LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by scania

The Apple Store is almost ready.

[IMG]https://ibb.co/xz2gxqF https://ibb.co/Vw116XT https://ibb.co/GPhW0X2[/IMG]

I hope when it opens that from Broadway you will be able to see into the store through what I suspect are now blocked off windows.

[bhunsberger]

Originally Posted by dktshb

I hope when it opens that from Broadway you will be able to see into the store through what I suspect are now blocked off windows.

They are clear and there is no obstruction when they are fully opened. However, with some of the mentally ill & homeless, we may find them shut more often than not. They have security so it might actually not be a huge issue. Time will tell.

[scania]

They have now posted the opening day on the marquee. It’s June 24.

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by bhunsberger

They are clear and there is no obstruction when they are fully opened. However, with some of the mentally ill & homeless, we may find them shut more often than not. They have security so it might actually not be a huge issue. Time will tell.

Glad to hear that. Yeah, it is Broadway so the windows will be vulnerable .

[CaliNative]

Must be at or near 20 floors by now. Any new pics? Thanks.

[scania]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

Must be at or near 20 floors by now. Any new pics? Thanks.

I’m not sure if it’s up to 20 floors…it could be. But here are a couple of pics. Maybe the renderings can give an idea based on the buildings beside it on how tall it is as of now.

[IMG]https://ibb.co/x5dstwS https://ibb.co/Wt2mVc9[/IMG]

[scania]

Apple Store is insane!!! Job well done!!!

[hughfb3]

Those Apple store doors are amazing!! Whoa!! Mind blown. Didn’t see it coming that they would be that open.

[citywatch]

The tower theater's lobby's main chandelier is back from the dead! It formerly reminded me of of a ballroom light fixture still hanging in the sunken SS Titanic captured in a photo from an expedition to the bottom of the ocean.

Still not sure what's behind that new wall behind the 2nd floor balcony overlooking the lobby.



Brady Hunsberger



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Brady Hunsberger


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[citywatch]

https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2021/06/a...ven-for-apple/

Caitlin McGarry

In pre-covid times, I frequently travelled domestically and internationally for work and would invariably forget a key item — a wall plug adaptor, a USB-C microSD card reader, you name it. The easiest way to track down those items was usually the Apple store in whatever city I was in, so needless to say I’ve seen many of them, some more grandiose than others.

Apple’s most iconic location, to me, is the one in New York’s Grand Central Terminal. I used to work a few blocks away on Madison Avenue, and whenever I needed a device repaired, I’d end up sitting at the Genius Bar beneath the Beaux-Arts building’s starry ceiling mural. Apple’s newest store, located in Los Angeles, won’t have quite the same energy as the Grand Central location’s perch above the bustling Grand Concourse, but it’s somehow even more extra — and I’m not just saying that because I live in LA now.

The company is opening an Apple store in downtown LA this week, but this isn’t just any run-of-the-mill Apple store. Apple in 2018 announced its plans for the landmark Tower Theatre, which was built in 1927 but has been vacant since 1988, and turned it into the most stunningly ornate retail store I’ve ever seen. Part of me is sad that a beautiful movie theatre is now another site for slinging iPhones, but I’m also glad that this historic jewel is open for literally anyone to enjoy, no ticket required.

If you, like me, prefer to feel like royalty when you plunk down $US150 ($192) for a pair of AirPods, Apple Tower Theatre’s lobby (yes, this is just the lobby) will definitely lend your purchase a more regal vibe.

I grew up Catholic, so I love an over-the-top stained glass/dramatic lighting situation, and Apple Tower Theatre has that in spades. Peer closely at the window and you can see its fleur-de-lis pattern has a celluloid film strip running throughout. According to Apple, the purple stripe you can see was found only on early sound film, which is fitting, because the Tower Theatre was the first movie theatre in Los Angeles wired for sound.


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One design decision I do not love is the choice of this seating for the upper balcony Genius Bar. I realise this is a high-traffic area, but it feels out of place with the ornate detailing of the rest of the theatre. (I’m sure the benches are comfortable, though.)

The dome above the store is not a skylight letting in the constantly perfect Los Angeles light. It’s actually a painting, and while it takes inspiration from the original dome’s art, that one featured cherubs (not really the vibe for 2021) and was also painted over in a previous restoration effort.


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The cut-outs on the wall adjacent to the dome are an original detail. They were designed for better acoustics for those sitting in the balcony, and Apple decided to leave them intact rather than fill them in.

Apple isn’t new to restoring old buildings for retail purposes. The company recently opened a new store in Rome in the Palazzo Marignoli, built in 1873, which was also an impressive transformation. The company called its restoration of Central Public Library in Washington, DC, which opened in 2019 as Apple Carnegie Library, its most “extensive historic restoration project to date.”

Those buildings are also beautiful, of course, but to me, Apple Tower Theatre is the best of the bunch — and not just because it’s so close to home.

I didn't realize there are actually two domes in the former theater, the main one and a smaller one above the balcony....also I'd assume those cutouts in the back wall of the balcony were actually used for movie projectors, not for acoustics? As for the new wall behind the balcony that used to overlook the staircase & lobby, I'm guessing that had to be sealed off in order to give more room to the store's genius bar area.

I also didn't realize the tower bldg's former stores along 8th st were so narrow....the new glass doors seem to open straight into the original main floor of the theater itself.

[colemonkee]

^ Yeah, those retail spaces along 8th were about as deep as an old school newsstand, and were probably designed as such. Not very practical for today's uses. Phenomenal restoration, though. Just stunning.

[citywatch]

^ I wanted to compare the layout & vibes of the various apple stores in converted old bldgs....to get a sense of the POV of the writer from Australia.

the other renovated bldgs are larger & just as fancy or even fancier in an old world way. But since they've always been large areas for displaying things like books or holding meetings or parties, they don't have as much a customized sense as the tower theater has. Something about apple's store in dtla has a different & more quirky sense of place.


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[ChrisLA]

I viewed all the videos you shared and I liked the one in Rome the best, but Downtown LA is a close 2nd.

[LosAngelesBeauty]

IMHO, the Apple Tower Theatre is the most unique and beautiful Apple store in the world! The theater itself is not very large, but just large enough to provide a sense of grandeur. All the other stores converted from historic structures lost a lot of their uniqueness inside with the exception of Grand Central Terminal in NYC. Even locally, the store in Old Pasadena was converted from an old historic building along Colorado Blvd, but lacks much distinction once inside.

The Apple in DTLA still FEELS like a theater inside to some degree, and the entryway with the red carpet going up the stairs is a very interesting way to enter the store. And that chandelier and stained glass window is just amazing! This is a HUGE win for DTLA and I hope the store attracts other great retailers that will invest as much money into their build-out as Apple. For example, Google has just opened their first flagship store in NYC and I would love to see more of that kind of exclusive one-of-a-kind retail here in DTLA.

Here is my blog post about the Apple Tower Theatre for anyone interested!

https://brighamyen.com/2021/06/24/lo...in-downtown-la

[Valyrian Steel]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesBeauty

IMHO, the Apple Tower Theatre is the most unique and beautiful Apple store in the world! The theater itself is not very large, but just large enough to provide a sense of grandeur. All the other stores converted from historic structures lost a lot of their uniqueness inside with the exception of Grand Central Terminal in NYC. Even locally, the store in Old Pasadena was converted from an old historic building along Colorado Blvd, but lacks much distinction once inside.

The Apple in DTLA still FEELS like a theater inside to some degree, and the entryway with the red carpet going up the stairs is a very interesting way to enter the store. And that chandelier and stained glass window is just amazing! This is a HUGE win for DTLA and I hope the store attracts other great retailers that will invest as much money into their build-out as Apple. For example, Google has just opened their first flagship store in NYC and I would love to see more of that kind of exclusive one-of-a-kind retail here in DTLA.

Here is my blog post about the Apple Tower Theatre for anyone interested!

https://brighamyen.com/2021/06/24/lo...in-downtown-la

Yeah, this is going to be a huge draw for Downtown LA. I'm not a big Apple guy myself but they did an incredible job on the restoration and I can't wait to visit the store soon!

[badrunner]

I have to admit, I would have preferred it if the Tower Theater had been turned into a performance venue, and restored to its original condition, but I guess we can't have everything. At least the restoration work itself is top notch. I agree with the others - this is the best looking Apple store to date.

[ChelseaFC]

Originally Posted by badrunner

I have to admit, I would have preferred it if the Tower Theater had been turned into a performance venue, and restored to its original condition, but I guess we can't have everything. At least the restoration work itself is top notch. I agree with the others - this is the best looking Apple store to date.

In an ideal world, yes. But the finances required aren't feasible for a string of movie palaces/restored performance venues up and down Broadway. Fortune 500 companies, however, do have the money to spend. Retaining the history of Broadway's buildings while converting them for modern uses is the best way to pay homage to it.

[bhunsberger]

Originally Posted by ChelseaFC

In an ideal world, yes. But the finances required aren't feasible for a string of movie palaces/restored performance venues up and down Broadway. Fortune 500 companies, however, do have the money to spend. Retaining the history of Broadway's buildings while converting them for modern uses is the best way to pay homage to it.

I couldn’t agree more. I think what happened here with Tower Theatre is best case scenario in my opinion. I’m a big Apple fan, and I love the off-white & gold accents. I’m not much into concerts or plays. As for it becoming a theatre again, you watch movies in the dark & don’t really spend too much time looking around & enjoying the beauty of the space. There are still several theaters downtown that are currently being used as performance venues and others that can be rehabilitated to do so as well.

[citywatch]

I fast forwarded through most of this, but I thought segments of it showed dtla in an interesting post lockdown condition.

grand central mkt seems to be slowly coming back from the dead & the spring st arcade too.

I also realized that the tower theater, when it was still showing movies or newsreels, had a really small screen to look at....it really didn't make the most effective of movie houses....so it now being a store may be the best of all worlds.

dt, however, is still missing a good portion of 2 of its 3 legs....of tourists & office workers. Right now dt is dependent on a larger residential base than it had yrs ago. if the hood didn't have today's apt-condo dwellers, old dtla would be as quiet as the new parts are. Although a lot of working class ppl from areas like east LA did travel on buses to shop on broadway over 20 yrs ago.

As for LA Live, I can tell it's hurting from a lack of 2 of those 3 legs.

on the south end of broadway, there are two new hotels to add along with the ace hotel...but with tourism & traveling cut way down throughout the world, I wonder what they & other hotels like the freehand on 8th st & the nomad hotel on 7th st are having to deal with. or the biltmore, bonaventure, wilshire grand.

The videographer walks through parts of dt, esp on olympic, that were parking lots not too many yrs ago....still quite a few spaces remain to fill in. But it's getting there. But the stalled oceanwide proj on Fig remains disappointing.

dtla was starting to really jell by late 2019 then 2020 struck it & the world. but it hopefully will recover sooner rather than later.


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[scania]

It's definitely coming back...I know first hand that Freehand Hotel normally has lines just to get into the hotel. And I'm not referring to the rooftop. But all of LA, WeHo, Hollywood, Santa Monica, etc. are coming back. But none of these areas are back to pre-Covid.