. The patio hours would be 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun.-Thur., 6 a.m.-midnight Fri.-Sat.

The zoning board hearing will be Oct. 2 at 10:30 a.m., if yer interested.

BTW, if you’re hanging out at Ye Rustic Inn’s patio at 6 a.m., you may need some help. Just sayin.

Los Angeles Ad Town: Figaro Bistrot

Los Feliz’s own Figaro Bistrot — also known as Figaro Cafe, also known as Figaro Brasserie — makes a guest appearance in a new commercial for sloppy burger chain Carl’s Jr. View the ad here. (It’s for their artery cloggin “Monster Breakfast Sandwich.” Holy moly, that thing must be 10,000 calories!)

In comparison, here’s how the Figaro normally looks, via its website:

Inflation Hits the Los Feliz 3

(Flickr pic by Santa Barbarian.)

A reader writes that the Los Feliz theater, long a cheap alternative to the megaplexes, has upped its box office price:

Just wanted to pass along that the Los Feliz 3 movie theater has quietly raised ticket prices and its no longer such a deal. adults are now $9 apiece!

Yikes! Considering how tiny those three screens are, that’s pushing things.

Inflation Hits the Los Feliz 3

(Flickr pic by Santa Barbarian.)

A reader writes that the Los Feliz theater, long a cheap alternative to the megaplexes, has upped its box office price:

Just wanted to pass along that the Los Feliz 3 movie theater has quietly raised ticket prices and its no longer such a deal. adults are now $9 apiece!

Yikes! Considering how tiny those three screens are, that’s pushing things.

Los Angeles, Ad Town One in a series

This current spot for Weight Watchers was shot both outside (above) and inside (below) Los Feliz’s Farfalla, on Hillhurst.

The Staircases of Los Angeles

(Flickr pic by Cory.)

Five years ago we talked up Los Feliz’s Radio Walk and Prospect Walk staircases in the Franklin Hills. Back when Franklin Avenue actually lived on Franklin Avenue, we used to hike those steps all the time for exercise.

The L.A. Times this week reminded us that there are staircases all over the city — and they’re popular among hikers and exercise fiends. The paper writes:

The “Music Box” staircase, which shoots straight up from Vendome Street to Descanso Drive, is one of 52 stairways in 46-year-old writer Dan Koeppel’s personal 16.2-mile stair hike — comprising 4,182 steps, with a 7,445-foot elevation gain.

The walk hopscotches up and down a matrix of city-owned steps around Silver Lake and Echo Park, just north of downtown Los Angeles, and offers up dazzling overlooks of East Los Angeles, Griffith Park Observatory, the Hollywood sign, the Silver Lake Reservoir and downtown Los Angeles. The overall effect is a little like taking a local historical garden tour while going full throttle on a StairMaster.

Bob Herzog, co-chairman of the Silver Lake History Collective, notes that the steps around the older parts of the city were built mostly in the mid 1920s, and led down to Red Car transit points. The Red Cars are long gone, of course, but the stairs remain.

The Staircases of Los Angeles

(Flickr pic by Cory.)

Five years ago we talked up Los Feliz’s Radio Walk and Prospect Walk staircases in the Franklin Hills. Back when Franklin Avenue actually lived on Franklin Avenue, we used to hike those steps all the time for exercise.

The L.A. Times this week reminded us that there are staircases all over the city — and they’re popular among hikers and exercise fiends. The paper writes:

The “Music Box” staircase, which shoots straight up from Vendome Street to Descanso Drive, is one of 52 stairways in 46-year-old writer Dan Koeppel’s personal 16.2-mile stair hike — comprising 4,182 steps, with a 7,445-foot elevation gain.

The walk hopscotches up and down a matrix of city-owned steps around Silver Lake and Echo Park, just north of downtown Los Angeles, and offers up dazzling overlooks of East Los Angeles, Griffith Park Observatory, the Hollywood sign, the Silver Lake Reservoir and downtown Los Angeles. The overall effect is a little like taking a local historical garden tour while going full throttle on a StairMaster.

Bob Herzog, co-chairman of the Silver Lake History Collective, notes that the steps around the older parts of the city were built mostly in the mid 1920s, and led down to Red Car transit points. The Red Cars are long gone, of course, but the stairs remain.