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The happy ones

By Daily Bruin Staff

Oct. 7, 1997 9:00 p.m.

Wednesday, October 8, 1997

The happy ones

One night on the town in Los Feliz, and you’ll see why Los
Angeles’ best kept secret is out of the bag.

By Meghan Ward

Daily Bruin Contributor

Though a crossroads where movie star meets starving artist,
black meets white, and straight meets gay, Los Feliz is still the
best kept secret in Los Angeles.

One time home to stars such as Cary Grant, Los Feliz has
undergone a recent revival, thanks to the movie Swingers, which
featured local hangouts like the Dresden Room and the Derby.

In addition, a recent influx of celebrities has increased the
popularity of the area. Madonna and Brad Pitt live there. Nicholas
Cage, Bridget Fonda, and writers Dennis Cooper and John Rechy are
also keeping the tradition of those who have chosen Los Feliz for
its privacy and accessibility to several freeways.

Los Feliz lies nestled in between Silverlake and Hollywood,
north of downtown.

"Los Feliz" is Spanish for "The Happy Ones," but the residents
of Los Feliz are not all that happy about the publicity that their
neighborhood is receiving.

It is good for business, but bad for residents, who dread seeing
their community turned into "The new Melrose" or "The Soho of Los
Angeles." They prefer to keep the best kept secret in Los Angeles
just what it is, a secret.

Articles have been featured in Details, Vogue, W and the Los
Angeles Times. So what’s the big deal? A day in the life of Los
Feliz might unveil the mystery that has Westsiders trekking across
town to get a taste of felicidad.

4 p.m.

Just South of Franklin, on the east side of Vermont Avenue, lies
an eclectic gift shop by the name of Y Que. It’s the perfect place
to buy pop culture memorabilia. Desperately in need of a Brady
Bunch lunchbox? Killer art? Some vintage toys? Candles, incense,
postcards, toys, calendars? Y Que is the place to do all your gift
shopping.

4:25 p.m.

A little south is Squaresville, an extremely well-organized
designer vintage shop full of great finds at reasonable prices.

4:50 p.m.

Ignore the tattoo parlor and do make a U-turn back up the street
to Skylight Books. In the spot where the famous Chatterton’s
bookstore once stood, this unique shop is run by Kerry Slattery,
the general manager.

When the owner of Chatterton’s died in 1994, the bookstore
remained empty for two years until owners of the nearby Dresden
Room, Tony Danza and Jeffrey Tambour, along with several other
members of the Los Feliz community, pooled their money and reopened
the only bookstore in the area that sells general literature.

Named after the Skylight Theater next door, Skylight Books
offers a variety of books as diverse as the neighborhood itself.
"The focus is classical and alternative," says Slattery. "We are
strong in cinema and gay and lesbian literature."

"This building has been here since the ’30s. Bukowski lived
here. Raymond Chandler lived here. It is a very literary
neighborhood." Slattery explains that Disney’s first studio was two
blocks down the street, and that ABC studios were on Prospect
Boulevard.

"There is a lot of famous architecture in the neighborhood.
Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra and Rudolf Schindler built homes
here." "Dreams into Action" stands out on a bookshelf. It was
written by Milton Katselas, the acting teacher who runs the theater
behind the bookstore.

5:30 p.m.

Time for a cup of tea at the Onyx Coffeehouse just next to
Squaresville. Locals sit at tables on the sidewalk discussing
politics. A woman dressed in black reads a book while sipping tea.
She is a UCLA graduate student named Christina Riegos, working on a
doctorate in sociology.

"I grew up here and all my friends live around here. The
neighborhood has gone through these transformations. I went to
Brown (University) and when I came back in ’93, the theater was
still one theater, the Onyx was always here, and Y Que was here.
Los Feliz was not as discovered."

Riegos has noticed the changes at Los Feliz because of its
increased popularity.

"I used to go for drinks at the Derby, but after Swingers came
out, forget it. They started having dance classes, and there was a
cover. It’s a lot harder to live around here now. Everything is
more expensive."

Riegos does not mind the commute to UCLA. Los Feliz is
accessible to the 101 and 5 freeways.

She also appreciates the social and cultural diversity. "Los
Feliz is very racially mixed. I am Latina. I could not live in an
all-white neighborhood," she said.

6:25 p.m.

Stroll past "The Place That Has No Name," as some refer to it,
where locals grab a cup of coffee and discuss the state of the
economy.

6:30 p.m.

A slice of pizza at the corner of Vermont and Russell will tide
you over until after the movie.

6:45 p.m.

Tickets to three movies – U-Turn, The Full Monty, and In and Out
are being sold at the Los Feliz Three Cinemas, formerly the Los
Feliz Theater.

Until recently, the theater housed only one auditorium. Now it
houses three. Locals like Riegos were sad to see the change. "There
are more movies now, but it’s not the same," she says.

Popcorn is no less expensive in Los Feliz than it is anywhere
else. The other independent movie theater in the neighborhood is
The Vista, currently celebrating 70 years of motion picture
entertainment. It still only houses one auditorium.

9 p.m.

A visit to the less cutting-edge, more gentrified part of town,
Hillhurst Avenue. A choice between dining at the very trendy Vida,
named for the cook’s mother, where an "Okra Winfrey Creole Gumbo"
and a "C’Mon I Wanna Lay Ya" strawberry Napolean will run
considerably more than the pastas and pizzas at the slightly less
trendy, but intimate and delicious Farfalla, just down the
street.

10:30 p.m.

Slip into The Derby, where Jumpin’ Jimes or Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
plays big band music of the ’30s and ’40s while swingers are
getting into the groove on one of two dance floors. Diners can be
spotted nestled in semi-circular booths along the wall, while those
too chicken to jive visit the bar in the center of the room.

11:15 p.m.

The Dresden Room is packed with Gen-Xers tapping their feet to
the beat of Marty and Elaine, the musical duo who, according to
Elaine, have entertained at the Dresden for "16 years as of April
Fool’s Day."

Before that, they performed just around the corner at The Derby
every Tuesday night, back when it was called "Michael of Los
Feliz." It was there that they met the owner of The Dresden
Room.

"Then it was an older Hollywood crowd. Jerry Dempsey, all the
news commentators from ABC used to come in. In 1990 we were in a
Tom Petty video and a younger crowd started coming in. The older
crowd couldn’t get seats. They would stand for a while and leave.
The younger people were more enduring," she recalls.

Marty plays the bass and drums, Elaine plays the piano,
synthesizer and flute. Both sing tunes to Irving Berlin, Cole
Porter and the like.

"We sing classic jazz and some fusion," says Elaine. "We did
"Staying Alive" in the movie Swingers. They showed our picture and
our names. We got top billing. Some of our actor friends stopped
speaking to us after that."

Midnight

Step into the Good Luck Bar located on Hillhurst, just north of
Sunset. It is crowded on weekends, often with a line out front.
Inside, the place is bursting with vibrant Oriental reds and
blacks. Red and gold bas-reliefs decorate the ceiling. The
wallpaper is red with black velvet designs. Red lanterns and photos
of unidentified Asians ornament the walls, and porthole windows
give the impression of being submerged in a Chinese submarine. The
place is dark enough to be several leagues under the sea.

12:45 a.m.

Winding back over to Vermont, a rest stop at Fred 62 is
absolutely imperative. Created by the owners of Vida, it was named
after the cook, Fred, who was born in 1962. From the outside, the
leafy green color is all that distinguishes it from the sidewalk.
Like at Vida, there is no sign out front.

On the inside, it looks like an ordinary diner, and the menu
will confirm as much. Juicy Lucy Burgers, Tofu Scrambles, Soba and
Caesar Salad comprise both the lunch and dinner menus, as well as
the late night menu, which are nearly identical. Fred 62 is open 24
hours.

1:15 a.m.

Still time to check out Akbar, on Sunset, just east of Fountain,
or have a second cup of coffee at the House of Pies, where a table
of policemen stumble over chairs in a mad dash out the door as a
stolen car is reported to have been spotted nearby.

2 a.m.

Go to bed already! There is always tomorrow.

Griffith Park, the Amok alternative bookstore, Barnsdall Art
Park, a visit to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis-Brown House, dinner at
Katsu, and that eyebrow piercing you have been debating about, will
all still be there in the morning..

AARON TOUT/Daily Bruin

The Derby in Los Feliz, once a local favorite, has gained
tremendous notoriety since its appearance in the movie
Swingers.

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