[picture of the steamboat building next to The Casting Office via flickr user markland]
The emails keep rolling in. Apparently the closing of the Casting Office has devastated dozens, if not hundreds of Angelenos. Some are more devastated than others. This reader, not so much. We get the latest intel from deep inside the beast the Cahuenga Pass.
"I live in the hills near The Casting Office, and I pass by often. I'm surprised Jason (who reported the closure) didn't notice/mention that that entire strip mall -- comprising 5 or 6 businesses -- has been emptied. In fact, i believe The Casting Office was actually the last to go. Most of the others were vacated months ago.
The bizarre "steamboat-syled" space at the south end of the complex, where many a business has failed over the years, was stripped down to the studs (thank god) and is being totally remodeled.
(To see it in it's recent hideousness, click here. And that photo was taken *before* it was boarded up and became overwraught with weeds and lovely chain-link fencing.)
They've also added another completely new space at the opposite end of the mall. So the two, new spaces form "bookends."
Frankly the whole place was rather shabby (a dive bar, a laundromat, typically a space or two unoccupied, etc.), and I'm glad to see it being updated. I hope they also renovate at least the façades of the center spaces. It would stand to reason that they couldn't begin until all tenants were gone.
My boyfriend remarked that the steamboat renovation-in-progress now looks suspiciously like a Starbuck's. Funny -- he's right. I don't visit Starbuck's often, but I'd love to see "semi-upscale" merchants like that dress up the place. Would love a see a decent restaurant or cafe go in, as well. It's slim pickings in this neighborhood (and I'm not a fan of the nearby California Canteen.)
No "coming soon" signs have been posted, yet, but I'll keep you abreast."