By Jim Berg
The opening and dedication of the El Portal Theater at Lankershim Thursday night is another evidence of the progressive spirit of the San Fernando Valley. The show house, which is one of the finest to be found outside of the metropolitan area, was erected at a cost of approximately $250,000. Blarney, a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, and a select company of Chinese actors and actresses assisted by a Chinese jazz orchestra were featured.
Van Nuys News, October 5, 1926
Nearly 68 years after the initial opening, another opening was scheduled for the El Portal Theater. The movie palace that was a source of civic pride for the entire San Fernando Valley in 1926 was once again on the verge of becoming a cultural centerpiece. After nearly a year of work, the gala opening of two shows in the newly renovated El Portal theatre was planned for February 5. The Northridge earthquake on January 17 succeeded in postponing the opening, but hasn’t stopped it. Continue reading →
By Frank McDonough
Dead fish wrapped in seaweed — that’s sushi. Besides being dead, it’s also expensive. It’s dead, it’s expensive, and it’s popular. Since its emergence in the early eighties as the health food of the cocaine generation, hundreds of sushi bars have opened up here in Los Angeles. Traditional sushi bars, jazz sushi bars, bargain “all you can eat” sushi bars, Korean and Chinese sushi bars — some high-tech, drop dead, we-saw-Miami-Vice-and-liked it; some highly traditional, with bamboo mats and servers wearing traditional Japanese garb. Continue reading →
Lorenzo H. Flores
By Lorenzo T. Flores
Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, and Flag Day — every time he had the chance, my father would unravel his Stars and Stripes and place it carefully in the brass rack on the front porch. Whenever the Pledge of Allegiance was recited as a part of PTA protocol, my father was the first one to stand with his hand over his heart. He carefully pronounced each word with a conviction that, at times, would cause a tear to well in his eyes. My father was proud to be an American. Continue reading →
By Teresa Willis
The NoHo staff meeting for the December issue was nearly over before anyone mentioned the holidays. (That “anyone” was me.) At the mere mention, my fellow NoHo staffers began to shuffle in their seats, look to the floor and get generally grumpy. I got the message that if it were up to them, NoHo Magazine would let December come and go with nary a mention of Thanksgiving, Chanukah, or (dare I say it?) Christmas. “Do we really have to do anything about the holidays?” they whined. Continue reading →
Published in the first issue of NoHo Magazine, Steven Lee Stinnett’s cartoon captures the moment of creation of the NoHo Arts District.
By Frank McDonough
Drunken mixers, blind optimism, Babbit-like middle-aged men engaging in the telling of dirty jokes, gratuitous sycophancy — these are a just few of the preconceived ideas many people have about what a Chamber of Commerce is all about. Not so, says North Hollywood Chamber Executive Vice-President Jim Mahfet. Continue reading →
By Teresa Willis
Wednesday, October 13, was the Fourth Anniversary Celebration of the Iguana Café. It was the third anniversary show that I have attended. The Iguana Café has been about as important in my life as any one public establishment can be to a person. Continue reading →
By Joseph Futtner
Whatever the final design for the Universal City Station Metro stop, Margaret Garcia, the artist collaborating on the project, feels it should include “high-keyed color and light.” These are crucial elements in her painting, especially in the portrait images for which she is best known. Her palette reflects an interest both in the bright colors of popular Latino art and the expressionist color of the early modernist Jawlensky (also a portraitist). She feels fortunate to have been teamed with an architect –Kate Diamond of Siegel, Diamond Architects — who is sympathetic with the artist’s ideas. “I feel really lucky with her,” Garcia continues, “I could have been stuck with a ‘pastel’ architect.” (For more on the MTA’s Art for Rail Transit, see the September issue of NoHo Magazine.) Continue reading →
Landmark founders Gary Goddard and Tony Christopher
By Frank McDonough
The smooth, pink granite facade of the Landmark Entertainment Group’s eight story headquarters at Magnolia and Lankershim stands in stark contrast to the funky, aging theaters of the surrounding NoHo Arts District. Although seemingly unrelated, the activity inside the massive edifice owes much to those small theaters, for Landmark designs what are probably the most expensive and long-running of all theatrical productions — theme parks. Continue reading →
Robert Carnegie at work
By Barry Williams
A recent visit to the Playhouse West on Lankershim Boulevard brought me to the headquarters of an intriguing and intellectually stimulating acting style known as the Meisner Technique. Under the capable direction of one Robert Carnegie, Playhouse West has been in the business of training actors, directors, and writers since 1981. Mr Carnegie is a tall, congenial and affable fellow that has been teaching the Meisner Technique for many years and has directed the affairs of Playhouse West since its inception. Playhouse West is the only theatre in Los Angeles that offers exclusively the opportunity for actors and other interested parties to pursue this unique and often controversial form of theatrical study. Continue reading →
Down Town by James Doolin, 1985 oil on canvas 83″ x 72″
By Joseph Futtner
Coming from New York where the subway works predictably, if not perfectly, and an automobile is more a liability than a necessity, I have long been intrigued by the concept of an L.A. subway system. That concept is becoming a reality — I think it’s fair to say sooner than most Angelenos would have believed. And as a way to encourage the system’s acceptance and its greater integration within the community, the MTA has begun to hire professional artists to work as core members of each station’s design team. Continue reading →
