Young Jewish life is alive and well in revamped Downtown L.A.

Downtown Los Angeles isn’t known for its abundance of Jewish life and culture. But, for the Jews living there, meaning can be found in many places.

Ram Bilgrai, 44, who was born in Israel and has been in the States for 23 years, lives and works downtown as a photographer. Before he relocated to the area over a decade ago, he lived in Hollywood and Marina Del Rey, and, by and large, he’s glad he made the change. 

“Here, you can walk places and see people you know,” Bilgrai said. “On the Westside, people aren’t as out and about in their neighborhoods. They may only know people in their synagogue, but no one outside of it. Over here, the community is much tighter.”

As someone who works in the arts, Bilgrai said he’s very comfortable downtown, where he lives and works in a 1,500-square-foot studio. “Most of my friends are artists,” he said. “It’s much easier to meet artists down here, because most of the people living downtown are artists.”

Samantha Greenfeld (pictured below), a 27-year-old sculptor and painter, said she feels completely at home in the Brewery Artist Lofts on Main Street, where she’s lived for two years. The building is a former Pabst Blue Ribbon brewery that was converted in 1982 and made into residences and workspaces exclusively for artists.