March 19, 2010
Martha Groves
The Los Angeles City Council on Friday approved a new city landmark
-- a Venice building that from 1958 to 1966 was a hangout for
disciples of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and other Beat Generation
pioneers who planted the seeds of L.A.'s counterculture movement.
At the time, the place was known as the Venice West Cafe.
Although the style of the building on Dudley Avenue near Ocean Front
Walk is listed as "commercial vernacular" and the designer is
unknown, the city Planning Department's Office of Historic Resources
said the spot had "social and cultural significance."
The building's uses and tenants have evolved since the cafe closed in
1966. A restaurant called 5 Dudley gave way to Piccolo, an upscale
eatery that recently expanded into the adjacent portion that had
housed Venice West Cafe.
Alan Leib, a preservationist who helped submit the application, said
in January that he envisioned eventually closing off the short
stretch of Dudley Avenue as a pedestrian-friendly zone and creating a
bohemian district with brick paving and period lampposts. Ideally, he
said, he and others would re-create the Venice West Cafe.
.
0 comments:
Post a Comment