Council Worries Sunset Strip Will Reek of H-wood

Dec 05, 2006 02:12:58

Nov. 23, 2006 - By Andrea Simpson, West Hollywood Advertisements on the Sunset Strip. By Ryan Gierach. Kiosks, star maps, ambient music and celebrity look-alikes are the few bigger than life attractions that make Hollywood Boulevard famous—or infamous—which is something that has concerned a few on the West Hollywood City Council as it considers adding new elements to its historic portion of Sunset Strip. In 2005, the council first looked into the idea of creating a landmark entertainment information system, including collateral materials, that will provide tourists with a brief history of a specific building or location. The subject was most recently brought up at its last meeting, with the item moving forward to the next step—that is to advertise for specific ideas from interested businesses to create the new attractions. This might be interactive kiosks, wall mounted electronic displays or other installations. The unanimous approval by the council for a request for qualifications and proposals from businesses, though, did not come without its share of doubt among the members, some of whom are nervous of the Disneyland-type of effect this could have on the boulevard. “The comments [in the report] that resonated with me were the ones that said it’s kitchy and sort of Disneyland-ish and I don’t quite know what that would mean, but I’m concerned about that kind of problem,” Councilmember Jeffrey Prang said. According to the Director of Economic Development and Special Projects, Ray Reynolds, the idea of the project is to promote and brand the history of the Sunset Strip, to attract visitors and encourage overnight hotel stays and to create a gateway so visitors know they are in West Hollywood. Probably the best known section of Sunset Boulevard, that stretches from downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean, is the Sunset Strip. Glitz and glamour defined the Strip in the 1930s and the 1940s, with its renowned restaurants and clubs, which became a playground for the rich and famous. There were movie legends and power brokers, and everyone who was anyone danced into stardom at such legendary clubs as Ciro's, the Mocambo and the Trocadero. In the mid-1960s and the 1970s, it became a major gathering-place for the counterculture—and the scene of the notorious police riot against crowds of hippies in the summer of 1966. Bands like The Doors, Metallica, Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, and many others played at clubs like the Roxy, Pandora's Box and the London Fog. The Strip continued to be a major focus for punk rock and New Wave during the late 1970s, and it became the center of the colorful glam metal scene throughout the 1980s. “We are trying to achieve some sort of device... a sign, interactive device that is going to memorialize the history of the Strip. We’re more driven in this by the purpose than what the physical thing itself might be. Kiosks, low wattage radio signals, we hope that a wide distribution of the proposal might get new, unique ideas that might be electronic that would be maintained by the proposer,” Reynolds said. Prang, however, expressed his doubts. “I’m really skeptical about this,” Prang said. “I’m not enthusiastic about this plan at all. It’s not requiring us to invest any money other than the time of staff to prepare the RFP (Request for Proposal), to collect ideas and we’re asking for extremely creative responses.” Depending on what comes back to the council, he said, he may or may not want to support it. “The Sunset Strip is something special and unique, it offers a great deal of opportunity for us. I’m not quite sure if you were to ask me what type of things we can do to make Sunset Strip a more value commodity for West Hollywood and for the world, that this would be the direction I would suggest we should go,” added Prang, who reluctantly supported the motion to move forward. “It would probably be a low priority on a list of things I might consider. “I don’t know that the Sunset Strip is lacking in glamour and attraction, so how we choose to memorialize it historically or otherwise we have to be really cautious about,” he added. Among the city organizations consulted on the program included the Sunset Strip Business Association, Historic Preservation and Public Facilities commissions and the Disabilities Advisory Board. Some of the comments included concerns that kiosks could create problems with vandalism and abuse and that advertising will ultimately take over the program, blurring the line between promotion and history. Comments from the Historic Preservation Committee said the devices need to “fit in” with the look of the Strip, others addressed worry over creating an adverse business atmosphere by the appearance of the city favoring one location over another, some questioned the need for the program with Web sites and books that already exist to memorialize the Strip, and some said the city’s brand of “hip and cool” would be in danger with this program. The Sunset Strip Business Association board asked if it would attract tourists who just come to the city to look and not spend money and deter the target audience because it has become too “touristy.” Councilmember Abbe Land agreed with Prang. “It’s hard to understand what is going to come back to us,” she said, yet adding that she too is willing to go forward with proposals. Councilmember John Duran, whose office brought the idea to the forefront last year, said he was surprised that there were opinions before options have even been presented. “I think it’s just bizarre that commissioners and members of the public would want to criticize it before they’re even told what it is,” Duran said. “What we do know is that a lot of the men and women involved in the history of the Strip in the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s are now in their 80s and 90s and if we don’t capture it somehow now, soon it’s going to be lost. We are talking about the history of the Strip, but not about the present Strip in its current fashion.” About two years ago, Duran met with the owners and operators of the rock and roll venues on the Strip, including disc jockeys and former music agents. The group, he said, was very enthusiastic about the project. “If we do not archive and capture the history of the Strip, we will lose the stories, photographs and memories of Bugsy Siegal during Prohibition, Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack in the 1940s and the ‘60s rock and roll bands. My vision is a more creative way of communicating this information than a brass plaque on the sidewalk,” Duran said. Ultimately, Duran said he envisions a rock and roll museum in West Hollywood. Still, that idea may be farther into the future. Even Mayor John Heilman shared the same skepticism as two of his colleagues. “What we’re looking for is something that will not interfere with the Sunset [Strip] as an authentic destination. We don’t want it to become Disneyland, we don’t want it to become Hollywood Boulevard,” Heilman said. “We want it to be something that is unobtrusive, yet recognizes the unique history of various locations and individuals who’ve contributed to the Strip’s history. I don’t know if we’ll find something like that, but am willing to take a look and hopefully the responses will come back with something that’s both visually exciting and interesting and respects the unique history of the Strip.” Although the future of the project is still unknown, once the qualifications have been received, all proposals will be reviewed by a committee consisting of staff, the Business Association, Convention & Visitors Bureau and Chamber of Commerce, with the list narrowed down before it’s brought back to the council for further review. This article appears courtesy of the Westside Chronicle newspaper. Andrea Simpson is City and Gov’t Affairs Editor at the Westside Chronicle, a newspaper dedicated to covering Los Angeles County’s Westside.