LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[Niftybox]

Kind of random but if I had to remove a large tower from the skyline it would have to be the larger Wells Fargo tower, just a completely overly massive block that in many ways kills the skyline. I'd rather remove that than add a 40 story tower to the skyline, I dislike it that much.

This view from The Grand kind of sealed that decision for me:



Cheers all thanks for the updates lol.

[craigs]

I love the Wells Fargo tower--the color, the shape, the materials. It's a monster of a tower that is befitting a city the size and importance of Los Angeles.

Here are more pics from Urbanize Los Angeles of/from the Grand:

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by caligrad

Once the Wilshire Grand topped out, people tapped out.

Ppl's interest in the subj of dt ebbs & flows...I'm right now more interested in it because of projs like the Onni tower on Olympic, the Colburn school concert hall or the nearing completion of the Grand Ave proj.

As for various SSPers not wanting to see my list of what I think are major issues with dtla, I admit to not wanting to read for the 1,000th time complaints about projs not being taller or bldgs in dt having only 40 floors instead of 70, etc. Which is why I like seeing what's going in other cities....like Buenos aires. That town in Argentina has few tall bldgs, much less super talls. But its sidewalk life & attractive old world street frontage blow many highrise cities...of places like Dubai....out of the water. DTLA has more towers than Buenos aires does, but that sure doesn't mean dtla is therebore better.

meanwhile, not sure what this is going to be all about, but I like seeing old bldgs being brought back to life in dt. The revived Tower theater is one of the long overdue changes to DT that makes its past even more a matter of what took you so long?!


• Video Link

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Niftybox

Kind of random but if I had to remove a large tower from the skyline it would have to be the larger Wells Fargo tower, just a completely overly massive block that in many ways kills the skyline.

My likes-dislikes & priorities are so different from yours, that even the vague notion of removing that bldg doesn't cross my mind. Not sure if that makes you more likely or less likely to be easygoing about dtla.

Of course, I want to see the removal of parking lots or the small old bldgs that once stood where caligrad was walking by the other day, not something like the Wells Fargo bldg.

[citywatch]

this was first aired in May 2014, almost 8 yrs ago...interesting perspective from back then compared with today. The Grand wilshire proj was still below grade & the broadway palace apt bldgs around alma....which no longer exists....were still parking lots. The car wash next to the Fig hotel is regrettably still a car wash. No whole food mkt at 8th & Grand

The broad museum, much less the Grand Ave proj, were still parking lots too. The site where the medallion towers are next to the fwy was the same thing. The freehand hotel was still the abandoned Commercial exchange bldg...the Herald Ex bldg was mostly vacant & used for occasional film shoots. The ace hotel was still the old UA bldg....so were the renovated bldgs for today's Nomad, proper & hoxton hotels.

The Beaudry & Mitsui apt proj, along with the Onni tower on Olympic, etc, in 2022 are moving the needle closer to where dtla should have always been....which really is a first in the history of LA. That's why I say that dtla is now pulling more of its fair share of the entire region's weight.


• Video Link

[ed21x]

Downtown is really only a few towers away from reaching the critical mass where additional towers won't be contributing all that much to the feel of the skyline. Whether thats enough for the area to be considered 'pulling its weight' is a bit more debateable because LA is by nature a decentralized city, and people go to various nodes for various purposes. It's not like Manhattan where Koreatown is 8 tiny blocks away from Time Square.

[N. Fred]

Hi, all.

I've been on here forever, but I rarely post. Illithid Dude, I'd love to know a little more about your thoughts on the Beaudry. i agree the curtain wall at 8th and Fig looks good, and I'd love more context on what disappoints you about the Beaudry. I didn't have super high expectations, and I think it does a serviceable job. It's not special, but I wouldn't be sad if 100 more popped up across town.

Sincerely,
N. Fred

[hughfb3]

Originally Posted by caligrad

Once the Wilshire Grand topped out, people tapped out.

I’m DONE!!! This is too funny

[Morty McDuncy]

Everyone should be entitled to their opinions that's what discussions are all about. Wasn't long ago that much of DTLA was parking lots. We lost many buildings that we can never get back such as the Richfield Tower.

But at the same time we should be grateful for any construction that happens in DTLA regardless if you find it aesthetic or not because what makes a city vibrant isnt the height of the building or the color or the material used. However, what is important is do people want to live there?

Each project that breaks ground inches DTLA a little closer to were it should have been years ago.

[dktshb]

Living in SF I am not able to frequent downtown as often anymore. I was curious if the conversion on 7th and Hill is complete and if or whether or not the Korean Grocery is still going in on 7th and Olive as well as the fate of the NoMad.

[citywatch]

Originally Posted by Morty McDuncy

But at the same time we should be grateful for any construction that happens in DTLA regardless if you find it aesthetic or not because what makes a city vibrant isnt the height of the building or the color or the material used. However, what is important is do people want to live there?

Your comment makes me think of a vid like this...

https://youtu.be/Lb_-18apdkk

...where I don't see too many gaps. Or areas that remind me of the large parking lots around the Fig Hotel....or similar to a lot of the old, low slung gritty bldgs of South Pk, much less skid row. But it also doesn't appear to have any stand out features, places that look all that interesting. Of course, viewing a city through the lens of a cam in a moving car isn't the most accurate way of getting a sense of a city.

In a way I can see a person visiting the town in Washington state & then dtla & rating LA as even worse...or more disappointing. But the tone or vibe of the two places are different enough that such a critique would be missing the forest for the trees. So in a way my main concerns are both accurate but also overlook the vibe of a place.

This is from 2019 & some of the improvements mentioned by a ssper who used to post here regularly have been completed.


• Video Link


DTLA needs to fill in the gaps & clean up more of its areas. That's a given. One example: Broadway still has too many swapmeets & vacant storefronts, bldgs like the Roxy theater & sketchy sidewalks. But dtla is more interesting to me. It's the type of place that punches both above & below its weight class.

DT can say, Love me or hate me, just please don't ignore me. DTLA isn't as easily ignored as it was decades ago.

[Doctorboffin]

Kind of random but if I had to remove a large tower from the skyline it would have to be the larger Wells Fargo tower, just a completely overly massive block that in many ways kills the skyline. I'd rather remove that than add a 40 story tower to the skyline, I dislike it that much.

Can't say I agree, especially with the last sentence, but hypotheticals can be fun. In a perfect world, I actually wouldn't mind seeing all of Bunker Hill getting torn down and replaced with a bunch of mixed-use projects that vary in height and properly extend the grid of the historic core. I think virtually all the buildings in Bunker Hill are quite attractive on their own, but the area is so hostile. However, such a project would economically devastate Downtown, be a massive waste since there are infinitely better areas to expand to, and not something that should be even considered till 2122.

Though, that said, I actually wouldn't mind if the city started taking down everything between 3rd/ Temple, and S Hope/110. Preserve the LADWP building since it's a beauty, but I genuinely think everything else in that area is beyond saving.

[citywatch]

The thought of taking out newer devlpt in dt doesn't come close to passing the smell test for me when things like this parking lot are still working against the hood. At least the Tinker toy structure has gone adios. Now the huge parking lot to its east needs to be taken care of...


• Video Link


I notice urbanizela has taken out its post yesterday that gave a preview of the Grand Ave proj. I wonder what's going on? Did they jump the gun too soon & run into a timing conflict with the Related Co?

[38 Geary]

Nice to see some green space coming to DTLA. Public open space that is seamlessly integrated into the urban fabric has long been an area of needed improvement.

L.A. City Council signs off on $30-million Sixth Street Viaduct park
13 acres of green space slated to break ground in Fall 2022
MAY 02, 2022, 8:30AM STEVEN SHARP

https://la.urbanize.city/post/la-city-council-signs-30-million-sixth-street-viaduct-park

[caligrad]

Originally Posted by Morty McDuncy

Wasn't long ago that much of DTLA was parking lots. We lost many buildings that we can never get back such as the Richfield Tower.

This entire line sounds very sus lol if you're going to create a new profile, at least entertain us with different wordage and vocabulary.

Originally Posted by hughfb3

I’m DONE!!! This is too funny

Glad somebody could get a laugh haha.

[citywatch]

Even protest marches & police action in dtla are indirectly affected by a bldg like the clark hotel & parking lots. The Clark is owned by a company that is described as having refurnished its interior several yrs ago & built a new upper level pool deck. But it's still shuttered with an iron grate facade.

The NE corner of 4th & Hill is still mainly a parking lot with the remnants of the old taco house #1 food stand. A chicago based real estate company owns it & has long planned an apt bldg on the land. But so far, nothing.


• Video Link


BTW, not sure if the post above implies I have more than one acct at ssp. I can ensure you, I don't. I'm not sure, however, if one of the sspers a few posts above happens to be an alias of edluva.

[Lovely1993me]

Originally Posted by citywatch

Even protest marches & police action in dtla are indirectly affected by a bldg like the clark hotel & parking lots. The Clark is owned by a company that is described as having refurnished its interior several yrs ago & built a new upper level pool deck. But it's still shuttered with an iron grate facade.

The NE corner of 4th & Hill is still mainly a parking lot with the remnants of the old taco house #1 food stand. A chicago based real estate company owns it & has long planned an apt bldg on the land. But so far, nothing.


• Video Link


BTW, not sure if the post above implies I have more than one acct at ssp. I can ensure you, I don't. I'm not sure, however, if one of the sspers a few posts above happens to be an alias of edluva.

At this point I think most of us know that we need to continue to fill the gaps Downtown. We are just getting over the pandemic (hopefully) the pace will pick up, we can see the start of that already I feel.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by Niftybox

Kind of random but if I had to remove a large tower from the skyline it would have to be the larger Wells Fargo tower, just a completely overly massive block that in many ways kills the skyline. I'd rather remove that than add a 40 story tower to the skyline, I dislike it that much.

This view from The Grand kind of sealed that decision for me:



Cheers all thanks for the updates lol.

The Wells Fargo Tower is one of the best examples of mid 80s corporate modern office tower design. It's unique square + trapezoidal (squarazoidal?) shape is it's coolest feature. Especially along Grand where it looks completely flat. Plus, Wells Fargo Plaza and California Plaza compliment each other very well.

[citywatch]

The 25 min mark shows the NE corner of 4th & Hill, south of Grand Central mkt, where Equity Residential for several yrs has been talking about putting up an apt bldg.

I notice a tagger has gotten an upper part of the state government bldg along 4th & broadway. He climbed up a billboard & must have sprayed as he stood at the top of the sign. Amazing. Look at all the tagging on the west facing walls of the bldgs north of 4th facing broadway.

The owner or tenants of one of those bldgs threatened a lawsuit against Equity several yrs ago....they claimed the apt tower would block their view. Gimme a break.


• Video Link


If taggers put as much skill & work...& even sometimes death defying effort...into bettering dtla as they put into graffiti, dt would have 100 new towers of 1,000 ft each.

[citywatch]

When dtla landowners & LA city hall are testing my patience...such as Equity Residential out of chicago not doing anything to the NE corner of 4th & Hill St....I recall seeing structures like these when I took a trip to this East Coast city several yrs ago.


https://youtu.be/lphKvTqovHs


https://youtu.be/s1hfxS2Px4E


Vids shows graffiti is really bad there. Tagging is all over the place...& lot of vacant storefronts too. Not a good look. But I always remember that no major city's dt fell apart for as many decades as dtla did.

DT going back over 70 yrs never reached a satisfactory level expected of major cities until more recently. Which is why dtla in 2022 in major ways is really a first in the 200 yr plus history of LA.