5 Design Things to do This Week

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A talk with Deborah Weintraub kicks off the Los Angeles Design Festival; also there’s a tour of the “Grey Gardens of Palm Springs,” a discussion of creative work in LA, the Hammer Museum’s third biennial, and the carousel building at the Santa Monica Pier turns 100. Lots to do this week in DnA events!

Women in Architecture
Deborah Weintraub, Chief Deputy City Engineer for the City of Los Angeles (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

1) LA Design Festival Opening Event: Women in Architecture – Up close and personal with Frances Anderton and Deborah Weintraub

It’s time again for the Los Angeles Design Festival, the summertime blast of design events, including neighborhood design tours and other events in four districts: Culver City, La Brea, Silver Lake and DTLA. There’s also three large scale design shows/markets: INTRO LA, Parachute Market, and Dwell on Design.

To reach everyone, LADF will feature two opening night events Thursday; a party in DTLA and, at Helms Bakery in Culver City, a reception for Deborah Weintraub, one of the busiest women in architecture and engineering in the City of Los Angeles. DnA’s Frances Anderton will talk with Weintraub, the city’s Chief Deputy City Engineer, about her work on L.A. infrastructure projects from the replacement 6th Street Bridge to the First and Broadway park competition and water reclamation projects on many streets in LA.

When: Thursday, June 9, 6:30 – 9 pm

Where: Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232

Tickets: FREE. RSVP here for all DTLA events; RSVP here for the Anderton/Weintraub talk here (Do sign up, even if you see “Waitlist;” you will get a place.)

Gray Gardens Palm Springs
This Wallace Neff designed home in Palm Springs was built in 1933 for Singer Sewing Company heir, Arthur K Bourne. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

2)  Exclusive Historic Open House at Former “Grey Gardens of Palm Springs”

Built in the depths of the Great Depression, this 9,500-square-foot Wallace Neff-designed home was once a spectacular prelude to the international resort town that Palm Springs would soon become. But after years of neglect, the property fell into disrepair and became known as the “Grey Gardens of Palm Springs.”  The open house this weekend will offer a one-time opportunity for a pre-renovation viewing of the original house.

When: Saturday, June 11, 5 – 9 pm

Where: Private house, RSVP to get address.

Tickets: Contact ReInhabit at reinhabitoffice@gmail.com for address and reservations

TimDurfeeStudio_SelfieBuilding_EverythingOnTimeDurfeeHooker
Tim Durfee Studio, Selfie Building, Milleview Estates (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

3) Panel Discussion: Creative Work in Los Angeles at the A+D Museum

Join the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design and the Architecture + Design Museum for a discussion on creative practices with Come In! DTLA exhibitors including Jessica Fleischmann, Tim Durfee, Lisa Little, Erin Besler, Ian Besler, and Guvenc Ozel. The event will be moderated by Danielle Rago, exhibition curator and Jennifer Marmon, architect.

When: Saturday, June 11, 2 – 4 pm

Where: A+D | Architecture + Design Museum, 900 East 4th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Tickets: FREE and open to the public.  RSVP to rsvp@aplusd.org.  More Information here.

Loof Hippodrome
In celebration of 100 years of the iconic Looff Hippodrome, rides will be just 5 cents beginning at 11 am on Sunday, June 12 (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

4)  The Looff Hippodrome, a National Landmark on the Santa Monica Pier, Turns 100

The festivities in Santa Monica just don’t stop — first the opening of the Expo Line extension, then the Colorado Esplanade; now the Looff Hippodrome, home of the much-loved carousel on the Santa Monica Pier, turns 100 this Sunday.

To celebrate, staff will dress in 1916 attire. There’ll be Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe impersonators (both were fans of the carousel). Staff will offer tours of the second-floor Carousel Apartments. There’ll also be limited edition “Brass Ring Potato Chip Sundaes.” And you can ride the carousel for the price of a ride back when it opened June 12, 1916: a nickel.

When: Sunday, June 12, 11 am – 7 pm

Where: Santa Monica Pier, 200 Santa Monica Pier, Suite A, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Tickets:  Event is free; 5 cent rides throughout the day

Haguette Caland - Hammer
Haguette Caland at the Hammer Museum (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

5) Made in LA: a, the, though, only

The Hammer Museum’s third biennial exhibition, “Made in LA,” exhibits work by 26 artists working throughout Los Angeles and the surrounding areas, and extends this year into dance, fashion, literature, music, and film. It is curated by Aram Moshayedi and Hamza Walker.

When: Opening Sunday, June 12 at 11 0am

Where: Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Tickets: FREE and open to the public