La Cienega Boulevard

Despite hard times for some operators and frequent changes of ownership, name and/or "concept," La Cienega's Restaurant Row is apparently still a hot location for eating places. The high-quality Mark's and Pazzia have opened there recently. And now, Jeff Carlis, president of Gold/Carlis Inc., announced that his L.A.-based real estate and investment company, which specializes in restaurant sites, has closed four new deals on La Cienega Boulevard.

Work is underway on a $50-million apartment and retail complex on La Cienega Boulevard in the Beverly Grove neighborhood of Los Angeles. Apartment developer NMS Properties is building the five-story project called NMS@La Cienega at the intersection of La Cienega and Westmount Drive, which is near Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The complex is intended to appeal to renters in the medical, design, entertainment and retail industries, which are active nearby, NMS President Jim Andersen said.

Attention, Santa Monica Freeway commuters. We interrupt your honking and cheering with a word from Dorene Desenberg and her Westside neighborhood. While you are once again whipping in and out of traffic as if the dog days of the detour had never intruded upon your solo commute, it would be worthwhile to note that the freeway's "reopening" was a bit of an exaggeration in some parts of L.A.

Eldon Davis, an influential architect known as the father of the California coffee shop for midcentury designs inspired by the Space Age and the region's car culture, has died. He was 94. Davis died Friday at a West Hills hospital of complications from spinal meningitis, said his wife, Luana. When America was in love with aerodynamic design, Davis devised a concept for Norms restaurant that made it appear poised for liftoff. Built on La Cienega Boulevard in 1957, Norms had many features that came to typify the whimsical style of architecture known as Googie — a vaulted roof that resembles a flying wing, a room-length dining counter and an attention-grabbing vertical neon sign with roots in Las Vegas kitsch.

The location of the July 26 memorial service for veteran civil rights lawyer Hugh Manes has been changed. It will be at 3 p.m. at Temple Beth Am, 1039 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. Manes, who specialized in police misconduct cases, died June 13 at his Los Angeles home after a long battle with emphysema. He was 84.

For a mural depicting the history of La Cienega Boulevard, I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has photographs of any buildings on the street prior to 1980. I am especially interested in locating pictures of the old nightclubs, the Coronet Theater and scenes showing the Monday (and later Tuesday) night art walks. MARCIA KRITZLER, P.O. Box 5973-54, Sherman Oaks, CA 91413

School district map -- A map in Monday's California section with an article about Wiseburn School District labeled the area bounded by Century Boulevard on the north, the 105 Freeway on the south, La Cienega Boulevard on the west and Prairie Avenue on the east as Inglewood. Most of that area is in the community of Lennox. Also, an area south of 138th Street -- between El Segundo Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue -- and east of the 405 Freeway, was shown as being in the Wiseburn School District.

The city will hold the first of three planning workshops on the future of Santa Monica Boulevard on Sept. 30 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in City Hall. Associate Planning Director Hassan Hagani said ideas for the boulevard are being broken into three segments: The western end, from Doheney Drive to La Cienega Boulevard, has a grassy median strip. One option under discussion is narrowing or eliminating the median and widening the sidewalks.

Most 20th century design dealers on La Cienega Boulevard are known for high-gloss refinishing and high-glam reupholstery. At Euro Chic West, a more do-it-yourself spirit prevails.

Just about everybody who drives up La Cienega Boulevard knows that there is a new restaurant on the site of the former Pear Garden. The prominent corner has been transformed into Metropolis (650 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 659-4987), an ultra-modern space with a patio flung out on one side and twinkly lights beckoning out front. Inside you find an odd conjunction of elements.

After numerous delays and cost increases, officials this week will begin running test trains on the long-awaited Expo Line and have announced that the first rail line into the traffic-clogged Westside since the days of the Red Car trolleys could start operations in November. The first phase of the project, when completed, promises to zip commuters about 8.6 miles from downtown to Culver City in 30 minutes. Originally carrying a price tag of $640 million, the cost has now reached $930.6 million.

An Australian businessman has been arrested in connection with the death of a 21-year-old woman who was struck and killed by a Bentley while crossing Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said Thursday. Ryan Bowman, 43, was booked on suspicion of manslaughter after surrendering Thursday afternoon to deputies at the sheriff's West Hollywood station. Bowman is suspected of being behind the wheel of the Bentley that slammed into Lauren Ann Freeman as she was in the crosswalk at Hammond Street about 11:50 p.m. Wednesday.

The answer to the question posed is one of L.A.'s most elusive: Where does the Westside start? Last month The Times asked readers to weigh in on the Westside borders drawn for Mapping L.A ., the newspaper's interactive site that provides information on demographics, schools and other information at a local level. More than 500 comments came in, including more than 300 with maps drawn by readers. A Times analysis of the results — using a point system to weigh how often neighborhoods were included in reader-drawn maps — showed that while no one definition approached a majority, certain patterns were clear.

In July 1947, the greatest play ever to have its premiere in Los Angeles opened at the Coronet Theatre on La Cienega Boulevard: Bertolt Brecht's " Galileo." The play, with Charles Laughton in the title role, dramatized the great scientist's running battle with the Roman Catholic Church over his telescopic discovery that the Earth orbited the sun rather than the other way around. At the climax of the play, Galileo — threatened with torture by his inquisitors, who fear that the church's cosmology and authority will be destroyed by Galileo's revelations — recants.

Artist Craig Kauffman, a sparkplug of Los Angeles' art scene in the late 1950s and early '60s who captured national attention with bubble-like plastic wall pieces that reflect Southern California's sunshine and car culture, died Sunday at his home in the Philippines. He was 78. Kauffman had a stroke about two months ago, said art dealer Frank Lloyd, who represents the artist. Kauffman attended the early-April opening of his most recent exhibition at Lloyd's gallery in Santa Monica, but his condition worsened after he returned to the Philippines.

The art prospector must have thought he'd snagged a great deal when he purchased what he thought was a $5-million Picasso pastel for less than half its value. Tatiana Khan, owner of the Chateau Allegre gallery on La Cienega Boulevard, claimed the artwork -- called "La Femme Au Chapeau Bleu" (The Woman in the Blue Hat) -- was owned by the Malcolm Forbes family estate and was a bargain at only $2 million, according to court documents. But the art prospector became suspicious several years later and contacted a Picasso expert in 2008.

An Australian businessman has been arrested in connection with the death of a 21-year-old woman who was struck and killed by a Bentley while crossing Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said Thursday. Ryan Bowman, 43, was booked on suspicion of manslaughter after surrendering Thursday afternoon to deputies at the sheriff's West Hollywood station. Bowman is suspected of being behind the wheel of the Bentley that slammed into Lauren Ann Freeman as she was in the crosswalk at Hammond Street about 11:50 p.m. Wednesday.

County officials said Wednesday that low-lying streets near La Cienega Boulevard--whose name means the swamp in Spanish--may face more flooding if there is a repeat of the deluge of two weeks ago. "What happened a few weeks ago was an overwhelming storm that took everyone by surprise," said Donna Guyovich, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

Six years ago, Tim Blum and Jeff Poe opened a 5,000-square-foot gallery on a forgotten strip of South La Cienega Boulevard. This weekend, the team will launch a 21,000-square-foot complex across the street -- at the hub of what has become a major center of contemporary art galleries in and around Culver City. The new Blum & Poe has transformed a grungy hulk of a building into a pristine showcase with sleek galleries illuminated by dramatic skylights, a slightly rougher project space and lots of back rooms for storage, offices, private viewing and entertaining.

The location of the July 26 memorial service for veteran civil rights lawyer Hugh Manes has been changed. It will be at 3 p.m. at Temple Beth Am, 1039 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles. Manes, who specialized in police misconduct cases, died June 13 at his Los Angeles home after a long battle with emphysema. He was 84.