Samitaur In the News
July 2010
Tastemakers Frederick + Laurie Samitaur Smith – LA Times Magazine
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The tale of the Samitaur Tower—that 72-foot-high corkscrew construction of rough metal and fanlike screens rising on the corner of National and Hayden in Culver City—takes a few odd twists and turns. It involves, among other things, Paris in 1968, Malcolm X and B movies. But those are mere pit stops and detours. Ultimately, this is the story of two idealists, Frederick and Laurie Samitaur Smith, and their commitment to promoting the arts, creating jobs and fostering a sense of community in neighborhoods blighted by crime, unemployment and other urban woes.
Before his adventures in urban development, Frederick was a journalist and screenwriter, and Laurie was an actor. They were linked by a conviction that art and culture could connect people—and perhaps even save the world.