A Change In Scenery

12 February 2013

Three people waiting on Broadway

All images taken in Los Angeles, CA. February 2, 2013.

26 January 2013

Los Angeles' Broadway Theater District - 2008

In the summer of 2008 I set out to photograph the theaters on Broadway. In the few years since, great steps have been made toward the revitalization of the area and preserving the locations on the street that have seen years of decline and neglect. The following are street views of these theaters, many of which can be seen inside and out by attending tours and events put on by both the Los Angeles Conservancy and the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation. More information on the revitalization of the theater district can be found at Bringing Back Broadway.

The 1931 Roxie, 1910 Cameo, and 1910 Arcade. All three are still used as retail space.

The 1912 Globe.

The 1921 Orpheum. Lovingly restored and open for concerts and filming.

The 1911 Palace, renovated since this photograph was taken and open for live performances.

The 1931 Los Angeles. Opening for filming and special events.

The 1918 Million Dollar. Open for film and live performances.

The 1921 State. A church has used the State for many years.

The 1917 Rialto. There's rumors that Urban Outfitters may be moving in, but no confirmation yet.

The 1931 Roxie. The last of the theaters built on Broadway.

The 1927 Tower. The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation did two sell-out tours of the Tower at the end of 2012, as it will be closed soon and undergoing a huge renovation.

The 1927 United Artists. Since this photograph was taken, the church that inhabited the UA for many years has moved, the building was sold, and Ace Hotels has broken ground on turning the floors above the UA into their next location.

09 January 2013

After hours

Canter's Deli... A Los Angeles landmark since 1931.

This, their second location, was the originally the 1937 Esquire Theatre.

January 2012 © Monika Seitz Vega

Hotel Mark Twain. Wilcox Ave., Hollywood, CA. Built in 1923. While looking up some information on the Mark Twain, I found this story about Pierre Collings' Oscar statuette hidden here and recovered after his death. Quite an interesting piece of Hollywood history.

January 2012 © Monika Seitz Vega

1936 El Rey Theatre. Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA.

January 2012 © Monika Seitz Vega

12 November 2012

Veteran's Day

My maternal grandmother, Helen Jane Byers, was born in Wisconsin on December 31, 1916. She passed away in Ohio at age 84, November 3, 2001. Before she met and married my grandfather, a widower with 5 children with whom she'd have two children of her own (including my mother, their youngest), my grandmother served in the US Navy.

I have inherited hundreds of photographs of my grandmother's family -- her siblings and parents and uncles and aunts -- over the years. I have her Navy ring and some of her documents, official photographs and snapshots of her and her friends goofing off around New York while they were in training at the Naval Training School in the Bronx. It's a time of her life I never remember her discussing, and I'm fascinated by it.

In honor of my grandmother's life and service on this Veteran's Day, here are a few photographs and postcards from her time in the Navy.

05 November 2012

Downtown signs

All images © Monika Seitz Vega, 2012.

21 October 2012

a tribute to pinkiestyle

For three and a half years in my mid-twenties I lived and worked in Columbus, Ohio. I grew up in San Diego but I had traveled extensively, always looking for something new. My family has strong midwestern roots that go back many generations and Ohio was precisely where I needed to be at that time.

Shortly after I moved back to California, I came across the analog photography of Angie Harris Lindley (aka "pinkiestyle") on Flickr. She lived in Columbus, and her photographs reminded me of places that I had seen and loved and introduced me to parts of the city that I hadn't had the opportunity to experience. Through her photostream, as well as her website, I felt that I still had a connection to central Ohio. Angie was a terrific photographer with a unique and talented eye. She inspired me greatly in both tools and technique. I fell in love with her photographs of the Ohio State Fair. My heart swelled when I saw an image of something I had photographed myself. I kicked myself when I saw a picture of a place so close, but I never knew was there, or one I had never made time to stop and photograph.

Two months ago today, Angie Harris Lindley passed away from cancer. I was significantly impacted by her passing. The morning I found out that she had died, overwhelmed with sadness, I wept in my car on the way to work. I felt so much sorrow for her family. I thought about how we are the same age, which frightened me. I considered how she was creating such beautiful images while fighting illness, and felt terribly grateful. I realized completely her contribution to not just taking photographs, but preserving pieces of our world that are fragile. I was tremendously moved by Angie's photography and will always be grateful to her for contributing to my connection to Ohio, which is so valuable to me.

I've since revisited some of my own photographs from the time that I lived in Ohio, and am sharing them here in tribute to pinkiestyle. Thank you, Angie. Your work has left an indelible impression on me.

25 September 2012

4 Polaroids from Wednesday

Wednesday morning I took a trip east in search of adventure. Here are four Polaroids I took that day.

While in Beaumont I stopped to photograph the 1939 Beaumont Theatre, which is now home of the Beaumont Antique Mall. The ladies running the place were lovely, and how could I resist "instant relatives" at two for $1?