LOS ANGELES | METRO Project Rundown 2.0 (non-downtown)

[ocman]

The star may finally be happening apparently.

https://la.urbanize.city/post/new-details-emerge-star-sunset

It says a lot when the developers of “The Star” is named “The Star, LLC” So many pages on this thread for a rendering with no actual known developer who thinks someone is going to lend him $500M which is really optimistic. Everything about this is “optimistic”.

[Illithid Dude]

Any news on sunset and crescent hts?
I noticed its still fenced off.

The site has been cleared but construction hasn't started. Would be a shame if they demolished the entire block, including the controversial mid century bank, only for the project to fall through.

[Zapatan]

It says a lot when the developers of “The Star” is named “The Star, LLC” So many pages on this thread for a rendering with no actual known developer who thinks someone is going to lend him $500M which is really optimistic. Everything about this is “optimistic”.

Yea, this was from the original article. Doesn't really sound too legit but hey, we'll see.

The developer behind the Star is a family partnership led by L.A.-based investor Maggie Gong Miracle, who is also a real estate agent, according to the Times. The partnership’s LLC purchased the property in 2017.

Edgar Khalatian, a Mayer Brown land use attorney representing the developers, said they would raise money for the project in the United States, according to the report. Khalatian also outlined a five-year plan for city approval and project construction. That would feasibly give the project plenty of time for the struggling L.A. office market to rebound.

MAD Architects has worked on other L.A. developments, including the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and a hotel project in West Hollywood.

[a9l8e7n]

Best photos I can get of the new Musuem in LACMA 6/26

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52177548431_09147d4f71_b.jpg
and

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52177548266_3e4d6b67b3_c.jpg

[Illithid Dude]

I know I should probably learn to distance myself from that which is out of my control, but thinking about what they are doing to LACMA makes me physically nauseous. At least Los Angeles is lucky enough to have the Getty.

[craigs]

Residential tower near Hollywood & Bronson gets the go-ahead (https://la.urbanize.city/post/residential-tower-near-hollywood-bronson-gets-go-ahead)

The 24-story building would rise just south of the US-101 Freeway

Steven Sharp
Urbanize Los Angeles
June 27, 2022

DM Development and Massachi is one step closer to building a new high-rise just south of the US-101 Freeway in Hollywood.

At its meeting last week, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission voted to approve a proposal from the two firms which calls for redeveloping a property located at 1725-1739 N. Bronson Avenue with a 24-story, 270-foot-tall tower featuring 128 apartments above semi-subterranean parking for 134 vehicles.

Among other entitlements, DM and Massachi have sought the approval of density bonus incentives permitting a larger structure than allowed by zoning rules. In exchange, the developers would set aside 11 of the proposed one-, two-, and five-bedroom apartments priced as affordable housing priced for renters at the very low-income level.

However, the project team also anticipates that the apartments at the Bronson tower will command lower rents than competing developments in the Hollywood area. In an August 2021 interview, DM Development founder and chief executive officer Mark MacDonald indicated that some "micro suites" within the project would be priced in the $2,000s per month if already completed. The upper floors of the building, however, would offer similar prices to other nearby high-rise residential developments.

Steinberg Hart is designing the tower, leading a team which also includes landscape architecture firm Relm. The building, as related in the August 2021 interview, is intended to present a different form on each of its sides, with a twisting glass facade and double-height amenity spaces embedded into the side of the structure.

At ground-level, the project also includes elements which relate to the neighboring Lombardi House - billed as the last single-family home along Hollywood Boulevard still at its original location. Massachi owns the property, which now serves as an event space.

At the time the developers announced the project, construction was expected to commence as early as the fourth quarter of 2022, with the tower opening for renters by the third quarter of 2024.

The vote to approve the Bronson tower was coupled with the denial of two appeals of project's tract map, which were filed by the union-affiliated organizations Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility (SAFER) and the Coalition for Responsible Equitable Economic Development Los Angeles (CREED LA). Both organizations objected to a Class 32 exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act granted to the project, and argued that the proposed tower should be subject to a full environmental impact report. A staff report recommended denial of both appeals, stating that neither appellant had presented sufficient evidence to prove that the Class 32 exemption had been granted in error.

"We are so elated at the overwhelming positivity and support for our project from a diverse coalition of stakeholders including union groups, resident neighbors, and major employers in Hollywood," said Massachi founder Alex Massachi in a statement. "It's truly a testament to the quality of the team my joint venture partners Mark and I weaved together for this catalytic project."

The two joint venture partners, while new to high-rise development in Hollywood, are not strangers to the Los Angeles area. DM Development recently completed work on The Harland, a luxury rental development in West Hollywood, while Massachi is now in construction on a terraced apartment building elsewhere in Hollywood.

[craigs]

And now the images:

View of the proposed tower at 1725-1739 Bronson Avenue looking northwest from Hollywood Boulevard
https://la.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/2018_article_gallery_image_2000w/public/2021-08/Bronson%20Tower_Looking%20North%20from%20Hollywood.jpg?itok=mexuBNi-

View of proposed tower at 1725-1739 Bronson Avenue looking south from the US-101 freeway
https://la.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/2018_article_gallery_image_2000w/public/2021-08/Bronson%20Tower_Driving%20South%20at%20101.jpg?itok=sm3w9AGG

https://la.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/2018_article_gallery_image_2000w/public/2021-08/Bronson%20Tower_View%20at%20Bronson.jpg?itok=kP168F7W

https://la.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/2018_article_gallery_image_2000w/public/2021-08/Bronson%20Tower_Close-Up%20at%20Bronson%20and%20Carlos.jpg?itok=qUT23yGH

Bird's eye view of proposed tower at 1725-1739 Bronson Avenue in Hollywood
https://la.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/2018_article_gallery_image_2000w/public/2021-08/Bronson%20Tower_Birds-Eye%20View%20Looking%20West.jpg?itok=HwH0KB73

https://la.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/2018_article_gallery_image_2000w/public/2021-08/1725%20n%20bronson%20avenue%20map.JPG?itok=Sue7KlRX

[LAsam]

I know I should probably learn to distance myself from that which is out of my control

Definitely one of the keys to happiness :tup:

[LDVArch]

I know I should probably learn to distance myself from that which is out of my control, but thinking about what they are doing to LACMA makes me physically nauseous. At least Los Angeles is lucky enough to have the Getty.

Meier's work has not aged well. I suspect sooner or later the Getty will get Selldorf to rework the entrance and the blinding white courtyard. Just think about the entrance: Why isn't it the first thing you see when you exist the tram? Why is it offset to the deep left? And, why is the lobby rotunda not directly linked to the temporary exhibition gallery?...

As for LACMA, I think the Zumthor design is brilliant. I would explain why, but I am not sure you would understand.

[Illithid Dude]

Meier's work has not aged well. I suspect sooner or later the Getty will get Selldorf to rework the entrance and the blinding white courtyard. Just think about the entrance: Why isn't it the first thing you see when you exist the tram? Why is it offset to the deep left? And, why is the lobby rotunda not directly linked to the temporary exhibition gallery?...

As for LACMA, I think the Zumthor design is brilliant. I would explain why, but I am not sure you would understand.

I think the original Zumthor design with the light wells had redeemable elements, but now that those have been value engineered away all I see is a dismal, low slung concrete overpass that is far too small for the encyclopedic museum LACMA is supposed to be. It feels a bit like the type of museum a regional liberal arts college would build to house rotating student exhibits. While that may be a fine vibe for New Hampshire, the current design, and the pitiful size of that design, simply isn't worthy of being the marquee public museum for the second largest city in the United States. At least the views overlooking Wilshire will be nice!

And on the Getty: I think much of the museum is obviously rooted in late 80s urban design, but the overall complex still contains such a purity and grace that I am able to overlook the flaws. I think much of your criticisms stem from what you want the Getty to be, rather than what it is. The Getty is not a linear structure, but instead a collection of spaces for the visitor to wander through and explore. It's a meditative experience that one is supposed to find their own way through, and discover on their own terms. I often go there just to situate myself in one of the gardens that look out over the swath of Los Angeles and read a book. I think the Getty is one of the best spaces in this city. You decide whether that says more about the Getty or Los Angeles.

[bossabreezes]

Loooove that Hollywood tower by the freeway. We need to fill Hollywood and East Hollywood with these kind of projects, the area is just begging for density.

[Quixote]

I know I should probably learn to distance myself from that which is out of my control, but thinking about what they are doing to LACMA makes me physically nauseous. At least Los Angeles is lucky enough to have the Getty.

The LACMA revamp is necessary in order for us to acquire the Perenchio collection (https://unframed.lacma.org/2014/11/06/jerrold-perenchio-announces-bequest-his-impressionist-and-modern-art-collection-lacma) (or at least that's what I recall reading), which will do wonders in terms of augmenting LACMA's Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection.

I can't find the original article, but here's a summary of its impact on the collection:

What Perenchio Could Mean for LACMA

For a century at least, Hollywood actors, agents, and moguls have been buying School of Paris modernism. A few assembled great collections; many more assembled weak ones; and the one constant was hand-wringing over Hollywood’s failure to support L.A. museums. TV and film executive Jerry Perenchio is set to change that paradigm with his conditional bequest of an Impressionist and modern collection to LACMA. (Above, Edouard Vuillard’s “Sacha Guitry in His Dressing Room,” 1912, owned by Perenchio.)

The twist: The museum must fund, construct, and open its planned ($600 million-ish) Peter Zumthor building on schedule (c. 2023)—or else the gift may be rescinded. Back in 1971, Perenchio put up $5 million to get Muhammad Ali into the ring with Joe Frazier. Get ready for the Capital Campaign of the Century.

It’s not just a question of raising the money, formidable as that challenge is. The clock is ticking… Any delay could potentially invalidate the gift: an earthquake, a stock market crash, a construction workers’ strike, fossil discoveries on site, etc., etc. This week every museum director must envy Michael Govan, but they’re also praying their own donors don’t get the idea of gift-wrapping an ultimatum.

What could the Perenchio bequest mean to LACMA? The museum says it’s set to gain “at least” 47 works by 23 artists. It has released images of 10 works, and the press release identifies a few more by name. Some of those works are already well-known, having been lent to exhibitions and widely reproduced. It is possible to say that, in quality, Perenchio’s collection is in a league with those of Norton Simon, Walter Annenberg, and Leonard Lauder. The bequest would give LACMA its only major works by Manet and Caillebotte; its most iconic pieces by Monet, Degas, Bonnard, and Léger. It would double, or nearly so, the museum’s representation of Pissarro and Magritte. A 1909 cubist drawing, Picasso’s Head of Fernande, is one of the choicest of modern drawings, poised on the cusp of art history.

...

Monet: LACMA presently has four Monet paintings. Perenchio would add three, making seven—and the three Perenchio Monets would be the ones visitors remember. LACMA stands to have the biggest and best holding of Monet west of Chicago.

...

Caillebotte: LACMA has nothing by Caillebotte, the once-forgetten Impressionist whose few best works now command eight-figure prices. In 2011 the Boston Museum of Fine Arts paid $16 million for Man at His Bath (selling a Monet, a Renoir, a Gauguin, and five other paintings to defray the cost). Perenchio’s Caillebotte, A Soldier, must be a response to Manet’s Fifer. It might be the third most important Caillebotte in America (after those in Chicago and Boston)?

...

Pissarro: Perenchio’s three paintings would augment the three in the Lazarof collection and the bird’s eye urban landscape, La Place du Théâtre Français, that the De Sylvas gave the pre-LACMA County Museum. That would make 7 Pissarros in all—not bad, considering that Impressionist-rich Art Institute of Chicago has 10.

...

Magritte: LACMA has two Magritte paintings; the Perenchio gift would double that to four. Below center and right are Stimulation Objective No. 3 (1939) and Liaisons Dangereuses (1935). Thanks to the preeminent importance of Treachery of Images, already in the collection, LACMA’s representation of Magritte stands to rival MoMA’s holding of seven Magritte paintings.

...

https://lacma24.rssing.com/chan-17088308/all_p5.html

[caligrad]

I know I should probably learn to distance myself from that which is out of my control, but thinking about what they are doing to LACMA makes me physically nauseous. At least Los Angeles is lucky enough to have the Getty.

You're not alone. The "blob" is cool and all and crossing over Wilshire is interesting......But i personally would have preferred something elegant but modern. The old museum was severely outdated in and out, so I understand the need for a replacement but some modern granite boxes with double pane tinted windows would have made me happy. I was upset when they said exhibit area would be smaller when it should be bigger.

[Illithid Dude]

The LACMA revamp is necessary in order for us to acquire the Perenchio collection (https://unframed.lacma.org/2014/11/06/jerrold-perenchio-announces-bequest-his-impressionist-and-modern-art-collection-lacma) (or at least that's what I recall reading), which will do wonders in terms of augmenting LACMA's Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection.

I can't find the original article, but here's a summary of its impact on the collection:


Very interesting, thank you for sharing. I’m not huge on Impressionism but anything to raise the esteem of LACMA’s less than stellar collection is a net positive in my book. Its nice to know that there is a silver lining to the Zumthor building.

In other news, West Hollywood has voted to lengthen drinking hours and set last call to 4am. Very interested to see how this affects the Los Angeles nightlife scene.

[bobbyv]

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a85ec50/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5850x3900+75+0/resize/840x560!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5f%2F65%2F1057d48a4687b33e5a2f01d49e2a%2F1111-sunset-blvd-rendering-01.JPG

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-29/los-angeles-city-council-approves-sunset-boulevard-skyscraper-project

[Yackemflaber69]

how dare they

[Illithid Dude]

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a85ec50/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5850x3900+75+0/resize/840x560!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5f%2F65%2F1057d48a4687b33e5a2f01d49e2a%2F1111-sunset-blvd-rendering-01.JPG

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-29/los-angeles-city-council-approves-sunset-boulevard-skyscraper-project

This is my favorite project in all of Los Angeles. Excited to see it built.

[LAsam]

^ Definitely one of the more exciting projects in LA! Looks like the plan is to have it competed by the time of the Olympics in 2028.

[wisheye]

Very interesting, thank you for sharing. I’m not huge on Impressionism but anything to raise the esteem of LACMA’s less than stellar collection is a net positive in my book. Its nice to know that there is a silver lining to the Zumthor building.

In other news, West Hollywood has voted to lengthen drinking hours and set last call to 4am. Very interested to see how this affects the Los Angeles nightlife scene.

The 4am last call still depends on SB930 passing. Similar bills have been introduced unsuccessfully multiple times over the last several years, with the last one making it all the way to the desk of (then) Governer Brown, before dying by veto.

[ocman]

Caillebotte: LACMA has nothing by Caillebotte, the once-forgetten Impressionist whose few best works now command eight-figure prices. In 2011 the Boston Museum of Fine Arts paid $16 million for Man at His Bath (selling a Monet, a Renoir, a Gauguin, and five other paintings to defray the cost). Perenchio’s Caillebotte, A Soldier, must be a response to Manet’s Fifer. It might be the third most important Caillebotte in America (after those in Chicago and Boston)?



The above quote seems to have been written in 2014. Even at that time, there was a noticeable omission. Young Man at his Window, which the Getty just recently won at Christie’s auction 8 months ago is likely the 2nd most important Caillebotte in America aside from Rainy Day in Chicago. It was in Texas at the time. It’s considered a masterpiece and arguably among his top 5 most iconic painting anywhere, meaning LACMA’s bequest isn’t even going to be the most important Caillebotte in LA.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Gustave_Caillebotte_-_Jeune_homme_à_sa_fenêtre_%28B_32%29.jpg/440px-Gustave_Caillebotte_-_Jeune_homme_à_sa_fenêtre_%28B_32%29.jpg

Speaking of the Getty, I’ve never visually cared from the Getty’s architecture. The rooms are too similar, it creates museum fatigue, and Meier's signature white tiles doesn’t play well with the travertine. But I’ve softened to it because the overall space works, helped immensely by its location and the gardens. And the engineering and design that you don’t see is 2nd to none. If all of LA burns down, the Getty will be the only one standing, and you can be rest asssured that the art is safe. It’s a great building, but not necessarily when you view it as a visual object.

I’m looking forward to Zumthor’s LACMA after accepting the fact that his superior renderings will not be fully realized as he intended. His interiors are always a success, always impressive. He’s a master of light and space. I’m sure opinions will change when people walk through the space because living in LA doesn’t give you many references for how these spaces will actually feel. But I agree with the detractors that you don’t redo a building for less exhibition space, especially for $600M. There has to be more added value, but what’s done is done. The public isn’t going to see the earlier renderings to know what they’re missing anyway (the magnificent chapel ceilings). And LACMA has examples of more egregious wastes of its valuable real estate (renting out the Macys building to The Academy), Heizer’s Levitating Mass which takes too much space for a single artwork.

[Quixote]

^ Do you know if the Getty is in the running every time a Monet/Manet/Renoir/Degas/Cezanne is up for auction? Their not being an encyclopedic museum means they can concentrate on specific genres and target “statement pieces” (Young Man at His Window, Le Printemps, Modern Rome — Campo Vaccino, Arii Matamoe), but also “filler pieces.” What I would like to see them target with their funds are more works by Michelangelo and a Caravaggio.

[ocman]

^ Do you know if the Getty is in the running every time a Monet/Manet/Renoir/Degas/Cezanne is up for auction? Their not being an encyclopedic museum means they can concentrate on specific genres and target “statement pieces” (Young Man at His Window, Le Printemps, Modern Rome — Campo Vaccino, Arii Matamoe), but also “filler pieces.” What I would like to see them target with their funds are more works by Michelangelo and a Caravaggio.

I doubt they bid frequently. It's probably a whole process when they decide they want something. Even though collecting in depth on singular artists is already one of their strategies. They bought two Manets within a decade, a Rembrandt in a collection full of Rembrandts and two Watteaus close to each other.

The standards at the Getty are really high. What goes up for auction isn't necessarily good enough for the Getty. They get a couple pieces a year that they spend upwards of around $40M on, and if they spend that much money it's a piece that's often going to be either the best or second best painting of that artist we have in this country, and in already excellent condition. But a Michelangelo (they do have a few drawings) and Caravaggio rarely come up, and if they do, the Getty would likely get priced out. The last Da Vinci went for $480M dollars, way out of the Getty's league. But even if it was a fraction of the cost, I kind of doubt the Getty would have wanted it anyway. They don't have a habit of buying just to name drop. It has to be really good.


Timothy Potts said the direction of the Museum was going to be about jumping on opportunities that arise. This is what he said when he was hired to direct the Getty:
“One thing we don’t have and probably never will have is a Leonardo, at least a painting. We don’t have a Caravaggio. Of course we’d really like to acquire works by those artists.“But if you have a rule or set of priorities and you decide you’re going to wait until a great Caravaggio comes along, you are going to miss 20 other extraordinary opportunities which could end up never being repeatable and the Caravaggio still won’t come along, and you’re left holding nothing.”

Imagine if they had saved up for that Di Vinci. They wouldn't have gotten it anyway, and if they did, they would have gotten a lackluster Da Vinci for $480M when they could have gotten 10 other blockbuster paintings at the top of the artists' careers, that would arguably do more for the museum than a single painting.

And they've recently said that consideration of what other LA museums have in their collections was part of their decision process and acquisition strategy. No other museum is making this level of blockbuster acquisitions on a yearly basis.

[Illithid Dude]

I've been wondering the same about how museums approach art acquisitions myself. Thank you for this post. Very interesting information.

[a9l8e7n]

A couple of new multi-story complex developments on Burbank Blvd in Sherman Oaks under construction.

https://la.urbanize.city/post/sherman-oaks-14534-burbank-boulevard-senior-housing

https://twitter.com/LA_Construct/status/1545151284805636096

14534 Burbank Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXF64bJUIAA_8JP?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXF64vsVUAAlXu1?format=jpg&name=medium

14743 Burbank Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXF65WhUIAEXCvJ?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXF65tDUsAAhVf0?format=jpg&name=medium

[colemonkee]

Hooray for brick!!!

[HeySparky]

The recently vacated Jaguar/Land Rover shop across from the new Thompson Hotel and Mother Wolf seems to have been spoken for already as signs on the building show Leased Has anyone heard what is going to take over this highly-visible plot? The site is perfect for creative offices, hotel or residential
1520 Wilcox Ave, Hollywood, CA 90028

[CaliNative]

I've been wondering the same about how museums approach art acquisitions myself. Thank you for this post. Very interesting information.

For the price of a single rare Da Vinci the Getty could probably acquire a good Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne and have enough money left to buy a later Picasso, Hockney or Hopper. Better to get five or six good paintings than a single middling Da Vinci that maybe his students helped him finish.

[LA21st]

A couple of new multi-story complex developments on Burbank Blvd in Sherman Oaks under construction.

https://la.urbanize.city/post/sherman-oaks-14534-burbank-boulevard-senior-housing

https://twitter.com/LA_Construct/status/1545151284805636096

14534 Burbank Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXF64bJUIAA_8JP?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXF64vsVUAAlXu1?format=jpg&name=medium

14743 Burbank Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXF65WhUIAEXCvJ?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXF65tDUsAAhVf0?format=jpg&name=medium

There's actually a decent amount of infill in that part of the valley. Alot of smaller, new construction everywhere.

[homebucket]

Here are the LA locations that are closing. I've never been a fan of Starbucks anyways. Hopefully this opens the door for some small, independently-owned coffee roasters to set up shop. Or maybe boba shops. You can never go wrong with more boba.

Starbucks is closing 16 stores across Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, and other cities due to a high frequency of 'challenging incidents' — see the list
Mary Meisenzahl
Tue, July 12, 2022 at 11:15 AM

Starbucks is permanently closing 16 locations around the US by the end of July, The Wall Street Journal first reported.

"After careful consideration, we are closing some stores in locations that have experienced a high volume of challenging incidents that make it unsafe to continue to operate, to open new locations with safer conditions," a Starbucks spokesperson told Insider. The incidents involve drug use in stores by customers and other members of the public reported by workers.

The closures are a move to make Starbucks locations safer for customers and employees, the company said, echoing a letter from senior VPs of US operations Debbie Stroud and Denise Nelson sent to employees on July 11. The company also gives local leaders the authority to close bathrooms, reduce seating, and take other measures to keep conditions safe for employees.

"We look forward to continuing to serve these local communities and encourage our customers to visit us at our other stores in these areas, which can be found on the Starbucks App or Starbucks Store Locator," the spokesperson said.

See the full list of store closures here:

Santa Monica & Westmount, West Hollywood, California

Hollywood & Western, Los Angeles, California

1st & Los Angeles (Doubletree), Los Angeles, California

Hollywood & Vine, Hollywood, California

Ocean Front Walk & Moss, Santa Monica, California

2nd & San Pedro, Los Angeles, California

https://www.yahoo.com/news/starbucks-closing-16-stores-across-181508972.html

[sopas ej]

Here are the LA locations that are closing. I've never been a fan of Starbucks anyways. Hopefully this opens the door for some small, independently-owned coffee roasters to set up shop. Or maybe boba shops. You can never go wrong with more boba.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/starbucks-closing-16-stores-across-181508972.html

I question the reasoning for the closure of some of these locations. A block away from the Starbucks in Little Tokyo (which was listed) is a Gong Cha. Why go to fucking Starbucks when you can go to Gong Cha instead?
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Gong+Cha/@34.0487831,-118.2412603,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipMl37tCBCy4VMVCLAFFCMx45k6gWRr1tdwydZNC!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMl37tCBCy4VMVCLAFFCMx45k6gWRr1tdwydZNC%3Dw203-h270-k-no!7i3120!8i4160!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x80c2c6486d509055:0xf0393a61c8d4de76!2sE+2nd+St+%26+San+Pedro+St,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90012!3b1!8m2!3d34.049313!4d-118.2417373!3m4!1s0x80c2c648083bed93:0xea2ec4e34820735a!8m2!3d34.0488057!4d-118.2412604

I call bullshit. Little Tokyo is right near the LAPD headquarters, and no other businesses there seem to be complaining about "security" in the area.

And BTW, I've never been a fan of Starbucks either.

[bossabreezes]

Gotta love when people deny the harsh reality of some places in LA....its almost as if they don't leave their own little bubbles.

I've seen homeless people sprawled out inside a Starbucks in Hollywood. I'm not surprised that they're closing some of these locations, it is impossible to do business that way.

[homebucket]

I question the reasoning for the closure of some of these locations. A block away from the Starbucks in Little Tokyo (which was listed) is a Gong Cha. Why go to fucking Starbucks when you can go to Gong Cha instead?
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Gong+Cha/@34.0487831,-118.2412603,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipMl37tCBCy4VMVCLAFFCMx45k6gWRr1tdwydZNC!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMl37tCBCy4VMVCLAFFCMx45k6gWRr1tdwydZNC%3Dw203-h270-k-no!7i3120!8i4160!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x80c2c6486d509055:0xf0393a61c8d4de76!2sE+2nd+St+%26+San+Pedro+St,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90012!3b1!8m2!3d34.049313!4d-118.2417373!3m4!1s0x80c2c648083bed93:0xea2ec4e34820735a!8m2!3d34.0488057!4d-118.2412604

I call bullshit. Little Tokyo is right near the LAPD headquarters, and no other businesses there seem to be complaining about "security" in the area.

And BTW, I've never been a fan of Starbucks either.

There's also a new Starbucks here: https://goo.gl/maps/iq4qvk2NCrmwSM8c7. So maybe they just closed that location because it's older.

Actually, nevermind. It looks like that's the 2nd & San Pedro spot that's closing as well. Oh well, looks like a nice spot for another business at least!

[sopas ej]

Gotta love when people deny the harsh reality of some places in LA....its almost as if they don't leave their own little bubbles.

I've seen homeless people sprawled out inside a Starbucks in Hollywood. I'm not surprised that they're closing some of these locations, it is impossible to do business that way.

I didn't say that ALL of these closures were dubious, just that some were. I've seen homeless in other franchises too at some locations. I've seen homeless people kicked out of restrooms and even kicked out of the dining areas of some fast food places.

I go to Little Tokyo fairly regularly, and the homeless people for the most part pretty much leave you alone. I wouldn't doubt these particular locations were also "underperforming," hence the closures.

[sopas ej]

There's also a new Starbucks here: https://goo.gl/maps/iq4qvk2NCrmwSM8c7. So maybe they just closed that location because it's older.

Actually, nevermind. It looks like that's the 2nd & San Pedro spot that's closing as well. Oh well, looks like a nice spot for another business at least!

Across the street from that particular location was a coffee place called Demitasse, which closed permanently during the pandemic. It was a really good place (if a little overpriced). Their lavender hot chocolate was bomb!
Their Santa Monica location is still open though, I think.

[LAsam]

I call bullshit. Little Tokyo is right near the LAPD headquarters, and no other businesses there seem to be complaining about "security" in the area.

A coworker of mine's partner works at the LAPD HQ and was assaulted by a homeless man while leaving work... right outside the building.

[sopas ej]

A coworker of mine's partner works at the LAPD HQ and was assaulted by a homeless man while leaving work... right outside the building.

Yikes! Terrible.

I've seen and been around and dealt with homeless people while out and about for a good part of my life now, ever since I was in my teens. I feel I kind of have the sense of which ones are the dangerous ones and which ones will leave you alone. But I guess you can never be too sure.

[LAsam]

Yikes! Terrible.

I've seen and been around and dealt with homeless people while out and about for a good part of my life now, ever since I was in my teens. I feel I kind of have the sense of which ones are the dangerous ones and which ones will leave you alone. But I guess you can never be too sure.

That's the unfortunate reality that we are dealing with. When you have unhoused individuals with mental illness and drug addiction issues roaming throughout the city in the quantities that we have, it's really just a roll of the dice as to what can happen. This happened just last week: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/11/us/kim-glass-olympian-homeless-attack-social/index.html. It's a real problem because if people don't perceive an area to be safe, they will avoid it. My understanding is that's what ultimately hurt Westwood Village at at some point prior to when I moved to LA.

[sopas ej]

That's the unfortunate reality that we are dealing with. When you have unhoused individuals with mental illness and drug addiction issues roaming throughout the city in the quantities that we have, it's really just a roll of the dice as to what can happen. This happened just last week: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/11/us/kim-glass-olympian-homeless-attack-social/index.html. It's a real problem because if people don't perceive an area to be safe, they will avoid it. My understanding is that's what ultimately hurt Westwood Village at at some point prior to when I moved to LA.

I think there's more to Westwood Village's "decline" as a hip place to be; it can be attributed to more than just one thing. It was *THE* spot to hang out in/go to on weekends in LA during the 1980s. There were the movie theaters, boutiques, restaurants, bookshops, Tower Records had a location there, it was a total hangout for teens and twenty-somethings, and of course the UCLA campus provided that college student demographic. Ultimately, people in LA are fickle when it comes to places to hang out at---Westwood Village just became "passé." Right around 1989 or 1990, Santa Monica took what had been a run-down pedestrianized 3rd Street from the 1960s, changed the landscaping and paving, and then rebranded it as the "Third Street Promenade." And then from that point on, "The Promenade" or "Third Street" started becoming more of the hangout place, and Westwood crowds started to diminish. Parking was easier at Third Street Promenade too compared to trying to find parking in Westwood, so that contributed to Westwood starting to become less popular. And then the news media played up the killing of Karen Toshima in Westwood, which happened in 1992 or something, who was a 20-something woman out having fun with friends but got caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting. An unfortunate and sad incident for sure. But people generally point to that incident as the "death" of Westwood as a hangout, but I think it had already started to decline before that.

Edit: Hehe reminiscing about the Westwood Village of my teen years during the 1980s, I'm remembering that there was even a nightclub there called Dillon's, and there was even a Bullock's department store. Back in the 80s on Friday nights, they'd even close down some of the streets in the village, and it'd all be people walking everywhere. They even had pedi-cabs.

And they had bookstores. I think these student-oriented businesses started going away when UCLA expanded its Student Union/bookstore. It's like why would a UCLA student living on campus go into Westwood Village when you can just go to the Student Union?

[LA21st]

Gotta love when people deny the harsh reality of some places in LA....its almost as if they don't leave their own little bubbles.

I've seen homeless people sprawled out inside a Starbucks in Hollywood. I'm not surprised that they're closing some of these locations, it is impossible to do business that way.


Did you post the comment in Seattle's thread?
They had 4 close with a much smaller population
Troll.

Somebody from.nyc should really really not be talking about crime right now
Social media is going off how nyc sucks these days z not that you would see the truth on this forum.

Reddit covers it very well though. Nyc looks God awful.

[homebucket]

I think there's more to Westwood Village's "decline" as a hip place to be; it can be attributed to more than just one thing. It was *THE* spot to hang out in/go to on weekends in LA during the 1980s. There were the movie theaters, boutiques, restaurants, bookshops, Tower Records had a location there, it was a total hangout for teens and twenty-somethings, and of course the UCLA campus provided that college student demographic. Ultimately, people in LA are fickle when it comes to places to hang out at---Westwood Village just became "passé." Right around 1989 or 1990, Santa Monica took what had been a run-down pedestrianized 3rd Street from the 1960s, changed the landscaping and paving, and then rebranded it as the "Third Street Promenade." And then from that point on, "The Promenade" or "Third Street" started becoming more of the hangout place, and Westwood crowds started to diminish. Parking was easier at Third Street Promenade too compared to trying to find parking in Westwood, so that contributed to Westwood starting to become less popular. And then the news media played up the killing of Karen Toshima in Westwood, which happened in 1992 or something, who was a 20-something woman out having fun with friends but got caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting. An unfortunate and sad incident for sure. But people generally point to that incident as the "death" of Westwood as a hangout, but I think it had already started to decline before that.

Edit: Hehe reminiscing about the Westwood Village of my teen years during the 1980s, I'm remembering that there was even a nightclub there called Dillon's, and there was even a Bullock's department store. Back in the 80s on Friday nights, they'd even close down some of the streets in the village, and it'd all be people walking everywhere. They even had pedi-cabs.

And they had bookstores. I think these student-oriented businesses started going away when UCLA expanded its Student Union/bookstore. It's like why would a UCLA student living on campus go into Westwood Village when you can just go to the Student Union?

Interesting. Did not know that about the history of Westwood Village. I stayed there recently to visit a friend who was giving birth at UCLA Medical Center and found it to be a very relaxed, walkable little neighborhood. A good amount of pedestrian activity, without it feeling overly crowded or congested. Certainly not a place in a state of decline. Sawtelle was very similar in that regard as well. More organic. I think I prefer both to the Third Street Promenade actually which feels more manicured as you allude to.

[LAsam]

Interesting. Did not know that about the history of Westwood Village. I stayed there recently to visit a friend who was giving birth at UCLA Medical Center and found it to be a very relaxed, walkable little neighborhood. A good amount of pedestrian activity, without it feeling overly crowded or congested. Certainly not a place in a state of decline. Sawtelle was very similar in that regard as well. More organic. I think I prefer both to the Third Street Promenade actually which feels more manicured as you allude to.

Candidly, I haven't been to Westwood Village since pre-pandemic times so I'm not sure how it is these days. I have been to the Santa Monica Promenade and that has definitely become much less popular than it was back in the early 2010's. IMO, Santa Monica hasn't invested nearly enough in the Promenade's upkeep or continued modernization. I always preferred Main St in Santa Monica and that's still doing pretty well.

[BrandonJXN]

I think there's more to Westwood Village's "decline" as a hip place to be; it can be attributed to more than just one thing. It was *THE* spot to hang out in/go to on weekends in LA during the 1980s. There were the movie theaters, boutiques, restaurants, bookshops, Tower Records had a location there, it was a total hangout for teens and twenty-somethings, and of course the UCLA campus provided that college student demographic. Ultimately, people in LA are fickle when it comes to places to hang out at---Westwood Village just became "passé." Right around 1989 or 1990, Santa Monica took what had been a run-down pedestrianized 3rd Street from the 1960s, changed the landscaping and paving, and then rebranded it as the "Third Street Promenade." And then from that point on, "The Promenade" or "Third Street" started becoming more of the hangout place, and Westwood crowds started to diminish. Parking was easier at Third Street Promenade too compared to trying to find parking in Westwood, so that contributed to Westwood starting to become less popular. And then the news media played up the killing of Karen Toshima in Westwood, which happened in 1992 or something, who was a 20-something woman out having fun with friends but got caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting. An unfortunate and sad incident for sure. But people generally point to that incident as the "death" of Westwood as a hangout, but I think it had already started to decline before that.

Edit: Hehe reminiscing about the Westwood Village of my teen years during the 1980s, I'm remembering that there was even a nightclub there called Dillon's, and there was even a Bullock's department store. Back in the 80s on Friday nights, they'd even close down some of the streets in the village, and it'd all be people walking everywhere. They even had pedi-cabs.

And they had bookstores. I think these student-oriented businesses started going away when UCLA expanded its Student Union/bookstore. It's like why would a UCLA student living on campus go into Westwood Village when you can just go to the Student Union?

There is a documentary on Netflix called Let It Burn which focuses on the series of events that lead to the LA Riots of 1992. The shooting of Karen Toshima is discussed.

Personal story: my mother told be that she and her friends went to go see The Exorcist the day it came out at Westwood Village. She told me that midway through the movie, an older Hispanic woman stood up, yelled and cursed at the screen in Spanish, and Usain Bolted out the door.

[SLO]

I think there's more to Westwood Village's "decline" as a hip place to be; it can be attributed to more than just one thing. It was *THE* spot to hang out in/go to on weekends in LA during the 1980s. There were the movie theaters, boutiques, restaurants, bookshops, Tower Records had a location there, it was a total hangout for teens and twenty-somethings, and of course the UCLA campus provided that college student demographic. Ultimately, people in LA are fickle when it comes to places to hang out at---Westwood Village just became "passé." Right around 1989 or 1990, Santa Monica took what had been a run-down pedestrianized 3rd Street from the 1960s, changed the landscaping and paving, and then rebranded it as the "Third Street Promenade." And then from that point on, "The Promenade" or "Third Street" started becoming more of the hangout place, and Westwood crowds started to diminish. Parking was easier at Third Street Promenade too compared to trying to find parking in Westwood, so that contributed to Westwood starting to become less popular. And then the news media played up the killing of Karen Toshima in Westwood, which happened in 1992 or something, who was a 20-something woman out having fun with friends but got caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting. An unfortunate and sad incident for sure. But people generally point to that incident as the "death" of Westwood as a hangout, but I think it had already started to decline before that.

Edit: Hehe reminiscing about the Westwood Village of my teen years during the 1980s, I'm remembering that there was even a nightclub there called Dillon's, and there was even a Bullock's department store. Back in the 80s on Friday nights, they'd even close down some of the streets in the village, and it'd all be people walking everywhere. They even had pedi-cabs.

And they had bookstores. I think these student-oriented businesses started going away when UCLA expanded its Student Union/bookstore. It's like why would a UCLA student living on campus go into Westwood Village when you can just go to the Student Union?

Its a spot that has great bones so it will be back eventually. I wouldnt say its dead, but not what it was. UCLA students live all around Westwood so the restaurants are well attended, esp that In N Out and Chick fila.

[bossabreezes]

Did you post the comment in Seattle's thread?
They had 4 close with a much smaller population
Troll.

Somebody from.nyc should really really not be talking about crime right now
Social media is going off how nyc sucks these days z not that you would see the truth on this forum.

Reddit covers it very well though. Nyc looks God awful.

I live in Los Angeles. I love Los Angeles. I don't care about Seattle.

You are clearly unhinged, and/or 12 years old. I don't care about your responses to me, if you continue to try and troll me I will ignore you. Los Angeles has a homeless problem. I wish it didn't, which is why I highlight it because I want it to get better. Ignoring it doesn't make it better :)

Be well <3

[bossabreezes]

Candidly, I haven't been to Westwood Village since pre-pandemic times so I'm not sure how it is these days. I have been to the Santa Monica Promenade and that has definitely become much less popular than it was back in the early 2010's. IMO, Santa Monica hasn't invested nearly enough in the Promenade's upkeep or continued modernization. I always preferred Main St in Santa Monica and that's still doing pretty well.

I was at the promenade a few days ago and it felt really sad. Mostly still occupied by businesses, but the vibe was almost creepy. Santa Monica has seen an absurd influx in homeless, especially by the pier and promenade, that it just doesn't feel pleasant seeing all the suffering.

[LA21st]

I live in Los Angeles. I love Los Angeles. I don't care about Seattle.

You are clearly unhinged, and/or 12 years old. I don't care about your responses to me, if you continue to try and troll me I will ignore you. Los Angeles has a homeless problem. I wish it didn't, which is why I highlight it because I want it to get better. Ignoring it doesn't make it better :)

Be well <3


You've never posted here until someone mentioned something negative.
Thats a troll.

[LA21st]

I was at the promenade a few days ago and it felt really sad. Mostly still occupied by businesses, but the vibe was almost creepy. Santa Monica has seen an absurd influx in homeless, especially by the pier and promenade, that it just doesn't feel pleasant seeing all the suffering.


I work next to the promenade. No idea what you're talking about. Tourists have been back for months. I see them every day, at lunch and more after work. Are there some homeless? Sure, but creepy vibe?
Get real.

[Illithid Dude]

The Promenade has definitely fallen on harder times. There are some blocks of it that are over half vacant, and the remaining stores are of a much lower quality than they once were. A few tattoo parlors have even opened up! While I have nothing against tattoo parlors, there would have been a time where such a business operating on the promenade was inconceivable. Now we are lucky to have them. These are all issues that could easily be solved if Santa Monica City Council had the desire and political willpower to do so. The Promenade could be upzoned to include office and residential components. The strip could be evolved form a tourist destination to a genuine residential community. However, I doubt the current slow-growth iteration of the SMCC would support the relatively drastic measures necessary to reverse the Promenade's decline. As of now I think they've proposed... new streetscaping. Like that'll solve anything. Streetscaping is not the Promenade's issue.

[LA21st]

The Promenade has definitely fallen on harder times. There are some blocks of it that are over half vacant, and the remaining stores are of a much lower quality than they once were. A few tattoo parlors have even opened up! While I have nothing against tattoo parlors, there would have been a time where such a business operating on the promenade was inconceivable. Now we are lucky to have them. These are all issues that could easily be solved if Santa Monica City Council had the desire and political willpower to do so. The Promenade could be upzoned to include office and residential components. The strip could be evolved form a tourist destination to a genuine residential community. However, I doubt the current slow-growth iteration of the SMCC would support the relatively drastic measures necessary to reverse the Promenade's decline. As of now I think they've proposed... new streetscaping. Like that'll solve anything. Streetscaping is not the Promenade's issue.


The promenade is 3 blocks.
Where do you get all these blocks from.
The only part that's really struggling is between Arizona and Wilshire, maybe half a block there that sucks.

[CaliNative]

I think there's more to Westwood Village's "decline" as a hip place to be; it can be attributed to more than just one thing. It was *THE* spot to hang out in/go to on weekends in LA during the 1980s. There were the movie theaters, boutiques, restaurants, bookshops, Tower Records had a location there, it was a total hangout for teens and twenty-somethings, and of course the UCLA campus provided that college student demographic. Ultimately, people in LA are fickle when it comes to places to hang out at---Westwood Village just became "passé." Right around 1989 or 1990, Santa Monica took what had been a run-down pedestrianized 3rd Street from the 1960s, changed the landscaping and paving, and then rebranded it as the "Third Street Promenade." And then from that point on, "The Promenade" or "Third Street" started becoming more of the hangout place, and Westwood crowds started to diminish. Parking was easier at Third Street Promenade too compared to trying to find parking in Westwood, so that contributed to Westwood starting to become less popular. And then the news media played up the killing of Karen Toshima in Westwood, which happened in 1992 or something, who was a 20-something woman out having fun with friends but got caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting. An unfortunate and sad incident for sure. But people generally point to that incident as the "death" of Westwood as a hangout, but I think it had already started to decline before that.

Edit: Hehe reminiscing about the Westwood Village of my teen years during the 1980s, I'm remembering that there was even a nightclub there called Dillon's, and there was even a Bullock's department store. Back in the 80s on Friday nights, they'd even close down some of the streets in the village, and it'd all be people walking everywhere. They even had pedi-cabs.

And they had bookstores. I think these student-oriented businesses started going away when UCLA expanded its Student Union/bookstore. It's like why would a UCLA student living on campus go into Westwood Village when you can just go to the Student Union?
:wiseman:
Like you sopas, I remember how "The Village" used to be in the 1970s & early 1980s (was a UCLA undergrad/grad student from 1972-1981). Incredibly crowded on weekends. Restaurants filled. Bookshops crowded with students. Video arcades in the early 1980s. Crowded movie theaters, where some films premiered. Hamburger Hamlet. Friday and Saturday nights were crazy crowded. A refuge from study.

I didn't spend much time in WV after 1982, but when I was there I did notice a slow decline. The recession of 1980-82 may have been the first hit, when interest rates went to 20% and unemployment to 10%, and students didn't go there as much. Maybe people got tired of the high prices, crowds and parking shortages, and found other places to go on weekends. A bit of revival in the mid 1980s. TV news heavily covered the gangs coming in and the Toshima death. That may have factored in, but you are correct sopas--the slow decline started in the early 1980s, a decade before Toshima died from a stray bullet.

Come to think about it, the decline started about the time I stopped going in '82. I dropped a lot of quarters in video games "Starcastles" and Pacman. Sopas, maybe we passed each other in those crowds back then, at the height of the boom.

I have hope the Village will make a comeback. Every UCLA alum should. I think it will, but the fun vibe of 1972-1981 will probably never exactly return. That was MY Village. Nothing is forever. Calinative

[sopas ej]

:wiseman:
Like you sopas, I remember how "The Village" used to be in the 1970s & early 1980s (was a UCLA undergrad/grad student from 1972-1981). Incredibly crowded on weekends. Restaurants filled. Bookshops crowded with students. Video arcades in the early 1980s. Crowded movie theaters, where some films premiered. Hamburger Hamlet. Friday and Saturday nights were crazy crowded. A refuge from study.

I didn't spend much time in WV after 1982, but when I was there I did notice a slow decline. The recession of 1980-82 may have been the first hit, when interest rates went to 20% and unemployment to 10%, and students didn't go there as much. Maybe people got tired of the high prices, crowds and parking shortages, and found other places to go on weekends. A bit of revival in the mid 1980s. TV news heavily covered the gangs coming in and the Toshima death. That may have factored in, but you are correct sopas--the slow decline started in the early 1980s, a decade before Toshima died from a stray bullet.

Come to think about it, the decline started about the time I stopped going in '82. I dropped a lot of quarters in video games "Starcastles" and Pacman. Sopas, maybe we passed each other in those crowds back then, at the height of the boom.

I have hope the Village will make a comeback. Every UCLA alum should. I think it will, but the fun vibe of 1972-1981 will probably never exactly return. That was MY Village. Nothing is forever. Calinative

I guess I missed you by a few years! I was 12 years old in 1982. I didn't start going to Westwood until about 1983-84, when my sister was old enough to drive and she'd drop me and a friend off in the village while she saw her bf who was a UCLA frosh or sophomore at the time, and she was in high school still---funny how times have changed; now that I think of it, when I was in high school, I knew quite a few people who dated older guys. Anyway... after I got my own drivers license at 16, I would go with a friend to Westwood, and yeah, parking was a bitch. I learned to park at the federal building and then we'd walk into the village from there. So I guess by the time I started going to Westwood, it was in somewhat of a second wind as you mentioned, but then started declining even more.

And I was wrong about the year of the Karen Toshima shooting, it happened in 1988. I was confusing the year with the "gang violence" that occurred in Westwood during a showing of "New Jack City" in 1991, which again got a lot of local media attention and played up the supposed "downfall" of Westwood. But anyway, the Toshima shooting was always seen as the turning point in Westwood's popularity as a hangout. And like BrandonJXN pointed out, her shooting and the media response to it pointed out the inequities of media attention and police response, because during the 1980s, South Los Angeles had many gang shootings and kilings, but the Toshima killing got so much attention because it happened on the affluent Westside and the victim wasn't African-American. I totally see how resentment and anger formed from that.

[sopas ej]

Interesting. Did not know that about the history of Westwood Village. I stayed there recently to visit a friend who was giving birth at UCLA Medical Center and found it to be a very relaxed, walkable little neighborhood. A good amount of pedestrian activity, without it feeling overly crowded or congested. Certainly not a place in a state of decline. Sawtelle was very similar in that regard as well. More organic. I think I prefer both to the Third Street Promenade actually which feels more manicured as you allude to.

Sawtelle itself has evolved over the decades. It used to be a much sleepier, smaller version of Little Tokyo. And there were still some Japanese-American owned nurseries there, like at least 2 or 3 of them, if I remember correctly. But yeah, I like Sawtelle, and I eat there occasionally. Like I said, LA's hangout spots constantly change, and LA people can be fickle about what neighborhood is suddenly in and what neighborhood is suddenly out.

Melrose is another good example of that. It's IN. It's OUT. It's IN again...

[homebucket]

Sawtelle itself has evolved over the decades. It used to be a much sleepier, smaller version of Little Tokyo. And there were still some Japanese-American owned nurseries there, like at least 2 or 3 of them, if I remember correctly. But yeah, I like Sawtelle, and I eat there occasionally. Like I said, LA's hangout spots constantly change, and LA people can be fickle about what neighborhood is suddenly in and what neighborhood is suddenly out.

Melrose is another good example of that. It's IN. It's OUT. It's IN again...

G29DXfcdhBg

[homebucket]

Sawtelle itself has evolved over the decades. It used to be a much sleepier, smaller version of Little Tokyo. And there were still some Japanese-American owned nurseries there, like at least 2 or 3 of them, if I remember correctly. But yeah, I like Sawtelle, and I eat there occasionally. Like I said, LA's hangout spots constantly change, and LA people can be fickle about what neighborhood is suddenly in and what neighborhood is suddenly out.

Hide Sushi and Tsujita are my usual go to spots if I'm in that area. Mmm yummy!

[sopas ej]

Hide Sushi and Tsujita are my usual go to spots if I'm in that area. Mmm yummy!

Yes! I don't go to Sawtelle often, but those places are good. And that particular location for Chinchinkurin was the first place I've ever had Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki.

[sopas ej]

The promenade is 3 blocks.
Where do you get all these blocks from.
The only part that's really struggling is between Arizona and Wilshire, maybe half a block there that sucks.

The funny thing is, that particular block between Arizona and Wilshire was ALWAYS the "seediest" part, even back in the early 1990s. That's always where you saw at least one or 2 homeless people. And that was also usually the sleepiest part of the Promenade.

[LA21st]

The funny thing is, that particular block between Arizona and Wilshire was ALWAYS the "seediest" part, even back in the early 1990s. That's always where you saw at least one or 2 homeless people. And that was also usually the sleepiest part of the Promenade.

Yea, I don't think the promenade is as good as it was but it's actually quite vibrant lately. Nothing creepy about it.

[caligrad]

I've been to the promenade a good 3 times post the covid lockdowns and its actually pretty busy/vibrant. There are a few stores missing/empty but that's to be expected when landlords are asking for an arm and a leg in monthly rent for a glorified outdoor mall that's honestly a tourist trap that is a hassle to get to from anywhere else in the city, parking is blah, what do you expect? Can't blame tenants or the city or visitors. it's these landlords with the idea that "people will want to set up shop here with my outdated stores" when there are 100s of other options elsewhere that are actually even busier. There's nothing new/different there that I couldn't get at any other mall. The theaters along the promenade are dated and take up a lot of space. It looks old.

I'll go as far as to say make the whole corridor a "lights and signs" district. Give it a classier Freemont street treatment and watch what happens.

[LA21st]

I've been to the promenade a good 3 times post the covid lockdowns and its actually pretty busy/vibrant. There are a few stores missing/empty but that's to be expected when landlords are asking for an arm and a leg in monthly rent for a glorified outdoor mall that's honestly a tourist trap that is a hassle to get to from anywhere else in the city, parking is blah, what do you expect? Can't blame tenants or the city or visitors. it's these landlords with the idea that "people will want to set up shop here with my outdated stores" when there are 100s of other options elsewhere that are actually even busier. There's nothing new/different there that I couldn't get at any other mall. The theaters along the promenade are dated and take up a lot of space. It looks old.

I'll go as far as to say make the whole corridor a "lights and signs" district. Give it a classier Freemont street treatment and watch what happens.

If you look closely at some of the closed storefronts, some are opening something soon. I think in a few months you'll see a better improvement. But the crowds have returned.

It's still recovering from covid. Every city is. Even Miami has tons of empty storefronts, and it was "open".

[craigs]

I think there's more to Westwood Village's "decline" as a hip place to be; it can be attributed to more than just one thing. It was *THE* spot to hang out in/go to on weekends in LA during the 1980s. There were the movie theaters, boutiques, restaurants, bookshops, Tower Records had a location there, it was a total hangout for teens and twenty-somethings, and of course the UCLA campus provided that college student demographic. Ultimately, people in LA are fickle when it comes to places to hang out at---Westwood Village just became "passé." Right around 1989 or 1990, Santa Monica took what had been a run-down pedestrianized 3rd Street from the 1960s, changed the landscaping and paving, and then rebranded it as the "Third Street Promenade." And then from that point on, "The Promenade" or "Third Street" started becoming more of the hangout place, and Westwood crowds started to diminish. Parking was easier at Third Street Promenade too compared to trying to find parking in Westwood, so that contributed to Westwood starting to become less popular. And then the news media played up the killing of Karen Toshima in Westwood, which happened in 1992 or something, who was a 20-something woman out having fun with friends but got caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting. An unfortunate and sad incident for sure. But people generally point to that incident as the "death" of Westwood as a hangout, but I think it had already started to decline before that.

Edit: Hehe reminiscing about the Westwood Village of my teen years during the 1980s, I'm remembering that there was even a nightclub there called Dillon's, and there was even a Bullock's department store. Back in the 80s on Friday nights, they'd even close down some of the streets in the village, and it'd all be people walking everywhere. They even had pedi-cabs.

And they had bookstores. I think these student-oriented businesses started going away when UCLA expanded its Student Union/bookstore. It's like why would a UCLA student living on campus go into Westwood Village when you can just go to the Student Union?

:wiseman:
Like you sopas, I remember how "The Village" used to be in the 1970s & early 1980s (was a UCLA undergrad/grad student from 1972-1981). Incredibly crowded on weekends. Restaurants filled. Bookshops crowded with students. Video arcades in the early 1980s. Crowded movie theaters, where some films premiered. Hamburger Hamlet. Friday and Saturday nights were crazy crowded. A refuge from study.

I didn't spend much time in WV after 1982, but when I was there I did notice a slow decline. The recession of 1980-82 may have been the first hit, when interest rates went to 20% and unemployment to 10%, and students didn't go there as much. Maybe people got tired of the high prices, crowds and parking shortages, and found other places to go on weekends. A bit of revival in the mid 1980s. TV news heavily covered the gangs coming in and the Toshima death. That may have factored in, but you are correct sopas--the slow decline started in the early 1980s, a decade before Toshima died from a stray bullet.

Come to think about it, the decline started about the time I stopped going in '82. I dropped a lot of quarters in video games "Starcastles" and Pacman. Sopas, maybe we passed each other in those crowds back then, at the height of the boom.

I have hope the Village will make a comeback. Every UCLA alum should. I think it will, but the fun vibe of 1972-1981 will probably never exactly return. That was MY Village. Nothing is forever. Calinative
I graduated in 2001, and when I first experienced the Village it was pretty quiet and genteel--someone at school accurately described it as "downtown Bel Air." I remember reading in the Daily Bruin that NIMBY homeowners were constantly fighting against the permitting of anything explicitly student-oriented, including and especially bars, because it might bring a rowdy element into "their" area. Honestly, I went to other parts of town for fun, like West Hollywood and Silver Lake.

Sawtelle itself has evolved over the decades. It used to be a much sleepier, smaller version of Little Tokyo. And there were still some Japanese-American owned nurseries there, like at least 2 or 3 of them, if I remember correctly. But yeah, I like Sawtelle, and I eat there occasionally. Like I said, LA's hangout spots constantly change, and LA people can be fickle about what neighborhood is suddenly in and what neighborhood is suddenly out.

Melrose is another good example of that. It's IN. It's OUT. It's IN again...
I lived in Sawtelle/West LA for my last two years of college. I couldn't really afford sushi much back in those days, so I cannot reminisce about good food, but the area had a distinctively chill vibe. This was before many of the single-family homes originally owned by Japanese families were torn down and replaced with four-story apartment/condo buildings. Cinefile and the Nuart created a total nexus at that time. I got to chat with Margaret Cho about how we both were from San Francisco at the Nuart one night, it was awesome.

[LAsam]

^ You'll be happy to know that The Nuart is continuing to be invested in and is having renovations completed as we speak. Just went to a 4K showing of Lost Highway there a few weeks ago and it was excellent.

[Illithid Dude]

And Cinefile is also alive and well. I am there at least once a week. Sawtelle is once of Los Angeles's great streets, and is continually becoming more vibrant and dense. Hopefully the Sepulveda transit line includes a station near Sawtelle, so the street and surrounding neighborhood can continue it's upwards ascension.

[sopas ej]

I love the Nuart Theatre, glad to know it's still going strong. I haven't been there in quite a number of years now, I must admit. But when I was younger I would go there a lot; in the mid or late 90s, they showed a restored print of "Pink Flamingos" there, and it was the first time I'd ever seen that movie. It was hilarious and of course the gross ending had everyone in the theater laughing and gagging at the same time.

I used to browse the wares at Cinefile, but somewhat oddly I never rented or bought anything there. Glad to know it's still in business too. I was more of a Vidiots in Santa Monica person; the movie is probably more readily available now, but I remember going to Vidiots many years ago to rent a very rare at the time VHS copy of "Mala Noche." And then of course in 2003, Videotheque in South Pasadena opened, and we'll rent the occasional rare or esoteric DVD there. Vidiots closed in Santa Monica some years ago now but I thought they were going to reopen in Eagle Rock. I haven't kept up with that...

[LAisthePlace]

And Cinefile is also alive and well. I am there at least once a week. Sawtelle is once of Los Angeles's great streets, and is continually becoming more vibrant and dense. Hopefully the Sepulveda transit line includes a station near Sawtelle, so the street and surrounding neighborhood can continue it's upwards ascension.

Was there last night (I <3 you Tsujia Annex) and Sawtelle is still an absolute gem for Los Angeles.

On the whole it is a fantastic street, I just wish the new multi-family buildings (especially the ones with the London Subway names that make no sense) had retail to close the gap between CineFile/Nuart and around LaGrange where the heart of Sawtelle really picks up.

And I'm not usually one to support this, but I think a consolidated public garage on the 405 side ala Santa Monica would actually be a good think to limit people scouting for parking on Sawtelle.

Also, I know the owner of CineFile and he is a great guy :]

[LAisthePlace]

The curtain is still up, but the (W)rapper is going to be so freaking cool.

They executed on that wild idea beautifully. Looks like something you'd see in Tokyo.

Can't wait to see how this new mini skyline develops.

https://i.imgur.com/zgU1b2fg.jpg

[colemonkee]

I caught a look at it driving north down the hill along La Cienega, and from that side, it's a much less flattering look. Hard to tell until they unwrap it (pun fully intended), but it appears that most of the non-glass surfaces on the facade are plaster or stucco, even the bands. And even the glazing on the glass looks dated. But that could be film or wrapping as well. Holding out hope, but less and less as time goes by.

[HeySparky]

The Santa Monica community council approved the Ocean Blvd Frank Gehry project, and they even requested less parking spaces than what they intend on building. https://mailchi.mp/smdp.com/the-latest-news-from-the-smdp-for-1388697v2-1391690?fbclid=IwAR3uaCE9SmnyFIML-fqXrNZJQvANBBpQeXr48zq1JSGZWiZXvOXu292sfro

[homebucket]

The Santa Monica community council approved the Ocean Blvd Frank Gehry project, and they even requested less parking spaces than what they intend on building. https://mailchi.mp/smdp.com/the-latest-news-from-the-smdp-for-1388697v2-1391690?fbclid=IwAR3uaCE9SmnyFIML-fqXrNZJQvANBBpQeXr48zq1JSGZWiZXvOXu292sfro

Nice. Less parking is more ideal as well, especially since it's less than a 5 min walk to the Downtown Santa Monica station. 285 parking spaces to 100 apartment units and a 120 room hotel is excessive.

[LAsam]

^ Good to see some common sense prevail in Santa Monica. Great project for that city.

[craigs]

Fewer parking spaces for new developments near transit, like the Gehry project in Santa Monica, will hopefully become a regional trend.

[colemonkee]

That's great news!

[Easy]

Fewer parking spaces for new developments near transit, like the Gehry project in Santa Monica, will hopefully become a regional trend.

Agreed. For clarity's sake, what the councilperson actually proposed was that the minimum parking be considered the maximum. The response was that the final decision will be up to the California Coastal Commission. The CCC are pretty focused on increasing public access to beaches and I would be surprised (pleasantly of course) if they allowed less parking.

[craigs]

Circling back briefly to our prior discussion of Westwood, I noticed today in the LA Times (latimes.com/sports/story/2022-07-18/las-2028-olympics-will-go-from-july-14-to-july-30) article about the dates being set for the 2028 Summer Olympics that the UCLA dorms will house all of the world's athletes. I would imagine that will significantly enliven Westwood Village for the duration of the games!

[a9l8e7n]

First Street Village Burbank
07/22

https://mobile.twitter.com/LA_Construct/status/1550714215706505217
https://www.burbankca.gov/web/community-development/first-street-village

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FYU-XEfUIAAiiM_?format=jpg&name=small

[craigs]

Oops. Sorry!

[Busy Bee]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FYU-XEfUIAAiiM_?format=jpg&name=small


Yikes.

That'll age like the mom jeans redux.

[a9l8e7n]

The Burbank Studios 07/24

https://twitter.com/LA_Construct/status/1551362554680643584

https://la.urbanize.city/post/exterior-finishes-take-shape-gehry-designed-warner-bros-expansion

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FYeL2_5UYAE2B3_?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FYeL2_5VUAASag3?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FYeL2_4UsAAUJC8?format=jpg&name=medium

[craigs]

^Thanks for posting!

I really like the massing on Gehry's new Warner Brothers headquarters. It's interesting, but also understated at the same time.

[IMBY]

The Santa Monica community council approved the Ocean Blvd Frank Gehry project, and they even requested less parking spaces than what they intend on building. https://mailchi.mp/smdp.com/the-latest-news-from-the-smdp-for-1388697v2-1391690?fbclid=IwAR3uaCE9SmnyFIML-fqXrNZJQvANBBpQeXr48zq1JSGZWiZXvOXu292sfro

Wasn't this proposed years ago? And it took them that long to approve it? I thought the original design called for 21 stories!

And? Where are the balconies? Ocean view with no balconies??????????????

I think Frank Gehry should stick to museums. When I look at all the sexy, sensual high rise condo buildings in Miami, wouldn't it be nice to have one sitting on Ocean Boulevard or on Bunker Hill?

[LAisthePlace]

Some (unexciting) news to report on from West LA.

Google, who now has a few thousand employees in Los Angeles, owns a *massive* empty lot (I believe the only one left) in Playa Vista right next to their main office for business/YouTube employees (housing 1.5K+ employees).

I've been eagerly waiting to see what would be proposed for the site given the ambitious new ground up campus in Bayview and the massive mixed use campus/neighborhood planned for San Jose in Northern California.

And the plan (at least for the short term) is.........wait for it...... a surface parking lot for overflow parking with a small amount of employee plaza / courtyard / green space.

:maddown:

Still hopeful that something ambitious will be planned there (or is currently in the works at being planned), but this is truly underwhelming.

[LAsam]

^ Yeah, I saw they were developing that lot. I feared it could be a parking lot... but hoped it would be mixed-use. Likely just a temporary lot until the market will allow for something more, but disappointing nonetheless.

[wisheye]

Some (unexciting) news to report on from West LA.

Google, who now has a few thousand employees in Los Angeles, owns a *massive* empty lot (I believe the only one left) in Playa Vista right next to their main office for business/YouTube employees (housing 1.5K+ employees).

I've been eagerly waiting to see what would be proposed for the site given the ambitious new ground up campus in Bayview and the massive mixed use campus/neighborhood planned for San Jose in Northern California.

And the plan (at least for the short term) is.........wait for it...... a surface parking lot for overflow parking with a small amount of employee plaza / courtyard / green space.

:maddown:

Still hopeful that something ambitious will be planned there (or is currently in the works at being planned), but this is truly underwhelming.

Well they're bringing more than half a million Sq feet online in Westwood (Pico) so can be excused for delaying the PV development a bit.

[a9l8e7n]

Yes, definitely disappointing, but at least it will no longer be a green-taped eye sore, and have a bit of landscaping.

^ Yeah, I saw they were developing that lot. I feared it could be a parking lot... but hoped it would be mixed-use. Likely just a temporary lot until the market will allow for something more, but disappointing nonetheless.

[a9l8e7n]

14130 Riverside Drive in Sherman Oaks, CA at former Sunkist HQ.
7/30/22

https://twitter.com/LA_Construct/status/1553519727946764288

https://la.urbanize.city/post/excavation-completed-citrus-commons-complex-sherman-oaks

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FY81x8gUcAAj1cX?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FY81anNUsAIPwac?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FY81anPVEAAPqmR?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FY815gEUsAEs731?format=jpg&name=medium
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FY82Fb0UsAAxwP3?format=jpg&name=medium

[a9l8e7n]

Via Avanti Complex seems to have broken ground. Looks like they have scrapped the concrete, and are about to start piling. Steel beams seem to be brought in already. https://la.urbanize.city/post/redesign-unveiled-big-sherman-oaks-apartment-complex. Also another complex well underway across the street. 4818 Sepulveda.

https://twitter.com/LA_Construct/status/1555223990641184768

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZVDtHGUsAIC30K?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZVDyIeUsAEoEmp?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZVEBldUUAAPXpu?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZVDj-lVEAEic6P?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZVD4TBUsAAe4kJ?format=jpg&name=medium

[Blesha13]

Seems like they’re installing a crane at the old Temple Hospital site in Rampart Village.

[homebucket]

Nice conversion on the way here in a very prime location.

K-Town's Pierce National Life Building going residential
1960s tower stands across from Wilshire/Western Station
AUGUST 05, 2022, 6:30AMSTEVEN SHARP

The Pierce National Life Building, a well-recognized landmark at one of Koreatown's busiest intersections is being gutted and converted to apartments, according to permit applications now wending their way through the L.A. Department of Building and Safety.

Jamison Services, Inc., owner of the 13-story tower at the northwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue, is seeking approvals to convert the upper floors of the building into 176 apartments, while retaining existing retail space at street level. Plans also call for adding an approximately 7,100 square foot lounge and pool deck at the building's rooftop.

Early work on a retrofit of the 1960's Welton Becket-designed structure has already commenced, according to a tipster.

https://la.urbanize.city/post/k-towns-pierce-national-life-building-going-residential

[homebucket]

Here's how it currently sits:

https://la.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/2018_article_gallery_image_2000w_watermark/public/2022-07/20220615_123059.jpg?itok=Cl0f4KuL

https://la.urbanize.city/post/k-towns-pierce-national-life-building-going-residential

[homebucket]

I'm liking the new renderings here, especially the color palette, and how the project interfaces with the historic art deco parking garage/retail space. If they're already reusing the old garage space, I'm a bit puzzled why they're keeping the surface parking though. Seems like it'd be better served as a public park or open space, or a multipurpose patio for community events. Not a fatal flaw but definitely a missed opportunity there.

New name, new renderings for big apartment complex rising at 8th & Western
Western Station is on track to open in late 2023
AUGUST 03, 2022, 9:30AMSTEVEN SHARP

The Jamison Services development now rising at the intersection of 8th Street and Western Avenue in Koreatown has fresh renderings and a new name, architecture firm KTGY announced this week.

The project, now dubbed "Western Station," is now taking shape on an L-shaped site at the southeast corner of the intersection, wrapping the historic Pellissier Square Garage. The new construction will consist of an eight-story edifice featuring 230 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments atop 13,300 square feet of ground-floor retail space, while the former garage will be retained as mix of retail, residential amenities, and a portion of the 176 parking stalls planned within the project.

...

“KTGY is returning the structure to its original patterned façade that marched up, following the form of the garage ramping,” says Keith McCloskey, an associate principal with the firm. “It will now fold into the new building to create a bold T-formation.”

The new construction also has references to its vintage neighbor, which opened in the 1930s.

“The new building is clad in a smooth, tight, blue-gray that’s compatible with the cooler tones of the nearby, historically connected Wiltern Tower,” said McCloskey. “But it takes on its own new identity by subtly introducing the Wiltern’s patinated green, known locally as Pellissier Green. Although the new building is contemporary in style, the vertical balcony slots with angled planes help to capture surrounding Art Deco history.”

Completion of Western Station is expected in October 2023, according to a landing page on the Jamison website.

https://la.urbanize.city/post/new-name-new-renderings-big-apartment-complex-rising-8th-western

[homebucket]

And the renderings:

https://la.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/2018_article_gallery_image_2000w/public/2022-07/Western%20Station_c7-L2.jpg?itok=M2uxmB8P

https://la.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/2018_article_gallery_image_2000w/public/2022-07/Western%20Station_c3_Extra%20Sky.jpg?itok=xPayjeq5

https://la.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/2018_article_gallery_image_2000w/public/field/image/c2_1.jpg?itok=jRRDjmjo

https://la.urbanize.city/post/new-name-new-renderings-big-apartment-complex-rising-8th-western

[Quixote]

https://la.urbanize.city/post/k-towns-pierce-national-life-building-going-residential

Fantastic news. More housing on top of a subway station and it will clean up the sidewalks that have the stench of urine.

[homebucket]

A little disappointed the facade on the N Spring St side got VE'd, but overall a very, very solid project.

Glass exterior wraps new offices at 843 N Spring in Chinatown
Across the street from Chinatown Station
AUGUST 09, 2022, 8:30AM STEVEN SHARP

Across the street from the Chinatown Metro station, construction is in the home stretch for new office complex from Redcar LTD is starting to take shape.

The project at 843 N. Spring Street, which comes from a project team that also includes LEVER Architecture, Shawmut Construction, and James Corner Field Operations, consists of a five-story building that will feature roughly 122,000 square feet of offices above 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 141 underground parking stalls at completion.

The development, designed by LEVER Architecture, is one of the first ground-up projects in Los Angeles to lean heavily on cross-laminated timber as a building material. Roughly 82,000 square feet of three-ply and five-ply panels form the building's ceilings and floors, integrated into a skeleton of exposed steel columns.

The massing of 843 Spring leaves space for the timber panels to cantilever above balconies overlooking College Street, and blends floor plans into landscaped exterior spaces such as an atrium and a rooftop deck.

https://la.urbanize.city/post/glass-exterior-wraps-new-offices-843-n-spring-chinatown

[homebucket]

The renders:

https://la.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/2018_article_gallery_image_2000w/public/field/image/CT7_02_Corner.jpg?itok=Oc8MfzZ2

The reality:

https://la.urbanize.city/sites/default/files/styles/2018_article_gallery_image_2000w_watermark/public/2022-08/20220713_153350.jpg?itok=CooFD867

https://la.urbanize.city/post/glass-exterior-wraps-new-offices-843-n-spring-chinatown

[citywatch]

sidewalks that have the stench of urine.

I notice I'm now increasingly rating a hood or city based on just how well it maintains the basics...or not. Super talls or great architecture...or a devlpt with the correct amt of parking or not....lose something in translation when they're surrounded by issues such as homeless encampments or bad smells. :cool:

this is the 2nd largest dt in LA county, which I haven't visited in quite awhile. So its newer devlpt has been unnoticed by me. But I like what I'm seeing...I notice one of its newer taller apt bldgs may have architecture that isn't great, but it's no worse than the fake Tuscan bldgs in dtla. :D


ruEeSZ6i3Qk

[a9l8e7n]

Long Beach is definitely getting some good development!

I notice I'm now increasingly rating a hood or city based on just how well it maintains the basics...or not. Super talls or great architecture...or a devlpt with the correct amt of parking or not....lose something in translation when they're surrounded by issues such as homeless encampments or bad smells. :cool:

this is the 2nd largest dt in LA county, which I haven't visited in quite awhile. So its newer devlpt has been unnoticed by me. But I like what I'm seeing...I notice one of its newer taller apt bldgs may have architecture that isn't great, but it's no worse than the fake Tuscan bldgs in dtla. :D


ruEeSZ6i3Qk

[a9l8e7n]

The Broadway Block complex on 3rd and Long Beach Blvd by Omni Group. A 23-story high-rise and a 7-story-podium-type building.

https://twitter.com/LA_Construct/status/1558120313476358144

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZ-OCV_UYAAW2OR?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZ-ODXLVQAMN382?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZ-OEZbUsAIbwZ0?format=jpg&name=medium

[LAsam]

^Interesting. I knew about Shoreline Gateway but wasn't aware of this residential highrise. Not entirely sure I like the seafoam green color scheme as it comes through in the above photos, but maybe it looks better in-person.

[colemonkee]

This is the same cheap, spandrel glass window wall system that we got on the Onni towers at Hope & Flower. It doesn't look good in person either. Really worried we'll get something similar with the tower under construction at Olympic & Hill, as that will be over 700 ft tall and very visible on the skyline. Not that the Hope & Flower towers aren't.

[citywatch]

Long Beach is definitely getting some good development!

I didn't realize that until I saw that & a few other recent vids of LB. There was one from a youtuber...originally from africa or the Caribbean (couldn't identify his accent) who said that dtlb seems cleaner & nicer than dtla. :cool:

There was some snark a few days ago about youtube vids posted in the dtla forum, but vids help a person better know what's going on...they give a bigger picture of what's out there, both locally & nationally, internationally. Even visiting a place directly, when there are a lot of distractions...such as having to worry about parking, a restaurant being closed or transit schedules...isn't as useful as seeing a city or area in a video.

Youtube pages like this have helped me better understand the pieces of the puzzle, but also help in better appreciating the LA area, inc dtlb & the OC, too...

https://www.youtube.com/c/JSOCAL1 (https://www.youtube.com/c/JSOCAL1)


Vids of other aspects of LA, such as of streets & residences in bev hills & west LA, are also why I want the MTA to move faster on improving transit. Of course, dtla & dtlb have long been connected by the blue line, but that has less of an easy or convenient vibe about it than the subway under Wilshire blvd will....or should...have. But transit has to be kept clean & safe.

[a9l8e7n]

On the south west corner of E. Broadway and Long Beach Blvd

https://twitter.com/LA_Construct/status/1559280746086297600

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FaOte8AVUAAEUYd?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FaOtf0uUYAAKjjk?format=jpg&name=medium