Business & Tech
VIDEO: Valley Plaza's 'Cruize Night & Hopp' Hosts Lowriders from Around L.A.
Once a month, the empty parking lot in North Hollywood is ground zero for car lovers that like to "lay it low."
The vast parking lot of Valley Plaza in North Hollywood becomes ground zero for lowrider car culture in Los Angeles once a month.
It's called Cruize Night & Hopp, where lovers of lowriders gather to hang out and show off their cars. A lowrider is typically a classic car that has had its suspension system modified with hydraulics so that the car can be raised and lowered several feet for visual effect, and can often be made to jump off the ground.
This Saturday, Cruize Night is set to take place again.
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People come from all over Los Angeles County and beyond for Cruize Night at Valley Plaza. (See the attached video footage, which was shot several months ago.
The website layitlow.com is where Cruize Night is organized through an open thread. Click here to follow the thread.
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The organizers of Cruize Night have taken great care to make sure the night is low key and that all the different groups and car clubs from around L.A. get along. The cruisers all seemed to have a great time when Patch was there. Many brought their children and made sure to clean and sweep up when the night was over. Various posts on the thread stress the importance of keeping the night safe and fun. The opening post on the thread reads: "Let’s make sure to leave the “ATTITUDE” and “ANGER PROBLEMS” at home. We are trying to have a good time among all ryders. Let’s make sure to clean up after ourselves and keep this spot clean for future cruise meets and hopps….See all you “HOMIEZ” out there!"
If all had gone according to the plan that developer J.H. Snyder laid out in 2009, the Valley Plaza today would be the site of a new $333 million Grove-like mall. Instead, it is today a crumbling eyesore lined with blocks and blocks of empty, boarded-up shops. With all the vast, open, unoccupied space, it is a great place to hold events like Cruize Night & Hopp. The layitlow.com thread expressed this very openly, describing it as a place where no one would notice or care about what it happening in the empty parking lot. The opening post said: "Check it out there is a low pro spot in North Hollywood with a huge parking lot where you can hop and drop trailers which nobody trips."
To learn more about the history of Valley Plaza, check out Patch's five-part video series:
