Lighting: Portions of the mosaic facade containing glass will be back lit to produce a glowing pattern at night. At the northeastern corner of the building where the panel systems meet, a gap between these systems will be lit and create a strong vertical light well. Additionally, the upper floors step back slightly from the black tile first floor to create a small shelf for concealed lighting that will wash the mosaic pattern with light. This effect would be accentuated if a reflective material such as stainless steel projected 8 inches from the roof to "catch" the up-lighting and create a thin cornice of light.
Tomorrow night the Glendale City Council will review an initial concept presentation exploring the idea of capping the 134 freeway to create park space between Central and Glendale Avenue, similar to Seattle's Freeway Park, Boston's Rose Kennedy Greenway and the proposed park over the 101 Freeway in Hollywood. Hopefully people will come speak at the meeting and send the council letters in support of a project along these lines that would create more badly needed park space in Glendale. The funding to explore the idea came from a grant front the Southern California Association of Governments, and has been led Glendale's mobility planner Mike Nilsson in conjuction with planning and urban design consultants Melendrez. Seeing something of this scale come to fruition would take many years, but the project is set up in phases that can be implemented if the support is there within the community.
A rarely-produced Shakespearean epic, “The Winter's Tale” is a story about a jealous suspicion that tears family and friends apart and can only be resolved after the passage of many miles and many years. How fitting that a play about the healing power of time will be presented in a theater that has consistently welcomed many generations of audiences through the decades--from the Art Deco glory days of Los Angeles to the present.
Tickets for “The Winter’s Tale” are $20 (balcony) and $35 (mezzanine and orchestra) and can be purchased in person at the Alex Theatre Box Office, The Americana at Brand Ticket Outlet, or Glendale Community College; by phone at 818-243-ALEX (2359); or online at alextheatre.org/patrons/boxoffice.php. Show starts at 8 p.m.
Swarming is the natural means of reproduction of honey bee colonies. A new honey bee colony is formed when the queen bee leaves the colony with a large group of worker bees, a process called swarming. In the prime swarm, about 60% of the worker bees leave the original hive location with the old queen. This swarm can contain thousands to tens of thousands of bees. Swarming is mainly a spring phenomenon, usually within a two- or three-week period depending on the locale, but occasional swarms can happen throughout the producing season.
The volunteers of the Backwards Beekeepers save wild bees in the Los Angeles area and make new beekeepers through education and helpful guidance. If you have a swarm that's easily reachable, or bees living in some easily accessible area (NOT a chimney), we may be able to help you.
The empty lot at Brand and Wilson (which I posted about previously here) has sold and a new, smaller project is being proposed for the site. There was a special meeting of the city council yesterday for Stage 1 Design Review on the project. Rafi Manoukian, Laura Friedman and Frank Quintero were in favor of the project but had some quibbles with details, but they all voted yes. Dave Weaver didn't support the proposal. "My viewpoint is that residential doesn't belong on Brand" -- he wants a "first class hotel" there instead (which had been proposed previously as the long proposed City Center II project) as there aren't other suitable lots in downtown Glendale for a large hotel. Ara was on the fence regarding the proposal but appeared swayed by Weaver's comments and ultimately voted no."This development, known as 'Brand & Wilson' envisions ground-level shops and restaurants with outdoor cafe seating, street-level town-homes with stoop entries, and apartments, with plentiful amenities for our residents, including generous outdoor space, recreation facilities, pool, and a green roof and terrace. The project will also incorporate green and sustainable practices.
The site is an approximately 60,000 square foot rectangle bordered by Brand Boulevard, Wilson Avenue, Orange Street, and the existing City Center office and retail complex to the South. The community will include 238 residential units, including six town-homes along Wilson Boulevard and Orange Street, and approximately 10,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space located at the corner of Brand and Wilson. The proposed mix of land uses requires 381 parking spaces. The design will accommodate 388 parking spaces on site, plus an additional 84 bicycle parking spaces."
The Glendale Historical Society is pleased to announce that it has been working with Caruso Affiliated to relocate the façade of the Mission Revival-style brick commercial building at 230 South Orange Street, recently acquired by Caruso for the expansion of The Americana at Brand. Caruso Affiliated will incorporate the existing building façade into the design of the new Nordstrom building along the new pedestrian passageway to be created on what is now Orange Street between Colorado and Caruso Avenue.
The façade's original steel sash windows will become showcases for The Glendale Historical Society to display photographic images from Glendale's past. Caruso will install display boxes where The Glendale Historical Society can promote special events and install exhibits about the history of the City of Glendale and its architecture.
