Active Arts of the L.A. Music Center Poised to Step Up for Downtown's Renaissance

The Los Angeles Music Center is poised to take a big step in support of L.A.'s Downtown Renaissance. We learned recently in an LA Times article that the Music Center's president, Stephen Roundtree, is in early discussions to take over management and programming of the 12 acre Civic Park, once its major makeover is completed.

This is good news for the arts, for L.A., and for the Music Center. As attendance drops and as communities become increasingly disenchanted with the "citadel on the hill" as the civic icon for music presentation, performing arts centers are looking for new paradigms for success.

In response, with leadership from its Active Arts program, the Music Center is broadening its mission and is re-thinking the architectural persona it presents to its community. It is transforming itself from a performing arts center to a civic cultural center.

And it is about to embark upon a redesign of its own plaza, with its iconic Joseph Lipchitz "Peace On Earth Fountain," in conjunction with the redesign of the Civic Park across Grand Avenue, both seen in the photo of a model of the site above.

Plaza re-designers will be challenged to make the structural links to the park that are necessary for embracing the community, since the Music Center is built upon a "hill" on top of an existing structure that provides essential parking, but serves to distance itself from the community. If the Music Center were built from scratch today, it is likely it would follow the path taken more recently by the Newark Performing Arts Center, keeping entryways at street level, and creating pathways that connect visitors with the city as part of their musical performance experience.

But, despite the architectural challenges, it is encouraging to note that, if handed the reins, the Music Center's Active Arts program would overcome these physical limitations for integration of the site with the community, through its unique management and programming.


(Click on "Active Arts" in "Labels" for this post below for previous posts on related topics.)


---RCH

Dog Poop: An Adventure, a Business

We had met on the Hill before, each time he was picking up dog poop and each time I thanked him. "I always do it," he said, "and it makes me angry when others don't."

It was during this latest exchange that I noticed he was walking different dogs. It dawned on me: "You're a professional dog walker," I said.

Yes, retired Bellflower resident Harry Ruiterman--seen here with chocolate "curly" lab Coco and mix-breed Chase--and his wife, Evelyn, operate the small business Affordable Pet Sitters, providing dog walking services for just $18 a 45-minute walk for up to two dogs. Add two dollars for an additional dog.

It begins with an interview where dog-human compatibility is determined. They walk some dogs daily and others two or three times a week; and it takes "dog people" like Harry and Evelyn to be successful. Harry takes the larger dogs, while Evelyn walks the smaller ones, since she suffered a health set-back recently.

They also provide overnight pet sitting services and plan to expand soon into poop scooping--a technical term of the trade.

Business is good. Harry and Evelyn have their hands full, working mostly in Signal Hill and Long Beach, and relying on word of mouth to bring in new clientele to accommodate turnover. In fact, Harry resists pressures to expand the business, decrying the unwanted complexities that would come with hiring others.

For Harry, picking up dog poop is not only the right thing to do, it also makes good business sense.

(Scroll down for more Pleasant Encounters on Signal Hill or click on slideshow to the right for the complete project.)

---- RCH