What is it that fascinates many of us about Downtown? (Los Angeles: transplants, houses)

[Chicano3000X]

For me it's the piece of L.A. that is the opposite of the rest of the city. The one part of L.A. that a Chicagoan and New Yorker would feel at home.

The one true urban spot in Los Angeles. You can escape the stereotypical suburbia of L.A. without having to go to NY or Chicago.

IMO, it's the way the rest of L.A. should have been..

[subPrimeTime]

We can go on and on about how we wish LA were more like Chicago & NY in terms of a dense urban setting, and how we blame politicians/lobbyists for past decisions. But really, is it LA's "fault" that it's situated next to beaches, hills, mountains...while those other cities are not? No.

My point is, NYC works great because it's a flat island, constrained by water (SF has a little of this too, as it's a peninsula). LA has a lot of land with varying topography, that's just the card that mother nature gave us (and most consider that a good thing). I'm not too familiar with Chicago, but I know it's pretty flat as well.

But yeah, Downtown is great, I love working there.

[quixotic59]

Originally Posted by Chicano3000X

For me it's the piece of L.A. that is the opposite of the rest of the city. The one part of L.A. that a Chicagoan and New Yorker would feel at home.

The one true urban spot in Los Angeles. You can escape the stereotypical suburbia of L.A. without having to go to NY or Chicago.

IMO, it's the way the rest of L.A. should have been..

Thankfully, even in Downtown L.A., we who are native New Yorkers, DO NOT feel at home.
If we wanted to feel at home, we would stay home. We come to L.A. to escape the filthy, disgusting, bland, nanny state that New York City has become.
Downtown L.A. has its charm, as does the rest of L.A. because it is a piece of the delightful mosaic that is Los Angeles.
We are very appreciative of the variety that Los Angeles offers from downtown to the mountains to the beaches.
In our eyes, the perfect blend.

[RaymondChandlerLives]

Originally Posted by Chicano3000X

For me it's the piece of L.A. that is the opposite of the rest of the city. The one part of L.A. that a Chicagoan and New Yorker would feel at home.

The one true urban spot in Los Angeles. You can escape the stereotypical suburbia of L.A. without having to go to NY or Chicago.

IMO, it's the way the rest of L.A. should have been..

L.A. without the googie architecture, ranch style houses, drive-thrus, palm trees, and wide boulevards...isn't L.A. Without Randy's Donuts, Melrose Ave, the Sunset Strip, the Gower Gulch, Angelino Heights, and Hancock Park...it isn't L.A.

Without the car culture that comes from L.A...the lowriders, the import cars, dead man's curve", Mulholland Drive, the freeways, the cruising on the boulevards on a Saturday Night...we're not in L.A. anymore. Screw that.

Los Angeles's cultural influence (which is monstrous) comes in part because it looks the way it does. If some people don't "get it" or do like it, oh well. This region did not accelerate from 0 to 18 million by worrying about what outside perceptions are. To paraphrase Kanye West "everything it isn't, makes it everything it is", and what it is, is awesome, and getting even more awesome all the time . Now if you'll excuse me, time to go out and enjoy that Cali sun (unobstructed by wall-to-wall high-rises, thankfully).

[Nightscape]

Originally Posted by Chicano3000X

For me it's the piece of L.A. that is the opposite of the rest of the city. The one part of L.A. that a Chicagoan and New Yorker would feel at home.

The one true urban spot in Los Angeles. You can escape the stereotypical suburbia of L.A. without having to go to NY or Chicago.

IMO, it's the way the rest of L.A. should have been..

Then it wouldn't be LA at all! A lot of the transplants I know from Chicago or the EC came to LA because of the appeal in change of scenery, lifestyle, topography, etc...LA really is the polar opposite of NYC and thats why either may appeal to people in either city. The grass is greener effect.

[PDF]

Wow, absolutely not. That would be getting rid of what Los Angeles is. And on my recent trip there, I wasn't fascinated with downtown at all. Compared to downtowns of other cities, I found it to be horrible. Downtown is really not where its at in LA, IMO. As someone who loves cities like NYC, I did not find it to be anything like that at all.

[Chicano3000X]

Originally Posted by PDF

Wow, absolutely not. That would be getting rid of what Los Angeles is. And on my recent trip there, I wasn't fascinated with downtown at all. Compared to downtowns of other cities, I found it to be horrible. Downtown is really not where its at in LA, IMO. As someone who loves cities like NYC, I did not find it to be anything like that at all.

It just needs time. The reason I am fascinated is because it is like a lost city. It needs to be revived. It's the heart of LA, the real side. Why do I say the real side?
Real architecture, it isn't all hollywood or fake.

DTLA is being fixed and people need to give it a chance. DT is a whole different city.

[Chicano3000X]

Originally Posted by RaymondChandlerLives

L.A. without the googie architecture, ranch style houses, drive-thrus, palm trees, and wide boulevards...isn't L.A. Without Randy's Donuts, Melrose Ave, the Sunset Strip, the Gower Gulch, Angelino Heights, and Hancock Park...it isn't L.A.

Without the car culture that comes from L.A...the lowriders, the import cars, dead man's curve", Mulholland Drive, the freeways, the cruising on the boulevards on a Saturday Night...we're not in L.A. anymore. Screw that.

Los Angeles's cultural influence (which is monstrous) comes in part because it looks the way it does. If some people don't "get it" or do like it, oh well. This region did not accelerate from 0 to 18 million by worrying about what outside perceptions are. To paraphrase Kanye West "everything it isn't, makes it everything it is", and what it is, is awesome, and getting even more awesome all the time . Now if you'll excuse me, time to go out and enjoy that Cali sun (unobstructed by wall-to-wall high-rises, thankfully).

I think you can still have those and still give L.A. what it needs.

Why do you think the city is going through all these changes? Because past decisions were finally being realized as mistakes.

Making LA more denser and walkable is what the city needs. I love cars, but car culture isn't something all good.

Changing LA is the one thing that will really bring smog levels down. Adding more transit and walkability will get people out of their cars, less antisocial and more active.

Keep some the suburbs but I think there can be some areas that can have more density added.
We just gotta examine, which areas have historic significance and which don't.

We can still have our palm trees, freeways and boulevards. But the boulevards would be narrower, but would not be a problem cuz transit and walking will be big.

We just gotta wait atleast 50 years

[jorge112597]

its vibrancy, activity, architecture, i love everything

[Chicano3000X]

To me, areas like downtown is the real L.A.

I see hollywood the same way. Not the industry, but the area. Downtown Hollywood.

To me, I admire those areas more than I do the other parts such as much of the west side, beverley hills and other parts of the city manufactured by an industry. No, I'm not trying to hate on hollywood. Infact, 500 Days of Summer was the first movie I have ever seen that gives downtown some dignity.

But for the most part, after watching "Los Angeles Plays Itself", I realize that hollywood has never really had much respect for much of Los Angeles.