A VIP tour with a VIP guide.

I’m proud of how the new Emerson College/Los Angeles building turned out.  Designed by reknowned architect Thomas Mayne, it was created to house 200 film  and television students who come out each semester from the Boston campus.

They do internships by day in the industry.  At night they take their classes.  All in this incredible structure at Sunset Boulevard and Gordon, right across from where the old “Spaghetti Factory” used to stand.

I took friends from Rhode Island School of Design there the other day, and Patrick Smith in Development and Alumni Relations kindly took us on a VIP tour.  I always joke that his hair is higher than mine — and so is his native intelligence about all things Emerson, as it should be.  He knocked himself out, taking us around, and my guests were duly impressed.  It’s truly an inspiration to see how the school came about as a result of academic need, and the students’ desire to work & immerse themselves in Los Angeles.  If I was a 21 year old coming out to Hollywood for the first time — and could sit in a classroom overlooking the Hollywood Sign, I would know I was in the right place.  It’s a joy to show people around the school with Patrick supplying the real information — all I know is it’s beautiful, functional, and an architectural gem that makes old Hollywood proud.