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DTLA WEEKLY

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location: EXPO/USC PHOTO COURTESY TIMOTHY NORRIS

LA City Council Elects New President Pro Tem –Councilmember Curren D. Price Jr.

to his political Repertoire of good deeds spanning the course of four decades.

Councilmember Curren Price Jr. of CD 9 has been sworn in as President Pro Tempore of the Los Angeles City Council.

The 71-year-old Councilmember represents Council District 9 covering areas in South Park, USC and parts of South Central.

Since his beginning days on the LA City Council, Price has been on the job overseeing areas of tremendous growth in his district including job training and retention, business expansion, land use and public facilities, police protection, consumer retail, housing, and transportation.

Elected to the City Council in 2013, Price now chairs the Economic Development and Jobs Committee, adding

Before being elected to LA City Council in 2013, Councilmember Price served on the California State Assembly and Senate, chairing the Assembly’s Committee on Elections and Redistricting and Committee on Governmental Organization, and the Senate’s Business and Professions Committee. He was also chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus in 2010.

Like many Council members, President Price has done his due diligence with a solid track record and kept up his reputation as a positive entity in-line with the needs of the people.

Now facing his third term as Councilmemeber for his district, branded as The New Ninth, Price has overseen the rise of Banc of California Stadium, Metro Expo Line, and USC Village.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Price was head of his class earning a Scholarship and Bachelor’s in Political Science from Stanford University followed by a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Santa Clara, School of Law.

Once a strong candidate for Mayor of Inglewood, there probably isn’t a more reliable or likable city official than President Curren Price. Known to the majority of Angelenos as a friendly, caring and highly competent commodity, working hard for the City of Los Angeles.

Now second in command, President Curren Price will serve as the next president pro tempore of the Los Angeles City Council, after his colleagues voted 11-0 to appoint him to the post.

BEYOND KING TUT COMES TO DOWNTOWN LA

Beyond King Tut:

The Immersive Experience, a new exhibition developed in partnership with the National Geographic Society, will debut in downtown Los Angeles at Magic Box LA beginning November 4 –the 100th anniversary of what is still considered one of the greatest archeological discoveries of all time.

Become the hero to your friends and family by inviting them to revisit the 1922 discovery of King Tut’s tomb

Still the only intact ancient Egyptian royal tomb ever found, Beyond King Tut at Magic Box at the Reef is a lifechanger.

Discover the larger than life imagery of the wonderful things found there.

Beyond King Tut guests will see the archives of the National Geographic Society come to life in a multi-gallery journey through the boy king’s story. The exhibition opened in Washington D.C. and Boston this summer, and will remain in Los Angeles through the end of the year.

With nine multimedia galleries to explore, wind through the story of a young boy who ruled as pharaoh more than 3,000 years ago, and what we’re still learning about him today. Sightsee the wonders of modern and ancient Egypt.

Join the exploration for King Tut’s tomb and descend into his burial chamber. Relive the discovery of the king’s tomb with all his treasures waiting inside.

Finally, join King Tut for a voyage through the underworld in a sweeping cinematic experience in the final immersive gallery.

This exhibition goes beyond a traditional artifact display using the power of photography, technology, and life changing VR experiences provided by Dreamland XR ensuring that the artifacts from King Tut’s tomb remain in their country of origin.

“Beyond King Tut will be a mustsee for anyone interested in Egypt and the history of King Tut,” said Kathryn Keane, vice president of public programming and National Geographic Museum director for the National Geographic Society.

“New technologies are making it possible to fully immerse people like never before in important stories from our past, allowing us to develop connections and understand history’s influence on our present and future generations.”

“After the return of King Tut’s treasures to Egypt, Beyond King Tut brings together the all-stars of immersive art and the National Geographic Society to present a fascinating story in a whole new way, with a multi-sensory journey! Guests will get to experience the splendor of Egypt all around them, then take an imagined voyage with us to the Ancient Egyptian afterlife,” said Beyond King Tut creative producer Mark Lach.

Beyond King Tut is produced by Paquin Entertainment Group in association with Immersive and the creative team behind the King Tut artifact exhibitions that awed millions of visitors across the globe. Paquin Entertainment Group’s exhibition portfolio has attracted more than 5 million visitors around the world and includes the acclaimed Beyond

Van Gogh and Beyond Monet exhibitions. Reprising its role with those exhibitions, Montreal’s world-renowned Normal Studio presents a journey through Egypt in a way no one else can tell it.

Tickets prices start at $37.50 for adults and $26 for children ages 5-15 (plus ticketing fees).

Package rates for families, seniors, students and groups. VIP Tickets include a flex ticket for anytime entry, merchandise and entry to the awardwinning “Tutankhamun: Enter the Tomb” VR companion experience voiced by lauded English actor Hugh Bonneville. www.beyondkingtut.com

Khaman Dhokla

Say Hello to Evan Lovett Creator of LA in a Minute

Forty-four-yearold Evan Lovett is the genius mind and creator behind L.A. in a Minute, one of L.A.s fastest growing social media vlogs on record.

Lovett, who told Downtown Weekly his inspiration comes from his son, his parents, his wife, and his city could just be the perfect mashup of traditional news person and social media icon. His style matches the tone and timing of the city, making him relatable like the more successful vloggers, coupled with his past courses in journalism coming out of UCLA and going on to work at the L.A. Times.

lets us have it. The good, the bad and the grit!

“I’m

As our charismatic guide to everything Los Angeles, Lovett uncovers the not so well known facts behind our most beloved landmarks, personalities and change makers.

Each day on his social media channels, Lovett lays it out on the line with a take no breath, take no prisoners delivery to remind us all why we love LA.

But what makes Lovett's delivery of facts so darn lovable to the masses? As Evan Lovett would say, “Let’s Get Into It!”

Ever wonder about the

origins of Bob’s Big Boy or Downtown’s own San Pedro Fish Market? When passing along the road do you think to yourself, hey, what's up with that dusty-old giant donut?

Probably not, and that’s the key. Lovett invites us to rediscover the everyday stories we take for granted while offering an elevated history lesson in human ingenuity.

Lovett’s words dominate your attention span with messianic vocals left raspy from his convictions, pounding out the hard-hitting truths establishing authority and a level of trust.

His speech pattern and timing tempt us to unite through the experiences we’ve all shared throughout our lifetimes. His highest-reaching posts about Mosquitoes, In-N-Out, 405 Freeway, How we get our Water, and King Taco have peaked over 100k.

Simply put, the Studio City native provides us with the history lesson we never knew we needed, pooling together the familiar sights and people of LA that tie us all together as Angelenos. From childhood memories to new discoveries, it’s all there. But, don’t blink or scroll, you’ll only have a minute to soak in as many fun facts as you can.

Facts, facts and nothing but the facts!

While some vloggers exhaust time and budgets traveling and twirling around with camera angles and wardrobes, Lovett mainly props his upper torso in front of a green screen or shows up on location and

Well, there are those moments when followers will add to his commentary with facts of their own. Others make it a habit to challenge Lovett’s facts. Most express admiration for what he presents in the form of hundreds of comments each day.

It all makes for delightful moments of engagement and ensures Lovett’s long-term success. That, and the fact he presents L.A. in a positive light after tireless research & fact-checking bringing his followers awesome tidbits, facts, & history.

Remarkably, Evan has only been the face of LA for 9 months. Lovett’s first post on Instagram began with a quick editorial about the Northridge Earthquake. Since, L.A. in a Minute has gone on to showcase everyone from Snoop Dogg to Tommy’s Burger, shining a historic flashlight on the memories of the people and places who have touched our lives.

In most recent days, we’ve found Lovett face-to-face with Ryan Seacrest, Orel Hershiser, Dov Charney, Owen Wilson, Bob Hertzberg, Karen Bass, and Rick Caruso. In his short time doing LA in a Minute, Lovett has been on KTLA, Access Daily w Mario Lopez (twice), and KCRW. Soon he’ll be hosting “LA in a Minute” on a popular streaming network.

When speaking about DTLA, Lovett stated, “I love it. I grew up as DTLA was undergoing its renaissance at the turn of the century and have enjoyed seeing the development as well as embracing its past.”

DTLA can hardly wait to watch Lovett’s take on our historic people and places…. And …This has been LA in a Minute …in a Minute. https://linktr.ee/lainaminute

just a guy with genuine passion & relentless curiosity that loves sharing my joy for our amazing city.”

Illuminated, Immersed and Augmented –

How DTLA is Shaping the Future of Visual Arts

In the beginning…there was Eli Broad

Eli and Edythe Broad first led the way for Downtown LA to augmented reality (AR) earlier this year with Takashi Murakami: Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow exhibition at the Broad Museum.

The exhibit allowed museum visitors to experience recent and earlier works of Takashi’s career both inside and outside of reality as we know it.

Takashi spent a lifetime exploring subject matter such as globalization, postwar Japan, pop culture, and religious iconography in his famed art pieces. His works, up until May 2022, had spanned mostly sculpture, painting, and wallpaper, yet the future and DTLA would offer the artist something different.

As visitors anxiously awaited for the exhib it to reveal his famed works, the museum doors opened to an entire, new way to view the visual arts.

Markers on the museum floor instructed cell phone users just how to release the computer-generated avatars (created by the artist himself) that stood beside his pieces in Augmented reality. Even the out side of the Broad held markers to bring his augmented works to this realm.

Grand Ave Augmented Up and Down the Hill

Saturday, October 22nd, brought DTLA Grand Ave Augmented featuring 40 AR

experiences, 3-D animations, interactive holograms, virtual musical and audio performances, and immersive 360º envi ronments that promise to push the bound aries of art and technology to the edges of the imagination.

Fully Immersed at Street Art Alive at Lume Los Angeles

This past summer, STREET ART ALIVE at THE LUME transported visitors on an unforgettable journey through the streets and alleys of more than 20 iconic cities, including New York City, London, SaÞo Paulo, Melbourne and Berlin throughout 25,000 sq. ft of 360-degree multi-sensory galleries inside Expo/USC district’s Magic Box at the REEF. https://thelume.com

LUMINEX 2.0: Projected Realities in South Park EXTENDED

The beginning of fall brought the return LUMINEX 2.0: Projected Realities, South Park’s nighttime, bright-time art exhibit utilizing downtown LA’s buildings as mas sive projector screens for the visual arts.

The artist-led exhibition featured 12 inter nationally acclaimed and leading artists and their creatively fluent digital artworks across 12 site-specific sites from Olive to Broadway.

Recently, creator-visionaries NOW Art, an nounced LUMINEX 2.0: Projected Realities will be accessible as an Augmented Reality Art Exhibition through Fall 2023.

Once again, Hoverlay Augmented Reality App will extend the exhibition experience through an interactive map, holograms, and enhanced reality. So far, over 2,500 people worldwide downloaded the app to participate in Luminex 2.0, with over 31,000 total views. https://luminexla.com

A Forest for the Trees at Ace Center Studios

A Forest for the Trees transports audienc es on a journey through a surreal forest of magic, music, and wonder as visitors reimagine their relationship with the nat ural world. The surreal and calming show is a widely acclaimed immersive art show created and directed by native Los Ange les artist Glenn Kaino. Together with The Atlantic, Superblue, and presenting spon sor Mastercard, the show is inspired by The Atlantic’s extensive writings that have shaped American attitudes toward nature for more than a century.

The Immersive Art show’s centerpiece is an ethereal installation of an iconic 144-year-old fig tree from Olvera Street that’s been brought back to life through art, light, and sound.

Beyond King Tut at the Magic Box

It’s been exactly 100 years since archeolo gists discovered the Tomb of King Tut.

Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Expe rience is a new exhibition, developed in partnership with the National Geographic Society that will debut in downtown Los Angeles at Magic Box LA beginning No vember 4th.

Tunnels made 5000 years ago by a super intelligent race of Lizard People that were so intellectually and technologically advanced they used acidic chemicals to dig 285 tunnels and with chambers room large enough to fit 1,000 families.

Ah, no. Most said rats, and those huge roaches that end up crushed along the sidewalk. But when it came to tunnels, most mentioned the Metro, the Old Street Cars and Prohibition.

And although the legend of the Lizard People is a thing according to 1930s geophysicist George Warren Shufelt, his radio-x Machine, and the LA Times, of the many tunnels that lay beneath, few ever mention the hidden catacombs of Downtown LA.

When searching for photos of DTLA tunnels you’re bound to come across old photos of modern era dugouts to hallowed out spaces just large enough to fit barrels of rum. Just as interesting, the preserved photos of LA’s first subway. Imagine several hundred trolley cars, or “RED CARS”, rattling their way through a mile of tunnel before exiting on Hill Street in 1925.

The catacombs aren’t tidy, nor do they offer a comfortable passage. Although there is plenty of air, they’re dark, dry and require the explorer to hunch way down in order to get through. There are no visible damp spaces, wired lights, critters or cuts and crevices upon which critters can hide.

The catacombs of Downtown LA are man made are pretty much square shape and form only be found beneath the basements Downtown’s most of historic buildings.

The catacombs were meant to be used as escape routes and modeled after the palace catacombs of Europe, which were common for centuries before the founding of Los Angeles in 1781. Flash forward to America in the early 1900s, architects of yesteryear influenced by the old world bent on establishing a new.

Catacombs combined with 11 miles of Speakeasy Tunnels would pretty much allow underground passage from historic building to the next. There is well known Speakeasy tunnel long sealed off in the basement of the King Eddy and historians have logged an entire bar that dates back to prohibition beneath the intersection of 5th and Main Streets.

Could these catacombs still be in use to this day?

Ledger states most of the tunnels are sealed off. Metro and the old subway can only be accessed by special permission, the Speakeasy Tunnels are hidden behind layers of mortar.

However, secrets.

WHAT LIES BENEATH THE SURFACE OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES E

Secrets kept for more than a century will not easily slip through the lips of those who know.

Before exhausting his efforts, losing his credibility, and becoming the laughing stalk of the town and silenced trying to reveal the lost Lizard Tunnels, Shufelt’s radio-x Machine was able to draw a map and pin point the underground tunnels and chambers of hidden gold. Seemed the Lizard People had carved their tunnels in the shape of a lizard, supposedly the tail end is located under the LA Library.

But, the LA Library doesn’t look at all like it would hold any secrets, does it? No.

FOLLOW @DTLAWEEKLY for photos of the hidden catacombs of DTLA.

asked 100 Downtowners what they would expect to find under the streets of downtown Los Angeles and the top answer in our survey said…

With as many photos as you can find, there are only few photos of the catacombs in existence.