Tag Archives: california

LEGENDS LIVE HERE

Forget the Walk of Fame—West Hollywood’s alley walls are where legends like MJ and Ali are immortalized in raw, street-level glory.

By Mac Davis Fleetwood

In West Hollywood, legacy is not confined to curated museum walls like at LACMA or the Getty. Instead, it spills out in the quiet shadows of WeHo’s forgotten blocks, just past shuttered nightclubs, empty warehouses, and graffiti-scarred alleys. Here in the Creative City, a unique and captivating kind of idolization festers—louder, rawer, and more honest than anything you’ll find embossed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Take a turn down an alley just south of Santa Monica Boulevard and off Sycamore, and suddenly you’re face to face with a pair of familiar eyes that stop you in your tracks. Piercing, soulful, surreal. It’s the immortal King of Pop, Michael Jackson, or at least the memory of him, rendered in rich colors, framed by waves of soft pastel lines that ripple across his face like soundwaves from a song you can almost hear. His expression is both ethereal and human, as if watching over the sacred Hollywood streets he once danced across in music videos. MJ isn’t just remembered here. He’s revered in a saintly glow.

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MAKING ROCK HISTORY

WeHo prepares to give the Roxy and Rainbow Bar & Grill the iconic status these rock institutions deserve.

The City of West Hollywood’s Historic Preservation Commission will recommend that the City Council approve a Mills Act Contract for two of the city’s most rockin’ cultural icons: the Roxy Theatre and the Rainbow Bar & Grill, both located on the world-famous Sunset Strip’s “Rock Row,” at 9009 and 9015 Sunset Boulevard, respectively.

The Historic Preservation Commission is dedicated to preserving historic structures that represent WeHo’s unique cultural and social heritage. “Protecting these landmarks helps deepen public understanding of the city’s past and ensures that future generations can appreciate its rich history,” says the Commission on its website.

Rock Venues Land a Mills Act Contract

A Mills Act Contract is a legal agreement between the owner of a historic property and the municipality. It allows for lower property tax rates in exchange for the owner’s commitment to undertake specific rehabilitation, restoration, and maintenance work. To qualify, a property must be listed in a historic national, state, county, or city register, be privately owned, and not be tax-exempt.

The Roxy Theatre and the Rainbow Bar & Grill meet these criteria, being listed in West Hollywood’s Register of Cultural Resources and privately owned.

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AMERICAN GRAFFITI

Artists turn L.A. streets into an urban art gallery any music fan would love.

In 2020, the Sunset Boulevard scene–from Rock Row to Dodger Stadium–has dramatically changed as a result of the pandemic and the nation’s turbulent political climate. And the changes extend beyond just the physical sense of seeing the famous, once-glamorous and vibrant landscape covered in bland blonde plywood and political graffiti.

The biggest impact is the deafening silencing of the world-class live rock and roll music that always seemed to be a ubiquitous part of the Sunset Strip. Regardless of when you visited Sunset’s Rock Row, there was always an exciting rock and roll energy and spontaneous soundtrack permeating the legendary thoroughfare and creating an intrinsic connection with visitors.

Until this year, there was always music in the night air, whether it was the power chords of superstars like Lita Ford or local faves like Budderside emanating from the Whisky A Go Go, or the rockin’ retro sounds of Missing Persons or L.A. rockers Warner Drive (pictured below) shaking the foundation of the Viper Room.

Warner Drive band

However, while the temporary closure of the Whisky, Viper Room and Roxy is tough on everyone, there is some good news.

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Sunset People

Roxy

‘I LOVE THIS CITY’: WEHO’S ROXY THEATRE GETS COLORFUL WITH BADASS NEW CANVAS BY L.A. ARTIST ANNIE PREECE

The Sunset Strip continues to champion the electric and eclectic work of cool local artists with the latest addition to its ever-changing roster of urban art that dots the world-famous Boulevard.

Los Angeles artist Annie Preece, a San Francisco transplant, explores the esoteric and bizarre side of the City of Angeles in a wild and wonderfully offbeat painting that’s currently rockin’ a wall of The Roxy. See more of Annie’s awesome art here.

Suicidal Salute

THE ART OF REBELLION

A thrash-lovin’ graffiti artist has covered a wall in Venice, California with a mural tribute to iconic Venice hardcore band Suicidal Tendencies. We think Mike Muir would approve of the awesome tagging.