but didn't you say last yr that after visiting bunker hill you were letdown cuz the design or layout of its newer devlpt wasn't urban or ppl friendly enough, or something like that? I'm not trying to be argumentative for the sake of being argumentative, but some ppl could say your criticism also was a form of being very pessimistic.
btw, when I've been around bunker hill & noticed few ppl on its sidewalks or plazas, it does have a disappointing ghost town feeling about it. but I'd say that's a problem due just as much to the history of the hood than due to the design of its newer devlpt. iow, too little new construction, resulting in too few ppl----in condos, apts, hotels & offices----going back too many yrs.
I recall also being somewhat annoyed at your focal point, not necessarily cuz it was incorrect, but cuz you at the same time didn't get

about all the horrible deadzone parking lots throughout bunker hill. I think a lack of very thorough criticisms of the gaps & fugliness of the hood going back to the beginning of time have oddly enough made it easier for ppl to lose sight of just how inexcusably bad things have been for over 50 or maybe even 90 yrs.
which brings us to broadway: I don't recall hearing anyone say just how embarrassingly bad that street was & is, so I actually was lulled into a sense that it wasn't as pathetic as it really is. if anything, I recall some ppl saying the street was "authentic" or "real"----that it was humble & humane----or something like that, & how elitist it was for anyone to slam it.
in the meantime, SF has a glistening big new dept store....
www.dipity.com
while nyc has long been home to a very established big old dept store....
glassdoor.com
or an even larger, somewhat less $$ type of store....
^ when I see things like that, I become even more disgusted & impatient about things like this.....
maps.google.com
believe me, I hope you & districtdirt are correct. In fact, I hope westsidelife loses his bet

. but if you read all the comments I posted yesterday from the many ppl who've visited the ONLY dept store in all of dtla, then you'll realize there is a major problem with the area's economy. I can almost guarantee you that if there had been yrs & yrs of lots of money to be made by macys, their store at 7th & hope wouldn't be such a

. And 7th & hope isn't off the beaten path as broadway still is. Macy's plaza is closer to more of the ppl with $$, esp those who work in the financial district or stay at some of the better hotels.
so if macys struggles to do well at 7th, flower & hope sts, how will a large new dept store do well at 8th & broadway? I think it will be tough even for a kohls or sears to survive there, much less a kmart (ugh) or a supersized 99 cents store

. But I'll be very happy if I'm wrong.
let me end on a positive note: I also still say that dt today is in better shape than it has been in over 30 yrs, or in other ways, in over 50 yrs, or in a certain way, since when horses or model Ts were running through the streets of LA. so just cuz it's not realistic to expect a big $$ dept store to be moving into the hood anytime soon, that doesn't mean there aren't alot of other positive things now taking place or soon to take place.