Dutton's Goes Downtown
Bringing a Dutton's Bookstore to downtown L.A.
By Steven Rosen
We've heard a lot about Walt Disney Concert Hall, but one of its more unusual, and lesser known, attractions is that it's bringing a Dutton's Bookstore to downtown L.A.
It's not as big as the venerable Dutton's Brentwood - in fact, when it opens in mid-November, it will consist of several shelves, tables, or cases inside a café at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theatre (REDCAT), devoted to experimental-arts programming and located in a building that adjoins the Frank Gehry-designed concert hall.
The bookstore is called Dutton's at REDCAT, and it (along with the café) will have regular hours of noon to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, as well as being open during evening performances. At first, it will be stocked with a "curated collection" of 600 or so books, CDs, and videos.
"It's a happy hodgepodge," says Suzanne Hague, the Brentwood store's REDCAT liaison. "It will be minuscule compared to the size of our store here, but it will be an adventure." She lists some of the titles selected for the REDCAT branch: A Century of Posters, How to Listen to Modern Music Without Earplugs, The Book of Surrealist Games.
"When you visit a performance space in Europe, you discover they almost always have a bar and a book stall," says CalArts president Steven D. Lavine, who thought up the idea. Noting that Dutton's Brentwood is his favorite place in L.A., he says, "I'm hoping REDCAT will become another. Part of making it a destination is to make it a place to come early, to create an atmosphere of conversation and exchange of ideas."
The café will have Internet access, a computer, and - pending license approval - liquor. Additionally, REDCAT houses a separate gallery with rotating contemporary-art exhibits. Dutton's bookstore/café will begin regular hours on November 18, after REDCAT celebrates its opening with a 24-hour REDCAT 'Round the Clock benefit November 15-16. For info, visit Redcatweb.org.
Published: 10/29/2003
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