LOS ANGELES | Central City Project Rundown 5.0 - Page 296

ChelseaFC · #**5901** Posted **Sep 24, 2014, 9:48 PM**

Looks like a high school.

brudy · #**5902** Posted **Sep 24, 2014, 10:17 PM**

I think One Santa Fe looks better in person than in photos. I'm over this way a few times a week and it looks a lot less Brutalist in real life. It has a much different feel from street level and the southern portion has a lot of open space at street level. It's not one continuous facade the whole way down. It plays well with the Sci-Arc bldg across the street and the rail area behind (although I guess that could be considered a little conceptual). Oddly the spiral parking ramp provides a nice break in the action actually, although covering it in greenery would be a cool idea. Count me as a fan.

Lalaland · #**5903** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 1:05 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bighomey3000

The parking garage is crying out for some vines or hanging rosemary

No, it doesn't. Leave those clean smooth lines alone.

blackcat23 · #**5904** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 2:20 AM**

As someone mentioned on the previous page, lots of activity at the G.H. Palmer Broadway site.

http://buildinglosangeles.blogspot.com/2014/09/lots-of-activity-at-gh-palmers.html

The northern site, which is slated for the 10-story building (see below), is still in use as a parking lot as of this afternoon.

lovemycity21 · #**5905** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 3:15 AM**

South Broadway is going to be THE spot. This is pretty big for Broadway and South Park. I know this is stating the obvious, but we all should be pretty proud that DTLA is becoming whole once again.

alki · #**5906** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 3:27 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle rock

Since I am slightly addicted to this forum and recently moved downtown I thought I would contribute by sharing some photos. They were taken on my IPhone and were shot during the golden hour a la Terrence Malick so please excuse the poor quality.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/128071759@N08/15342873022/in/photostream/

Olympic and Hill. Not bad in my opinion. I like how they break up the massing on this very long building and they materials don't seem too crappy.

It certainly looks better than the rendering. Thanks for the photos.

StethJeff · #**5907** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 6:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovemycity21

South Broadway is going to be THE spot. This is pretty big for Broadway and South Park. I know this is stating the obvious, but we all should be pretty proud that DTLA is becoming whole once again.

It's becoming better but it won't be whole until the 101 is capped.

brudy · #**5908** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 1:48 PM**

Not a fan at all of Olympic and Hill. It's not as bad as AVA, but still chaotic and distracting. I just don't understand this mishmash of materials, cut outs, bump outs, and frames. The color selection is just bizarre. It's all trying way too hard.

Gram3000 · #**5909** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 3:02 PM**

Edit

Gram3000 · #**5910** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 3:12 PM**

LOL it looks like it should've been built back in 1995 However, it's waaay more decent than Ava anyday!. Regarding the Broadway Palmer, I think it would be a major improvement to the overall scale if its facade was broken up like an "E" shape a la Biltmore having 3 or 4 prongs.

Muji · #**5911** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 4:02 PM**

I agree, the Palmer buildings are going to be two block-long monoliths facing Main Street, and not a whole lot better on Broadway. Nelson/Boivin (Palmer's architects of choice) don't seem to realize that the sizes and proportions of their buildings look comically out of scale for the historic styles that they'd like to imitate.

brudy · #**5912** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 5:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gram3000

LOL it looks like it should've been built back in 1995 However, it's waaay more decent than Ava anyday!. Regarding the Broadway Palmer, I think it would be a major improvement to the overall scale if its facade was broken up like an "E" shape a la Biltmore having 3 or 4 prongs.

That would have been a great idea for Fortress Palmer. This thing is going to be hugely monolithic.

Yeah, saying Oly & Hill is better than AVA gives it too much credit. It's less worse.

alki · #**5913** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 6:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muji

I agree, the Palmer buildings are going to be two block-long monoliths facing Main Street, and not a whole lot better on Broadway. Nelson/Boivin (Palmer's architects of choice) don't seem to realize that the sizes and proportions of their buildings look comically out of scale for the historic styles that they'd like to imitate.

He seems to want historical authenticity but then screws it up with the massing.

LosAngelesSportsFan · #**5914** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 6:19 PM**

its like he threw us a bone... i wont make this look horrible, yet i wont make it look great even though it would be pretty easy to do.

Mojeda101 · #**5915** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 6:30 PM**

Only thing that's pissing me off is that its 10 stories. If you're going to build above the 6 story threshold he should've gone for like 12-14 to match the height of Orpheum or Ace. But Palmer is cheap. He only went 10 stories because he had to. Even Barry Shy envisioned a taller building on Broadway! I hate Palmer. Oi.

DistrictDirt · #**5916** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 7:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

its like he threw us a bone... i wont make this look horrible, yet i wont make it look great even though it would be pretty easy to do.

I don't even see it as throwing a bone. He complied with the Broadway Design Guidelines because he had to. If they were not in place he'd be breaking ground on another faux-talian fortress.

brudy · #**5917** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 8:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

I don't even see it as throwing a bone. He complied with the Broadway Design Guidelines because he had to. If they were not in place he'd be breaking ground on another faux-talian fortress.

Exactly. As odious as this one is, it would have been even worse if it weren't for the guidelines. And these should really apply for all of the core and most of the rest of downtown. I'll renew my calls for a design review board.

Monstrosities like this are going to kill this block (especially on the main st side). It's awful visually, it will also be awful for retail since it's been documented that Palmer doesn't give a crap about street activation.

LosAngelesSportsFan · #**5918** Posted **Sep 25, 2014, 8:55 PM**

Just walked by the Broadway trade center on the 8th street side and several of the stores are closing and in the process of moving. Looks like work might get started on this project in the near future!

alki · #**5919** Posted **Sep 26, 2014, 2:07 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DistrictDirt

I don't even see it as throwing a bone. He complied with the Broadway Design Guidelines because he had to. If they were not in place he'd be breaking ground on another faux-talian fortress.

Oh I think he likes replicating historic bldgs but he's also into maximizing profits. If that bldg had been built in the early part of the 20th century, the developer would have broken it up with one if not two courtyards off of Broadway. However, courtyards mean lost income so Palmer nixed the courtyards. And unfortunately, he still meets the Broadway guidelines.

citywatch · #**5920** Posted **Sep 26, 2014, 2:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by brudy

I'll renew my calls for a design review board.

I'm more skeptical than ever before about the value of that, if only since the tastes & preferences of ppl vary so widely &, as the sayings goes, beauty is altogether in the eye of the beholder. I think dtla is still at such a formative stage of improvement that nitpicking over the architectural finer points of the palmer apt bldgs on broadway, as one example.....even more so since that overall section of dt remains a sea of awful parking lots & desolate old warehouse type of bldgs.....really does fly over the heads of most ppl.

as another example, the following person apparently lives in dt as you do. But if I'm not mistaken you....or at least what some other ssper wrote several posts prior to this one.....are one of those who think that installing children oriented features into a park in dtla is wrong. This gentleman thinks otherwise & I'm assuming is happy that a kids area is going to be installed in PS in the next several months.

• Video Link

^ he may not realize that some larger trees were torn down recently in pershing sq not due to city officials opposing the park having too much shade but for technical reasons. I understand the roots of the trees were starting to invade the concrete base under pershing Sq & therefore had to be removed. Which is a shame & one reason why PS became more of an overly sun stroked public square after the underground parking garage was installed. iow, it's harder to have lush landscaping on top of what's really a gigantic planter box.

one of ssps regulars or former regulars, originally losangelesbeautiful & now known by his actual name, brigham yen, was interviewed in this vid about the grand central mkt.

• Video Link