High Expectations
NORTH HOLLYWOOD ON VERGE OF BEING REDISCOVERED BY CITY RESIDENTS AS THEY MAKE BEELINE FOR NEW SUBWAY STATIONS            

            When ground was broken in North Hollywood for the future home of the Metro Red Line subway at Chandler and Lankershim boulevards on March 11, 1994, enthusiasm resonated throughout the San Fernando Valley.

            That same spirit, expressed by residents, merchants, civic leaders and commuters, is reaching a new crescendo as the “big day” quickly nears for the opening of the 6.3 mile extension of the subway to the San Fernando Valley.

            In a few short days, trains traveling at speeds approaching 70 mph will transport thousands of people each day from new Valley stations located across from Universal Studios and at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards in North Hollywood to Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles underground in less time more often than by car, especially if the freeways and surface streets are clogged. In Hollywood there also will be a new subway station at Hollywood and Highland boulevards. 

            Even the granddaughter of the owner of one of North Hollywood’s most famous clothing stores is singing the praises of the subway as she makes plans to move her business from Valley Village to next to the North Hollywood station.

            A sense of excitement is not limited to the Valley, or Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood where the subway is already open. People from as far away as Long Beach and Redondo Beach will be able to reach the San Fernando Valley by rail by first boarding either the light rail  Metro Blue or Metro Green lines and then transferring to the subway station at 7^th and Flower streets in downtown.                                                               

                        “This extension of the subway benefits the entire region,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor and MTA Board Chair Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. “The subway will make it possible for many people wary of freeway gridlock and who do not own a car to reach many new opportunities including possible job sites, medical appointments, shopping centers and entertainment venues.”

            Opening at the same time as the subway and also generating excitement is the Metro Rapid Bus System, which will whisk passengers from throughout the Valley between Warner Center and the Universal City Metro Red Line station along Ventura Boulevard and the Whittier/Wilshire Corridor from Montebello to Santa Monica in 25 percent less time than current bus travel.

            Both the Metro Red Line subway and Metro Rapid Bus passengers will be converging on Universal City from all points in the Valley, stimulating further economic growth in the area, especially on Lankershim Boulevard, traditionally one of the busiest streets in the Valley.

            In 1994, and even before that, Lankershim Boulevard was already beginning to resemble the community people flocked to years ago to shop, dine and catch a movie at the El Portal Theatre, now a recently opened playhouse. The subway is being described as the missing puzzle piece in the process of fully transforming the community.

            “North Hollywood has still been struggling even though the rest of the Valley has been enjoying a renaissance,” said Loretta Dash, president of the Universal City/North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. “The subway is just the push the neighborhood will need to get off the ground running. Many people, youth and adults, will discover that North Hollywood is a very hip, funky place where restaurants, coffee houses, retail stores and theatres are within easy walking distance of the stations.”

            A sure sign that subway fever has spread to many Lankershim Boulevard businesses are the spruced up storefronts and stocked shelves.

            “Many people looked at their business plan and said, ‘I will be able to support a business here because of increasing foot traffic generated by the Metro Red Line,’” said Dash, co-partner of Davis and Dash, a CPR firm. 

In the last five years more than 1,000 merchants “with visions of teeming business” have moved into a one-square mile radius of North Hollywood near the subway station, added Dash.

            The president of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, located a half block from the North Hollywood station, predicts that many of the academy’s  10,000 members who work in Hollywood will visit the facility via train. 

            “We are absolutely thrilled about this event,” said Jim Chabin, president of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. “The subway will provide our members with immediate access to the key center of production. We see this as a great plus and a great boost to the community and neighborhood.”

            The granddaughter of Nudie, who owned the now closed Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors, a western apparel store on Lankershim Boulevard for 47 years, is exploring the possibility of moving her Nudie’s Custom Java from Valley Village to a proposed $400 million joint development next to the North Hollywood station. The development would feature sound studios, a movie theatre, restaurants and retail stores. 

            “I think the subway will be a tremendous asset for North Hollywood because it will help out the merchants and will increase the public’s awareness of the many landmarks in the area,” said Jamie Nudie.                            

            The subway has definitely piqued the interest of developers familiar with successful businesses started at other rail projects in the United States including San Francisco and Washington. In Hollywood, the Trizec Hahn Development Corporation is in the process of constructing a $430 million entertainment/retail complex above the MTA’s Hollywood/Highland Metro Red Line station. The 640,000 square foot development will be the future home of the Oscars and will feature stores, restaurants, entertainment venues, studio broadcast facilities and cinemas.

            “A lot of developers are interested in building around the North Hollywood station,” said Community Redevelopment Agency Project Lilian Burkenheim-Silver. “Developers are attracted because the subway increases the area’s market share and it will bring more shoppers to the area. The MTA is bringing the people to North Hollywood’s doorstep and all we have to do is open the door and let them in.” 

            Even before the subway opens, owners of the Pit Fire, a North Hollywood restaurant which opened in 1998, are reporting brisk business. One co-owner is ebullient about future prospects as the subway lets off hungry passengers.

            “Absolutely,” said David Sanfield, co-owner of the Pit Fire, located at the corner of Lankershim and Magnolia. “The subway will do very good things for business. I cannot understand any merchant who would not be positive about this. Who could be against additional sales? The subway cannot open soon enough.”

            The owner of an auto repair shop expects that the subway will attract new customers to his family-run business.

            “People who use the subway can drop their cars off at my repair shop and pick them up after returning from downtown,” said No Ho Auto Repair CEO Bob Miller. “There are, definitely, positive aspects to having a subway next door.”  

            Drawn by the subway, playhouses are sprouting up in the No Ho Arts District, which is growing and evolving into the preeminent theater center of Los Angeles. In the last 10 years, the district has grown from only 10 performing arts theaters to 30 at last count. As subway passengers become more familiar with the North Hollywood neighborhood, frequently sold out shows are almost certain.  

            “The subway is going to play a major role in the continued development of the district and will make it available to people from everywhere in the city,” said film and TV actress Lila Waters, chair of the No Ho Arts District Theatre Committee. “The subway brings people smack dab into the district. It’s not just the theaters that will benefit but also the restaurants. It’s a perfect outing for dates or families.”

            The subway also will have a major impact on the No Ho Arts Festival, annually held in late Spring, Waters said.  “The subway will bring in people who have never been to the festival. We are expanding the festival and expect attendance to at least double, but we’re planning to accommodate everyone who comes.”

            The subway will afford the 230 residents of Magnolia Towers Co-op Apartments, a retirement complex in North Hollywood more independence. Only 20 percent of the residents at Magnolia Towers, where the average age is 74, have an automobile at their disposal, relying instead on cabs and buses.

            “Anything improves the quality of life when you can just get up and go,” said Magnolia Towers building president Miriam Olsberg, who gave up driving at the age of 79 last July. “It will be a connection for many people here with Hollywood and Downtown.”

            “A significant number of people will use the subway,” beamed Dorothy Rideoutt, a resident of Magnolia Towers for 15 years who constantly monitored  the latest news about the subway. “I’m quite excited about it. Perhaps now I can go to the Hollywood Bowl.” 

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