LA History 101

Historian and writer Hadley Meares takes an enthralling tour through the history of Downtown's Fine Arts Building, "constructed specifically for the use of local artists and artisans" in the 1920s. Completed in 1926, the building housed haberdashers and hairstylists, and featured design elements like sought-after Batchelder tiles and several murals. The Great Depression hit the arts hard in LA, as elsewhere, but the edifice has survived gracefully, as illustrated in the piece. [KCET]