Greater LA
DTLA was a ghost town over the past year. Will renovations and nightlife coax people back?
Downtown LA’s Tower Theatre officially became the site of a new Apple store on June 24. Some historical features of the building have been preserved, or even rebuilt, like the classic clock tower.
By Steve Chiotakis • • 24m ListenDowntown LA’s Tower Theatre officially became the site of a new Apple store on June 24. Some historical features of the building have been preserved, or even rebuilt, like the classic clock tower. But the building has also received many modern embellishments. The long-standing “Tower” lettering on the exterior is now illuminated with the Apple logo plastered above.
With renovations like this and eased pandemic restrictions, are more people returning to downtown LA?
“I thought it was gonna be a long road to recovery, but it's been New Year's Eve in every bar and restaurant in downtown LA since mid-June,” says Brian Houck, who owns The Escondite near Skid Row and Little Tokyo. He markets his business as a dive bar hideout for downtown locals and folks in the hospitality industry.
In this episode
3 storiesApple takes over DTLA’s historic Tower Theatre after decades of vacancy
Downtown LA’s Tower Theatre officially became the site of a new Apple store on June 24. Some historical features of the building have been preserved, or even rebuilt, like the classic clock tower.
Read the story8 minDTLA was a pandemic ghost town. Have people returned?
Urban centers across the world saw a mass exodus this past pandemic year. And downtown LA looked like a ghost town in 2020 and early 2021.
Read the story10 minAn outsized aerial arts community is soaring in Santa Barbara
“It’s impossible not to see the flying trapeze rigs standing in the middle of a park. We're kind of proud about it,” says Efe Ilkay, an aerial dancer who helped launch the Santa Barbara Trapeze Company in 2019.
Read the story8 min
