La Brea Avenue

Something strange is happening on La Brea Avenue. Here and there, in between the car lots and synagogues that occupy large chunks of this classic Los Angeles thoroughfare, people are out walking the street--and having a surprisingly good time. "I feel like I'm in SoHo or the Left Bank," said Bel-Air resident Jani Baldridge, who was wending through the shops along the wide avenue on a recent afternoon, as the taped voice of a French chanteuse drifted from one of the businesses.

Ten years ago it was nothing but a dusty strip, dotted with carpet stores and car dealerships. Even as recently as five years ago it was more a hope than a promise. But this spring, a walk along La Brea Avenue would convince the most diffident critics. The street has been transformed. The first signs of serious change came in 1985 when American Rag, which sells new and vintage fashions, and City, the elegantly informal restaurant, opened just a few doors and a few months apart.

It all started, as often happens, with a restaurant. Having helped turn Melrose Avenue from a lackluster strip of boarded-up storefronts and furniture refinishers into a funky, neon-lit retailing mecca, the co-owners of City Cafe set their sights on unproven territory on nearby La Brea.

A Crenshaw District neighborhood nicknamed "The Jungle" decades ago because of its tropical vegetation was redesignated Baldwin Village on Friday by the Los Angeles City Council. Councilwoman Ruth Galanter said she sought the name change because residents felt the old nickname had a bad connotation due to crime in the area. The area is bounded by La Brea Avenue, Marlton Avenue, Rodeo Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Santo Tomas Road.

For those heading north on La Brea Avenue from the Santa Monica Freeway, a simple green sign announces "County Museums." It ought to add "approaching L.A.'s most happening gallery scene." The strip of La Brea Avenue, roughly between 2nd Street and Beverly Boulevard, has blossomed with contemporary art galleries in the last five years. Those in the art community believe the flurry of activity will escalate now that the County Museum of Art, about a mile away, has opened its Robert O.