Zachary Pincus-Roth
The Container Yard is the brainchild of owner Ash Chan, the son of a billionaire real estate mogul who owns Japanese shabu-shabu restaurants in Southern California and Boston. One day, while in the Arts District visiting his brother, he saw a complex of warehouses with a “for sale” sign — the place used to be the Japanese-American confectioner Mikawaya. He decided to buy it and turn it into a playground for street artists, such as Wyatt Mills and Desire Obtain Cherish. The artists find out about it through word-of-mouth and come to paint on walls to their heart's content. The complex is private for now, but Chan hopes to somehow make it a hub for the district's artistic energy. (Full disclosure: L.A. Weekly held its Artopia event there.)
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