LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[kelbeen]

Thought to share a nice view of our skyline on Halloween weekend with Brookfield and Mitsui Fudosan's 8th and Fig just about to fill in some gaps and the Fig+Pico almost topping out.
Los Angeles Skyline October 2021 - EXPLORED (10-31-2021) by Kelvin Cheng, on Flickr

[WonderlandPark2]

Just curious, wasn't the purpose of putting together all of the projects (on the previous page) to start a fresh new DTLA construction page 7.0?
(and thanks for doing that work, too)

[LAsam]

^Awesome shot, Kelbeen! At least the Oceanwide towers are substantially complete on the outside... would be worse if they were concrete and steel husks.

[LAisthePlace]

Originally Posted by kelbeen

Thought to share a nice view of our skyline on Halloween weekend with Brookfield and Mitsui Fudosan's 8th and Fig just about to fill in some gaps and the Fig+Pico almost topping out.
Los Angeles Skyline October 2021 - EXPLORED (10-31-2021) by Kelvin Cheng, on Flickr

I can see my apartment

Awesome shot and the skyline is looking great. The one project I'd really love to see break ground to fill the remaining gap is Olympia.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by dax_gray

My friends, who were familiar with Gehry but never seen The Grand, went to Disney Hall and I showed them The Grand and they remarked about how generic mall looking it was. When I told them it was Gehry, they were shocked and couldn't believe it.

If they've really tracked Gehry's design themes through the yrs, they'd know that Grand riffs on pretty much all the basic angles that gehry is known for....now maybe they can say it looks like a format that culturally appropriates from gehry. But to say they're surprised it's a gehry indicates they really don't follow his work that closely.

Ppl who focus so much on a new proj's height, size, design often seem less aware of the human element....as far as I'm concerned, dtla's main sticking point isn't better architecture or certainly a lack of enough tall bldgs....it's mainly not enough ppl out & about, too many desolate parking lots, smaller old decrepit bldgs & homeless ppl.

meanwhile, ppl like this are the heart & soul of dt.....


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this is admittedly one of the parts of dt that's full of old, originally rundown warehouse type bldgs....but some life has risen in it over the past 10 yrs....but the ppl factor in this vid still shows sparser numbers of ppl out & about compared with what you'd see in samo, ot pasadena, the beach cities or the trendy districts of the east coast or asia or europe. But a good ppl factor makes up for a lot of sins, including weak design, parking lot podiums, lack of ground level stores, too many parking lots, sketchy bldgs, cheap materials, short bldgs instead of super talls...


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[craigs]

Sweet skyline shot, kelbeen. Thanks for sharing.

[38 Geary]

Originally Posted by kelbeen

Thought to share a nice view of our skyline on Halloween weekend with Brookfield and Mitsui Fudosan's 8th and Fig just about to fill in some gaps and the Fig+Pico almost topping out.
Los Angeles Skyline October 2021 - EXPLORED (10-31-2021) by Kelvin Cheng, on Flickr

Beautiful. The quintessential LA skyline shot with the palm trees framing the skyline.

[LDVArch]

Originally Posted by citywatch

If they've really tracked Gehry's design themes through the yrs, they'd know that Grand riffs on pretty much all the basic angles that gehry is known for....now maybe they can say it looks like a format that culturally appropriates from gehry. But to say they're surprised it's a gehry indicates they really don't follow his work that closely.

Agreed... It does show how little his friends know about Gehry's work.

The design of the Grand hearkens back to the original design of Walt Disney Hall.

There is a picture of it here:
https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/rite-of-spr...rt-hall-of-the-los-angeles-philharmonic/

[dax_gray]

Originally Posted by LDVArch

Agreed... It does show how little his friends know about Gehry's work.

Just gonna jump back on and respond to this. If you like the building, that's totally fine, but perhaps talk about what you like about it instead of commenting on other people because they don't agree with you. What my friends said was a first reaction to the building and its mall-like base which is akin to something you would find at Citadel (likely due to the color, I didn't really press hard on it). I don't think that's unfair for them to have said that seeing as how people are split on the final outcome. I would love to keep this a discussion on the building itself and hear your thoughts on what works for you, instead of focusing on why my friends aren't true Gehry critics. In the end, we're all just here to have a good discussion.

[scania]

Originally Posted by dax_gray

Just gonna jump back on and respond to this. If you like the building, that's totally fine, but perhaps talk about what you like about it instead of commenting on other people because they don't agree with you. What my friends said was a first reaction to the building and its mall-like base which is akin to something you would find at Citadel (likely due to the color, I didn't really press hard on it). I don't think that's unfair for them to have said that seeing as how people are split on the final outcome. I would love to keep this a discussion on the building itself and hear your thoughts on what works for you, instead of focusing on why my friends aren't true Gehry critics. In the end, we're all just here to have a good discussion.

LOL. So the color makes it look like a mall. I don’t know of a mall that has a similar design. Not as you would say the base. Just my opinion.

[citywatch]

What puzzled me are ppl being surprised the proj was designed by Gehry, not that they did or didn't like it. however, maybe if they saw only a small part of it as they drove by 30-40 mph in a car, their reaction would be less surprising.

I'm curious what the finished grand ave product will be like....wish the oceanwide proj would be finished too. My major concern is whether the economy will support all the retail in both the grand & oceanwide projs. I don't want to see the problems of the shopping gallery in the bonaventure hotel....built in 1977....repeated in other parts of dtla.

Also anxious to see what this proj will be like once completed...


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[CaliNative]

Is the rotating beacon on top of City Hall still there and operable? Is it ever turned on? If not, why not? Aviation rules? When I was in Paris I was struck by the beauty of the rotating beacon atop the Eiffel Tower. Would like to see this in L.A. from time to time on special days at least, and of course during the Olympics. Even cooler would be a torch atop City Hall during the Olympics with the Olympic flame. I'm sure it could be done safely, and would be visible for many miles. Why just one flame at the stadium?

[edale]

Snapped this pic of the back side of the Grand Ave project. This (the Olive Street) side of the base is really cheap looking. That huge blank wall, total lack of interaction with the street, fortress effect...not good. I don't mind the Grand Ave side of it, though I agree with others here who say the base materials are lacking.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

Is the rotating beacon on top of City Hall still there and operable? Is it ever turned on? If not, why not? Aviation rules? When I was in Paris I was struck by the beauty of the rotating beacon atop the Eiffel Tower. Would like to see this in L.A. from time to time on special days at least, and of course during the Olympics. Even cooler would be a torch atop City Hall during the Olympics with the Olympic flame. I'm sure it could be done safely, and would be visible for many miles. Why just one flame at the stadium?

It was restored and reinstalled in 2001, and for a number of years, it would be on during the holiday season. They haven't turned it on for quite a number of years now, and I don't know why.

[Niftybox]

Originally Posted by edale

Snapped this pic of the back side of the Grand Ave project. This (the Olive Street) side of the base is really cheap looking. That huge blank wall, total lack of interaction with the street, fortress effect...not good. I don't mind the Grand Ave side of it, though I agree with others here who say the base materials are lacking.

I agree, they have to dress that up, it's unacceptable as it is

[colemonkee]

^ I bet that's where the movie theater is planned. Billboards and/or vines can fix that.

[LAisthePlace]

Significant progress on the Brookfield Tower over the last few weeks! AFAIK it should top out around the 2nd set back on Cesar Pelli's 777 Tower.

[colemonkee]

And the Mitsui-Fudowan tower should rise to just above the first setback on 777 Fig in that shot. Great vantage point!

[CaliNative]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

It was restored and reinstalled in 2001, and for a number of years, it would be on during the holiday season. They haven't turned it on for quite a number of years now, and I don't know why.

Could it be the FAA had objections to the beacon, or did occupants of nearby building? I don't know why they would. City Hall at 454' is still the tallest building in a radius of maybe half a mile, and the beacon was probably pointed up at a 45 degree angle so it didn't shine in windows of other high rises. Nearest much taller buildings above 700' are BA, Wells Fargo and CA Plaza on Bunker Hill, and they are office buildings that are mostly vacant at night when the beacon would be on. Gehry Grand center is barely 50 feet taller, so I doubt a rotating beacon would be a problem for residents. The Times Mirror project across the street won't be completed for a few years, if they build it. Plus it is a beacon named after an aviator, so why would it be a problem for air traffic? Lindbergh used the Eiffel Tower beacon as a navigation guide into Paris in 1927.

How did it look when they had the City Hall beacon on? Did they use one color, or did the colors change? Got to have it on during the Olympics! The rotating beacon on the Eiffel Tower is really impressive. Maybe if enough people call City Hall to request it, they will turn it on again, at least on holidays and special events like the Olympics. If City Hall won't turn the rotating beacon on, maybe supertalls Wilshire Grand or U.S. Bank could install one. But I think the seat of city government, City Hall, would still be the best location even though the beacon might be partially obscured by the wall of taller buildings to the south and west. Angling it at 45 degrees would make it visible. Maybe a second beacon atop Wilshire Grand would also be desirable, being so tall and so close to the entertainment district. On clear nights, it should be visible for at least 50 miles from vantage points without hills in the way.

[Blesha13]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

Could it be the FAA had objections to the beacon, or did occupants of nearby building? I don't know why they would. City Hall at 454' is still the tallest building in a radius of maybe half a mile, and the beacon was probably pointed up at a 45 degree angle so it didn't shine in windows of other high rises. Nearest much taller buildings above 700' are BA, Wells Fargo and CA Plaza on Bunker Hill, and they are office buildings that are mostly vacant at night when the beacon would be on. Gehry Grand center is barely 50 feet taller, so I doubt a rotating beacon would be a problem for residents. The Times Mirror project across the street won't be completed for a few years, if they build it. Plus it is a beacon named after an aviator, so why would it be a problem for air traffic? Lindbergh used the Eiffel Tower beacon as a navigation guide into Paris in 1927.

How did it look when they had the City Hall beacon on? Did they use one color, or did the colors change? Got to have it on during the Olympics! The rotating beacon on the Eiffel Tower is really impressive. Maybe if enough people call City Hall to request it, they will turn it on again, at least on holidays and special events like the Olympics. If City Hall won't turn the rotating beacon on, maybe supertalls Wilshire Grand or U.S. Bank could install one. But I think the seat of city government, City Hall, would still be the best location even though the beacon might be partially obscured by the wall of taller buildings to the south and west. Angling it at 45 degrees would make it visible. Maybe a second beacon atop Wilshire Grand would also be desirable, being so tall and so close to the entertainment district. On clear nights, it should be visible for at least 50 miles from vantage points without hills in the way.

A beacon atop Wilshire Grand will be grand (no pun intended), similar to what the Transamerica Pyramid does for the holidays and special occasions. The tip of the spire isn't that bright anyway, let alone the spire not even lit up. Shoot, by the time it gets dark, the spine and sail of the Wilshire Grand isn't even turned on!