LAVA’s 29th Sunday Salon

STREET CLOSURE ALERT: The Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon is scheduled from 7am-1pm in downtown Los Angeles on the day of the Salon. Please read on for routing suggestions to avoid delays and frustration. Here is a map of the road closures for the marathon, and a listing of street opening times in the marathon’s wake. Thoughts on best routes follow: Avoid coming south or east from the freeway exits in the Civic Center (101/110). If coming from Hollywood south on the 101, take Mission and head south to 4th Street and then take that west to Broadway. If coming from West LA, take the 10-East to Mateo and then take 7th street west to Broadway. Surfaces streets all along Flower from Olympic to 3rd and then 3rd across downtown east to the river will be closed, so the above suggestions for the freeways are best. Or one could just take the light rail and walk over from Pershing Square.

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Join LAVA for our revived free monthly Sunday Salon series. We return to South Broadway, to the mezzanine of Les Noces du Figaro, which was recently opened by the family behind Figaro Bistro in Los Feliz. This handsome space was formerly Schaber’s Cafeteria (Charles F. Plummer, 1928), and the mezzanine features wonderful views of the Los Angeles Theatre.

On the last Sunday of each month, LAVA welcomes interested individuals to gather in downtown Los Angeles (noon-2pm), for a structured Salon featuring formal presentations and opportunities to meet and connect with one another. If you’re interested in joining LAVA as a creative contributor or an attendee, we recommend Salon attendance as an introduction to this growing community. We also recommend the eclairs.

Read about the original Sunday Salon at Clifton’s Cafeteria here.

The Salon will be broken into two distinct presentations each lasting about 45 minutes. You are encouraged to arrive early if you wish to order food and beverages from the counter downstairs, and bring your meal upstairs. 

Presentation One

Behind the Burly Q – Leslie Zemeckis

Join Leslie Zemeckis as she talks about her new book, Behind the Burly Q.  Based on her hit documentary, Zemeckis has culled from over a 100 hours of interviews with musicians, strippers, comedians and novelty acts going beyond the g-strings and the tassels. Yes, the mob had a hand in clubs. Stage Door Johnnies sent jewels. Some of the biggest names walked across the burly stages; Abbott and Costello, Gypsy Rose Lee, Bert Lahr, Sophie Tucker and on and on. But there were hundreds of men and women who worked week after week, year after year. Who were they? Where did they come from? And what became of them when burlesque died? Behind the Burly Q takes you on the road with Alan Alda whose father Robert was a “tit” singer. With an emphasis on the star strippers like Lili St. Cyr, Blaze Starr, Tempest Storm, and Dixie Evans, the Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque, women who enjoyed the heights of stardom despite a grueling schedule of 6 shows a day –- and if you worked the carnival circuit, 30 shows a day!

Presentation Two

“Bible Women” and Urban Gospel Welfare Work in Los Angeles, 1890-1925 – Prof. Paul Rood

Prof. Paul Rood of Biola University will introduce us to some of the colorful “Bible Women” of early Los Angeles. These “Bible Women” were an eclectic group of ladies who lived and served in some of the toughest and neediest neighborhoods of Los Angeles, providing a blend of Gospel witness and humanitarian welfare assistance. Christian businessmen such as Lyman Stewart, Samuel Merrill and Frederick Rindge supported and advocated for the “Bible Women” as the strongest and most effective force for good in late Victorian and early progressive era Los Angeles.

Paul Rood is a historian and lecturer in politics and economics at Biola University. He is writing a biography of oil pioneer and evangelical Christian philanthropist Lyman Stewart.

The Salon will be followed by a free tour of South Broadway–The Flaneur & The City: Broadway on My Mind walking tour #4.