Atomic Cafe: The Noisiest Corner in J-Town

“Sid Vicious loved our fried rice!” Atomic Cafe was the rowdy Little Tokyo post-show destination for punks in the 70s and 80s, where yakuza booth-surfed with East LA kids. And like a Ramune soda-David Bowie love child, Atomic Nancy and her killer jukebox ruled them all.

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SHORTS: SPACE WAS THE PLACE

Histories reside in plain sight in these spatial stories of punk in Little Tokyo, Platoon under the BevMo! awning, soap opera anthems amidst social unrest, and all that is buried, lost, and endures in the architectures around us.