A building in the Brewery Arts Complex. Photo copyright 2015 by Anna Boudinot
The Brewery Arts Complex near downtown LA has always made me wish I were an artist. Not just because I wish I had the ability to paint or sculpt, but because it would qualify me to live among the timeworn brick walls, often-rickety staircases, and dark corridors that make up the complex’s 20+ warehouses-turned-artist residences. The bi-annual Brewery Art Walk is an excellent opportunity to not only see some interesting art, but to wander through the labyrinth that is the Brewery Arts Complex and see how the artists live.
Before the Brewery Arts Complex was an arts complex, it was a brewery, and before it was a brewery it was a steam plant. I suppose calling it “The Steam Plant Brewery Arts Complex” would have been a mouthful. The steam plant, built in 1903, was one of Los Angeles’ first; you can see the striking silhouettes of today’s Arts Complex in this 1910 photo.
I’ve had trouble determining how long the steam plant was in operation and whether it was next door to the brewery or swallowed up by the brewery. The now-defunct Los Angeles Brewery, maker of the popular Eastside Beer, operated on site from 1907 to 1948. It survived Prohibition by making soda pop and making beer with an ABV low enough it didn’t qualify as beer. When Prohibition ended, “Jean Harlow broke a bottle over the first truck in thirteen years to roll out of [Los Angeles Brewery] stocked with beer.” In 1948, Pabst bought Los Angeles Brewery, expanding the facility in 1955 to brew its famous PBR there alongside a new version of Eastside Beer. The brewery closed in 1979 and was vacant for a few years.
A rainy day at the Brewery with art by James R. Eads. Photo copyright 2016 by Anna Boudinot
In 1982, Los Angeles passed an artist-in-residence ordinance that allowed for working artists to live in industrial-zoned buildings. The property owner placed an ad in the paper inviting artists to help convert the brewery space into studios and lofts, and recalls having to “take the phone off the hook” due to the overwhelming response. To this day, it remains difficult to secure a space in the complex due to the high demand.
The beauty of the Brewery Arts Complex is not just the art hanging on the walls but the creative uses of industrial space by which the artists have carved out their homes. Among the highlights are custom-made furniture, kitchens covered in collage, and sleeping spaces tucked away in tiny spots so as to maximize the space in which to create art. Many of the studios have massive wire-glass windows that look out onto the surrounding Lincoln Heights Neighborhood and the 5 freeway. A pottery studio on the roof of one of the buildings has to-die-for views of the downtown LA skyline.
The media represented at the Brewery Arts Complex run the gamut of virtually every form of artistic expression. Reduction linocuts by Dave Lefner, photographs by Nicole Fournier, illustrations by James R. Eads, and paintings by Burton Gray are four of note. The true joy is not pinpointing specific artists on the map, though: it’s getting lost as you wander around, discovering fashion designers, filmmakers, and even virtual reality developers. There’s something awe-inspiring about a massive show inside artist’s homes inside a century-old former brewery. Plan to spend a few hours there—you’ll need it.