Bono wrote the lyrics to “Where The Streets Have No Name” after hearing a story about how a person’s address in Belfast is indicative of his or her religion and income. In 1987, U2 filmed their guerilla video for “Where The Streets Have No Name” on the roof of the Republic Liquor Store at 7th and Main, a block from where we now live in downtown L.A. The intersection marks the southwestern border of Skid Row, an urban wasteland where the streets have names but not much else going for them. In 1999, the Los Angeles City Council passed an Adaptive Reuse Ordinance which enables developers to convert vacant office and commercial buildings into renovated live-work spaces. This shift in urban policy spurred gentrification in the city’s Historic Core. These days, transient hotels and loft conversions share the same zip codes in our neighbourhood. A graph of gentrification vs. time for downtown L.A. would show an inflection point at x = 2010. For the time being, the area supports the demographic diversity which Belfast lacked in Bono’s mind.
The Republic Liquor Store has given way to a 24-hour Mexican greasy spoon called Margarita’s Place. By staging their video on a rooftop, U2 paid homage to The Beatles. In 1969, the Beatles played atop the Savile Row roof of Apple Records. No. 3 Savile Row in London is much more posh than 103 E. 7th St. in L.A. At the entrance to Margarita’s Place, a sign states “No Drugs, No Drug Dealers, No Loitering, No Weapons, The Los Angeles Police Department Makes Regular and Frecuent [sic] Patrols of These Premises”. Consider yourself warned.
During U2’s video shoot, fans lined the street in front of Dearden’s. Dearden’s is a furniture store which recently celebrated its centenary.
The Beaux Arts-style Board of Trade Building which Bono serenaded in the video is now SB Main, a loft conversion.
Two blocks away, developers have converted the old Rosslyn Hotel into Rosslyn Lofts. A refurbished rooftop neon sign glows with pride over the building’s original “1100 – NEW MILLION DOLLAR – HOTEL ROSSLYN – FIRE PROOF ROOMS – POPULAR PRICES”. Bono’s fascination with the “Million Dollar Hotel” likely inspired the large replica sign that served as a backdrop for the video. The replica was mispelled; it read “1100 – NEW MILLION DOLLAR – HOTEL ROSLYN”.
In the video, a big blue sign advertised The Cecil Hotel’s “LOW – MONTHLY – WEEKLY – RATES – 700 ROOMS” as Bono sang “I want to reach out / And touch the flame / Where the streets have no name”. The sign is now red, and it’s been modified to promote the hotel’s “LOW – DAILY – WEEKLY – RATES – 700 ROOMS”. Several floors of this flop house have been renovated and re-branded as Stay, a cheap and chic hotel which shares an elevator with its gritty parent Cecil. We stayed at Stay while we were loft-hunting in downtown L.A. less than two years ago. It was an eye-opener to ride the lift with guests who had checked out long before they checked into the Cecil.
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HELSA CHOW: THE WORLD AS I SEE IT 