Downtown La

Sport Chalet Inc., a longtime Southern California sporting goods retailer, has agreed to open a store in downtown Los Angeles. The La Canada Flintridge company will put an outlet in Figat7th, a mall at the intersection of Figueroa and Seventh streets undergoing a $40-million makeover by landlord Brookfield Office Properties. Sports Chalet will join Target as anchors in the mall, which is set to reopen in the fall. Target Inc. announced in 2010 that it would take over space formerly occupied by Macy's and Bullock's department stores.

On occasion, my wife and I have taken out-of-town visitors on Sunday outings to the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles to expose the uninitiated to the joy of a live gospel choir. I sometimes wonder how I stand with that power greater than myself while intruding on a house of worship solely to observe a spectacle. But we're always received so warmly that I quickly lose myself in the music and forget where I am. In that state, I've paid little notice to hats and shoes and dresses.

Flanked by low-income housing, recently renovated lofts, offices and art galleries, the Historic Downtown Los Angeles farmers market, which opened two weeks ago, is a study in contrasts. Rehabilitated skid row denizens wash away stains in front of a new ballet school, while classically ornamented white buildings loom above tourists, hipsters and longtime residents of diverse ethnicities and incomes. As downtown's population swelled from 18,000 to 50,000 over the last decade, the residents have been "severely underserved in the way of fresh produce and healthy foods," said Blair Besten, executive director of the Historic Downtown Los Angeles Business Improvement District, which responded by sponsoring the new market.

The head of the firm that wants to buy some of downtown Los Angeles' biggest skyscrapers is bullish about its long-stagnant office market. "We like the direction the market is heading and think it will be improving quarter over quarter. " Dennis Friedrich, chief executive of Brookfield Office Properties Inc., told industry analysts Friday. "Around the globe there has been a trend toward growth in urban centers and L.A. is looking at this over time. " "We are being realistic about the downtown market," he added.

Downtown's Art Walk has become an institution for roving hipster aesthetes, curious warehouse-dwellers and food-truck aficionados. The work? It's hit-and-miss, but you can't argue with the one weekend a month when the Old Bank District sees Cairo-level street traffic of bright young things spilling out of tiny galleries and progressive museums in their angled-haircut finery. Downtown L.A., noon-9 p.m. Thu. www.downtown artwalk.com .

A driver shot on the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles was hospitalized in critical condition as officials searched for the gunman The victim, whose identity hasn't been released, was thrown from a car after being shot twice, investigators said.  The shooting occurred at about 5 p.m. between 8th and 9th streets, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Cecil Manresa. Police were searching for the shooter, who fled in a burgundy or gray Toyota Camry with its rear window blown out. Although officials had indicated that southbound freeway lanes might be closed for eight hours while investigators searched for clues, the two lanes closest to the center divider were reopened by about 7:15 p.m. Caltrans freeway cameras showed that traffic, backed up more than a mile, was loosening up and traffic was moving at normal speeds by 8 p.m. Investigators were attempting to determine whether the shooting might be gang-related and whether multiple perpetrators were involved, LAPD Sgt. John Kirkpatrick said.

In the nearly 20 years that Fernando Ojeda has owned a downtown restaurant, he's seen the expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center and construction of the Staples Center and LA Live. Each time, the increased foot traffic boosted sales at his restaurant, Fernando's Taco Inn, which sits directly across from the entertainment complex. So when news broke Thursday that AEG chief executive Tim Leiweke would be leaving his post -- leading to speculation that his departure could delay or scrub a downtown football stadium -- Ojeda was disappointed.

A mystery street artist with a sense of humor has turned parts of downtown L.A. into a guerrilla art installation. Eight neighborhood landmarks or areas have been marked with official-looking city placards that offer what appear to be background information about the location. One, for instance, says that a downtown dumpster was designed by Andy Warhol. Though the artworks are unsigned, Culture Monster has learned that they are called "Art Appears" and are the work of the artist who calls himself Wild Life.  [ Update, 12:08 p.m. Wednesday : At least two of the signs have been removed since Tuesday, one near City Hall and one near the LAPD headquarters.]

Downtown Los Angeles isn't the most hospitable place for dandies. The knot of business towers and lofts, saturated with mass-market or Santee Alley-style emporiums, is a wasteland for upscale retail. "It's criminal," sniffed Matthew Allnatt of the absence of a chic men's store in the area. He would know. Allnatt is the impeccably dressed chief operating officer at the Jonathan Club, an elite high-society hub that has been downtown for 118 years. Some of Los Angeles' most influential residents are members.

There may be no more famous stunt in all of silent film than Harold Lloyd hanging from the hands of a huge clock overlooking downtown Los Angeles in 1923's "Safety Last!" Though his star has eclipsed a bit, Lloyd has always been considered one of the great silent clown triumvirate along with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. On April 18, in honor of the film's 90th anniversary, it will be possible to see a brand-new digital transfer of that celebrated film at 7:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, part of Film Independent's screening series there.

A fledgling rooftop drive-in theater in downtown Los Angeles - a recent cause celebre for urbanites - has landed safely on its wheels after getting booted from its home atop a parking structure in the historic core. To make way for a new skyscraper on Broadway, Electric Dusk Drive-In, where fans assemble in cars and lawn chairs to watch classic movies on a big inflatable screen, is moving to the site of another planned mega development on San Julian Street in the fashion district.

Alamo Drafthouse, the quirky Austin, Texas-based theater chain known for its special events, theme movie nights and in-seat food and drink service, is expected to plant its flag in downtown L.A. Saeed Farkhondehpour , developer of the Medallion mix-use project, said Alamo recently signed a letter of intent to open a 600-seat, eight-screen theater on a vacant lot near the corner of 4th and Main streets. The theater would include food and beverage service and would open in the next 18 to 20 months, he said.

Around the corner from the bustle and roar of Broadway's Jewelry District in downtown L.A., a quiet alley serves as a respite for locals and tourists. Shops and restaurants with colorful awnings and peeling brick facades present a kitschy, Old World scene, complete with a potbellied chef statue, and a Marilyn Monroe perched in a pink Cadillac. On most days, a group of Armenian men can be spotted hunched over a backgammon board, shrouded in cigarette smoke. But the fate of St. Vincent's Court - a California historical landmark - has been thrown into question after a complaint prompted a city crackdown on outdoor seating.

A man thought to be a transient was killed Monday night in a hit-and-run in downtown Los Angeles, police said. Initial information indicated the man was crossing Mateo Street near 6th Street when he apparently fell in the roadway, said Los Angeles police spokesman Richard French. The man was not in a crosswalk, French said, and it was not clear why he fell. A southbound light-colored vehicle struck the man shortly before 8 p.m., French said. Police believe the driver stopped, got out of his vehicle and "took a look at the person" before driving off, French said.

Location scouts are once again red-faced over the bright green bicycle lane in downtown Los Angeles. City officials painted a 1.5-mile strip of Spring Street neon green in 2011 for a bike lane as part of larger effort pushed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to make streets safer and more inviting to cyclists. But the bike path still rankles location scouts and filmmakers, who see it as another hurdle to filming in Los Angeles. Their concern: The bright color would be a distraction to viewers, doesn't belong in period movies and makes it harder for L.A. to do what it does best: play other cities.

For the past five years, two of Los Angeles' totemic structures -  the parking lot and the movie theater -  have intersected at 240 W. 4th St. downtown. There, the top level of a two-story garage has been moonlighting as a makeshift drive-in, complete with a large, inflatable screen, an outdoor sound system, parking for 80 cars and an artificial lawn for picnic-style seating. This week, however, the Electric Dusk Drive-In (formerly Devil's Night Drive-In) announced that it is scrambling to find a new home.