When downtown trendsetters want a drink, they’ll likely venture to one of the chic rooftop bars in the area. And with drink in hand, the hipsters may gaze up, way up, toward the top of the office building at 550 S. Hope St. where there appears to be an even-more exclusive bar up there.
But it’s actually the patio of architecture firm Leo A Daly Co. In the late afternoon light, those bespectacled guys may look like cool cats kicking back, but they’re actually hardworking architects taking a breather.
Hraztan Zeitlian, vice president and director of design for Leo A Daly, said people have called his office to ask about the “dream bar” on the 27th floor. He said a former coworker overheard patrons at the nearby Rooftop Bar at the 13-story Standard Downtown hotel chatting longingly about the architects’ space a few months ago. “People were pointing saying, ‘are we missing out on some cool new place?'” said Zeitlian.
With such an impressive resource, would the firm consider opening up to the public and serving booze at the 2,000-square-foot patio? “I don’t think so,” Zeitlian laughed.
Wine Winners
As part of a swanky dinner at Christie’s in Beverly Hills on Nov. 2, guests sampled rare wines from the collection of Norwegian mogul Christen Sveaas. Each guest imbibed about $600 worth of fancy, French grape juice, and with about 60 guests in attendance, that comes out to a total bar tab for Sveaas of about well, you do the math.
Sveaas could likely afford to be so generous because the next day a portion of his vast wine collection was auctioned off by Christie’s. The results: several thousand bottles sold for $6.8 million.
And at the multi-course affair, guests chowed down on decadent fare while Sveaas told the assembled group why he was selling his wine at auction: he couldn’t possibly drink all of it before he dies even though he’s only 51.
All-Star Accolade
Barry Josephson, a veteran producer behind the upcoming movie “Enchanted,” has a task that seems unlikely for him: He’s putting together the 2008 NHL All-Star Game. After all, how does a guy who’s helming a Disney musical end up producing a season highlight for one of the most rough and tumble sports?
Actually, it’s not out of character at all. Josephson is an avid hockey player, a hobby that started when Marty McSorley, the former Los Angeles King, put together a skills camp for Josephson and pal Jerry Bruckheimer. The two earlier had given the NHL enforcer a small part in their 1995 action hit “Bad Boys.”
Josephson and Bruckheimer have been playing ever since, even skating in a league together. Josephson has also been named to the NHL Advisory Board.
“We get to influence in a positive way a sport that I love,” Josephson said of his new task.
Staff reporter Anne Riley-Katz contributed to this column. Daniel Miller can be reached at
[email protected]
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