LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[caligrad]

^^^ That was my beef with downtown a few weeks back when I posted it on here. Broadway is getting active but the sidewalks are horrible. Literally had to save my friend a few times because her heels kept getting stuck in the cracks. To the point where she decided to go back to our friends place to change shoes. I also think the city needs to close off broadway to car traffic and put an old school red car system in the center but thats just me.

[StethJeff]

Comparing LA to SF or SD when it comes to the pedestrian experience is silly. We all know LA is way behind and has decades of work to go to even be in the conversation. Urbanity is probably our biggest weakness. But at least it's improving.

[LDVArch]

Originally Posted by Mojeda101

LA REALLY needs to invest in sidewalk maintenance. They're so dirty compared to the other cities.

San Francisco has that problem too.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Diseased-Streets-472430013.html

[scania]

Originally Posted by StethJeff

Comparing LA to SF or SD when it comes to the pedestrian experience is silly. We all know LA is way behind and has decades of work to go to even be in the conversation. Urbanity is probably our biggest weakness. But at least it's improving.

Pedestrian experience we have now in DTLA isn’t bad. Is it San Fran? No. But not too many cities are that much better. Especially at night! When you go to these other cities, they have some streeets that are really nice...but don’t get it twisted. One of my favorite hotels in San Fran is Hotel Zetta, and yes it’s cool, it’s urban, but the quality of sidewalks, trash on the street, is nothing to rave about. Of course we have work to do, but hell what city doesn’t. San Diego, give me a break. They have the Gas Lamp District, but besides that, it’s not much else. The only people outside of San Diego that get lit over the Gas Lamp District as far as nightlife are the people from OC. Anybody from a major city was simply say...it’s cute.

[Blesha13]

Originally Posted by caligrad

https://urbanize.la/post/city-centurys-olympia-development-takes-step-forward

Looks like City Centurys 3 tower Olympia project is still moving forward, now with complettion anticipated for 2023

One of the projects I'm really looking forward to besides 333 S Figueroa. Will make an impact on the skyline from the West.

[Will O' Wisp]

Originally Posted by scania

Pedestrian experience we have now in DTLA isn’t bad. Is it San Fran? No. But not too many cities are that much better. Especially at night! When you go to these other cities, they have some streeets that are really nice...but don’t get it twisted. One of my favorite hotels in San Fran is Hotel Zetta, and yes it’s cool, it’s urban, but the quality of sidewalks, trash on the street, is nothing to rave about. Of course we have work to do, but hell what city doesn’t. San Diego, give me a break. They have the Gas Lamp District, but besides that, it’s not much else. The only people outside of San Diego that get lit over the Gas Lamp District as far as nightlife are the people from OC. Anybody from a major city was simply say...it’s cute.

Downtown SD has a lot of great tourist attractions, and the gaslamp is more of an extension of them than anything else. People who actually live in the city tend more towards North Park or Pacific Beach for their nightlife.

With DTLA I've always been struck by the disjointedness, it feels like there is no hub or bearing. When you're in the 'culture districts' of SF/SD there's a feeling of being drawn from place to place, a constant tug to see the bar or shop or restaurant next door, and then the next and the next. In DTLA those attractions feel much more spread out, tucked away behind office buildings, fast-ish food joints, and other overgrowth from the countless massive corporations that call downtown home. The only place it really feels like it comes together is little tokyo, which is even more tourist oriented than the gaslamp (and smaller to boot).

[scania]

Originally Posted by Will O' Wisp

Downtown SD has a lot of great tourist attractions, and the gaslamp is more of an extension of them than anything else. People who actually live in the city tend more towards North Park or Pacific Beach for their nightlife.

With DTLA I've always been struck by the disjointedness, it feels like there is no hub or bearing. When you're in the 'culture districts' of SF/SD there's a feeling of being drawn from place to place, a constant tug to see the bar or shop or restaurant next door, and then the next and the next. In DTLA those attractions feel much more spread out, tucked away behind office buildings, fast-ish food joints, and other overgrowth from the countless massive corporations that call downtown home. The only place it really feels like it comes together is little tokyo, which is even more tourist oriented than the gaslamp (and smaller to boot).

No buddy...let’s say you’re on 7th St, there’s nothing tucked away, 6th St, Spring St, etc. Now do we have restaurants, lounges and clubs tucked away down in an alley, like The Edison for example? Yes, but some of NYC, and San Fran’s best notable spots are tucked away too.

[LDVArch]

Originally Posted by ocman

Corporations often do, but I'm taking about the parochialism among residents, who often claim LA by country limits vs city limits when convenient to boost LA's rankings. Such as arguing LA has 23 Fortune 500 companies vs 4, foodies arguing LA has the greatest ethnic food scene in the nation by including the Chinese food scene in the 626, or using the Norton Simon and Huntington to show the riches of the LA cultural institutions. Even Garcetti was the public voice of the NFL coming to Carson. In other words, Angelenos use the county's successes as their own. So if a guy from Carson claims to be from LA, it's fair play.

What is wrong with using the Simon and Huntington to demonstrate the cultural riches of the LA area?

The Getty considers them part of the Greater LA Museum. It adds new objects to its collection with an eye to what objects are already in the collections of the Huntington and Simon. The Simon and Getty have jointly purchased one or two paintings.

Through its Pacific Standard Time (PST) series, the Getty funds exhibitions or programs in San Diego and Torrance. One of the Getty's objectives with the PST series was to raise awareness of what the Getty calls the Greater LA Museum.

It is working. One of the objectives behind OCMA's relocation was to raise the profile of its collection and exhibition program within the Greater LA Museum.

By comparison, consider the fact that the New York Times considers the Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) to be part of the Greater New York Museum. The YUAG is about 1:30 minutes by train from GCS.

[Quixote]

What’s with the recent city vs. city discussions? First the nonsense about skyline size (how old are we?) and now this. Colemonkee, where you at?

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by scania

Pedestrian experience we have now in DTLA isn’t bad. Is it San Fran? No. But not too many cities are that much better. Especially at night! When you go to these other cities, they have some streeets that are really nice...but don’t get it twisted. One of my favorite hotels in San Fran is Hotel Zetta, and yes it’s cool, it’s urban, but the quality of sidewalks, trash on the street, is nothing to rave about. Of course we have work to do, but hell what city doesn’t. San Diego, give me a break. They have the Gas Lamp District, but besides that, it’s not much else. The only people outside of San Diego that get lit over the Gas Lamp District as far as nightlife are the people from OC. Anybody from a major city was simply say...it’s cute.

LA, SF , SD, Portland and Seattle are all bad in terms of street cleanliness and homeless camping on the sidewalks. We have to solve the homeless crisis with more shelter beds and places for homeless people with cars and vans to park overnight instead of in front of your house or apartment. It is very 3rd world now, but at least people are talking about making things better, but NIMBYs usually prevent homeless shelters in their neighborhoods. In LA the city owns 100s of vacant lots and some of those can be used as places for shelters and tent campgrounds and other services. It is a real crisis, driven in part by soaring rents and the tearing down of affordable rooming houses. These people cannot afford to pay $2000 for a tiny apt. Eventually homelessness will impact the desirability of people living in the area. How can you enjoy a condo in SF or LA when there are people living in filth below you? It is like living in Calcutta.

[Will O' Wisp]

Originally Posted by scania

No buddy...let’s say you’re on 7th St, there’s nothing tucked away, 6th St, Spring St, etc. Now do we have restaurants, lounges and clubs tucked away down in an alley, like The Edison for example? Yes, but some of NYC, and San Fran’s best notable spots are tucked away too.

I know the area you're talking about well, I had many fun hours partying on the rooftop of the standard or cozied up in the seven grand back when I lived in the city. Perhaps "tucked away" isn't the right phrase, but rather isolated. Each of the bars/clubs in DTLA are individually quite excellent, but there's usually only 1-2 per block and they're often on facing different streets. If a place isn't hitting your vibe that night, or you're just looking to discover, when you step outside a venue there isn't likely to be another in your direct sightline. After 4 or 5 drinks you'll often struggle to remember where that one really cool place is, you know, the one sandwiched in-between the office building entrance and the quick service Mexican place, and then after wandering the brownstones for a while you just say screw it and end up calling an uber.

I could never really get a good pub crawl going in DTLA, not like I could in ktown or on sunset blvd. It always felt like a place for office workers and trendy fashionistas, who have more of a tenancy to plop down in one place for the entire night. But that's just my impression.

[scania]

Originally Posted by Will O' Wisp

I know the area you're talking about well, I had many fun hours partying on the rooftop of the standard or cozied up in the seven grand back when I lived in the city. Perhaps "tucked away" isn't the right phrase, but rather isolated. Each of the bars/clubs in DTLA are individually quite excellent, but there's usually only 1-2 per block and they're often on facing different streets. If a place isn't hitting your vibe that night, or you're just looking to discover, when you step outside a venue there isn't likely to be another in your direct sightline. After 4 or 5 drinks you'll often struggle to remember where that one really cool place is, you know, the one sandwiched in-between the office building entrance and the quick service Mexican place, and then after wandering the brownstones for a while you just say screw it and end up calling an uber.

I could never really get a good pub crawl going in DTLA, not like I could in ktown or on sunset blvd. It always felt like a place for office workers and trendy fashionistas, who have more of a tenancy to plop down in one place for the entire night. But that's just my impression.

I don’t entirely disagree...but so much has changed within just the past 2 years. I would ask have you been within the past year or so.

[Will O' Wisp]

Originally Posted by scania

I don’t entirely disagree...but so much has changed within just the past 2 years. I would ask have you been within the past year or so.

Ah, well then the answer would be no. I've been to DTLA recently but haven't been involved with the nightlife very much for about 2-3 years. If that's true I'm glad to hear it, although the basic orientation of downtown feels like it would limit what you could accomplish. Certainly doesn't look like there's been a visible increase in ground floor retail/commercial, what's changed/improved?

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by scania

They have the Gas Lamp District, but besides that, it’s not much else. The only people outside of San Diego that get lit over the Gas Lamp District as far as nightlife are the people from OC. Anybody from a major city was simply say...it’s cute.

of the three major cities in CA, san diego had a more revitalized center before LA did. even today, tourists or travelers often rate dtsd as being right behind what has long been said about SF. part of that is due to those two centers being near the water. In that regard, dtla obviously will always have to march to its own beat.

But another difference is also because other cities, inc SF & SD, have enjoyed a faster pace in cleaning up & filling in their urban cores. All the best cities out there have had fewer gaps compared with what has long been true of dtla.

what's happening in dtla right now is leading to a center that's a first in the history of LA. Even back when more ppl went to dt to shop & do other things, it wasn't a fully fleshed out urban setting. Ppl of some success & means in LA didn't want to live in dt. They started to abandon bunker hill over 90 yrs ago. Some of dt's visibility in the past was also due to there being less competition from the burbs.

however, dt san diego is more cutesy, less gritty & authentic....which better fits some ppl's idea of what makes for a good or bad urban experience. dtsd is more like a santa monica, which a lot of ppl prefer to urban grit. But dtla has more of a big city seriousness about it. It's more interesting, it has more layers.




• Video Link

[saybanana]

I found this video on youtube. Driving Downtowns across the world. This video posted last week drives around Downtown LA for nearly 90 minutes. Starts near USC on Figueroa showing the My Figueroa street improvements. Shows a lot of the current construction projects as it passes by.
J Utah's Youtube site https://youtu.be/Cw0d-nqSNE8

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cw0d-nqSNE8" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[ocman]

Originally Posted by LDVArch

What is wrong with using the Simon and Huntington to demonstrate the cultural riches of the LA area?

The Getty considers them part of the Greater LA Museum. It adds new objects to its collection with an eye to what objects are already in the collections of the Huntington and Simon. The Simon and Getty have jointly purchased one or two paintings.

There isn’t anything wrong with it. That’s what I’m saying. LA residents SHOULD feel a sense of belonging to the wider areas cultural institutions, just as residents in other cities all over LA county should feel a sense that this is there's when they visit institutions in the city limits. LA identity is more as a county with arbirary boundaries than as a city.

[Will O' Wisp]

Originally Posted by citywatch

of the three major cities in CA, san diego had a more revitalized center before LA did. even today, tourists or travelers often rate dtsd as being right behind what has long been said about SF. part of that is due to those two centers being near the water. In that regard, dtla obviously will always have to march to its own beat.

But another difference is also because other cities, inc SF & SD, have enjoyed a faster pace in cleaning up & filling in their urban cores. All the best cities out there have had fewer gaps compared with what has long been true of dtla.

what's happening in dtla right now is leading to a center that's a first in the history of LA. Even back when more ppl went to dt to shop & do other things, it wasn't a fully fleshed out urban setting. Ppl of some success & means in LA didn't want to live in dt. They started to abandon bunker hill over 90 yrs ago. Some of dt's visibility in the past was also due to there being less competition from the burbs.

however, dt san diego is more cutesy, less gritty & authentic....which better fits some ppl's idea of what makes for a good or bad urban experience. dtsd is more like a santa monica, which a lot of ppl prefer to urban grit. But dtla has more of a big city seriousness about it. It's more interesting, it has more layers.

It's worth noting that modern downtown SD did not evolve in a natural/organic fashion. Since the late 1970s the downtown area has been heavily planned and engineered to become the cultural center it is today, so if it feels less authentic that's because it is. It was declared all the bars shall be on 5th Ave, all the offices shall be on C St, and never shall the two meet (this is an exaggeration, but not by much). DTLA by contrast had a bit more laissez-faire approach, and so when the market demanded more office space and almost nothing else there wasn't anyone around to tell it differently. Bars and restaurants have had to filter into the cracks where they could, and you couldn't tuck away the grit somewhere where it wouldn't be noticed (like SD did with East Village). That's the harshness of reality, I suppose.

[ozone]

^^^ yeah because there was nothing engineered about Bunker Hill and the Civic Center.

[dktshb]

Originally Posted by citywatch

of the three major cities in CA, san diego had a more revitalized center before LA did. even today, tourists or travelers often rate dtsd as being right behind what has long been said about SF. part of that is due to those two centers being near the water. In that regard, dtla obviously will always have to march to its own beat.

But another difference is also because other cities, inc SF & SD, have enjoyed a faster pace in cleaning up & filling in their urban cores. All the best cities out there have had fewer gaps compared with what has long been true of dtla.

what's happening in dtla right now is leading to a center that's a first in the history of LA. Even back when more ppl went to dt to shop & do other things, it wasn't a fully fleshed out urban setting. Ppl of some success & means in LA didn't want to live in dt. They started to abandon bunker hill over 90 yrs ago. Some of dt's visibility in the past was also due to there being less competition from the burbs.

however, dt san diego is more cutesy, less gritty & authentic....which better fits some ppl's idea of what makes for a good or bad urban experience. dtsd is more like a santa monica, which a lot of ppl prefer to urban grit. But dtla has more of a big city seriousness about it. It's more interesting, it has more layers.




• Video Link

I am not sure what you're talking about. Downtown had twice the population in 1920 as it has now and was urban. I do believe it will surpass what it was and probably within the next 10 years but this is a rebirth or second birth for Downtown LA not the "first in history" for LA.

[scania]

Originally Posted by dktshb

I am not sure what you're talking about. Downtown had twice the population in 1920 as it has now and was urban. I do believe it will surpass what it was and probably within the next 10 years but this is a rebirth or second birth for Downtown LA not the "first in history" for LA.

That’s not what I’ve read about the population.