Quote:
Originally Posted by citywatch
I think that pretty much sums it up.
I notice some ppl instead claim the biggest problem is due to a lack of transit, or not enough parks, or that things like the getty museum or the grove shopping ctr are a certain way. Or that apt towers have parking podiums, or that bldgs aren't oriented to the sidewalks, or our bldgs are too short. Or that ppl in LA like cars instead of trains, or they don't like to walk, or they're too plastic & into hollywood flash.
I think all of that pales next to problems like this....
kingofthehill
^ I think that's disgusting....it makes me  ... The owner can't even do something as simple as removing the lettering on the bldg's marquee, much less doing far bigger improvements. And the shopkeepers who rent from the slumlord are no better, & their customers who tolerate such  are just as bad too.
when too many ppl & the places they own are merely variations of the type who controls the roxie theater, then it's silly to over analyze the problem with LA or make it sound like it's more complicated than it really is. |
It was what was both annoying and exciting for someone like me living in LA. Most cities in this country......at least the more dynamic ones...........have saved most of their good historic bldgs and turned them into important contributors to the urban fabric. In LA, that process is way behind which was good for me because that's what I liked doing......turning ignored and deteriorated bldgs with good bones into viable bldgs again.
But I never understood why so many bldgs like the one above were allowed to deteriorate. McArthur Park, a district with great historic bldgs and a beautiful park, should be an incredible DT adjacent neighorhood where people who work DT live. Instead, landlords are allowed to rent 10 undocumented workers to a 1 bd apt, doing minimal upkeep and accelerating the deterioration of these bldgs. Other cities would kill for a neighborhood like McArthur Park while LA ignores it. Why?! The answer is a complex one........but I think you are capturing the jist of it. Throw in some corruption and LA's strange politics and I think you get the answer in totality.