Beyond Baroque Negotiates 10-Year Lease Agreement

After more than a year of negotiations, an acclaimed literary organization has signed a new lease to remain in the former Venice City Hall, officials said.

The 10-year lease for Beyond Baroque, a literary salon and bookstore which took up residence in the historic building in 1980, was approved by the city Department of General Services Monday, said Niki Tennant, a spokeswoman for City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, who pushed for the unusually long lease.

The annual rent is $1, Tennant said.

Beyond Baroque director Fred Dewey said that without the long-term, essentially free lease, the nonprofit organization would probably have been forced to close, since it cannot afford to move. He credited Galanter for lobbying the city on behalf of Beyond Baroque.

Beyond Baroque and nonprofit L.A. Theatre Works, which occupies about a quarter of the building at 681 Venice Blvd., have had month-to-month leases since October 1996.