On the day of the release of Halo 3, a thought...

If G4 had been around in 1982, Colecovision might still be around today.

Coming Soon

People have been talking about the revitalization of Hollywood for years. In 1993, the last time I was living in these parts, they weren't talking about it much. I can remember many careful stepping, shopping cart dodging walks down Hollywood Blvd where the objective was to keep your head down and get where you were going as quickly as possible. The tourist trade was hanging, on but barely, and it was not uncommon to see people wandering around in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, genuinely puzzled at how seedy the place had become. This photo, although taken just a couple of days ago in 2007, could just as easily have been taken then

My mind reels at what possible occasion would call for boots like that, but I digress. Today, 14 years later, it's a different story, and no less an authority than the New York Times has proclaimed Hollywood's comeback:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/26/us/26hollywood.html?ex=1189828800&en=093c5a7bbb29daf9&ei=5070

This is largely a change for the better. Hollywood is generally a lot safer today than it was in the 90's, and it continues to improve. But as with most cases of gentrification, we're also losing something along the way. Hollywood is one of the oldest parts of greater Los Angeles, and it's historical landmarks are rapidly disappearing. Gentle reader, I give you the Fox Theatre:

Poor cell phone image quality aside, the place doesn't look like much. But such was not always the case. Here's the architect's original conception for the building, circa 1918:

Even better, here's an actual photograph of the theatre shortly before it's opening in 1934:

The Iris opened and had a long run up until the 60's, when it had its facade redesigned and was renamed the Fox. It continued to show movies throughout the 70's, and was later sold to the Mann Theatre chain. Sadly, the corporate heads at Mann determined that it was more economical for them to use the Fox as a warehouse than to run it as an operating theatre, so it served out its remaining years as a storage facility on a street in what was then a rapidly deteriorating neighborhood. It ceased being used for anything around 1991. What got me started on this whole thing was a flyer I saw posted on my way home from the post office the other night:

This led me to go investigate and to the unfortunate discovery that the Fox Iris Theatre has been bought by Crobar. For the uninitiated:

http://www.crobar.com/

So it appears that Hollywood will soon have yet another trendy club which will increase congestion, suck up neighborhood parking, and spew out drunk skanks onto the boulevard in the wee hours of the morning. John Barrymore, who starred in 20th Century, the first film to play at Crobar's former incarnation, and a notorious drunk in his own right, would no doubt approve.