Tales of the American film screening & Q+A with the filmmakers

Join us for a screening of “Tales of the American” and a Q+A with filmmakers Stephen Seemayer and Pamela Wilson! This screening accompanies The Ellsworth Collection exhibition in memory of Terry Ellsworth, resident of the American Hotel 1994-2022.

This event is free and open to the public, suggested donation of $10. Donations will uplift the Terry Ellsworth Memorial Fund.

About the film

Filmmakers Stephen Seemayer and Pamela Wilson have interviewed more than 140 residents, former residents and neighbors of the American Hotel. “Tales of the American” weaves together their stories and memories of nearly four decades in what is now known as the Arts District in eastern downtown Los Angeles.

Even before artists moved in, the American was a haven for the outcasts of society. In 1905, the hotel was built to provide “first-class lodgings for negroes,” when other L.A. hotels were segregated. By 1930, Little Tokyo had extended into the area, and nearly all the hotel’s residents were Japanese, to be sent to internment camps in World War II.

Originally the city’s first black neighborhood, the area around Traction & Hewitt has gone through many changes, including to warehouses and factories. It is now the hub of the Downtown Arts District. Brightly painted walls sport graffiti as well as sanctioned murals on streets that now are home to cafés, galleries, restaurants and theaters.

The infamous punk dive Al’s Bar, where bands such as the White Stripes and the Red Hot Chili Peppers played before fame found them, was located on the ground floor of the American Hotel for 21 years. Also, several exciting, if short-lived, L.A. art groups, such as 50 Bucks, Bedlam and Deep River Gallery, have called the hotel home.

Get tickets here