Two New Features on the Blog

Travel over to the right side of the blog (well not that right side!) for two new cool features. One is regular fun poll you can participate in; the other is our official Google Calendar. The calendar will be for posting all types of events and happenings in NoHo. And if you get a Google calendar of your own (free) you can copy the event from our calendar to yours.

See you in NoHo!

Hey Hey Ho Ho Its All About HOWS!

I fall more in love with HOWS Market each and every day. It's only been open a few months now but its quickly becoming the town gathering space for those of us who live in Downtown NoHo (and beyond).

Friday night, I met up with Jack Witt (He's the one in the photo standing in front of a HOWS ad inside the NoHo Metro Red Line Station, President of the Universal City-North Hollywood Jaycees and a legendary local fitness trainer) to indulge a bit in the Sam Adams beer tasting in the Wine Experience. Along with slices of pizza baked in-store, a series of six different vintages of the popular Boston beer were consumed. Also in attendance was a charming woman who works as an executive for the Bravo television network.

Of course HOWS is the brainchild of former executives of the legendary Hughes Market chain that served Los Angeles for decades. When the chain was gobbled up by Ralphs in the late 90s, shoppers saw a decline in service at local stores as prices increased.

The growing small chain brings back the charm and service of Hughes but updated with a bit of a boho flair. The Hughes chain - started by Joseph Hughes the father of HOWS co-owner Roger Hughes and grandfather of the NoHo store's general manager Paul Hughes - was in business for nearly 50 years before a series of mergers and acquisitions turned many remaining Hughes locations in Ralphs markets. HOWS is owned by Roger Hughes as well as former Hughes execs Mark Oerum, David Wolff and Steve Strickler (the H, O, W and S of HOWS).

The Wine Experience is a new feature for HOWS and certainly for much of Los Angeles. Unlike the long rows of beer, wine and liquor you see at the usual Ralphs or Vons outlet, HOWS has a separate, well decorated, adult beverage department. And the linchpin of all this is a tasting room - which even thought the market and the law makes real clear is not a bar - it is quickly gathering the charm and intimacy not even Sam Malone could have imagined for Cheers.

Saturday, after a dinner of sushi at Miyako at Lankershim and Morrison, I headed back over to HOWS to see what was happening at the Wine Experience. As usual, I found sommeliers Bill and Greg - two great guys - on duty. After requesting a bottle of Sam Adam's Summer Ale (wine can only be served in one ounce tasting portions but individual bottles of beer may be consumed under the terms of the store's license) a party of young adults returning from a birthday celebration at Tokyo Delves. Spotted in this group was Ginger Kinison - the young niece of late, legendary comic Sam Kinison - and an up and coming performer and artist in her own right - definitely adding to the NoHo vibe.

Besides the Wine Experience there are lots of other great things about HOWS - not to mention of course the great produce, meat section, etc. However just how much its working to build community is notable in its own right.

NoHo - we may have landed. Stay tuned.

What's Up With Phil's Diner

The 1920s vintage diner designed by Charles Amend served customers of all types for decades until subway construction and redevelopment changed the neighborhood surrounding its Chandler Boulevard location and the workers who were it's primary customers disappeared.

For a short time in the late 90s, now retired restraunteur Ned Forman (who created Ned's on Magnolia, now recast as EAT) joined with the Hallenbeck family who turned an old office building on Cahuenga into a historic recreation of an 1800s general store to restore and re-open the diner. For the same reason the previous owners couldn't make it go, the Hallenbecks and Forman had to shut down the restaurant.

Phil's was located where NoHo Commons parking garage sits now. It was boarded up, placed on blocks and now sits on undeveloped land owned by the JH Snyder company over on Weddington Street next to the Television Academy.

Talk has been that Phil's could be part of the next phase of NoHo Commons which will include a movie theatre, additional retail, housing and office space. In the meantime those of us around long enough to remember Phil's hope it comes back. It would be a great touch to incorporate this piece of history into everything new and wonderful in NoHo.

NoHo Education .04 ( ours )

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• NEW NOHO HIGH SCHOOL
By Louis Elovitz
Digital Journalist

In jr hi the joke for the SCRUBS was the pool.
...of course there were no tickets to the
non-existent 'pool on the auditorium' ...

yet, the new High School
on VINELAND AVE just south of Burbank Blvd
is going to have a pool!

Large multi-story buildings have
just gone up and are NOW OPEN
which is right down the street
from the Chandler Blvd Art Walk























East Valley High School is now open, see my
film of the ribbon cutting,
clic on ∆ pic below
( and note: film NOT by L.A.U.S.D.)















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NoHo EDUCATION.03

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• NEW NOHO MIDDLE SCHOOL
By Louis Elovitz
Digital Journalist

I remember Weatherby Kaiser, Woolworth and Sees
which were the shoe store, 5&Dime and candy stores lining
a strip mall next to Sears near Victory & Laurel Canyon.
All gone, and a new Middle School is being built and will
go back to Victory Vanowen Park behind it.
The L.A. Parks and Recreation will consort with
the L.A.U.S.D. in athletic endeavors.















I took these photos in the early days of building.
The "Clock Tower" building in the background,
of construction of Rommer Middle School.
pics clic ∆ 2 enlarge








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NoHo EDUCATION.02

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• NEW NOHO ELEMENTARY
By Louis Elovitz
Digital Journalist

The newest school additions in North Hollywood
are here now or just about here.
This new Elementary is on part of the site of
the previous North Hollywood LAPD
Division being on TIARA ST. off of Lankershim.
It was used is some old TV series. All gone now and part
of a new modern elementary on the TUJUNGA AVE side
of Tiara, the play field is near IN N OUT BURGER.
















the pic on the right shows the final demolition
of the former Tiara site of LAPD Station.
clicpics∆2enlarge







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NoHo Education .01 ( mine )

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• NORTH HOLLYWOOD
EDUCATION.01
By Louis Elovitz
Digital Journalist


















No WOOLWORTH's,
No Weatherby Kaiser
No SEE's
but YES, new MIDDLE SCHOOL
also in Noho
new ELEMENTARY minus LAPD
and new HIGH SCHOOL with pool (above)

I went to school in North Hollywood.
Elementary School was VICTORY BLVD
Those long not days on that asphalt playground.
I even saw the U-2 SPy Planes fly over, they
being manufactured at Lockheed in Burbank.

WALTER REED was my junior high, we call it
Middle School now, when I was there
we called it prison. The older kids joked about
the 'pool on the auditorium". The boys VP got
us all together in the auditorium in 9th grade
and said, 'Never Come Back Here!".
I obliged.

High School was NORTH HOLLYWOOD HUSKIES.
At the football games the cheer was

"Push Em Back,
Push Em Back, PUSH EM BACK TO THE
RAILROAD TRACK",
that being Chandler Blvd
Railroad Corridor. (now busway)

NoHo Ancient SkyScraper

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North Hollywood SkyScraper
in Valley Plaza
By Louis Elovitz
Digital Journalist
















The " CLOCK TOWER " building in Valley Plaza
Originally Los Angeles Federal Savings
I remember the lot before this tallest in the SFV
building is where I saw BOMB SHELTERS peddled
to during my TUCK N' COVER days.
The building will remain during a soon to start
commercial renewal from the MAY CO (will it stay?)
to Sears, which will stay for the MegaMall to be.
..

Chandler NoHo ArtWalk

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CHANDLER BOULEVARD WORKOUT
By Louis Elovitz
Digital Journalist






















The Railroad Right of Way east to west in the
San Fernando Valley has been Chandler Blvd.
I know the RED CAR rode it's rails and I myself
remember freight trains moving though it.

Gone are the RED CARS, gone are the freight trains.
Hello METRO Subway Station. Now, going to the west
is the Orange Line, a concrete busway with futuristic vehicles.+


buses old
and new



Buswise, I remember sitting on noisy hot tin can buses,
that was when I was young in the late 50's.
Don't get me wrong, I loved those buses,
and the RED CARS that still were running
from Downtown to Long Beach.



pacific electric red car




Going towards Burbank this Railway Right of Way
has been turned into a community event.
Families walking, skaters, bicyclers, dogs...





Burbank











Walkways, flowers, grass, benches
all line this form trainway.




If you go to the east most portion
it stops a block before Victory Blvd.
and you can still see a
stretch of the old Railroad.


NOHO ART WALKWAY COMPLETION

I am happy to announce that Noho has just finished
our addition continuing the same
Bike and Pedestrian Way
from Vineland east to Clyborn
at the Burbank city line.





Noho

























Many of the warehouses and
businesses that line the tracks in Noho have various art
painted on the building sides that used to face the tracks,
and they now line this new community walk/bikeway.















(clic2∆enlargepicz)

SUB & BUS WAYS, but toilets cost too.

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NOHO TRANSIT STATION
& PAY ULTRATOILET
By Louis Elovitz
Digital Journalist
















I wrote this one year ago July 2006:
I showed, in the Noho Station pic [above],
that there is no where to sit after coming
up from the subway and hundreds may wait
for buses, other than the Orange Line
which is across the street, with no place to sit.

This new pic (below) shows to my amazement
that there IS SEATING along Lankershim,
at least for 4 comfortably. I'm funny I know...















This view of the ONLY place to wait and sit for
buses along the Boulevard is taken from the
parking lot. Did I violate some law by photographing
from Metro property; Silly? but if you chew a piece
of gum on the Subway there is hundreds dollar
fines doled out by L.A. County's finest.

THE LASD patrols the Metro system
including the Orange Line to the west
end of the Valley. I think they are
building an office at Valley College.


-Noho Metro Station

The Red Line Subway and the Orange Line plus
many other bus lines run in and out of Noho.
The station is modest, not to be insulting, but at
least there is not some eclectic sculpture as the
' limo ' at the Vine St. Red Line Station

Pic by
Ruth Wallach





hey, lucy
we got a
problem



YET, there is subliminal art here called TRASH.
Trash in the gutters and curbs and sidewalks
and even in the bushes. Maybe the no seating
no trash cans, who cares they're just waiting for
a bus, is the reason.
I do not see this AT ANY OTHER METRO
STATION in any part of L.A. They sparkle,
ours...SUCKS.

-IT'S ALL THE CONDO'S FAULT








These CONDOS south
of the Noho Station must
be the reason why us
DRIVERS have to do the Hokie Pokie
while traveling north on Lankershim.


I think it the CITY'S FAULT, because if I park on the street
on a SWEEPING DAY, I get a ticket right away.
They, our City can make the problems vanish.
Lankershim has been in this limbo for months.
This intersection has a lot of Noho history,
more later.

-epilogue

Our Noho Station does provide for the necessities of life,
there is a TOILET on the corner of Weddington,
the street named after a North Hollywood FOUNDER
and Lankershim, which is named for an original land owner(U.S.).

And as you already figured out for yourself,
THE TOILET AIN'T FREE; NO GRATIS !

















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NOHO RAILROAD & RED CAR STATION

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NORTH HOLLYWOOD
RAILROAD STATION
By Louis Elovitz
Digital Journalist

































Three views of historical Lankershim Train Depot
in North Hollywood, California. A very old pic,
followed with what it looked like as a lumberyard,
which growing up I thought that all it was, and a recent pic
showing it's age. Built in 1896 by Southern Pacific Railroad
at the corner of Lankershim Boulevard and Chandler
Street. There is a restoration project starting in conjunction
with the Metro Transit.
∆more info clic here∆



PACIFIC ELECTRIC
RED CARS
The Pacific Electric Red Car service to the
San Fernando Valley. This Car 5170 is
traveling over the Tujunga Wash which
is now the 170 FWY @ Chandler in NoHo.






































Cars 5120 and 1299 hang out at NoHo
Red Car Station and railyard.

SFV Bike RaceWay • Nearby NoHo VIEWS • SORRY NOHO, we are not the only DOWNTOWN... some views of down there...

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SFV NEARBY RACEWAY
the Encino VELODROME
By Louis Elovitz
Digital Journalist











While I was trying to be a CARBON NEUTRAL
as all those "all knowers" by driving around for
absolutely no reason at all I followed the signs
saying Encino Velodrome. I knew there was
one that was built for the 1984 Olympics, and
that is in Domingez Hills yet did not know our
Valley had one. Even though it was locked up
this late afternoon, I took some shots as I could.






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clicpicz∆2enlarge



Nearby NoHo Movie Ware
in SUN VALLEY




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On one of my "avoid traffic routes" on the way
between the SFV & Crescenta Valleys, I pass
this interesting warehouse. It was once used
by Disney, and still is a prop house. There's
a breaking apart Trojan Horse and as shown
here, a large FIST and HORSEHEAD.




























TWO (2) OTHER
DOWNTOWNS...
some views of down there...

By Louis Elovitz
Digital Journalist

We ( Nohoians ) are not the only
DownTowns around, why there
is ChinaTown and Civic Center
the O.G. DownTown



L.A. in background
ChinaTown in front.


clicpics∆2enlarge















"FELIX. FELIX. FELIX CHEVROLET 2 BLOCKS
OFF THE HARBOR FREEWAY, FELIX CHEVROLET"

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