For immediate release
August 19, 2008
Explore A Century of L.A. Secrets on Esotouric's Many Downtowns Bus Tour
WHAT: Esotouric presents The Many Downtowns urban history bus tour with guests Terry Ellsworth, Bert Green, Emmeric Konrad and Christine Silvestri
WHEN: Saturday September 20, 11am-3:00pm
COST: $58, includes snacks
WHERE: Departs from Philippe the Original, 1001 N. Alameda Street
INFO: http://www.esotouric.com or call 323-223-2767
LOS ANGELES- It seems like the whole world is interested in Downtown L.A.—the Germans have commissioned a neighborhood travel guide, overseas visitors fill the hotels, and folks from the Westside have even been spotted making the trek out to Art Walk. But few people really understand how Downtown LA works and where it comes from.
That's why Esotouric, the eclectic bus adventure company whose tours reveal the secret history of L.A. through crime, culture, literature and architecture, is offering THE MANY DOWNTOWNS, a provocative tour in the "Reyner Banham Loves L.A." architecture and urbanism series, meant to put the old ghosts and memories that cling to the streets and structures of the historic core into context. Esotouric is uniquely suited to explain Downtown, since they were named purveyors of the Best Downtown Tours by the Downtown News, guested on the BBC's "Globe Trekker L.A." episode, host the Art Walk Hippodrome shuttle and are the creators of the On Bunker Hill and 1947project time travel blogs.
THE MANY DOWNTOWNS is a guided social history of the mysterious, complex and rapidly evolving center of L.A., a thriving neighborhood that was intentionally depopulated in the 1950s and is currently experiencing an extraordinary rebirth. Everyone complains L.A. lacks a center—this tour explains why. Passengers will visit exquisite architectural gems, including some seldom seen by the general public, but they'll also enjoy a sophisticated analysis of the economic and social tools used to rebuild downtown, meet creative residents and explore unique destinations.
Featured locations include the intentionally depopulated Bunker Hill and its Angels flight funicular railway, Grand Central Market, Title Guarantee Building (including its landmark Hugo Ballin murals), Pershing Square (with its tribute to novelist John Fante), the European-style dining alley St. Vincent's Court, the Mercantile Arcade Building (an exact replica of a London landmark), Bert Green Fine Art (for a chat with the creator of Art Walk), a circuit of the Santee Alley shopping zone with Urban Shopping Adventures proprietor Christine Silverstri (no time for bargain hunting, sorry), and an insider's tour of the Arts District including Al's Bar, Bloom's General Store and a reception in artist Emmeric Konrad's studio.
ABOUT THE GUESTS: Painter EMMERIC KONRAD is downtown's signature artist, a 1980s Marine Corps vet whose experience working an Arizona rescue squad auto wreck continues to inform his neo-expressionist paintings packed with raw American symbolism, incorporating the blues, cinema, Mad Magazine, Walt Disney and iconoclasm. CHRISTINE SILVESTRI runs Urban Shopping Adventures, offering individualized tours of the complex and confusing Fashion District (and points west) since 2003. Gallery owner BERT GREEN is the architect of the hugely popular monthly Downtown Art Walk. Promoter TERRY ELLSWORTH has been a seminal Arts District figure for decades, curating the underground Bedlam space, hosting exhibitions at Bloom's General Store and presenting original film programs.
So climb aboard THE MANY DOWNTOWNS tour and explore one of America's most fascinating neighborhoods with the tour company Lonely Planet calls "hip, offbeat, insightful and entertaining."
Upcoming Esotouric bus tour schedule
Sat Aug 23 – Skylight Books - John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill
Sat Aug 30 - Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' LA
Sun Sept 7 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: South LA
Thurs Sept 11 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Sept 13 - Blood & Dumplings
Sat Sept 20 – Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: The Many Downtowns
Sat Oct 4 – Bodhi Tree – Visionary Hollywood
Thurs Oct 9 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Oct 11- Vroman's Bookstore - Raymond Chandler's LA
Sat Oct 18- Raymond Chandler's Bay City
Sat Oct 25 – Halloween Horrors with Crimebo the Clown
Sat Nov 1- Noir November: The Real Black Dahlia
Sat Nov 8- Noir November: The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's SoCal Nightmare
Thurs Nov 13 –The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Nov 15- Noir November: Wild Wild West Side
Sat Nov 22- Noir November: Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice
Sat Nov 29- Noir November: Blood & Dumplings
Sat Dec 6- Haunts of a Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowski's LA
Thurs Dec 11- The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Dec 13- Pasadena Confidential
For more info on Esotouric, please visit http://www.esotouric.com
For more on Reyner Banham, see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reyner_Banham
And the BBC documentary "Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles"
http://reyner.notlong.com
Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: The Many Downtowns tour host Richard Schave is available for interviews, as are guests Terry Ellsworth, Bert Green, Emmeric Konrad and Christine Silvestri. Members of the press on assignment are always welcome on the bus, space permitting. Contact Kim at amscrayATgmailDOTcom, 323-223-2767.
