Beyond the velvet rope

THE Edison -- a tony new lounge in the basement of downtown’s 1910 Higgins Building -- has a zero-tolerance policy for sneakers. On a recent Friday night, a reporter sporting blue low-top Converse was stopped short by a smartly dressed doorman. The bar, just several hundred yards down an alley from where two homeless men lounged on a tattered couch, had certain standards to uphold, he explained. However, an exception would be made tonight.

The velvet rope has officially arrived downtown. Once past it, visitors glide by a clubby smoking lounge penned in by decorative wrought iron before taking a sharp left onto a floating steel-and-glass staircase that terminates in the cavernous amber depths of what was once downtown L.A.’s first private power plant.

The Edison’s owners, Andrew Meieran and Marc Smith, have done a stand-up job of maintaining the historical integrity of the building while transforming it into what their website describes as “one of the nation’s most unique lounge spaces.”

The club is basically one giant, open space sliced into sections by the placement of a variety of leather couches and wide wingback chairs. And a cursory glance around reveals clientele clad in colorful blazers, form-fitting blouses and snazzy cotton dress shirts with high thread counts. Still, the classy standards implied by the no-sneaker policy have not prevented a cheesier element from slipping in. A couple of girls in urban war paint with lavishly presented silicone-enhanced chests, peekaboo skirts and stripper-style heels strut to the bar. Over by the restrooms stands a smarmy-looking man in high-gloss loafers and a dark-blue collared shirt unbuttoned just shy of mid-nipple range. Beyond him a cluster of comely drunks speaks in a steady stream of epithets that would make even “Deadwood’s” Al Swearengen blush.

Standing nearby is Orange County grant writer Alvaro Fuentes, who is unfazed by the salty language. “I’m coming from a more down-home perspective,” he says. “I grew up in downtown L.A.” Does he like the Edison? “It’s nothing spectacular,” he says. How has downtown changed since he was growing up? “There’s a gentrification pattern going on right now.” Whether that’s a good thing depends on “what side of the spectrum you’re on. If you’re a developer, it’s a good thing.”

Michael Fran of Larchmont Village and his girlfriend, Kristen Nichols, who lives in the area and goes to USC, are fine with the new downtown and the Edison, which, says Fran, “is about lifestyle and old values. It’s big enough that you really get a sense of who’s living [downtown]. It also feels crowded and occupied without being wall-to-wall sweaty.”

Standing alone by a maroon-curtained wall, frothy beer in hand, is art director Zack Smith. “You got in here with sneakers!” he exclaims. “They almost didn’t let me in. I lifted up my foot and I was like, ‘These are Diesels, man -- these are straight-up on the edge of blue suede. I spent over $200 on them.’ And the doorman said, ‘I don’t care about the price.’ ”

In the Mural Lounge, Matt Manner, 29, is having a ball. “I’m from Maui and he’s from Maui,” he says, gesturing at his friend Mike Vitale, who is talking with two coy cuties. “You meet the coolest people here,” Manner says. “Honestly, I wish there was a dance floor,” Vitale adds. In fact, there is one, but no one’s using it.

Around the corner in the Game Room an attorney named Tariq S. Hasan, who lives in the Financial District, stands chatting with a friend beside the red-felt pool table. “Overall this has got to be one of the better clubs I’ve been to -- not just in L.A. but anywhere. They’ve kept the nostalgic feeling but given it a modern twist.”

Above Hasan a large screen flickers with images from an old samurai movie. Around midnight, revelers gather by a cabaret-style stage, where four svelte dancers in white fishnets, elbow-length satin gloves and white flapper dresses shimmy and shake to big-band music with Prohibition era-worthy verve.

Later, in the murky, less-populated netherworld of the Generator Lounge -- where old generators sit in attentive ranks behind chains -- a frequent guest confides, “It’s really spectacular to look at, but the culture of the place, for me, is just not that interesting.” He continues, “They’re courting the new downtown money, but I think there’s a lot of obliviousness about what’s really happening down here. I see the way some [homeless] cats get treated outside that door -- how they get pushed away.”

weekend@latimes.com

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The Edison

Where: 108 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A.

When: 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesdays through Fridays; 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays

Price: No cover

Info: (213) 613-0000, www.edisondowntown.com