Brandelli’s Brig: Photograph by Will Tenney

Brandelli’s Brig

Babe Brandelli was a prizefighter of the 1930s, and the bar he owned, “The Brig,” was a well-loved dive on Washington Boulevard in Venice. In 1973 the artist Art Mortimer was commissioned to paint a mural on the side of the building depicting Babe and his wife Betty standing outside of his bar in front of a mural depicting Babe and his wife Betty standing outside of his bar in front of a mural being painted by the artist. I was in LA in 1975, only a couple of years after its completion. The mural is still there, and the bar is still called “The Brig,” but the paint scheme has changed, as well as the ownership, the character of the neighborhood, and even the name of the street.