Steve Arroyo - Church & State

(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Way back when, on our real estate tour of the Biscuit Building with the property manager, the first thing I noticed was the restaurant under construction on the ground floor loading docks. "That will be Church & State" said the rep from the leasing agent. "It will be really cool." Indeed.

After a protracted courtship with the developers, Church & State opened on Sept. 22nd.

The restaurateur (Did you know there's no "n" in that word? Me neither.) is a man named Steve Arroyo—owner of several other successful eateries in Los Angeles, most notably Cobras and Matadors. I introduced myself to him soon after opening day and later hit him up for a portrait. He agreed without a blink. I like this guy.

Softspoken and courteous, Steve indulged my complex lighting melange while nearly falling off his chair from a hard-puffing cigarette buzz. ("More smoke Steve! More smoke!") The restaurant's interior design is a mix of influences from Pastis in the Meat Packing District of NYC to clarklewis in Portland, Oregon. The latter also being a former loading dock in an industrial building. (Look closely at the photo above and you'll see the wine bottles perched on the former loading dock of the Biscuit.) I wanted to place Steve in situ as he fits the decor as someone who's created a space in which he fits perfectly. The mirrors, the Edison bulbs, bricks, steel and bottles of red, red vino all blend with the tats, hat, smokes and lowball glass of swirled aperitif.

Thank you Steve.


(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Giordano

(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Giordano, aka "Gio,"works at Cafe Metropol on E 3rd in the Arts District. We here at WAP have become regulars there and always look forward to the great service and conversation with Gio. Today, he agreed to a few photos at the end of his work day.

Gio was born in Cuba and like me, survived Catholic school. We had a great conversation about God, evolutionary biology, nuns and my mother's potty mouth. (We both learned curse words in Spanish by example...)

After about 15 minutes, he answered his cellphone. It was his boss. I am not sure what was said, but the shoot ended—immediately.

We never got around to the story about the tattoos. I hope you didn't get into any trouble my friend!


(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

W.A.P. endorses Barack Obama for President

Free iPhone wallpaper. © William Anthony

I think we've finally got ourselves a true uniter, and not another divider.

I dusted off my art director hat (it was in storage), and put together the iPhone wallpaper above. Feel free to pass on.

Please vote on November 4th.

V. Hernandez - LAFD

(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

I met Mr. V. Hernandez while on a bike ride this morning. He and two engines were doing drills in the neighborhood. There's a lot of that down here. We crossed paths in front of the former Engine Co. #17 Fire Station on Santa Fe and 7th St. Mr. Hernandez is actually with Engine Co. #4 (as you can see on his helmet), but the industrial buildings down here give them the perfect environment to practice their procedures with the heavy equipment.

We chatted briefly about the history of the neighborhood and he recalled the big explosion. at the Imperial Toy Co. in '97. Which was directly across from us.

I have nothing but respect for firefighters. Unless they are driving by the loft at 1am with lights and sirens blaring. Which they do. Just about every night.

Architect Magazine - Steven Lewis

© William Anthony

Last week, I met and photographed architect Steven Lewis here in Los Angeles. Steven is the new President of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and will be featured in a Q & A in an upcoming issue.

Homepage Slideshow

(Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

I've implemented a slideshow on the homepage. I'll update it regularly with fresh work, but on no set schedule. To all my animal trainer friends, thats an " intermittent, variable ratio schedule of reinforcement."

Yes, I am training you.

Science!

King of Misfit Toys

Found, as is, under Spring St. Bridge (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

King? Troll? Wubby?

Choose wisely.

Beware of Camel - Altadena, CA

Seen on Lake Ave. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Frank: Biscuit Mr. Fix-it

Frank dusting off the building. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Meet Frank. (Born "Francisco.") He works at the Toy and Biscuit Lofts. He does maintenance, cleaning and other odds and ends around my building. Everyone around here knows Frank. He's easy to spot as he's almost always wearing a huge grin. (See below.) He's also a great, great guy. Former military, father of two, and a huge Dodgers fan (sorry about Game 2 buddy), Frank knows how hard work "works."


© William Anthony

Frank and I have a lot in common. Our mothers share the same first name. We're both Spanish/Mexican, talkative, and extremely handsome. Did I mention we're both modest too?

If you're in the neighborhood, be sure to stop by The Royal Claytons roughly around quitting time. You're sure to find Frank sitting at "his" table having a beer and flirting with the wait staff after a hard day's work.

Obamccain

That One v. McNasty (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

Poster art seen at the corner of E 3rd St & Traction Ave. in the Arts District.

Conrad and Bubbles

On Center St. near the 1st St. Bridge. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

I don't know who Conrad or Bubbles are. But I do know that at one point in time, they loved one another. So much so, that Conrad (assumedly) took out a pocket knife and risked cliche by carving that love into a tree.

Adam and the KIA commercial.

Adam between takes. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

This is Adam. He was part of a crew filming a KIA commercial on and around the 6th St. Bridge. I was just sitting there on my bike watching the camera car chase this sporty little KIA car up and down 6th Ave. Then I saw the fro. I walked up and asked if I could snap a few frames. His response?

"Totally."

Thanks Adam.

90021

TOY and Biscuit in same frame. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony

I live in an extremely famous neighborhood in Los Angeles. But you'd never know it by driving around. I don't live in Hollywood, or Beverly Hills, or Malibu. You'll never see landmarks from here in postcards or visitor's guides. But chances are, you see my neighborhood every day on television. I live in the "Industrial District," where thousands of commercials, television shows and movies are filmed every year. You can't walk two blocks in any direction without seeing the ubiquitous "NOTICE OF FILMING" labels adhered to a random wall, door or gate. It's the prototypical "urban landscape."

The race sequence in the movie Grease? It's the LA River under the Sixth St. bridge. The cheesy projected background whizzing behind William Shatner as he rides a motorcycle in that Priceline commercial? Santa Fe St. All within walking distance.

I've taken to riding my bike around here at dusk, when the light is best, and snapping photos with one camera or another.

I figured the best place to start was my front door. The photo above is one third (the middle third) of the TOY loft building directly across from my front door. You can also see it way in the background at the end of this Saturn commercial. Look for the enormous letters spelling "TOY."

Expect more musings from 90021.

Palm beach.

Santa Monica. (Click image for full size.) © William Anthony