Quote:
Originally Posted by Mojeda101
That facade is gone. Notice how it's lined up with it's neighbors?
Well the new facade isn't..
![](http://33.media.tumblr.com/77b97d1783049be0ab23e669539e66af/tumblr_inline_nhu41ezcZt1qaj0yo.jpg)
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Even a fresh coat of paint would help and the removal of that teetering box sign. The Merrit building has the potential to be a jewel, if thoughtfully restored. It appears that the rebirth of Broadway will be a building by building, block by block, slow march north until fully complete. And despite the seven storied stucco stumps (or shit boxes), which I'd rather not see, Citywatch is all too right when she says that they do put "feet on the ground." In this case there will be many thousands more residents, ready and needing to spend. But I think that planners should stop emphasizing placing retail in every new residential development (which often remains vacant) and allow economic pressure to encourage retailers to expand fresh new retail to occupy the probably millions of square feet of either vacant or swapmeet space on Broadway. DTLA will eventually have over a hundred thousand residents (probably by 2020 or a bit later) but even then I think that their commerce needs should be confined to specific thoroughfares. To do this would strengthen their viability. To think of it in an historic perspective, from the mid-teens to WWII when DTLA was at its heyday there were probably close to a hundred thousand residents (if not more) within the area we know as downtown. And thousands more poured into the core to shop, work, play and engage in commerce of some form. Many thoroughfares were important but Broadway was the supporting spine of the core. I don't believe that it was by accident but rather planned by the city to develop that way. I believe that it is essential to again encourage this concept.