The team behind New York's Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge went hunting for a room where the newest of new bands could grow - and found a rumoured former brothel with one of Los Angeles's oldest liquor licences. The Moroccan Lounge, at 901 East 1st Street between Little Tokyo and the Arts District, opened in September 2017. The pedigree explains the polish: Michael Swier and Joe Baxley - founders of the mid-sized Teragram Ballroom across downtown - built the 250-capacity room as its deliberate little brother, with Swier's brother Brian designing the interior around the building's existing Moorish details: wrought-iron windows, arched entrances, moody tile. The building carries the history: erected in the late 19th century, the address cycled through a famous diner - Little Pedro's - and a string of bars before the 2017 conversion, its Moorish styling reminding the designers of Tangier's Cafe Baba, the notorious haunt of rock legends. The layout separates church and state: unlike the neighbourhood's stage-in-a-bar rooms, a partition divides the full-service bar and taco-serving order window from the performance hall proper - a 20-foot stage, dance floor and serious acoustic treatment giving small shows headline-room production. The booking mission is developmental: emerging artists dominate the calendar - Canadian punks Pup played the opening show - with the venue functioning as the first rung on a ladder that runs through the Teragram toward the city's big rooms, all under the same independent ownership philosophy. Practical notes: the Little Tokyo/Arts District Metro station sits a block away - far easier than parking; shows sell general admission standing with a 2 a.m. curfew, the room's size means even mid-bill acts feel headline-close, and the surrounding blocks of Little Tokyo handle dinner better than the venue's snack window.

Type: Theater / Concert Hall

Address: 901 E 1st St, Los Angeles, CA, United States, 90012

Website: https://themoroccan.com

Cover Charge: 1

Capacity: 250

Opening Date: 12/09/2017

Serves Food