West by MidWest

[OakAngeles]

July has been quite the jetset month for me, with a chance to revisit some old haunts & check off some new bucket list locations as well. Hope you all enjoy this brief travelogue.
And as always, check out my other city threads at https://www.flickr.com/photos/196461637@N07/albums/

While visiting family in Long Beach, I got the opportunity to revisit my first city love, Downtown LA.
A lot has happened since the last time I stepped foot in DTLA so it was a nice chance to see things in person.


After years of delays and closures I was finally able to ride the beautiful Angel's Flight




The always classic Bradbury Building


The gem of a building that is now the Hotel Per La.
Back when I lived Downtown in 2009 ish, I remember seeing this beautiful building boarded up & empty, so it was great to see it refurbished & full of life





Oceanwide Plaza with graffitti scraping the sky



Frank Gehry's The Grand


LAX bound





Made a quick pitstop back home in Portland before jumping back on a plane 2 days later >>>


A quick layover at Midway offered some incredible views of Chicago




On the approach to Detroit








A building I've been obsessed with for years - The Book Tower.
It was awe inspiring to finally see it in person, and to see the final product of its recent renovation.






Sometimes a bartop view is worth 1000 words >>>


The stunning Guardian Building




And finally the crown gem of the trip - Brush Park.
I remember being obsessed with images of this neighborhood when I was younger, specifically the pictures of decaying mansions set in front of the gleaming glass of the Renaissance Center in the distance.
The Brush Park of today presented a much different experience, however, as the grand mansions of the past were carefully restored & there was new development going up on almost every block we walked passed.

[MayDay]

Nice pics - good reminder I need to get back to each of those cities sometime in the near future. One small thing, I think the Detroit building you mentioned is the Guardian Building. Regardless, thanks for sharing!

[Murphy de la Sucre]

yes detroit's bartop view is definitely worth 1000 words.

for downtown detroit, i hope, i persnally hope, to restore and revovate the historic buidlings, instead of newly building new towers. is there any chance to estab an area for another new cbd?

i been to windsor,on and observed towards detroit, and there are many good lands along the river for a brand new cbd cluster

knowing that i am naive, just saying. but historic downdown detroit is a treasure, worth protekted

[Driver8]

Fun tour. Those Detroit mansions are impressive.

[subterranean]

I just got back from Detroit and honestly I miss Michigan so much. I'd move back but my wife will never leave Portland. I'll try to post a few photos from my trip, but I didn't get as many as you.

[OakAngeles]

Originally Posted by MayDay

Nice pics - good reminder I need to get back to each of those cities sometime in the near future. One small thing, I think the Detroit building you mentioned is the Guardian Building. Regardless, thanks for sharing!

Good catch! I corrected the heading I got so caught up nerding out about Detroit buildings I forgot which one was which haha

[OakAngeles]

Originally Posted by subterranean

I just got back from Detroit and honestly I miss Michigan so much. I'd move back but my wife will never leave Portland. I'll try to post a few photos from my trip, but I didn't get as many as you.

I'll keep my eyes out for those pics! And I was really impressed by Michigan. It was my first time there but both Detroit and the smaller towns around it were full of amazing architecture and had a lot of character. Definitely left a good first impresion

[downtownpdx]

Awesome thread. Great to see Detroit making lots of progress these days in restoring its downtown. So many gorgeous buildings.

[DetroitSky]

Glad you enjoyed your time in Detroit!