📍 Downtown Los Angeles

Hi, I'm Josh.
I live in DTLA
and I love it
here.

I've been a proud Downtowner for over 20 years. I host free dinners for my neighbors on my rooftop — up to 20 a year. I collect pre-1930s LA maps. I've been to Sundance 22 times. I've eaten my way through Bali. And somewhere in between all of that, I built a political consulting firm that's pretty good at getting things done in this city.

Josh Gray-Emmer
15
Years hosting Wednesday dinners
22+
Years attending Sundance
100K
DTLA neighbors in my network
300+
Dinners hosted so far
Josh Gray-Emmer

A little bit about
who I am

I grew up obsessed with film — enough that Robert Redford invited me to Sundance at 13, and I wrote and produced my own film that premiered there at 18. That early taste of "just go make the thing" has pretty much shaped everything since.

I moved to Downtown LA in 2002 when it was still genuinely wild — before the restaurants, before the crowds, when Spring Street was a ghost town. I've watched this neighborhood become one of America's great urban places, and I've had the good fortune of helping make it happen.

Along the way I started a political consulting firm, built a community dinner series that's been running every week for 15 years, collected a bunch of old maps, took a year off to live in Bali, and somehow ended up with a network of 100,000 Angelenos who trust me with their inbox.

I'm happiest on my rooftop with 30 neighbors, a good chef, and a bottle of wine. If that sounds like your kind of evening, come to dinner.

Get in touch →

The DTLA
Dinner Club

For 15 years, I've opened my rooftop to 30 strangers — up to 20 dinners a year. No ticket price. No agenda. Multi-course, chef-driven, completely free. Just the belief that a neighborhood is only as strong as the connections between its people.

It started as a simple idea and became something I never expected — one of Downtown's most beloved little institutions. Celebrities have cooked. Neighbors have fallen in love. People have made lifelong friends over a table they almost didn't show up to.

15
Years running
300+
Dinners hosted
8K+
Neighbors fed
Visit dtladinnerclub.com →
DTLA Dinner Club
DTLA Dinner Club
DTLA Dinner Club
DTLA Dinner Club

Pre-1930s
Los Angeles Maps

I've been collecting original street-level maps of Los Angeles from before 1930 for years. There's something about holding a map of a city you know intimately, but seeing it as it was — the ghost streets, the missing freeways, the orange groves where your apartment now stands.

The collection was previously displayed at The Biltmore Tower in DTLA. If you're a fellow map nerd, let's talk.

🗺️
Pre-1930 originals
Original printed street maps, not reproductions
🏛️
Previously displayed
At The Biltmore Tower, Downtown LA
📬
Fellow collectors welcome
Always interested in trading stories and finds
Pre-1930s Los Angeles map
Pre-1930s original
Pre-1930s Los Angeles map
Pre-1930s original
Pre-1930s Los Angeles map
Pre-1930s original
Adventures

Places I've been

From Sundance in January to Bali for a whole year, from a solo trip through Southeast Asia to eating my way through Europe. The world is too interesting to stay home.

Josh at Sundance
Sundance
22 years at the festival. Started at 13, premiered a film at 18.
Josh in Bali
Bali
Took a year off and lived there. Brought the Dinner Club with me.
Josh on an adventure
Everywhere else
Southeast Asia, Europe, Mexico. Always with good food in mind.

The work side
of things

Between the dinners and the map-hunting, I run a political consulting and community engagement firm. We're pretty good at it. If you need to get something done in DTLA, I probably know exactly who to call.

🌉

BridGE DTLA

My community engagement and political strategy firm. 20+ years of relationships, a 100K opt-in network, and a track record of getting complex projects approved in LA. Clients include Uber, LA Chamber, DLA Piper, and the LA LGBT Center.

bridgedtla.com →
🍽️

DTLA Dinner Club

Community dinner series, 15 years running. 300+ dinners, 8,000+ neighbors welcomed. The most fun thing I've ever built — and the one I'm most proud of.

dtladinnerclub.com →
❤️

Dinner Club Foundation

The nonprofit arm of the Dinner Club, working to expand the model to communities across LA and beyond.

dinnerclubfoundation.org →
🗺️

Maps Collection

Pre-1930s original street maps of Los Angeles. Previously displayed at The Biltmore Tower. A passion project that's become a real obsession.

dtlamaps.com →
🏢

Downtown Homeowner's Alliance

Founder of a coalition of board members representing 47 condo buildings in DTLA. We meet monthly to share ideas on better representing our buildings and our community. All DTLA condo board members welcome.

Apply to join our private Reddit community →
🏛️

El Dorado Lofts HOA

President since 2021 of our historic 1913 building — formerly The Stowell Hotel, a Mills Act property. Charlie Chaplin lived here. Clara Bow was a regular. The building has more stories than floors.

eldoradohoa.com →

What people say

"

Josh is the consummate DTLA insider. You would be hard pressed to find anyone else with his skill set and knowledge of our community. He is helping to shape our new DTLA.

Carol Schatz
Former President & CEO, Central City Association
"

Josh is scary good at tech-enhanced outreach and coalition-building. His knowledge, know-how, and network in DTLA will help you get your message in front of the right eyeballs.

Tanner Blackman
Partner, Kindel Gagan Public Affairs
"

The DTLA Dinner Club isn't just a dinner — it's an act of love for his community. Josh sets the table and allows his neighborhood to fill the seats.

A neighbor
DTLA Dinner Club guest
Get in touch

Let's grab dinner.
Or coffee. Or a call.

Whether you want to come to dinner, talk about maps, work together on something in DTLA, or just say hello — my door is open. Well, my rooftop is open.