Amoeba LA to close?

Pleasant Hill, near Concord.

 

Are you sure he wasn't parked over at Arclight? It's been a while since I drove to Amoeba and parked under the store, but it's always been free, unless they've changed things.

 

Get to Amoeba within half an hour of opening during the week (10:30) and you'll have no problem parking under the building (entrance is on Cahuenga and it's free as has been noted). I live in Manhattan Beach and getting there has been a pain drive-wise over the years; at this point I take surface streets all the way---Sepulveda to Manchester, Florence to La Cienega, Rodeo to La Brea, Highland to Melrose and hang a left on Cahuenga. Weekends can be a nightmare at the store; glad I'm self employed

 

I'll be visiting L.A. for the first time in October, and of course, I wanna pay a visit to Amoeba. Is it really that crucial for me not to go down there at night?

 

Do you ever go to Record Recycler in Torrance?

 

Driven by it many times. Just vinyl, yes? Maybe I'll plan a trip soon...

 

No, go at night if you like, and park underground in their basement for free. You may have to circle around once or twice, or wait in line of three cars in front of you. If you don't know the area, I would not park outside on street or a block away. I do it but I know right where I am going.

 

He was at the Archlight parking structure. They accept validation from Amoeba generally right? He may have gone over the 2 hr. limit and did not tell me about that part.

 

I go frequently. Maybe 1-3 times a month. All the time except for once I parked underneath their parking garage and it's always been free. Last time I went was on August 1st.

 

completely safe. nothing to worry about. Safer than both the San Francisco and Berkeley stores... though neither of those are that bad... just more street people than in Hollywood...

 

Yes, a giant selection of used LPs, well priced.

 

OK, I'm in. I'm actually hanging in Torrance today...hmmmm

 

That's the hometown of Dirk Diggler, so I expect you to pay your respects before heading to Amoeba.

 

Please report back.

 

Ran out of time. But I'll get there!

 

I've parked at Arclight many times to go to Amoeba, as I think the relatively small lot fills quickly on certain days. But yes, the 2 hour rule is in effect once you leave your car. Go over that limit and you'll have to pay from $3.00 to as high as $7.00 on busy movie nights for them. And for God's sake don't lose your ticket! I think that will set you back a whopping $15 just to leave! That structure is primarily for the movie patrons & will not screw around on the rules.

 

I remember my first visit to Amoeba. I went with a friend and we drove around in his car. It was also his first visit and we didn't know Amoeba had their own free parking garages. So we parked at ArcLight, had no idea Amoeba validates there, we might've spent a little more than two hours in the store anyways and my friend ended up paying $17.50 for parking on a Saturday night.

 

When I was there (not that store - at Telegraph) they had a somewhat fair computer estimating system that summed up by barcode on CDs. The sales database was updated as prices had to be reduced by the main office, as unsold discs passed from floor to clearance after a couple of months (date code on the price tag).

 

Half the times I've gone to Amoeba there have been multiple cars waiting to get into the parking and I never wanted to wait that long. Was usually able to park on the street nearby for a buck or two in the meter and never worried about anybody breaking in to my crappy 15-20 year old car.

 

I for one am not a huge fan of Amoeba, especially the Hollywood store. Yes, lots of stuff, but it takes hours to cover the floor to find what you are looking for. The staff are not that friendly and think they are awesome. As far as LA goes, it is rapidly becoming the city you see in the movie 'Blade Runner". For me, you just want to get the hell out of there as fast as you can. Hollywood has become very run down and congested. I can do just as well buying online vs shopping at Amoeba. Sorry!

 

it's still fashionable to be different, I guess. If you love records, and know how to shop Amoeba, it's fantastic. Buying online is soulless and it will suck when indie shops are gone and you're stuck with Barnes and Noble dot com and Amazon...

And I've never ever been to a great record shop where the workers weren't somewhat rude elitists...

 

“I love LA!”**
____________
*Randy Newman
*Me

 

I agree with much of what you say. Except for Hollywood being rundown. In fact there are tons of new buildings with brand new storefronts and high-end apts. and condos above. Kind of like what they are going to do with the land once they bulldoze the Amoeba store. Decades ago Hollywood was much worse. It was decaying and had a sad rundown look especially on Hollywood Blvd. Now tons of new things are happening and more to come. It's a fresher nicer modern look, just like Blade Runner.

 

You can buy online and support indie stores, too. Using Discogs is a good example. There are others.

I have a couple stores that I like to visit/trade with time to time(Amoeba Berkeley being one of them) but as good as they for stocking more off beat stuff, there's no way that I could ever just use them for 100% of my buying. So using Discogs to find what I'm looking for is easy, and I end up giving my business to stores all over the country.

And for what it's worth I've been to plenty of stores over the years with great staff that are not elitists. The stores I go to locally have good people that have always been friendly and helpful to customers while I'm there.