United Music Scene

Robert Winter at home in the Batchelder House in Pasadena. How do you he describe LA's current architectural landscape? RW: That's wonderful. That's just wonderful. I remember when I taught at UCLA [after World War II], I lived first on Wilshire Boulevard, but then I got an apartment in Santa Monica. And I wouldn't have recommended anybody coming to Santa Monica. And now, like, my god, it's a changed place. And all around it ... The best building in town in my estimation is the Frank Gehry Disney Hall. It makes me proud when I see that. When I used to go to concerts there, I carried a cane. It's no place for people with problems! Because no carpets on the floor and nothing to hold onto. But I remember with such pleasure going in. And the exterior is just lovely. The library and City Hall and so on still stand beautifully. But what gets me is when I first came to Los Angeles, I taught at UCLA, and in Westwood, you had the feeling that you didn't have to go an...

 Pasadena city officials this week put a hold on a Kimpton Hotel project proposed to occupy the vacant Julia Morgan -designed YWCA building on the edge of that city's historic civic center plaza after the developer sought more than $30 million in concessions. Local preservation group Pasadena Heritage supports the hotel because, "it is an ideal reuse for the former YWCA building, which has sat vacant now for 20 years, complies with the original Bennett Plan that called for a future building in this location, would do much to enliven the Civic Center and provide public amenities, and increase pedestrian activity throughout the day and evening hours," the group said in its April newsletter. Read More...