Lost cause?

Looks like the Wilshire International Pavilion and its well-connected neighbors in the Windsor Square Association are at war again. Black mourning tarps have been draped over the entryway and sculptures of historical figures that decorate the front of the high-profile building at Wilshire and Lucerne. There's also a sign, addressed to Mayor Villaraigosa, urging him not to sign new restrictions on events at the pavilion. The former Masonic Scottish Rite Temple, designed by the late architect and artist Millard Sheets, holds a large auditorium that would be a great venue for concerts and meetings—except the site has very little parking and backs right up to homes. Windsor Square residents have a long record of persuading city officials to clamp down on events there; the Masons sold after they couldn't bring in the income to keep the temple going. Call me crazy, but I don't think things look too good for the pavilionists right now. Not only is Villaraigosa himself moving into the neighborhood, but the mayor's chief of staff, Robin Kramer, has lived there for 27 years and served on the Windsor Square Association's board of directors.