Last Wednesday night, the HABEAS LOUNGE Downtown Perspective Group No. 6 focused on the evolution of Downtown Art Galleries and the history of the monthly Downtown Los Angeles Artwalk. Bert Green, a downtown gallery pioneer and principal of Bert Green Fine Art, shared his story of moving his gallery from Los Feliz to downtown and founding the DTLA Artwalk.
In 2004, Artwalk was founded as a means to activate the sidewalks of Spring and Main Street between 2nd and 9th in Downtown's Historic Core, an event that was created to draw greater pedestrian life to the streets south of Bunker Hill. Newly founded galleries formed the logical nexuses of the walk, which has grown to an audience of 10,000 crowding the streets and sidewalks.
The marketing of downtown as a safe residential/recreational destination with edgy glamour has played into the recent success of Artwalk. En masse and with the security of the crowd, Angelenos new to downtown are introduced to the area and get to experience its unique history as well as see in person its much lauded revival. Factors such as the 1999 Adaptive Reuse Ordinance passed by the City of Los Angeles, the real estate bubble, and the presence of adjacent public transportation have helped to grow the walk. These same factors, in fact, which have helped to simultaneously grow downtown's "livability" and drive investment into the area. The Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, for example, expanded the availability of vacant, low-cost (and even occasionally free) ground floor units as property owners attempted to give a lived-in, "hip" feel to their rehabilitated buildings that could not yet command high, ground-floor retail rents.
These factors- particularly that of downtown reinvestment and public transportation- contrast with the late 1980s heyday of the Arts District, south of Alameda and also adjacent to Skid Row. Will the galleries of Gallery Row survive past their leases? Or will they soon be replaced by restaurants and bars less likely to have a community building effect in DTLA?
In 2004, Artwalk was founded as a means to activate the sidewalks of Spring and Main Street between 2nd and 9th in Downtown's Historic Core, an event that was created to draw greater pedestrian life to the streets south of Bunker Hill. Newly founded galleries formed the logical nexuses of the walk, which has grown to an audience of 10,000 crowding the streets and sidewalks.
The marketing of downtown as a safe residential/recreational destination with edgy glamour has played into the recent success of Artwalk. En masse and with the security of the crowd, Angelenos new to downtown are introduced to the area and get to experience its unique history as well as see in person its much lauded revival. Factors such as the 1999 Adaptive Reuse Ordinance passed by the City of Los Angeles, the real estate bubble, and the presence of adjacent public transportation have helped to grow the walk. These same factors, in fact, which have helped to simultaneously grow downtown's "livability" and drive investment into the area. The Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, for example, expanded the availability of vacant, low-cost (and even occasionally free) ground floor units as property owners attempted to give a lived-in, "hip" feel to their rehabilitated buildings that could not yet command high, ground-floor retail rents.
These factors- particularly that of downtown reinvestment and public transportation- contrast with the late 1980s heyday of the Arts District, south of Alameda and also adjacent to Skid Row. Will the galleries of Gallery Row survive past their leases? Or will they soon be replaced by restaurants and bars less likely to have a community building effect in DTLA?
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