I would be happy to!
That building now houses the Walgreen's where I go to buy milk
They did a nice job of restoring the facade. Very cool that you have memories of it before it became lofts!
http://brighamyen.com/2014/02/03/wil...y-downtown-la/
I personally love living on this stretch of Broadway. It's a little rough in parts, especially at night (we are just a couple of blocks from Skid Row). But it feels like the absolute center of downtown. Within just one block of my apartment are: Pershing Square, Grand Central Market, the Bradbury Building, the Broadway-Spring Arcade Building, the Continental Building, the Title Guarantee Building (1930), the OLD Title Guarantee Building (1912), Hotel Clark, J.J. Newberry's (now Fallas Parades)...too many more to list! And that's literally just within one block.
Living down here at the moment feels a little bit like...Soho NYC in the 80s? Still a lot of run-down storefronts, dark old theater marquees, and homelessness. But it seems like every week there's a new shop, cafe, or renovated theater opening (just last night we walked past the re-opening of the Globe Theatre a few blocks away). The other residents here are a mix of students, young professionals, artistic types, musicians and so on. I think we all tend to feel a little like "urban explorers" or maybe a little like the frontiersmen who were drawn to Los Angeles at the turn of the last century. You can just tell that downtown is in period of tremendous growth, and it's exciting to be part of that.
Due to the renaissance of the past few years, this part of downtown offers some tremendous conveniences. We have easy access to nearly all the Metro train lines. From Union Station, and to all points beyond... I do have a car, but I try as much as possible not to drive it. For those visiting downtown, you might be surprised to know that (depending on the time of day) street parking is actually relatively easy to find.
We do daily produce shopping at Grand Central Market, which I understand has been a fixture of this neighborhood for nearly 100 years. Chinatown and Little Tokyo are also short walks away, always nice for lunch or dinner. Our other favorite haunt is Cole's P.E. Buffet in the old Pacific Electric Terminal. It's been gussied up, but it still has a Victorian charm that is very "Old Los Angeles." Of course, the Plaza, Olvera Street, Union Station... more lovely spots to take a walk. I also love trekking up Bunker Hill, mostly because, outside of normal 9-5 work hours, it's a total ghost town-- a surprisingly tranquil place to escape the bustle of the city and take in some spectacular views too.
Living here, almost everything we need is within walking distance, or at least a short subway trip away. It's almost like actually living in a proper big city
I'll be happy to post more photos or whatever people are interested in. I'll leave you with a great shot of Grand Central Market, a place I visit almost daily. Does anyone know in which part of the market this stall/counter was? It looks like Belcampo Meat Co. to me, but I have no idea.
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/re...ll170/id/43203
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