“Wherever you are, we’re already then.”
At the Time Travel Mart in Echo Park, you’ll find all the wares necessary for the modern-day time traveler. Time travel sickness pills to keep your time machine puke-free. Barbarian repellant (fends off a dozen barbarians at once). Corinthian, centurion, and conquistador helmets to blend in when voyaging back to an earlier era – or robot milk, if visiting the future. And of course, an official “pastport” (don’t attempt intertemporal travel without it). But there’s more. The Time Travel Mart is a front for McSweeney’s Dave Eggers 826LA writing and tutoring program for area resident kids ages 6 to 18.
Started in San Francisco in 2002, Eggers and educator Nínive Calegari looked for a way to help teachers by tutoring students in typically underserved schools and nurturing their enthusiasm for writing. The original 826 Valencia was zoned retail, so Eggers and Calegari were obligated to include a retail component to their free tutoring service. They went with a pirate theme, self-lauded as San Francisco’s “Only Independent Pirate Supply Store,” for the flagship. The practice of including a shop with a twist has continued ever since, in all eight national chapters.
Info
Address 1714 W Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026, +1 213.413.3388, www.timetravelmart.com, info@timetravelmart.com | Getting there Metered street parking | Hours Mon–Sun noon–6pm| Tip Sage Vegan Bistro (1700 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026), just steps east of the Time Travel Mart, serves a seasonal menu of delicious vegan food and dairy-free ice cream.
Behind the small storefront in Echo Park on Sunset, area students can pass through the time portal hallway to the back room. The portal exit opens to a wide writing space with elevated ceilings, a brick wall along one side, and a floor blanketed with thick wooden worktables encircled by metal Navy side chairs. Beyond the tables, sofas are arranged conversationally in an alcove next to floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves filled with books. A loft area above houses desks for staff. Working writers teach courses on diverse subjects ranging from penning comics to songwriting. Student work is published and available for purchase. You’ll find it in the refrigerated section of the Time Travel Mart. Proceeds support 826LA, of course.
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