Downtown LA after dark

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Dean Michael Woo's Noir LA 2016 group visit Cardoso Gallery at downtown LA's Garment District. The gallery is operated by Diego Cardoso, an artist who also happens to be the Executive Officer of Transportation Development and Implementation at Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Dean Michael Woo’s Noir LA 2016 group visit Cardoso Gallery at downtown LA’s Garment District. The gallery is operated by Diego Cardoso, an artist who also happens to be the Executive Officer of Transportation Development and Implementation at Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Michael Woo, dean of the College of Environmental Design, wants to replicate an unforgettable experience from his undergraduate years: an all-night tour of Los Angeles.

Dean Michael Woo, far right, and the Noir LA 2016 group at Times Produce's warehouse at the downtown LA's Produce District.
Dean Michael Woo, far right, and the Noir LA 2016 group at Times Produce’s warehouse at the downtown LA’s Produce District.

It was a trip that opened his eyes to the invisible but essential parts of a city that most people never get to see: midnight views of the cityscape, twilight visits to public works facilities, and strolls through the produce and flower markets before sunrise. For the second year in a row, Woo is leading Noir LA 2017: ENV All-Night Bus Tour.

The tour begins at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7, and concludes the following day at 6:30 a.m. General admission is $28 per person and includes coffee and snacks from Chinatown’s latest pop-up, Secret Lasagna. To RSVP, visit https://noir-la-2017.eventbrite.com.

“A big city like Los Angeles is a very complicated organism,” Woo said. “Essential functions happen 24 hours a day, including the middle of the night, but most people who keep normal hours never get to see some important aspects of city life that occur between midnight and dawn.”

Students don orange vests and hard hats on their midnight visit to the Downtown Regional Connector project site during Noir LA 2016.
Students don orange vests and hard hats on their midnight visit to the Downtown Regional Connector project site during Noir LA 2016.

The all-night tour is part of the 2017 ENV Festival, a series of events organized by the College of Environmental Design to collectively demonstrate to the world the diversity of issues and enterprises that highlight the work and interests of students, faculty, staff and alumni.

This year’s “Noir L.A.” tour features an all-new itinerary, including:

  • A midnight visit to the studio of artist Jim Morphesis (whose work will be exhibited in a solo show in the W. Keith & Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery starting on Nov. 18).
  • Meeting the owner of the Westbound bar, counter, and lounge room in the Arts District.
  • Dropping in on the 24-hour Customer Call Center operated by the City of L.A. Department of Public Works.
  • Demonstrations of motor sweeping of streets and sewer cleaning.
  • Visit L.A. County Metro’s new Division 13 bus maintenance and operations facility to learn how Metro buses are readied for the next day of service.
  • Walk through the Original L.A. Flower Market.

To view pictures from last year’s Noir LA Tour or to view this year’s itinerary, visit https://env.cpp.edu/env/event/noir-la-tour-2017.