Protesting Proposition 8

Following the mass rally downtown in front of City Hall, some Prop 8 protesters took to the streets, marching back west on Sunset Boulevard. We happened to be passing by at the same time and caught a few images:

Meanwhile, while watching an old episode of “The Amazing Race” (from the Sunday before Election Day) on TiVo tonight, we caught a No on 8 ad featuring Sen. Dianne Feinstein. It was much stronger than the ones that had previously been airing on TV, and finally included some heavy hitting comments from the likes of Feinstein and Obama. It’s just really unfortunate the No on 8 campaign waited until just before the election to unveil a tougher ad like that.

But you can only blame the No on 8 campaign so much. The “Yes” side ran ads that were misleading and stoked fear… and if history is any indication (hello, Willie Horton and the Swift Boaters), that’s what all too frequently works in elections.

They Say The Neon Lights Are Bright on Broadway (And The Rest of L.A.)

Above, the renovated Palladium’s new sign — nicely re-created from images of how the sign once looked.

Yesterday, we wrote about the Museum of Neon Arts’ new home in downtown Los Angeles. The MONA’s neon cruises are still going strong, and on Saturday night the museum’s Eric Evavold invited us to check one out.

With the Blogger Preschooler’s grandparents in town, the timing was perfect. Maria and I got there early enough for a wine and cheese at the museum, before heading out at 8 p.m. sharp. Eric led us through downtown (including Broadway) and Chinatown (where the bus took a break). Then it was on to Hollywood (maneuvering around the anti-Prop 8 rally) and Fairfax, where we took another break at Canter’s. Final leg of the tour took us down Wilshire.

Eric Evavold, our guide for the evening.

The Orpheum — Broadway’s best example of how to revitalize the street’s movie palaces.

Also on Broadway: The old Globe theater.

Old Chinatown signs, recently restored (partly by MONA) and installed (in some cases, for the first time in decades).

One of the city’s best examples of adaptive reuse: Bullocks Wilshire, now a part of the Southwestern School of Law.

The floor in front of Clifton’s Brookdale.

Hollywood rallies to put a stop to Prop 8, as seen from the MONA bus.