• Introduction
• Downtown
• Venice
• Culver City
• Mid-City West

Culver City

An industrial ghost town comes alive with new art and foodie draws.

“Five years ago, I couldn’t get a single investor to even look at the location here,” says chef Ben Ford of his popular gastropub Ford’s Filling Station on Culver Boulevard (9531 Culver Blvd.; entrées from $16; 310/202-1470, fordsfillingstation.net). “The reaction was: ‘I will invest anywhere but Culver City.’ ” Culver City—equidistant from Venice and West Hollywood—used to be a dreary place known as Wheel Alley (where you got your tires changed). Now it’s been dubbed a nascent Chelsea.

The dramatic change started in 2003, when galleries decamped from the high rents of the west side to transform abandoned warehouses, chop shops, and upholstery stores into gleaming cement and glass cubes. Since then, 40-plus galleries, all of which, luckily, are within walking distance of each other, have settled in. Rounding out the transformation are new bars and restaurants, high-end design stores, and theaters and music venues. But before its present incarnation, and before it was a wasteland, Culver City was known as the ritzy Heart of Screenland because classics like Gone with the Wind and Citizen Kane were filmed on studio lots here.

Today, Culver City’s 5 square miles contain two main clusters of galleries. The biggest concentration is just off the Santa Monica Freeway, on South La Cienega Boulevard, Washington Boulevard, and Fairfax Avenue. Though developing at about the same time as Downtown’s Gallery Row, the art community here enjoys substantial backing from investors and local universities.

Don’t miss Blum & Poe, the anchor of the art colony, whose roster of renowned artists includes Takashi Murakami and buzzed-about sculptor Matt Johnson (2754 S. La Cienega Blvd.; 310/836-2062, blumandpoe.com). Its move from Santa Monica in 2003 paved the way for other gallerists. Along La Cienega are other notable early settlers, such as Anna Helwing Gallery (2766 S. La Cienega Blvd.; 310/202-2213, annahelwinggallery.com), Lizabeth Oliveria (2712 S. La Cienega Blvd.; 310/837-1073, lizabetholiveria.com), and the nonprofit LAXART (2640 S. La Cienega Blvd.; 310/559-0166, laxart.org). Culver’s newest addition is Royal/T on Washington, a conceptual gallery-boutique-lecture space-Japanese café (8910 Washington Blvd.; 310/559-6300, royal-t.org). Regroup with a cucumber martini on the patio of the Mandrake (2692 S. La Cienega Blvd.; 310/837-3297, mandrakebar.com).

On the design side, check out Gregg Fleishman’s whimsical wooden chairs at his showroom (3850 Main St.; 310/202-6108, greggfleishman.com); dealer Michele Sommerlath’s Galerie Sommerlath, a modernist flea market (9608 Venice Blvd.; 310-838-0121, galerie sommerlath.1stdibs.com), and her just-opened Le Depot, a warehouse with mid-century treasures, at La Brea Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard (open on Saturdays, weekdays by appointment; 4321 W. Jefferson Ave.; 310/838-0102, french50s60s.com); and Empiric, where mechanical-engineer Michael Towey and artist Annie Crowninshield sell a fascinating collection of vintage science-laboratory parts remade into furnishings (6201 Washington Blvd.; 310/842-9777, empiricstudio.com).

Befitting the city’s meteoric rise, it feels as though new restaurants are opening (and perhaps closing) every week. Within the Museum of Design Art and Architecture (a neon-decorated structure housing architects’ offices and the MODAA gallery) is global cuisine, foodie favorite, Wilson (8631 Washington Blvd.; entrées from $14; 310/287-2093, wilsonfoodandwine.com). In a spiffy dining room, Culver City’s royalty—architects and painters—indulge in tagliatelle with fresh truffles. Wilson’s chef-owner is Michael Wilson, son of the late Beach Boy Dennis Wilson, who joins Harrison Ford’s son, Ben, as one of the scions of famous men opening Culver City eateries lately. Down the street, in the historic Helms Bakery complex, is Beacon, an elegant Asian fusion bistro known for its chargrilled hanger steak with wasabi relish (3280 Helms Ave.; entrées from $14; 310/838-7500, beacon-la.com). For a delicious, fancified take on the burger, cross Helms Street to Father’s Office, a spin-off of the popular Santa Monica eatery (3229 Helms Ave.; 310/736-2224, fathersoffice.com).

Across from Sony Studios on Washington is the Kirk Douglas Theatre, where high-profile shows, like the latest David Mamet play, are staged (9820 Washington Blvd.; 213/628-2772, centertheatregroup.org). Inside the Ivy Substation, a renovated 1907 railroad station-cum-playhouse, Tim Robbins’s The Actors’ Gang is the resident company (9070 Venice Blvd.; 310/838-4264, theactors gang.com). And over at the cozy Jazz Bakery in the Helms Bakery building, Woody Allen has been known to pop in for a clarinet jam (3233 Helms Ave.; 310/271-9039, jazzbakery.com).

A few blocks away is the centrally located Culver Hotel, a newly restored landmark (it first opened in 1924) that’s a genteel throwback to the glory days of Screenland (9400 Culver Blvd.; from $199/night; 310/838-7963, culverhotel.com).

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