A Night Out

Last weekend I was cleaning out a desk and found a $25 gift card for Regal Entertainment. I'd received it a year ago but put it aside as the nearest free theatre was about 30 miles away.

But then I recalled Regal had opened up a new theatre downtown. Maybe I should check it out. $25 bucks would be just enough for a ticket with popcorn and a drink. This cinema had opened as part of L.A. Live, a complex across from the Staples Center, designed to revitalize the downtown area. It started construction just before the economy collapsed.

LA is one of those cities where you don't go downtown unless you've got a good reason. LA is decentralized, and I don't think downtown would make the top ten list of hot spots. Anyway, it's a hassle, and who want to pay $15 or $20 for parking just to attend overpriced entertainment?

But what the heck, I drove downtown, not that far from where I live. And believe it or not, I was able to find a free parking space (after 6 p.m) on a street just a couple blocks from L.A. Live. A small miracle. No matter what else happened, I was ahead for the night.

So let me report that Nokia Plaza (which a few years ago was a vacant lot) isn't bad. There were plenty of people milling about. It's surrounded by a bunch of restaurants, the new Ritz-Carlton, a theatre and the Grammy museum.

If I lived downtown, it'd be a destination. Still, I don't see it bringing in crowds who have so many other, more convenient choices. But at least businesspeople stuck in downtown hotels have a place they can check out.